UPS vs USPS

[keziak]

I recently discovered that UPS can beat Ground Advantage and even Media Mail on the occasional package. I took 3 to the UPS store and was told that I could drop them off at the P.O. Then somewhere, I forget, I was told or read that you can't do that. What is your experience if you use UPS?

[dhbookds]

Check with your own PO.......ours doesn't take UPS.......

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

If your post office has a drop off box for UPS than yes, some smaller ones do not.

[vintage-camerastuff]

My post office has a big sign. NO UPS AND NO FED-EX.   I drop off my ups packages at the ups store.

[jrkirk]

My experience with UPS has been that they beat up packages so badly that often the box is crushed, and anything fragile is often damaged or broken. Since some of my stuff is fragile, I don't use UPS for shipping. My wife recently bought some cans of  hair spray on-line  that UPS delivered, and the box was completely crushed. The hair spray cans survived, but had it been breakable, it would have been broken.

[m60driver]

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@keziak wrote:

I recently discovered that UPS can beat Ground Advantage and even Media Mail on the occasional package. I took 3 to the UPS store and was told that I could drop them off at the P.O. Then somewhere, I forget, I was told or read that you can't do that. What is your experience if you use UPS?

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I have never had any problems with UPS.  And the only time I find UPS to be a better rate than USPS is with larger packages that I always ship with calculated rates that the buyer pays so it is, in some ways, a moot point.  My local USPS locations do not accept UPS drop offs and the local UPS location is not the most convenient so I don't use the UPS service too often.

[natoman777]

Are you talking about the new offer on eBay for UPS® Ground Saver?  This one has been a bit confusing for me as I live in a town of 15,000 people.  My local UPS drop off was very confused by the label as it had both UPS and USPS tracking.  They told me to take it to the post office.  I then took it to them and they scanned it and took it.  It took 2-3 days for tracking to updated. 

On Saturday I just purchased one of those labels on Pirate ship.  Then I took to post office, got back and noticed an email from Pirate Ship, opened it and it said, "Do NOT drop off the package at the Post Office,  The USPS will destroy the package".  I was nervous all weekend even tho it had worked so far with probably 30-40 packages in the recent past.  Well, just now the tracking updated on that package and it is on the way.

I do think the proper method is to take to UPS who then delivers to USPS who are the final carriers to the the buyer.  I have liked not having to worry about another trip to UPS drop off, but now think that is probably what I will stick with just in case Pirate Ship is correct.

[keziak]

I took the 3 packages with no labels to the UPS store because I didn't realize I could get them through ebay [I mostly use Endicia]. they used the labels with both USPS and UPS on them. We then had a baffling conversation in which she UPS packages are delivered by the USPS and vice versa so OK to leave them at the Post Office. I haven't had reason to use UPS since then though. It's all either Media Mail or Ground Advantage. Endicia sometimes has a pop-up for  UPS being cheaper but when I look it's pennies.

[12345jamesstamps]

I read a few months back that USPS was eliminating where you can drop off UPS at some USPS locations.

It is being eliminated completely...so be careful.

[yuzuha]

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@jrkirk wrote:

My experience with UPS has been that they beat up packages so badly that often the box is crushed, and anything fragile is often damaged or broken. Since some of my stuff is fragile, I don't use UPS for shipping. My wife recently bought some cans of  hair spray on-line  that UPS delivered, and the box was completely crushed. The hair spray cans survived, but had it been breakable, it would have been broken.

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Yep. At my old job we used to call them "United Parcel Smashers."

[iamalwaysright]

I never liked how so many people refer to United States Postal Service as "UPS". Don't know if it's a typo or what, but it makes it freaking confusing.

[mam98031]

For what I sell, UPS is leaps more expensive than USPS.  

[lakefor94]

@keziak 

In our neck of the woods, the UPS Ground Saver shipments get dropped at UPS. 

USPS won't take them.

UPS ships to the buyer's city or thereabouts and then USPS takes it from there to the buyer's address.

From my experience, UPS Ground is hands down the most reliable and consistent service provider of the big three. I would only use FedX as a last resort. 

USPS is the most likely to find a shipping bottleneck at one of their distribution centers. I don't see that issue ever with UPS. 

Any of the 3 carriers are capable of smashing a box if not packed correctly.

I use UPS Ground for the large/heavy items and also the expensive items.