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Fedex Smartpost?

So I sold a pair of shoes Sunday and printed out a Fedex Smartpost label and adhered it to the box and put it in my local Fedex drop off box Monday afternoon. It's now Thursday night and the Fedex website still says the shipment is pending - the label has been created. I shipped via Smartpost before and the item arrived at the Fedex origin facility the very next day. Should I be alarmed that Fedex still hasn't updated its tracking information? Has Fedex lost the package?

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Fedex Smartpost?


@simci_66 wrote:

So I sold a pair of shoes Sunday and printed out a Fedex Smartpost label and adhered it to the box and put it in my local Fedex drop off box Monday afternoon. It's now Thursday night and the Fedex website still says the shipment is pending - the label has been created. I shipped via Smartpost before and the item arrived at the Fedex origin facility the very next day. Should I be alarmed that Fedex still hasn't updated its tracking information? Has Fedex lost the package?


There are two tracking numbers on a SmartPost package ... one is the FedEx and the other USPS.

 

It has been a while since I've used SmartPost (in my opinion, it is a terrible shipping option), but if I recall those FedEx numbers do not always update on the FedEx website ... and, sometimes, you won't see a tracking update until the package is turned over to the USPS.

 

Why do they not always update?  I don't know ... maybe FedEx employees aren't required to scan them, or the scanners register the USPS number rather than the FedEx number, and the USPS number is nonsense to the FedEx system.

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Message 4 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

FedEx Smartpost can not be put in FedEx Express drop off boxes, nor can FedEx Ground shipments.

It may be in some sort of limbo as a result. Suggest you call FedEx and see if they can provide any info.
Message 2 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

Maybe they recently changed their policy but their website specifically says they accept SmartPost. That is why I am confused as to why it is taking so long

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Message 3 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?


@simci_66 wrote:

So I sold a pair of shoes Sunday and printed out a Fedex Smartpost label and adhered it to the box and put it in my local Fedex drop off box Monday afternoon. It's now Thursday night and the Fedex website still says the shipment is pending - the label has been created. I shipped via Smartpost before and the item arrived at the Fedex origin facility the very next day. Should I be alarmed that Fedex still hasn't updated its tracking information? Has Fedex lost the package?


There are two tracking numbers on a SmartPost package ... one is the FedEx and the other USPS.

 

It has been a while since I've used SmartPost (in my opinion, it is a terrible shipping option), but if I recall those FedEx numbers do not always update on the FedEx website ... and, sometimes, you won't see a tracking update until the package is turned over to the USPS.

 

Why do they not always update?  I don't know ... maybe FedEx employees aren't required to scan them, or the scanners register the USPS number rather than the FedEx number, and the USPS number is nonsense to the FedEx system.

Message 4 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

Thank you. Hopefully the tracking will update eventually, and if not I will make sure to call Fedex. I will probably not ship SmartPost any longer and just go with USPS instead.
Message 5 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?


@simci_66 wrote:
Thank you. Hopefully the tracking will update eventually, and if not I will make sure to call Fedex. I will probably not ship SmartPost any longer and just go with USPS instead.

Instead of dropping SmartPost as an option, simply go to the counter at any FedEx SmartPost dropoff and have them scan it and give you a receipt.  That way you ALWAYS know that it was scanned on time.

 

For me the bonus is all the staff at the FedEx store know me and on the (very few) occasions where there was an issue, they ASSISTED in getting it resolved.

 

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew
Message 6 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

>>their website specifically says they accept SmartPost

That is news to me. Dropboxes were classically serviced by FedEx Express drivers who are a whole separate company from FedEx Ground (and Smartpost) drivers.

Looks like they may have changed that, but I'd assume only a single driver still services a dropbox and drags everything to a single sorting location (it would be stupid to have 2 different division drivers - Ground and Express - checking dropboxes)

Smartpost shipments should receive FedEx scans the same as any other FedEx pkg - I have never had one not, but I always drop off at a FedEx counter or other FedEx location (box store, etc).

You might check the USPS tracking number on the label at https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction.action
it SHOULD be scanned and updated if USPS has taken possession of the pkg from FedEx, and the timeframe is such that that could be happening by now if pkg was moving but not scanned at all by FedEx. (Smartpost roughly follows Ground delivery timeframes with usually a day or so more - like 2-6 days before handoff to USPS)

Keep in mind that Smartpost division doesn't deliver Mondays (they work a Tues-Sat delivery week), and may also not work Mondays on initial acceptance end if not fully handled by Ground division, so it might have sat in the sort center Monday after pick up (although I believe initial Smartpost leg is treated same as Ground/Home Delivery, but may deprioritize like USPS Media Mail)
Message 7 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

>>Why do they not always update? I don't know ... maybe FedEx employees aren't required to scan them

Unlikely, but I have no proof.

>>or the scanners register the USPS number rather than the FedEx number, and the USPS number
>>is nonsense to the FedEx system.

Very unlikely - FedEx scanning equipment and software is smart enough to distinguish USPS barcodes from their own, and the label design (dual tracking/barcodes) is theirs or approved by them so you'd think they would have infrastructure in place (hardware/software) to handle them.

This has got to be a lost pkg (fell off the back of the truck, sticky fingers, dropbox broken into), or a bad label (faint printing, got soaked in weather, or label fell off).

I doubt FedEx has really changed internal policies and is totally de-prioritizing Smartpost (no scans). Don't think a pkg can move through the FedEx network without getting scanned - they aren't as lax as USPS about that. I have never seen it happen, but you say you have. Dunno.

Be interesting to see if the pkg surfaces.
Message 8 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

I would just drop them off directly at the FedEx store but I’m on a college campus with no car, and the fedex shipping center is about a half hour bus drive. I only used Fedex because of the conviene of being able to walk to the drop off box. If I have to drop off in person I may as well just go to the post office that’s easier for me to get to.

Message 9 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

Well, lo and behold the package is in the hands of USPS. It arrived at my local post office on Tuesday so I guess it never was actually within the Fedex system. Strange

Message 10 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

Was the shipment relatively local? (ie: not cross country?)

 

I looked at where you are and where the USPS tracking indicates the pkg is and it is totally  local. Either you mistakenly dropped it in a USPS blue dropbox, your campus has some sort of mixed generic dropboxes, and/or what I speculate below occurred:

 

FedEx might sometimes pass fairly local shipments directly to USPS instead of processing them through their network, depending on the details of their contract with USPS and local agreements.

 

It makes logistical sense to not process a pkg through the FedEx Ground network, load it on a FedEx truck, drive it 200 miles, process it through that sort center, load it on a pallet, and deliver it to USPS for last mile Parcel Select delivery. Instead, I suspect they just load it on a pallet and deliver it to the local USPS dist center and let the whole 200 mile journey be last mile delivery. (Again, depends on the contract between USPS and FedEx, and local agreements for handling).

 

All speculation, no documentation, but fits with observations about fringe cases with Smartpost handling such as USPS just going ahead and handling Smartpost shipments mistakenly given to them at the start that they themselves truck cross country instead of redirecting to FedEx for the initial haul.

 

Message 11 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

What’s interesting is this package is not local at all. Going from Indiana to California. I’m not sure why USPS is taking care of the entire shipment, but as long as it arrives to the customer then all is well.

Message 12 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

We ship smartpost sometimes and have never had any issues. What is interesting is, we accidentally brought a smartpost package into the post office with our other packages a  couple of times. As we were about to take it off the counter the clerk said no problem, leave it with us. It has a USPS bar code, will be recognized by our system and will be delivered with all their other parcel select packages.

 

We were not sure, but were told that it is done all the time so went ahead and tried it. Sure enough it was delivered with tracking updates along the way.

 

We do take our smartpost packages to FedEx regularly and get the drop off scan/receipt. Also, FedEx tracking is far superior to USPS in our opinion.

Message 13 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

>>but as long as it arrives to the customer then all is well.

Please keep us updated.

Out of curiosity, what does the eBay tracking show?

I ask because eBay uses the FedEx tracking not the USPS tracking for its purposes, so I'm guessing it's just showing "label created"?
Message 14 of 29
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Fedex Smartpost?

>>were told that it is done all the time so went ahead and tried it

I think that is part of the "slop" in the contracts and/or depends on the local facility. Far less hassle for USPS to just take it and ship it than to try and get a FedEx truck to come pick it up (when it is dumped in a mailslot, on the counter, in a blue box, etc), so I guess clerks also don't bother rejecting them in person either.

If it gets out of hand they may start rejecting them - the whole point of the hybrid contracts with FedEx, UPS and DHL is to spilit the costs.. USPS gets next to nothing out of the shipping amount paid ($1 or $1.50 or somesuch) for a Smartpost shipment, so they aren't really happy if FedEx keeps most of the money and USPS does ALL the WORK.

Conversely, FedEx has been known to just go ahead and deliver Smartpost pkgs themselves without handing off to USPS. Might be when they only have a few and it's not worth sending a truck to a PO or other similar reasons.

There does appear to be some flexibility in the contracts and protocols, because logistics (few pkgs bound for a PO) and because human error can occur (shippers dumping Smartpost pkgs in blueboxes, etc), so they just sort of make it work for all concerned. Mostly.
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