Can the USPS even be trusted anymore?

[skeletonstore]

I see their workers regularly and see how much their services cost and how slow they are, so I already had my doubt.  Then I ordered something myself that was only 200 miles away. It said 2-4 days.  The package has travelled over 6000 miles now and has only just reached my city,  a week later.  I can only imagine what will arrive if it ever does.  As a seller I'm deeply concerned that buyers are experiencing what I am experiencing right now on a regular basis and I do not like it and can not see how they would tolerate it.  Why they will just go to amazon to get the item right away.  I've never seen anything like this before.  Spare me the spoke wheel theories.  The longer a package is in transit the more likely it will be destroyed and the more likely customers will not buy from again.  I know I have absolutely no interest in ever purchasing again.  

[meme6253]

Great question!, I have had packages travel around the country before finally getting to their destination, But luckily no issues with customers about it., I don't know what they are doing, maybe trying out a new system?

[pickapaper]

@skeletonstore @meme6253 

I have read on here that it is absolutely imperative that shipping boxes not have any kind of bar codes, or even remnants of bar codes, on them as they can interfere with the bar code on the shipping label.    Any bar codes on a box should be removed or completely covered up.    If you recycle product boxes, this is also true. 

I experienced this first hand one time.  I took a box to the PO and the clerk even had trouble scanning it.  It was because I used either a #4 or #7 USPS box and the bar code printed on the top of the box interfered with the label.  The clerk told me it would be okay and sent it on through but that package did get delayed a couple of weeks before being delivered.   

I 

[fern*wood]

I've had slow packages, a few damaged and out of approx. 17K shipments I can only recall two lost.  There may have been a couple more, but I just don't remember them.   The misrouted and slow ones started after dejoy did his magic, so I hope no more damage is done to USPS because I need them.  

I do remember all the hassles with fedex when I used them for some larger packages for a short period of time.  I almost always had add-on fees for something.  I have no desire to use them again, or UPS.

[chapeau-noir]

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@meme6253 wrote:

Great question!, I have had packages travel around the country before finally getting to their destination, But luckily no issues with customers about it., I don't know what they are doing, maybe trying out a new system?

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It could be re-routes due to cargo space on flights. 

[toysaver]

I trust the PO but they are short staffed and almost every facility has a help wanted poster hanging in the lobby.  In lieu of this I purposely upped my handling time to 3 days but ship same or next. 

It's not a perfect world and it seems to me the level of imperfection grows all the time.  

[ed8108]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@skeletonstore wrote:

  I know I have absolutely no interest in ever purchasing again.  

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You cannot get on Amazon what you can get here. 

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Do the majority of items offered here satisfy needs or a buyer want, this  is of importance if & when disincentives to buying here grow or increase 

Less spending here ?

An Increase in unhappy buying experiences here, will likely result in some increased spending of discretionary buyer income in a different place such as for travel, etc., instead of  spending on ebay

[jbbowers12012]

Hi,  We here in New Jersey have been selling on eBay for around 13yrs. now & have always used USPS.  Though there have been some sloooooow issues - not once did one of our shippments "fall off of the map" & not reach our customers.  So, Kudos' USPS.

[ryry-jj]

USPS is my go to carrier.   Airlines have that "on time" statistic...do shipping carriers have anything like that?  on-time %, successful delivery rate%....?

If we were to drop every carrier who fails, we would all be hand delivering our sold items.  I think the best solution to avoid any carrier issues is to not sell 🙂

[fullers_uk]

Dont worry the seller will be financially punished because USPS are ebay partners and the pacakge is late, corporation always win.

[fullers_uk]

A few years ago Royal Mail here is the UK caught USPS out big time, parcels that were sent air mail to the UK were flown across the US but then they were put into a shipping container in New York and put on a ship that took 7 days across the atlantic to Southampton then put into the royal mail system, the scam worked well for about 5 months until some idiot at USPS stuck routing labels directly on to parcels and not the mail bags, USPS claimed it was technically an air mail service because items were flown across ammerica to New York.

[mommaknows]

Empathy can be hard for some.

Best to you.

[ryry-jj]

What was the scam?  it is airmail if it was flown across the county.  After all, airmail is never dropped to its final destination anyway...it all eventually goes by truck.  From mainland to Hawaii it goes by "ground".  It is just the shipping charge name applied to the service

[kibble-net]

Say what you will about USPS but I've never had them lose a single package in 26 years. Delays, yes. But the mail has always gone through.

A lot of the problems USPS experiences come from the top down. Two words: Louis DeJoy

[gurlcat]

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@skeletonstore wrote:

I see their workers regularly and see how much their services cost and how slow they are, so I already had my doubt.  Then I ordered something myself that was only 200 miles away. It said 2-4 days.  The package has travelled over 6000 miles now and has only just reached my city,  a week later.  I can only imagine what will arrive if it ever does.  As a seller I'm deeply concerned that buyers are experiencing what I am experiencing right now on a regular basis and I do not like it and can not see how they would tolerate it.  Why they will just go to amazon to get the item right away.  I've never seen anything like this before.  Spare me the spoke wheel theories.  The longer a package is in transit the more likely it will be destroyed and the more likely customers will not buy from again.  I know I have absolutely no interest in ever purchasing again.  

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What are "spoke wheel theories"?  

Why are you worried about buyers going to Amazon when most of your items are handmade or pre-owned (as in, not available on Amazon)? 

[stephenmorgan]

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@gurlcat wrote:

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@skeletonstore wrote:

I see their workers regularly and see how much their services cost and how slow they are, so I already had my doubt.  Then I ordered something myself that was only 200 miles away. It said 2-4 days.  The package has travelled over 6000 miles now and has only just reached my city,  a week later.  I can only imagine what will arrive if it ever does.  As a seller I'm deeply concerned that buyers are experiencing what I am experiencing right now on a regular basis and I do not like it and can not see how they would tolerate it.  Why they will just go to amazon to get the item right away.  I've never seen anything like this before.  Spare me the spoke wheel theories.  The longer a package is in transit the more likely it will be destroyed and the more likely customers will not buy from again.  I know I have absolutely no interest in ever purchasing again.  

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What are "spoke wheel theories"?  

Why are you worried about buyers going to Amazon when most of your items are handmade or pre-owned (as in, not available on Amazon)? 

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Maybe this

• The hub and spoke logistics model optimizes delivery routes by centralizing distribution centers (hubs) and using strategic routes (spokes) for outbound deliveries.
• Benefits of this model include reduced fuel costs, better truck driver retention thanks to more predictable schedules, and less price fluctuation thanks to optimized routes.
• Compared to point-to-point systems, hub and spoke logistics excel when multiple deliveries must be made along specific routes.