Is USPS shipping really getting this bad???

[mr_lincoln]

-On Monday the 24th this week I shipped a package USPS Priority Mail from PA to FL and when I got home there was a message from my customer asking if I would ship FedEx or UPS because their local Jacksonville bulk center is really slow in processing packages due to construction.  I let them know USPS is who I use but would keep an eye on tracking .... this is now Friday and the package was just now reported out for delivery ... PA to FL Priority Mail in the past was 3 days ... tracking shows it arriving and departing Jacksonville numerous times from the 26th to today, the 28th.

                                     

-I purchased an item from a Seller in MA shipping to PA ... it shipped Monday this week the 24th with ETA on the 27th .... hmmm.  Today is the 28th and tracking is showing it currently in Arizona ... 

I am pretty good with geography and am pretty confident that AZ is not between MA & PA ... unless they started moving things around without telling me.

                                         

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[mr_lincoln]

@lakefor94 

Thank you for the explanation ... I was on the UK Community recently and was reading a little about Buyers paying fees now, one is for shipping and if memory serves for INR protection.  That almost sounds like AMZ in a way.

[12345jamesstamps]

Was this from paying postage for shipping at a post office with a clerk or was it an eBay shipping label?

I am not knocking labels but I have had no problems thus far with items not getting re-directed.

I did a few priority last week and they got delivered in 4 days...one to NY and one to Nebraska.

I have had a few incoming packages where sellers used shipping bought labels and those do take a little longer to receive the packages to me.

I have a fabulous seller from New Jersey who does FedEx and my items come in like 3 days flat every month.

[truckflow]

I've had a few lately take MONTHS to be delivered via USPS.

[gator08041971]

I wanted to share with you all an example of a package that I had received and why it probably was delayed.

I ordered this item, and it got lost somewhere in Indiana or Illinois, I can't remember offhand without pulling the tracking up.  This was from this past December, so its old now.

But it took a while to arrive. Originally shipped the 9th, this one didn't arrive till the 18th. On the 17th, the seller had reshipped another one, which I got on the 23rd.  But I never opened the first one, so wanted to share a potential reason why it was delayed:

This was a small bagged item with the label just slapped on it.  I had perched it on a box to take these shots. This is why shipping sometimes can fail.  Whenever you ship stuff, always be sure the label is flat and clear, doesn't have streaks missing out of it (bad printing), wrinkles, or has to be deformed to the package like this one was.  All that will do is cause delays in your shipment.  If you are using an inkjet printer, cover the label with clear tape to prevent the ink from getting smeared if it gets wet.

These things can affect your shipments.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I have had issues with two recent GA shipments to FL, different parts of the state, which stopped updating tracking,

Waited out the delay for sending where's my package messages and got either a clueless response from a destination PO employee or no response but a case closed.

Waited the delay for filing an insurance claim. Items were delivered within two days. Buyers tell me there was no sign of damage to item or packaging and nothing to indicate what might have caused the delay.

Maybe every postal employee has decided to run for governor.

[mr_lincoln]

@gator08041971   I ship EVERYTHING in a box, period.  I have been shipping stuff around the country and halfway around the world since the mid '80s ... long before eBay was even a thought.  

I bought a $ 115 digital camera this week with its original box ... it came in a black poly bubble bag, wrapped tight with FRAGILE stickers on it.  When I saw the package I was surprised it survived.  

I have an NIB Sandisk 2 BG camera chip suppose to be coming and I can imagine it will NOT be in a box either.  That one shipped from MA to PA but for some reason is currently in AZ ... a bad scan on a label could easily have it sorted to the wrong destination before it gets corrected. 

[gator08041971]

@mr_lincoln 

I know you do.  😁

I ship a lot of things in boxes.  But I also use a lot of bubble mailers, and have taken to using some poly bags (as a cover) over top of  the boxes or used mailers.

For example:

I sell DVDs occasionally.  They get shrink wrapped, wrapped in thick cardboard, then either bubble wrapped with a poly bag or just a bubble mailer.

I sell a lot of HDDs, both 2.5" and 3.5".  Those get an anti-static bag, then double bubble wrapped, then put into a small box that is shrink wrapped (I use boxes that fit the drives with their bubble wrap) , then form fit the box into a poly bubble sleeve.  (no movement of box inside the sleeve).   Not one HDD death yet due to shipment.

But I also reuse a lot of boxes.  I know you turn yours inside out and take the effort to ensure your packages are properly packaged, and that's great too!

[lakefor94]

@mr_lincoln 

Firm believer in sturdy boxes myself. The only item I ship in padded, recycled envelopes are zip ties.

I get all the neighbors boxes, she is almost a shut-in at this point and her dad is 99 years old. She orders everything online. 

My wife is an AMZ queen. I always have a supply of boxes. If I don't have the exact size I need, I make the box myself...... fit is important. 

[mr_lincoln]

@gator08041971 

Over the years three key things are repeated in Feedback:

-Fast shipping

-As described

-PACKED SECURELY

"Packed securely" can also protect against failure of the other two key points.  Bad packing can cause delays, lost packages and damage.  

[lakefor94]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@gator08041971 

Over the years three key things are repeated in Feedback:

-Fast shipping

-As described

-PACKED SECURELY

"Packed securely" can also protect against failure of the other two key points.  Bad packing can cause delays, lost packages and damage.  

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Paramount. 

[mr_lincoln]

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@lakefor94 wrote:

@mr_lincoln 

Firm believer in sturdy boxes myself. The only item I ship in padded, recycled envelopes are zip ties.

I get all the neighbors boxes, she is almost a shut-in at this point and her dad is 99 years old. She orders everything online. 

My wife is an AMZ queen. I always have a supply of boxes. If I don't have the exact size I need, I make the box myself...... fit is important. 

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@lakefor94 

We have friends and family who give us their empty boxes and my wife brings empties home from where she works. 

You are correct that "fit" is important, not to mention making a box just big enough for the item cuts down on packing material required.  For smaller items I can make a box out of a flat piece of corrugated, like one side panel from a larger box.

I also reverse the printing on boxes so when they ship they have the brown box appearance.  Maybe you saw this thread on that: Re: Reversing the printing on used corrugated boxe... - The eBay Community

[tobaccocardyahoo]

There is no one way to "pack securely".

I try my best to avoid the use of boxes.

This means not selling items which can only be safely shipped in a box.

Not every package needs to be bullet proof. A look at my FB shows my buyers are pleases with my packaging methods.

I use a lot of Stay Flat mailers. They are versatile and properly sized they protect the items they carry. I no longer use bubble mailers. All too often they require cardboard to protect the item.

I ship CDs and DVDs in Stay Flats sized so that they do not shift in transit. There certainly is some risk that someone will crush them but that is also a risk with a box.

USPS is my carrier of choice and over the years USPS has mastered delivering letter shaped items with minimal damage. I use GA and my packaging looks a lot like letters or flats.  My packing methods might have to be different if I used UPS or (ugh) FEDEX Ground, where they would be haphazardly transferred with large cartons.

Some items are wrapped in cardboard to protect manufacturer's boxes which contain a significant percentage of air. It seems to minimize crush damage to retail packaging.

My packaging strategy is based on two factors other than product protection. Minimizing weight and size and reducing time spent packing. Even when it does not reduce the shipping cost, it minimizes the fuel cost associated with shipping. I am not an eco-warrior, but lower energy costs for the carrier helps reduce shipping cost increases.

Experimentation is needed for items which I do not have a lot of experience shipping. Some things that should work, do not work as they should. I had to stop using the Cardboard Number 10 envelopes Ebay offered because they were almost always delayed - they were apparently put through the letter mail sorters and jammed the sorter. (Ebay makes it clear that they should not be used for ESE because of that problem). Human error or laziness at the regional sorting center appears to be at fault. My job to meet my goals within the bounds of the real world.

[mr_lincoln]

@tobaccocardyahoo 

Your items might be fine using the method(s) you use.   Mine aren't so I use boxes.

[lakefor94]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@tobaccocardyahoo 

Your items might be fine using the method(s) you use.   Mine aren't so I use boxes.

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

I ship CDs and DVDs in Stay Flats sized so that they do not shift in transit. There certainly is some risk that someone will crush them but that is also a risk with a box.

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I don't ship much of anything close to a CD/DVD. Many of my box shipments are the packages on the conveyors  that destroy the shipments of unsuspecting shippers.  They all make it, every time, unscathed.