Thinking about dropping USPS. Too many delays!

[casey-86]

I'm considering dropping USPS altogether. When I see tracking for several of my packages go back and forth between locations and to places they have no business going to before arriving very late to the destination I can't help but think they don't have their operations in order. This really started becoming a problem this past December and has for the most part remained consistent. This isn't fair for me and it isn't fair for buyers. Shipping prices are already higher than they should be (yes even with discounts) and for packages to be 2+ weeks traveling like they're on some kind of road trip unsure of where they are going just isn't acceptable. If the USPS doesn't improve by the start of summer I think I will be going with UPS and FedEx.

Has anyone else been having problems with USPS shipping lately?

[carlmarxx]

I'm almost  to that  point with dropping USPS shipping . Based on recent phone call I had  with the 6th district  Consumer service  rep  that handles  my neck of the woods in Southern Ca.   on phone  regarding  the unexplained delays  and other issues of  New program Dejoys   setup before he left USPS as postmaster General  . Which he should never had to began with.     

[kensgiftshop]

It depends on locations, some are having more problems then others.

I shipped a package two weeks ago and it was delivered a couple days ahead of time.

[carlmarxx]

Lot of PO's   have limited number of the daily pickup's  of mail and parcels  to mourning  and noon  .   

[tobaccocardyahoo]

If all you have sold are the items under this sellerID you have posted from it is probably important to make sure your labels are dark enough to be read reliably by the USPS equipment.

I am not a huge seller but I have had more sales in the past few months and few problems. Most of what I ship is via GA under 1 lb.

All it takes is one USPS employee to create a misrouted shipment.

Is there a pattern in the tracking to show where there is a problem. I have one repeat customer whose shipments seem to disappear for 2 -5 days. Always in the same portion of the route, either a human is manually misrouting or there is a software error at USPS misrouting or the PO is overloaded and short staffed.  The amount of time lost has been decreasing.

USPS gives me the greatest value. It costs less and even when things go bad, few items are lost or damaged. Not what I can say about what comes to me via FEDEX Ground. And I will not pay what UPS charges.

[carlmarxx]

The Labels aren't  reason  for  the  Unexplained  delays   and  Bouncing around  in transit  for delivery's  to me .   I have had USPS rep's from Customer service affairs  DC HQ.  , and 6th district office for customer  affairs for my neck of woods  here in Southern Ca.   that told me that most case's for delays  where do to the contracted drivers  not showing up to yard at  all  for 3 days  and other times show  up with  a 20 ft trailer instead of the required  50ft trailer  or  the two 20 foot trailers .    

[12345jamesstamps]

Are you doing pick-ups for your items?...using eBay shipping labels?...or walking into a post office and having a clerk add postage to the package?

I use certified mail or registered mail or just USPS postage with a clerk in the post office and have had no problems with tracking.

It is a little more time-consuming and more expensive but I can sleep knowing items are getting mailed.

Or it could be your area.

Post office employees are able to relocate from anywhere there is a job opening.

Ad more employees are retiring early making a short supply of employees.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

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@carlmarxx wrote:

 I have had USPS rep's from Customer service affairs  DC HQ.  , and 6th district office for customer  affairs for my neck of woods  here in Southern Ca.   that told me that most case's for delays  where do to the contracted drivers  not showing up to yard at  all  for 3 days  and other times show  up with  a 20 ft trailer instead of the required  50ft trailer  or  the two 20 foot trailers .    

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If the contract drivers are the problem, your choices to remedy your problems with USPS might not work, Much of the long haul trucking for USPS is done by UPS. They replaced FEDEX.

[casey-86]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

Are you doing pick-ups for your items?...using eBay shipping labels?...or walking into a post office and having a clerk add postage to the package?

I use certified mail or registered mail or just USPS postage with a clerk in the post office and have had no problems with tracking.

It is a little more time-consuming and more expensive but I can sleep knowing items are getting mailed.

Or it could be your area.

Post office employees are able to relocate from anywhere there is a job opening.

Ad more employees are retiring early making a short supply of employees.

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I use eBay labels that I print myself. I hand my packages to the delivery driver when the mail arrives and they scan the label when they take the package from me so I know its been received. This has never been a problem for me for the most part until recent time.

[carlmarxx]

I Know they are using UPS for the Long Haul  , but  they don't use them for the short haul runs.  The other problem  is at the USPS sorting plant where  the shipping  containers  get loaded on  wrong trucks  . I had  bought    a Item from a seller in  Kansas City. Mo.    that  end up  in Chicago IL.  Plant , then ends up going to Oklahoma City Ok.   then to  my neck of woods in Southern Ca.   . The fact the shipping  container was mark for California  did these to side trips  before going  west  .  Not even USPS rep's  could explain  why  this is going on.   When I lived in San Deigo   Ca. The  USPS  Moutain Carmel     USPS  plant  always  had  issues  of  send mail and parcels  to wrong parts Of  San Deigo  County  . This  was  gong on since  2011    .  they did  fix the problem .  before I moved .  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

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@carlmarxx wrote:

I Know they are using UPS for the Long Haul  , but  they don't use them for the short haul runs.  The other problem  is at the USPS sorting plant where  the shipping  containers  get loaded on  wrong trucks  . I had  bought    a Item from a seller in  Kansas City. Mo.    that  end up  in Chicago IL.  Plant , then ends up going to Oklahoma City Ok.   then to  my neck of woods in Southern Ca.   . The fact the shipping  container was mark for California  did these to side trips  before going  west  .  Not even USPS rep's  could explain  why  this is going on.   When I lived in San Deigo   Ca. The  USPS  Moutain Carmel     USPS  plant  always  had  issues  of  send mail and parcels  to wrong parts Of  San Deigo  County  . This  was  gong on since  2011    .  they did  fix the problem .  before I moved .  

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All it takes is one marginal employee, and marginal employees are very hard for USPS to fire. UPS too for that matter.

[carlmarxx]

I agree with you  about both UPS and  USPS has a   hard to fire the marginal employees . 

[quicksilverdiecast]

Yes it as well as a few other issues, however it is still far cheaper to send lighter weight packages, the thing that needs addressed is ebay's delivery policies to adapt and change with USPS whom ebay contracts with. USPS changes and sets their policies to which ebay has to follow, so in turn it should also change for the sellers not to get boxed in the middle with "delivery dates", "INR", "Feedbacks" etc. 

On the International shipping side using anything but USPS with EiS shipping is leaving yourself open for huge risks and when the parcel is delivered by FEDEX or UPS the customer is expected to pay the additional Import duties, but even if they do not, they still leave the parcel, and if the buyer fails to pay the duties, the carrier charges the seller back...This was a number of years ago and may have changed, but I almost lost a 400.00 deal. I have used USPS (GSS) EiS ever since worry free once ebays hub gets it.

[roccotacodad54]

   I agree about everything you said except "Shipping prices are already higher than they should be".

   I believe the USPS runs at a loss. If they charged us what it really costs...  I don't want to pay more (buyer here that pays for shipping) but I understand sellers frustration on this. I'm one of those buyers that is patient and not at all quick to file an INR (only once and never got it) though.

[carlmarxx]

Yea ! I have seen reports of USPS running  at a loss  Red  for years , then  they  where  said  to be running in black in 2003-04'  until  Republican  Congress ,Senate   under GW Bush  signed a bill to force USPS to fund a retirement for employees not born yet  .