USPS: Picked Up By Shipping Agent

[berserkerplanet]

Not sure if this has been  discussed here before, but does anyone have any insights into the subtle details of what happened here?

A "USPS Parcel Return Service" return shipping label for Amazon printed Fri 2/9/18, dumped in blue box Mon 2/12/18, picked up Mon 2/12/18 around 5pm (usual pickup), and presumably went on to local sort center.

Tracking History
February 13, 2018, 11:59 pm
Picked Up by Shipping Agent
SACRAMENTO, CA 95813
Your item was picked up by the shipping agent at 11:59pm

on February 13, 2018 in SACRAMENTO, CA 95813.

February 13, 2018, 3:09 pm
Available for Returns Agent
SACRAMENTO, CA 95813

February 13, 2018, 3:03 pm
USPS in possession of item
SACRAMENTO, CA 95813

A normal beginning sequence for a Priority Mail or First Class mail shipment mailed in the blue box here (95815) looks like:

February 8, 2018, 8:48 pm

Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
SACRAMENTO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER

February 8, 2018, 7:33 pm
Accepted at USPS Origin Facility
SACRAMENTO, CA 95815

February 8, 2018, 3:15 pm
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
SACRAMENTO, CA 95815

Two questions arise:

(1) Who or what is the "Shipping Agent"? (Does Amazon pick up their own returns in some sort of negotiated deal with USPS - ie: they get great negotiated rates for doing the bulk legwork?)

Zip 95813 (the PO zip code) has only come into play in the past when I drop pkgs in the PO blue boxes or at the PO counter. Normal blue box pickups here show:

February 15, 2018, 6:39 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SACRAMENTO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER

February 14, 2018, 5:34 pm
USPS picked up item
95800

February 14, 2018, 6:12 am
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
SACRAMENTO, CA 95815

(2) Do return service or parcels in general (Parcel Select) routinely get routed off to slow-boat-to-China paths from the get go or is this a local oddity?

(I've never mailed a Parcel Select package in a blue box because anything I mail using PS is too big to fit in a blue box, so have no data on PS tracking from the blue box, and this is the first Return Service label tracking I've scrutinized)

Just curious. Haven't seen tracking like that before.

[gaoyanwan_0]

I have the same problem with you! Do you know what happened now? If so, please email me. Thank you!

[berserkerplanet]

I got nothing. Nobody who might know has piped in.
@hafoster @tarpedge @lja440 any thoughts on what a Returns or Shipping Agent is and where that fits in with USPS?

[readabouthorses]

@berserkerplanet

I do remember once when I returned one of my DirecTV genies when they sent me a new one that it was going back to them by FedEx but I was told to take it to the local post office. Seemed strange at the time but the PO clerk said no problem as it is sort of a reverse of that shipping that starts with FedEx and ends up at the PO.

So could this be something like that? Picked up by Shipping Agent might mean FedEx or UPS picked it up from the Post Office? That's all I got on this subject! LOL

[berserkerplanet]

I was thinking along similar lines, but this is a bit different (or maybe it's not). In your case it was probably a FedEx Smartpost return, and Smartpost is a FedEx/USPS hybrid.

I think I just figured it out......

My labels (there are now two defective items being returned to the river) are "USPS Parcel Return Service" labels. That rings a bell, and leads me back to the info I saw recently on that USPS service. Parcel Return Service is one where USPS handles the first mile, but it's up to the receiver to arrange bulk pickup of the items and deal with further transport to their returns center.

From USPS.com:
"Parcel Return Service (PRS) is a dedicated returns service for shippers with a high volume of returns. Get convenient prepaid, preprinted return shipping labels that meet USPS specifications. Return items should be picked up from Return Delivery Unit or a Return Sectional Center Facility."


I guess I'm just surprised that that first return pkg was transferred to the "agent" within 8 hours of being made available the next day after I dropped it in a blue box.

Who the "agent" is is still a question. Is Amazon running their own Amazon Logistics trucks around for this, or subcontracting with UPS or FedEx, or something else?

I did learn on the news a couple of days ago that Amazon has had a large facility here in Sacramento since October, so I guess it's not out of the question for them to have a van running around town to the West Sac sort center or the larger POs like mine (the facility is about 13 miles from my PO and about the same from the West Sac USPS facility so not terrible, but still seems unprofitable if that's what they are doing)

[inverted_flat_spin]

In my experiences with "USPS Parcel Return Service", the referred to "shipping agent" has always been UPS.  UPS delivers and picks up from the USPS every business day.

I don't know if any other carriers work with USPS on returns.

[missjen831]

Shipping agent=the river. This was a return using their return label right? The river is the shipping agent.

[torreannunziata2013]

This comment might be too late, but I found your link because the same thing happened to me.

I returned a package to Under Armour using their return label for USPS.  It has been 14 days since I brought it to USPS. The racking says that it was "Delivered to Agent" and that "Picked up by Shipping Agent".  Could not get USPS to answer their phone unless I wanted to wait 50 minutes on hold. So I called Under Armour and they explained to me that what it all meant was that the package was picked up by FEDEX and that the best way to track packages is not to go to the USPS website, but to google.com and type in the tracking number. Once that's done it will display different tracking options such as USPS, DHL, Fedex.  Click on any of them to see who has the best information on your package. It worked and I was so happy to learn this inforamtion that I wanted to share it with you.

[pfergie1974]

OMG!!  I love you.. I have been using USPS tracking and was SOOOOOOOOOOOO frustrated.  I too called the post office and was told it would take at least 1.5 hours.  I put in my tracking number in google like you said and used Fedex.  Now I know my package has made it to Lego....  THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

[berserkerplanet]

>>This comment might be too late, but I found your link
>>because the same thing happened to me.

Good to know, but keep in mind that your label was a Smartpost label while mine was a USPS Parcel Return Service label where FedEx has no involvement. (USPS --> Amazon)

[jonnysnakes]

For tracking Smartlabel returns, try this site:

http://tracking.smartlabel.com/

Put in the USPS tracking number.  It should work for any agent.  It may not show the agent’s name (it didn’t for me) but it will show you the current status.  Unfortunately there are no delivery alert options so you’ll need to keep checking the site to see if your package was successfully delivered. 

[ddelloro]

Thanks so much johnnysnakes! The link worked like a charm and showed all the tracking info. 

[kh-leslie]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies.  Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thanks for understanding!