Why does Woodpeckers ship USPS?

[Todd Brewer]

Woodpeckers products ain't cheap! But I do buy from them now and then as they are made in the USA and are of excellent quality. I would think they would ship UPS or FedEx not USPS. I think we all know that USPS tracking system is worthless. Only information I ever see is that it was shipped, no updates, no shipping progress and only a "delivered" notation after I already received it. DUH! Why do I want to check shipping progress after I already received it? If I will be out of town, I have to have a neighbor check for the package every day because I have no idea when to expect it. On one occasion, I never received a package shipped USPS (not from Woodpeckers). By the time I investigated, all I got was a blank stare from my postal carrier.

In addition to a delivery date and on-line reports of the package progress, UPS will text me the day before delivery, again the day of delivery, and a text after delivery. Very nice!

If they can't default to UPS (or FedEx) then warn me they are shipping USPS and give me the option to choose UPS or Fed Ex. When spending the green for Woodpeckers products, I would prefer to spend a few dollars more (if indeed it is more expensive) for a carrier where I can monitor the progress and get a delivery date.

Sorry USPS workers, I know you are under cost constraints, but I can't support a carrier with an inferior tracking system.

I sent Woodpeckers an email regarding this issue. Curious to hear their response.

So what say you, fellow woodworkers, do you think it's worth saving a few dollars and not knowing when to expect your package? Or would you pay a little more to have peace of mind?

Todd

[Paul McGaha]

Todd,

I guess I'm satisfied with the way things are. With some vendors you get a choice of how it's to be shipped and with some vendors they make the choice.

I bought something a while back and it shipped Fedex. I kept an eye on tracking the shipment for a few days. This shipment was finished off by USPS and showed up on a Saturday, much to my surprise.

I've bought several things from Woodpeckers and never had a problem with the shipping by the way.

PHM

[Mike Henderson]

I use USPS a lot, both to ship and to receive goods. Most of what I ship is priority (2-3 day). I'm very satisfied with the USPS tracking system. I can see when the item is received, and every station the package goes through - and then when the item is out for delivery and when it's delivered. Pretty complete shipping detail. Hard to imagine someone would want more.

For the stuff I ship and receive, the USPS priority is a lot faster than UPS ground. UPS ground is sloooooow, slooooow, sloooooow. In fact, it's the major complaint I have against Lee Valley. It takes FOREVER to receive a package from Lee Valley, compared to having it shipped USPS priority.

Mike

[Bruce Wrenn]

I vote for USPS. When I ship my blades to Dynamic Saw in Buffalo using a flat rate box, they are there in two days, but UPS coming back is often a week. MLCS uses USPS, and my bits arrive in three days. They used to use DHL, which dropped them off at local post office for delivery.

[Sam Murdoch]

The US Postal Service is excellent, fast and inexpensive. I have never, ever had an issue. Their tracking is as good as the others and in my small town, stuff that starts out with the others often ends up being delivered by the post office. +1 to the USPS.

[Mike Heidrick]

Their tracking is as good as the others.

No way. Not even close. Sometimes it is fast and sometimes not. UPS is always fast and when they have problems they tell you and update tracking. USPS is not even that much cheaper either. UPS is very competitive on smaller items. I think people like it because their carrier picks up but my UPS driver does the same thing. He is also at my house within 4 minutes every day he delivers. UPS hands it to USPS on all levels and my dad is a retired USPS carrier and we grew up on the USPS dime.

[Sam Murdoch]

No way. Not even close. Sometimes it is fast and sometimes not. UPS is always fast and when they have problems they tell you and update tracking. USPS is not even that much cheaper either. UPS is very competitive on smaller items. I think people like it because their carrier picks up but my UPS driver does the same thing. He is also at my house within 4 minutes every day he delivers. UPS hands it to USPS on all levels and my dad is a retired USPS carrier and we grew up on the USPS dime.

I suspect a lot of our responses will be based on where we all live. UPS is good but in my experience - no way better - than the US Postal Sevice. Just my experience from a rural Maine town.

[Mike Heidrick]

I suspect a lot of our responses will be based on where we all live. UPS is good but in my experience - no way better - than the US Postal Sevice. Just my experience from a rural Maine town.

All towns still uses the same tracking system and USPS's is LAME. USPS most times does not get updated until delivered.

Delivery is prob a different issue for you in Maine so I will agree with you there.

[Kim Gibbens]

Woodpeckers products ain't cheap! But I do buy from them now and then as they are made in the USA and are of excellent quality. I would think they would ship UPS or FedEx not USPS. I think we all know that USPS tracking system is worthless. Only information I ever see is that it was shipped, no updates, no shipping progress and only a "delivered" notation after I already received it. DUH! Why do I want to check shipping progress after I already received it? If I will be out of town, I have to have a neighbor check for the package every day because I have no idea when to expect it. On one occasion, I never received a package shipped USPS (not from Woodpeckers). By the time I investigated, all I got was a blank stare from my postal carrier.

In addition to a delivery date and on-line reports of the package progress, UPS will text me the day before delivery, again the day of delivery, and a text after delivery. Very nice!

If they can't default to UPS (or FedEx) then warn me they are shipping USPS and give me the option to choose UPS or Fed Ex. When spending the green for Woodpeckers products, I would prefer to spend a few dollars more (if indeed it is more expensive) for a carrier where I can monitor the progress and get a delivery date.

Sorry USPS workers, I know you are under cost constraints, but I can't support a carrier with an inferior tracking system.

I sent Woodpeckers an email regarding this issue. Curious to hear their response.

So what say you, fellow woodworkers, do you think it's worth saving a few dollars and not knowing when to expect your package? Or would you pay a little more to have peace of mind?

Todd

Well Todd, and Mike, this will probably come as shock to you, the ONLY tracking service the USPS offers is EXPRESS MAIL. What most people THINK is a tracking number ( EXPRESS MAIL only ) is Delivery Confirmation. All the customer is paying for is the Delivery scan. Any additional scans that can be seen on the Track/Confirm page are bonus. You get what you pay for. And you are right Mike, UPS hands the USPS a lot of their packages to deliver ( 100 to 300 per day in our small office , Fedex does the same thing, just not quite as much as UPS )
If you need any further explanation, please ask.

As for the blank stare from your carrier, they don't have access to check on confirmation numbers on their scanners. I am pretty sure the UPS and Fedex drivers don't either.

[John Fabre]

I order an item from the East coast on Friday through USPS, had it delivered on Tuesday. UPS (snail mail) is a joke, took them over a week to ship from SD. to UT. FedEx and USPS is the only way to go. On small boxes, you can't beat USPS. I shipped a little package to Seattle through USPS $5.15, if I shipped UPS would cost $9.85. Make sure to insure it, you can track it then.

[Tom Blank]

Ordered hardware from LV on the 15th, UPS is scheduled to deliver on the 26th. Today, the package is in Hodgkins, IL. Ordered a couple of bits from Holbren this morning (20th), USPS is scheduled to deliver them on the 24th. I can't tell where the bits are today, but I really don't care.

I'll take the four days via USPS over the ten via UPS every time. Pus on these two shipments, USPS was $5 cheaper.

[Curt Harms]

A lot of the stuff we order from Amazon ships via FedEx to the local post office. That seems to make a lot of sense to my not-familiar-with-shipping brain. It saves the FedEx ground driver a lot of local stops and the USPS does those routes every day regardless. I've also found that sometimes when things are USPS all the way, I can take a tracking # to the post office and they can track it when the USPS online tracking web site cannot.

[Richard Wagner]

Maybe there is something to this tracking routine that not all of us understand.

If you ship USPS Express Mail you get point-to-point tracking. Most of the complaints expressed here have been about "Delivery Confirmation". If point-to-point is what you need, it is not the Postal Service that you should be complaining about. It is the shipper who designated the tracking method to be employed.

Check your packages when they arrive. If they were shipped "Delivery Confirmation" the tracking number will be a 0300 xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx format. The 0300 designates the tracking method employed.

If you expect point-to-point tracking, ask for Express Mail. The tracking number will be something like EA xxx xxx xxx US.

BTW The real answer to the original question is most probably because Woodpeckers' has established a shipping rate with USPS that is most beneficial to Woodpeckers.

[Mac McQuinn]

I really like and use USPS exclusively. When my wife and I were doing a reduction/moving sale via Ebay over 5 year's time, I sent over 2000 items through USPS. There are a couple delivery zones which are slow although items still arrived safely. If you look at the larger picture at what USPS offers as far as convenience, etc, I can't believe they're not promoted more.
I ordered a camera for my son as a last minute Christmas present a few years ago and it was shipped USPS Priority. It didn't make it by Christmas eave so I thought I was not going to get it in time for the following morning. As we were sitting around the fire on Christmas morning the door bell ring, answering the door, I was greeted by my mailman, hand delivering the camera on Christmas Day.

Mac

[Bob Reda]

I use all three depending on the situation. USPS gives free boxes and has the flat rate if it benefits me. They will also pick it up at my doorstep free of charge. Fedex and UPS are cheaper than USPS priority mail, but they don't give free boxes and don't pick up for free, you can drop off for free though. So I just guess what you are wanting to do. All three carry the others luggage on occassion (probably more than I think)

Bob