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I am actually guilty of this, I suspect. If I'm shipping something I sold, I generally have it ready in the box when I list it, and label it as soon as the sale is done. But I may not get to town to drop it off at the carrier for several days. It hadn't occurred to me that I was misleading anyone with this behavior, since I have always understood "label printed" notifications to be meaningless.Originally Posted by Brian Elfert
Contributor
USPS tracking for me has been pretty good though I don't get a lot of USPS deliveries and what USPS I get is mostly Ebay. I've had the 'receive the package then get a notice it was shipped' but not recently. If I need pretty reliable shipping and tracking I use Priority Mail. I've had good luck with Priority but the cost is similar to Fed Ex or UPS.
Contributor
The issue with EBay is once the tracking number is attached to an order EBay marks it as shipped. If you print the label through EBay's shipping system the tracking number is automatically added to the order. If you don't ship the same day, or next day, on Ebay you should add handling time to your listings so the EBay system doesn't give the wrong estimate for how soon a customer will get their item.
Contributor
Amazon doesn't really count for those wanting to ship something. Amazon only ships for companies that sell through their platform.
Contributor
Amazon also uses USPS for "last mile" deliveries. This often makes me have to drive about 25 miles, round trip, to the local Post Office since my mailbox isn't big enough to hold large packages. My home is far enough off of the road that many mail carriers do not want to take the trip to put it on my porch. Fortunately some of the carriers will place notice of "delivery attempt" and leave the package off the truck before they start their route. A call to the P.O. lets me know the package can be picked up at anytime.
Most of the time I find USPS tracking better than the UPS or FedEx information. USPS seems to get scanned or notified at most transfer points in the system. My last UPS shipment showed out for delivery on a Friday and finally after about 7:00pm showed it as delayed to next business day. I do not receive much shipped by FedEx.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
The US Post Office is perhaps the most inconsistent operation in the country. Some people get good, reliable service. Some people get horrible, awful service. Some people get no service.
One of the biggest downsides to rural life here in 2024 can be the inability to receive packages. In many rural areas, FedEx and UPS don't deliver, so it's USPS or nothing. And in some areas, like in rural Kansas where my SIL lived, not even USPS delivers. She had to drive to a post office to pick up her mail from a post office box. And boy is that a pain. Almost any time you order something, you'll see a note stating. "No PO boxes".
I live near a new neighborhood where houses are still under construction. For some reason, this neighborhood has been hit constantly by mail thieves. Someone keeps breaking into the community mail boxes and stealing everything in them. Residents have reported this the to local Sherriff who does nothing. They have reported this to the local Post Office who does nothing. Local news channels have done multiple stories about this issue. So what's been done about it? Absolutely nothing. Yeah, stealing mail is a felony. Yeah, it's the Postal Inspector's job to investigate mail theft. Apparently, nobody is making him do his job.
My favorite ridiculous USPS policy is their "Overnight" service. They charge a lot of money to deliver a package overnight. And again, if you're sending something to a rural area, USPS may be the only option. Again and again I hear people complain, "I paid for overnight shipping and my package didnt arrive until a week later!". The reality is the Post Office guarantees an overnight package will be delivered to the area overnight. Once it's in the area, it's up to the local post office to get it delivered. And who knows how long that will take. After all, it's inconsistent.
Last edited by Pat Germain; 03-03-2024 at 10:11 AM.
Moderator
True in areas where they don't have large distribution centers or when the product is shipping from a remote center due to availability or from a third party. It's rare that we get an Amazon package here where I live via USPS final mile, although it occasionally happens. Most are delivered by Amazon contractors, either in Amazon livery vehicles (including the EV vans) or in "white box" vans, depending on the particular contractor who got the nod for a particular package. I've had as many as three different Amazon delivery vehicles drop off in a single day; all of them from different distribution centers based on where the ordered product was "in stock".
In recent years, "saver" type shipping, regardless of whether the package was picked up by UPS, FedEX or DHL, get last mile via USPS. UPS is often pretty intelligent about it here. If they see they have a "saver" package as well as a regular UPS package, they put them on the brown truck and just deliver them both.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
This is another place where USPS drops the ball:
USPS Informed Delivery.png
Notice in the upper right hand corer the time the email was sent is 6:19pm. Below it shows the package was delivered at 3:33pm. I checked before having dinner and then went on to other things without checking my email until a few minutes ago.
I could go walk in the dark, snow covered driveway for about a quarter mile round trip or pick it up tomorrow when it is light out.
There system leaves a lot to be desired.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
I requested a text message when a critical package was delivered by USPS. I happened to see the mail truck when it stopped at my mailbox. The mail truck hadn't moved more than ten feet when I got the text that my package was delivered.
Contributor
The reason for no PO Boxes is almost always because the company doesn't use USPS for delivery. Fedex, UPS, and the others are not allowed to deliver to a PO Box.
I live semi-rural and luckily the mail carrier will make the 125 foot walk up my driveway to deliver packages. Some will even drive up my driveway and turn around by my garage.
Contributor
Not sure, but it may be the delivery notification information is sent from the carrier vehicle to the internet via the cell phone infrastructure. My understanding is the carrier scans a package and the data is transferred before the package is placed in the mailbox. In my area cell service is non-existent. It is usually about a half an hour before the signal gets relayed. Sometimes this happens. Not sure if it is the carriers method that makes a difference. The carrier may be able to not transfer the data until the end of their shift back at the Post Office. I live on a route with a perpetually "out on sick leave" carrier. The route gets rotated between a lot of different carriers. Some are great, some not so great.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
[OP]
Contributor
My package was scheduled for redelivery next day. Next morning around 8:00 AM, tracking showed picked up by an individual just before closing time at post office. Go by post office to try and figure out who had my package. Delivery manager said it was in my mail box, as she had redelivered it the day before at 4:48 PM. Should have been entered into system at that time as redelivered, instead of me having to go to post office to find out where it was.
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