[USA Shipping] That´s why USPS deserve to run out of business - FURIOUS RENT! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 12:40:41 pm
content: Just a warning to everybody out there:QuoteMy A$$!https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=9405509699939271302462QuoteIt was a beautiful FLUKE 375 True RMS Clamp Meter w/ iFlex i2500-18 Attachment... I will never touch it. It is lost in the stupid USPS no sense forest.I screw up also the ebay protection since I was assuming it was just to protect against bad sellers, so I open a case and close it after I found out it was not a seller fault. BAD MISTAKE the ebay protection is also against USPS or shipping companies! So you thing ebay will reopen a closed case? FORGETABOUTIT.My only card to play is now to wait and pray a little bit more and aterwards file a claim (warning you have 60 days time frame, so my last day is the 29th November 2014), I will get $50 back to buy me some ice cream in downtown. Ah, if you file a claim and get the money you package is taken out from the system so BYE BYE forever.I am so glad to read that USPS is just constantly losing money:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/business/USPS-reports-quarterly-finances.html?_r=0BECAUSE THEYCAN NOT DO THE JOB, AND IN USA somedoy like this need to go home and disappear from the market! Why USPS is still there? Let´s hire UPS and FedEx to replace thoose crooks!I don´t want even to tell you how my local postal office is helping me... just throwing time in the garbage.Anyway I suggest you to stay away from USPS and use other alternative.Oh yes... now I feel a little better.Interesting reading on the side:http://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Packaging-Shipping/What-do-I-do-as-a-seller-when-USPS-loses-package/qaq-p/8109211If you have any suggestion in this vale of tears, please do that. Now it is time for some home made Limoncello...

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 02:06:22 pm
content: I had an HF receiver worth GBP650 stolen from the USPS Bond Store last year....tracking showed it entering the USA customs en-route to the buyer.....it never came out the other side and was declared 'lost' presumed stolen.UK Royal Mail did their best for me but were hamstrung by the appalling inefficiency of the USPS tracking system. R.M advised that USPS often do not scan the tracking bar codes of parcels passing through their system so parcels can just 'disappear' with no trace of where it occurred or who lost/stole it.I was lucky as the parcel was insured for its full value but I still lost the GBP14 insurance premium as that is not refundable.All this was of little consolation to the buyer of my receiver but he was very good about it. The receiver was a much sought after complete Lowe HF-150 receiving station with preselector and active filter speaker plus lots of other goodies for the HF-150 that I threw in as freebies. It was a Mint kit and unlikely to be found for sale again at GBP650. Both the buyer and I were very sad that such a receiver likely ended up in the hands of someone who would know little of its true value.Aurora

author: Artlav
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 07:26:45 pm
content: I'm so used to an average delivery time of 3 weeks, that i couldn't quite grasp the problem at first.From what i heard, there are delays with mail going to Italy (customs-related?) - various Ebay sellers write about it in their estimation charts.So, perhaps it's not lost yet.Once, a few years ago, i ordered a 24-hour wall clock from UK.The tracking ended at the export, and for weeks there was no sign of it.Eventually, the seller filed a claim to Royal Mail, and supposedly the search began.No idea what was actually done or not done, but 3 months later the package was found in St. Petersburg, and delivered within a week completely intact.I don't know what sort of hiccup caused it, but that's the longest i had to wait for a package.USPS, however, never failed to deliver in my case (that is, about 50 cases).

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 08:56:54 pm
content: Quote from: Aurora on October 24, 2014, 02:06:22 pmI don't think I would send something worth £650 ($1000) through the mail. It may be more expensive, but FedEx would seem like a safer option. (UPS might also be considered. I've not had any personal issues with UPS, but I have heard horror stories about them. Also I think FedEx have more presence in the UK than UPS do.)

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:01:59 pm
content: I have had many issues with the USPS. They are a joke! Lost a new multimeter last month, luckily the seller refunded my money quickly and I bought it elsewhere. Unfortunately, eBay has a deal with the USPS and if you want to use their automated shipping worldwide then you have no choice. I won't bore people with the details, but I have had so many missing, damaged and wrong packages over that last year it's ridiculous. UPS and FedEx are so much more efficient and better than USPS that it's not funny! Also, the USPS tracking is an utter failure also, it's so bad that I can get delivery confirmations days after it's been delivered and many times receive packages before the tracking is updated! Although it is a necessary evil we must live with, I try to avoid USPS when possible.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:19:31 pm
content: I ship with USPS 3-5 packages a day. Only 1 out of 500 packages gets "lost" - and I suspect most of those are ebay scammers that claim their package never arrives, even though tracking shows it's delivered.Best shipping dollar for dollar in small packages.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:36:25 pm
content: Quote from: Terabyte2007 on October 24, 2014, 09:01:59 pmYou sure it's USPS and not the reshipper? I had an extra box (with a plastic trolly which wasn't worth shipping back across the ocean) with my last delivery, which was clearly added at ebay's US reshipping center.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:37:34 pm
content: 1/500 is 2000 ppm! Praise Jesus USPS do not built cars or airplane... Please stop to use USPS. Don't go cheap... Is not worthy....

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:46:01 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on October 24, 2014, 09:36:25 pmIn the US, Yes. Anything outside the US is reshipped depending on what country it goes to. My post was describing issues with the USPS here in the states.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:47:50 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on October 24, 2014, 09:37:34 pm

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 09:58:05 pm
content: I ship about 10-20 packages per day with USPS. They aren't the best, but infinitely better than they used to be.It used to be that there was no tracking at all, just confirmation of delivery. On 4 or 5 separate occasions, I'd drop off 20 packages at USPS, and only 2-3 of them showed up in the mail stream. USPS would say "well, if there is no scan... you didn't drop the other 17-18 packages off".I was trying to help them work out a problem - likely a thief in the local USPS who knew the packages weren't scanned and decided to try to steal them. If you ship Express Mail, you have to call the postal inspector in Boston about a lost package/insurance claim. If it was Priority, you call the 1-800 number. If first class, you have to go to your local post office.It's a bit of a mess, but thankfully they only lose about 1 in several hundred now. They used to average about 1 in 50. The loss rate went way down with the full tracking. The best thing about them is they are cheap, they deliver nationwide in 2-3 days, they have free supplies, they pick-up for free, and they deliver on Saturdays at no additional cost. In my case, the savings makes up for the occasional package I have to refund to a customer.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 10:25:42 pm
content: I would give it another two weeks.I once waited 6 months for about $2,000 of rare books and some priceless documents. Its now been more than 2 years. I assume they were stolen under Australia Post's "care". Whoever opened it up knew what they had found.However, most non-electronics people would not have any idea what a Fluke 375 is, or its value, so it is unlikely to be stolen.

author: sweesiong78
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 10:26:52 pm
content: zucca, how good is poste Italiane? would be interesting to compare the national post carriers

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 10:38:39 pm
content: I also try to avoid the USPS like the plague. All of us remote field techs here in Florida have UPS campus ship accounts through our company. Everything from a signature pad stylus to much larger, heavier and expensive items goes through UPS. The tracking alone is worth it. We had an expensive printer "disappear" "in transit" between 2 technicians. It eventually ended up on eBay. We had to buy it back but UPS settled with the company (probably due to the amount of shipping the company does across the country). If I am personally shipping small and cheap, I will use the USPS. If the item has any value, I will pay the additional shipping through my personal UPS account. Besides, UPS ground within Florida is next day delivery-an added plus.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 10:39:04 pm
content: You never met PX services ( now only a memory), who had a very efficient tracking system. They could tell you when your parcel was lost, and where, but for some reason they never were able to fix that.One parcel in three would go missing, but as they always would refund you the insured value, plus the waybill cost, and insurance was 1% of declared value ( and was part of the waybill cost so refunded as well), along with giving a free waybill.We used them as they delivered where other couriers did not, and were about 2 weeks faster than the post office ( still on strike, but hoping that Monday has them back at "still life with postie" instead of missing in inaction), and generally the parcels were lost in under a day. So send, get lost notification, send again the next day and this would get through. One extra day was good, and we actually were paid out by them some months instead of paying in. No wonder that Spoornet eventually closed them, they were losing more money than the rest of the whole railways and SAA combined.

author: TopLoser
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 10:56:49 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on October 24, 2014, 10:39:04 pmEfficiency you normally wouldn't want to boast about, but impressive nevertheless!!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2014, 11:27:02 pm
content: Yes, very impressive. Collected at around 4PM, scanned at door. Loaded onto truck and off to the local PX yard 2km away. Scanned in again at around 5PM, and they should have been containerised and scanned for despatch on the 10PM overnight goods train to Germiston. No scan and the next morning an email in the inbox advising of the missing parcel, and that afternoon they come with the free waybill already printed to collect the stuff again. The insurance was self insurance, and was built into the price.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 01:13:03 am
content: No complains here with USPS as a whole in here, they are very efficient moving the parcels, it does fall apart a little depending of your local USPS office. But the backbone is extremely efficient and they do move parcels on weekends too.Of course that doesn't beat same day delivery, I ordered a cable and for $6 it was delivered in under 24 hours, and my wife didn't place the order until way past 11pm, I wasn't home when it got here but it was before 6pm next day. It was like the courier had it on his house ready to deliver it to my place.

author: SirNick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 01:15:49 am
content: Cheap, Fast, Good. You don't get to pick them all.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 02:14:22 am
content: Well, you also just can't sell something inexpensive, say under $20 USD, and charge for UPS ground - buyers won't have anything to do with you. Plus, UPS ground shipping seems to beat the living daylights out of packages. Not to mention all the times UPS/FedEx will knock on the door once, and then leave a note for you to have to drive and wait in line to pick it up.That just adds to a negative experience for your buyers.And as someone mentioned, 2-3 day delivery, and free Saturday delivery starting out at $2 is an outstanding deal. At that price, I don't care if I loose 1 in 500 packages for low cost items. It's just the cost of doing business. If it's a price item (say $200 or more) I insure it at the buyers expense. It's not rocket surgery.

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 02:16:34 am
content: Out of millions of parcels they are bound to loose a few,I work for UPS If you want to know where your parcel is in real time there tracking is the best. you get what you pay for.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 02:30:34 am
content: Just last month, on the news here, a mail handler working for the USPS was arrested for stealing mail/packages while working/delivering the mail for the USPS.

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 02:51:03 am
content: yes there are bad people every ware.we just have to be prepared and not fall into that temptation.bill

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 03:04:55 am
content: I've noticed a lot of overseas sellers will ship to the EU, but exclude Italy, just like they exclude Nigeria. This seems insane to me, I mean a first world EU country vs a third world utterly corrupt nation in a state of civil war?But these are Chinese / Hong Kong sellers and have statistics to back them up and no axe to grind. I don't know if the Camorra, Calabria, et. al. are something to do with it?

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 03:11:31 am
content: European sellers avoid Italy as well, I've seen it even in the buy/sell in this board. I Don't know the reason why.Edit: Google turns up that customs in Italy are hard to get products in, so maybe there are a lot of loss sales sitting in customs that never get delivered and the customers get their money back.

author: sweesiong78
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 05:27:15 am
content: Im personally very happy with USPS, I've had many purchases over ebay from china/hk to los angeles and the item always arrives within two weeks, typically one week. china post/hk post tracking also seems to integrate with usps tracking.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 05:31:42 am
content: Isn't USPS responsible for your stuff? i mean they lose it, they pay for it.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 06:15:55 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on October 25, 2014, 03:11:31 amI block Italy on most of my sales. Their customs is weeks if not months behind at times. And it's a super tiny market.I would love to block out all of Florida on ebay if they would let me. You ship an item on firday, and they will email you monday morning "Yo, where's my part? You had all weekend to deliver it to me!!!!"

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 07:43:58 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on October 25, 2014, 03:11:31 amWares from within the EU don't go through customs. Still EU sellers avoid Italy.Chinese sellers avoid Italy and a few other EU countries, like Germany. Customs is involved for wares from China, and the "it is stuck in customs" is a common excuse. But in reality it is often that the carriers are not doing their job. They let the stuff rot aware in a warehouse at the airport, because they happen to (temporary) lack sorting or transport capacity. They delay presentation to customs, and the tracking - if there is any - looks as if it is stuck in customs.

author: mcinque
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 08:24:26 am
content: Quote from: sweesiong78 on October 24, 2014, 10:26:52 pmThey are improving, but they are still quite ridicolous.

author: neslekkim
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 08:38:35 am
content: Quote from: Macbeth on October 25, 2014, 03:04:55 amFunny enough, when you buy things from Italy, sellers often advice against using italian post, but even ups from italy is crazy slow.I tried to buy from the ardiono store, and they did not want to use italy post, so shipping one arduino was so expensive that I just ended up buying from US instead.I always try to use usps from US, newer had any problem with it, nothing lost, and when it arrives here, it gets the custom treatment and I pay tax for it, but using UPS, FedEx or the like, they have very high fee for custom calculations.I once bought an box of sharpening stones, about 10 kilo or something, paid like $30 in shipping, no problem at all, nothing was damaged through shipping.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 08:52:00 am
content: Quote from: IanB on October 24, 2014, 08:56:54 pmThe problem is if you don't have an account, sending a 1-off international package can be very expensive, like well over £50

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 09:10:24 am
content: Makes no difference even with an account, you still pay through the nose. We use a few couriers at work, and there the minimum cost for international is in the order of $120 for the first kilo, and slightly lower after that. Local door to door I can get under $20 per parcel under 20kg, including POD and tracking. I even have gotten 60kg motors for work via courier, on our account. You just have to pack really well, they broke a few vacuum pumps by dropping them on the shaft end and destroyed the end clearances.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 11:46:29 am
content: FedEx and UPS wanted over GBP260 shipping and insurance on my GBP650 HF Receiver consignment. Parcel Force (UK) offered the best value at around GBP90. It was a large and heavy box so the cost was always going to be high to the USA from the UK. Parcel Force IS a tracked courier service but it appears that they uses USPS Customs clearance in the USA.I had the parcel fully tracked and insured to its full value so believed such a large parcel would be relatively safe.....obviously wrong. You do not expect parcels to disappear in a secure Bond warehouse as that is where security is suppose to be pretty decent to prevent smuggling/theft.Parcel Force were very understanding and agreed that I had taken all reasonable measures to ensure the parcel arrived safely. They paid out on the insurance without much hassle but I did have a small issue when I realised that my consignment had been missing for more than 30 days....Parcel Force automatically declined the claim as it is automated. An appeal was raised (as instructed by their CS and it went through no problem.As I highlighted to Parcel Force...... the clearly visible customs declaration on the consignment detailed the contents as an HF-150 HF Receiver of value GBP650 so it is all too easy for a 'passing'' thief to 'cherry pick' the good items that can be resold easily. Not a great system IMHO.Aurora

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 12:15:01 pm
content: Quote from: mcinque on October 25, 2014, 08:24:26 amYes.It is 10 years I am out from my beloved home country, but with USPS I was feeling just like home.Regarding the custom, to me there is also no hope there knowing the Italian police precision and accuracy.In Italy you need to know somebody there, trusting any system or organization is a risk.That said, bloody hell, I miss my messy mum and country so much.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 12:18:25 pm
content: QuoteThat's what you get when you blend governmental power with monopoly.Big government at work.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 04:12:40 pm
content: Quote from: george graves on October 25, 2014, 06:15:55 amHey, not all of us here are like that! Those people are the transplanted New Yorkers! I can say that because I'm from New Jersey. I, too, have gotten plenty of small stuff and some larger stuff from China/HK/Singapore and sometime it even arrives pretty quick. I don't ship hundreds of packages a week but I do ship enough by UPS(per company) that the local hardware store/pack and ship does give me discounts on personal purchases. I have never had any UPS shipped packages arrive damaged and I don't recall any USPS packages coming damaged. For personal shipping of expensive things, I am just more comfortable using UPS over USPS.

author: Neverther
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 06:04:39 pm
content: Italian car -> ordering parts from italy and they were faulty.They sent it via normal postage with tracking.When sending it back the seller advised to avoid normal post without tracking as "it is sure to disappear".There were no delays in delivery either way (inside EU).

author: eurofox
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 06:18:38 pm
content: I never got problems with USPS to my country, 3-4 days and definitely cheaper than UPS,DHL and fedex.Tracking was always ok, only problems is with tracking of shipping "global" that tracking disapear after leaving the US but that is not the responsibility of USPS anymore.For me USPS till now

author: zagnut
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 07:06:19 pm
content: problem with UPS and the like in a lot of countries is the insane "brokerage fees"....if i'm buying something from the US it has to come USPS, if the seller/vendor insists on UPS then it will be cheaper to buy locally even with massively inflated prices. one recent exception is digikey that has a local representative that gets the package to your door for a reasonable fee or for free if the order is over ~$200. they do add VAT but then i also get a proper invoice so i'm not really paying it anyways. quite a few other big suppliers seem to have the same setup these days.dave

author: mimmus78
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 07:19:55 pm
content: I use Poste Italiane for shipping low cost stuff for my shop. I had 2% loss in 300 sent parcels. One of this appeared after one month and my client return back the second shipping, two of them where shipped the same day so I believe they where lost for real.I must say I expected more lost by scammers than lost parcels but in this case Italians seems to be better than Poste Italiane.Anyway I sell "electronic niche" products not MP3 player Mobile Phones or USB Stick ... I can imagine more scammers exists in other markets.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 08:19:34 pm
content: Quote from: Aurora on October 25, 2014, 11:46:29 amThis is an unfortunate system, indeed. One possibility might be to put the customs declaration inside a tamper-evident envelope attached to the outside of the package so that it cannot easily be scanned by casual eyes.Another thing, is that although the instructions on the customs form ask you to state exactly what is inside the package,do not do this. The customs duty is based on the value and on the type of the contents. So for instance, you could quite accurately say that the contents are a "shortwave radio receiver" and leave it at that.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 09:27:45 pm
content: Quote from: Macbeth on October 25, 2014, 03:04:55 amItaly is a cesspool of corruption and grift. It's a very small market and you have a ridiculously high chance of your package being lost or stolen, or your customer claiming they never received it (whether they did or not). There are just some countries that aren't worth selling to. Brazil and Argentina can be included in many of those lists.

author: TopLoser
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 25, 2014, 09:36:19 pm
content: QuoteThat's very harsh and unfair. I've sold maybe £25,000 worth of equipment to Italian buyers (quite a few on this forum) without a single problem. I mainly use UPS for packages over 2Kg but have used Royal Mail for smaller items.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 02:41:57 am
content: Quote from: TopLoser on October 25, 2014, 09:36:19 pmIt's not unfair at all - and it doesn't refer to the Italian people, but just how their government works. The Italian people are actually the victims in the whole mess. I know a lot of people who have businesses who ship around the world and I have never ever talked to any of them who don't immediately roll their eyes and sigh when you mention shipping to Italy. Look at the eBay or Amazon seller forums and you will see that most - especially anyone who sells anything of value - don't bother shipping to Italy and recommend the same for others. The only exception is to ship fully tracked, insured and with signature proof of delivery. Unfortunately that is expensive and it costs Italian buyers a pretty penny, making it a small and insignificant market for goods.

author: RRobot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 03:20:25 am
content: I guess I don't what the panic is. I order stuff from China, Japan, Germany and the UK all the time. Nearly always takes a month.For one thing USPS doesn't operate outside the US borders. So I'm guessing your package will have probably left the US (with Greenville being its last US waypoint) on the 4th at which point it left their possession and are no longer responsible for it, nor can they track it.It probably got to Europe a few days later, Italy some days after that and has been sitting in Italian customs for the last few weeks, where it will continue to sit until they are good and ready to clear it.I don't know how it works in Italy, but in Canada once a package has cleared customs(not before, the post office need to have the item in their possession) , I can take the US/UK/Japan/Chinese/whatever tracking number and it will become trackable through the Canada Post online system. The online foreign or sending postal system, will continue to have no status updates while this occurs, as it is no longer in their system.Your best bet it to contact the Italian Post office and they can check to see if customs has it or if it was already given to them.Good Luck.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 04:01:05 am
content: Quote from: george graves on October 24, 2014, 09:19:31 pmFor sure. I wonder how the OP would react if he received his parcel in Canada by UPS or FEDEX with a healthy "customs brokerage and disbursement fee" attached to his precious parcel?If it wasn't for USPS and Canada Post, I wouldn't have most of my equipment.And an Italian complaining about another country's postal system? Wow.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 07:24:27 pm
content: Quote from: RRobot on October 26, 2014, 03:20:25 amIt is a package from US to US. Praise Jesus Italy and his mess has nothing to do with this shipping.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 07:30:26 pm
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on October 26, 2014, 04:01:05 amAgain it is not an international shipment. Excuse me but I prefer to complain if I see somebody not doing his job, no matter where he is coming from. Regarding the Italian post service me and another Italian already made clear it is not a working system.Peace brother.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2014, 08:06:09 pm
content: Someone not doing their job is not enough to claim the whole USPS is faulty. I'm amazed how efficient they've become in the last 10 years. They are moving stuff 7 days a week and I can get stuff from China in 10 days, sometimes 7 days.And I'm pretty sure no other country moves more packages and correspondence than from/to the US and most of it is via the USPS

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2014, 01:34:45 pm
content: Quote from: miguelvp on October 26, 2014, 08:06:09 pmGood point, after all those posts let me now complete my complain in this way:a) If you are not bother to lose sporadically (about 1/500??? not confirmed, just a guess) a package just use USPS (I hope you will be always in the 499 good one for the rest of your life).b) If you like me want a better quality than point a) don´t use USPS.According from the market feedback it seems the number of people thinking according to b) point is increasing.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2014, 03:17:40 pm
content: I never lost a package from USPS, from the others I did just a couple, supposedly stolen but they didn't have to leave them for someone to nab it in the first place.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2014, 04:49:30 pm
content: I got a parcel from SAPO today, sent via USPS on 29 September. Seems they are digging through the pile at the mail hubs, trying to get to see the floor again. Hopefully the strike is over for this year.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2014, 02:25:37 am
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on October 26, 2014, 04:01:05 amThat is right. Those who condemn USPS or their country's Postal Service for that matter should try get something delivered across the border by a courier and see for themselves. For instance, the below link is to UPS list of fees for customs clearance into Canadahttp://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

author: Vito_R
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2014, 05:04:51 am
content: Quote from: Bud on October 29, 2014, 02:25:37 amAbsolutely true. I will never use UPS again after they did everything possible to try to charge a nice fat brokerage fee for a piece of test equipment that I was receiving back from the manufacturer in the US for a warranty repair. Tried everything possible to clarify that I didn't pay anything for this item and it was simply being repaired under warranty at no charge to me. Those greedy b****ds wanted to charge me brokerage on the full value of the item when it entered my country even though I originally purchased this item in Canada. Will never ship with them again. USPS all the way.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 06, 2014, 02:32:10 pm
content: A Miracle! I don´t know if I need to cry for happiness or sadness.Check the Tracking updates:https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=9405509699939271302462I think they are sending the unit back to the sender because it was unclaimed. The funny things is that package never reached the final post office or my home and none at U(nbelievable)S(cary)P(ostal)S(tupidity) could tell me where the damn package was.NEVER GIVE UP WITH USPS!It could be just a bubble, but now I have 1/500 % hope.

author: eurofox
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 06, 2014, 03:01:30 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on November 06, 2014, 02:32:10 pmMaybe you have forgotten to put Italy on you address, there is a Rome as well in USA

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2014, 07:29:15 pm
content: It's pretty obvious that while the package was in the hands of USPS it moved quickly and was well tracked. There is a month where it was out of their control. There may be no way of finding out what happened during that month.Just as China has no mailmen in America, America has none in Italy.Quote from: zucca on November 06, 2014, 02:32:10 pm

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 06, 2014, 07:34:30 pm
content: Quote from: rdl on November 06, 2014, 07:29:15 pmTrue but it was a USA, OK to USA, SC package. I am Italian but I do not have to send or receive stuff from my beloved country, praise Jesus.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2014, 08:40:12 pm
content: Sorry, I don't think most people (including me) that posted here were aware that this package was not sent to Italy. Where exactly was it supposed to go?The fact that it was listed as "unclaimed" makes me wonder what was going on. It looks as if the Post Office expected someone to pick it up from them in Greenville.Quote from: zucca on November 06, 2014, 07:34:30 pm

author: orin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2014, 08:56:45 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on October 29, 2014, 02:25:37 amUPS do have a bad reputation for that.FedEx have been better in my experience. Last year I had some goods incoming from the UK (to USA). FedEx matched the address against my FedEx account, charged the whopping $12 customs duties to my account and delivered the package the next day. No excess fees at my end. At least here, it doesn't actually cost anything to have the FedEx account.As for USPS, I'll take them any day over UPS from DigiKey or Mouser. Sure they ship the same day, but it takes a week. Ask for priority mail and DigiKey/Mouser sit on their hands and age the package for a day before actually giving it to USPS, but then it takes two days - so if I order over the weekend, I'll get the goods Thursday via USPS, the following Monday if via UPS. Then again, the USPS delivery dates are estimates. On occasion, they will deliver a day early - that never happens with UPS; they hold packages at the local depot until the scheduled delivery day.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 08:23:17 pm
content: The epic Fluke 375 was back in the sender hands. He managed to ship me back the unit one more time:https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=9405509699939271302462Maybe Santa will help/teach USPS how to deliver packages so I hope I will got my Xmas present soon since this year I was not a terrible kid.Take care,Z

author: Postal666
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 10:27:49 pm
content: If it makes you feel better, use UPS and/or FedEx. We end up delivering it to you anyway. FedEx flies our overnight/airmail. They are all in bed together people. To the OP, the two links below demonstrate why the USPS will be just fine. Why? Simple. Pay UPS $10 to ship a box; they turn around and pay us $4 to deliver it for them. They don't lose $ because they don't have to cover the single-ended destination expense; we make $ because the $4 was all we were going to charge to deliver the item anyway. Now, multiply that by (tens of?) thousands of parcels nationwide per office per month. It's a brilliant business strategy on both sides.http://www.fedex.com/us/smart-post/index.htmlhttp://www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/browse/domestic_mail_svcs.htmlDig up the figures for each of the big 3 on lost/damaged/insurance claim payouts, and I bet you'd find that the USPS is right on par with everyone else. Like anything in life, "you pays your money and you takes your chances."

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 01:42:43 am
content: ThanksPostal666, it is almost all right what you are writing.You seems to be the most qualified person working at USPS I met.The item is now shipped to me but not delivered yet. This time I have a good feeling, I hope one day to post here a picture with the "FBI most wanted" Fluke 375 in my hands.Can you pick up the phone and spoke with some supervisor/boss at the Greenville,SC distribution center? My package was in a "nobody knows" room there for a month (instead to be sent to my local postal office) and then shipped back to the sender "UNCLAIMED" without I could do anything about it, I did even not got an official notification for that; neither my local postal office.The poor guys working at the front desk in my postal office and other postal offices in my area were terribly sorry for that and seems to me they could do nothing to really help me. According to them also my idea to talk with a distribution center supervisor was hopeless. We end up laughing a lot together, also the people in line behind me were participating. It was a happy time in this sad story.

author: Postal666
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 05:08:42 am
content: Quote from: zucca on December 08, 2014, 01:42:43 amUnfortunately, I am just a carrier and cannot even have a meaningful dialog with my immediate supervision, much less get answers from Greenville, SC. Sorry. There could be many reasons why it didn't make it to you, but I cannot speculate what happened in this case. Could have been an error on the label caused it to be sent to a different town (zip code error) with the same street name, and maybe there was a sub on the route that day and didn't realize that the person (you) didn't live there. Maybe they were just too freaking stupid to realize they had a package for the wrong place.The USPS is trying to transition to a low-pay, part-time, temporary workforce to save a buck instead of making cuts to the bloated management side of the business, and as a result service is suffering. For the most part, the new people we get are young (20's) and get NO benefits, NO guarantee of permanent employment, and NO days off. Yep, they are working them 7 days a week. Turnover is high, and they suck. Hell, this past Saturday I worked 10hrs47mins with no lunch and was only the 3rd carrier (out of about 40) finished with their route for the day.Looks like the item made its way back to the sender and is now on its way to you again. Hopefully there won't be a repeat performance and it will get to you this time. Best of luck!!!

author: HackedFridgeMagnet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 10:21:21 am
content: Australian perspective.Australia post is sort of a monopoly and sort of goverment but I have never had them lose anything or damage a parcel of mine. Of course I am only counting within Australia.Whereas the couriers are pretty haphazard, lose stuff, smash stuff, even deliver stuff.When I needed to send prototypes (2 months work) I sent them Express registered mail.BTW shouldn't it be Furious RANT?

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 10:31:17 am
content: Of the approximately 200 packages I had inbound since 2010:1 got lost in the mail system, PostNL (CN).1 got a enormous customs fee of nearly 200% the actual value, DHL (CN).Also the only customs free from a asia package.1 got a way too low customs fee of 5% of the value, UPS (USA).1 got away without customs fee of the USA.Guess it is not that bad after all in the Netherlands.Although, former government company doing the mail in our country is now hiring self-employed delivery people because you can just stop hiring them. Way cheaper than firing one.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 11:34:26 am
content: Quote from: HackedFridgeMagnet on December 08, 2014, 10:21:21 amStay angry forever is stupid. At some point I start to laugh about it, no matter how bad it was.

author: mzzj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 12:52:25 pm
content: Quote from: sweesiong78 on October 24, 2014, 10:26:52 pmFinland post:Complete tracking for packages and maxi-letters. I would guess that less than 1/10000 tracked packages get lost.Letters: not so good, I bet 5% are lost or delivered to wrong address.

author: Rigby
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 03:57:51 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on December 08, 2014, 11:34:26 amThat's a good attitude.If you check the tracking number today, it's either in transit or the tracking number got reused.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 11, 2014, 05:30:05 am
content: May the peace be with you and with the entire Universe

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2014, 02:37:35 pm
content: Ordered from mouser on Friday morning. Paid $7 for USPS. On track to be here on Monday.UPS ground would have been 5 "business days" and no clue the cost until shipping.. Meaning, they would "accept it" on Friday, but not a "real shipping day". Monday would be day one - and I'd get dinged for a package with "dimensional weight" could be $40-60 USD if mouse didn't break down a long tube of IC's.And then I would get it a week later - on the next monday.5 business days.So who is better?USPS form friday to monday, vs UPS and $50 in a week?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2014, 04:52:40 pm
content: Just sent something ordinary post with SAPO to the UK, and it took 3 days to arrive. Incredible for SAPO, and all I ask is for the half dozen things incoming that are sitting somewhere is a warehouse arrive fast to me.