shipping gripes, USPS

[pjtoledo]

ordered a manual from a vendor in Iowa recently.
according to USPS tracking the package was "received" from the vendor on November 22 at 3:31 pm but is still awaiting "acceptance" at Dubuque Iowa. ?????
it's been 10 days now and not accepted yet?

copied from USPS tracking site:
Latest Update
Your shipment was received at 3:31 pm on November 22, 2022 in DUBUQUE, IA 52001. The acceptance of your package is pending.


anybody else lucky enough for this level of service?

 

[franklin2]

Yep. Wife ordered something from Amazon, they use the USPS sometimes. It arrived at the local post office, and instead of putting it on the truck to be delivered locally, they put it on a truck that went to a big city 75 miles away. It shows it's down there now. Will it ever make it back up to where it belongs? Don't know.

 

[RobbieD]

How was yours mailed? I've bought manuals through eBay, and most sellers will ship manuals as Media Mail, which is less cost but at a lower priority than Priority Mail or First Class Mail. That can matter during the busy times of year, like just before Christmas.

That being said, the Post Office in general seems to be struggling to provide service these days. Good thing that you have a tracking number.

Good luck!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I had something coming, made it to des moines. Then it got kicked off to Memphis. Made it back to des moines then off to Memphis again. They must have fired that guy, third time to des moines was the charm.

Kinda had a guy worried for awhile there.

 

[Blmpkn]

Usps has always been right up there with ups in my experience. Miles ahead of SpedEx.

That being said, usps can be odd with shipping to distribution centers and stuff. Sometimes things being shipped from Southern Maine to northern Maine will need to first go to Boston

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah, media mail is one of the cheapest options, but when you use that option, they tell you it can take weeks to months to come. It’s one of the lowest priority methods. Priority mail is supposed to clear their system in 2-3 days. Holiday shipping periods (basically from Halloween until a couple weeks after the first of the year), it gets absolutely crazy. They will have trucks come in, unload and sort by container types and pull out any priority, then load everything but pallets and priority back into trailers to sit in the yard just because it would quickly overwhelm the floor otherwise.

That said, a lot of the problem is the union. They protect the workers whether they work or not. And mostly not. I’ve seen a 16 acre complex brought to a halt because nobody was willing to operate a forklift. Union rep came around stopping everyone trying to use a hand pallet jack to unload trucks or do any of the forklift operators jobs. Had to wait for a shift change to resume. Only full time union employees can operate a forklift, not any of the other employees or temporary help.

 

[pjtoledo]

the manual came from a big vendor with free shipping. media mail seems like a good choice for them.
fortunately it's for a future project so I can handle the delay.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

My buddy is still waiting on a fan switch for his 4 wheeler he ordered in 2019. Its been stuck in the detroit distribution center since July 14 19.

He ordered another, it was only 15 bucks. Something tells me he'll never get it

 

[racsan]

I absolutely hate the post office for any deliveries. I had a starter come from rock auto once that was shipped usps. By the time I got it the date had passed for shipping it back if I needed to. Since then if I have a choice I wont use them. Bren recently ordered this cover for the oven burners, It was in ohio the somehow ended up in W Virginia. It was in back in ohio yesterday, still probably wont get it until tuesday. It was ordered 3 weeks ago. And its origin was in ohio somewhere. crazy.

 

[Bill]

Usps has always been right up there with ups in my experience. Miles ahead of SpedEx.

That being said, usps can be odd with shipping to distribution centers and stuff. Sometimes things being shipped from Southern Maine to northern Maine will need to first go to Boston

I've never had a problem with USPS. Up until COVID, I never had a problem with FedEX. My experience with UPS has been if I order something coming out of San Diego UPS will take the package to Dallas, then it will vanish from existence before showing up in Buffalo, then tracking will show it scanned in Chicago, Billings, and Seattle before reaching Sacramento.

Now, back to the discussion on USPS: I have ordered stuff that was picked up by USPS and handed off to a random third-party courier that took forever to move my package from its origin to Sacramento, where they hand it back to USPS to deliver it. It's why I quit ordering computer parts from Newegg, because it would take 15 days for my parts to get from Southern California to Sacramento (about 400 miles). However, that's the fault of the company who ships your items. Not USPS.

 

[pjtoledo]

vendor contacted me today, package came back to them tattered, torn, and empty. had a note from USPS saying contents were gone.
3 cheers to manualbasket for issuing a prompt refund.

 

[Curious Hound]

USPS seems to be woefully understaffed, and has been for quite some time. My mail has been arriving after 8:00pm the last few days. I feel bad for those who are actually showing up and trying to get stuff delivered. I wouldn't want to still be out there in the cold, rainy dark of night trying to finish a route when I should be in my nice cozy living room at home.

 

[oldgeek]

the Post Office in general seems to be struggling to provide service these days.

And to think that there use to be deliveries twice a day, and mail going out on Sunday. On less of a budget. Wonder what the Post Mater General from a hundred years ago would be thinking.

 

[RobbieD]

Wonder what the Post Master General from a hundred years ago would be thinking.

"These newfangled delivery truck automobiles will never work! We need our horses back!!!!"

 

[19Walt93]

Wow, I thankfully haven't run into anything like that yet. The woman who delivers our mail will pull into the driveway and leave packages on the front steps under the awning if they won't fit in the mailbox instead of leaving a card for us to pick it up at the post office. I mailed a package from the Enfield post office last Friday(it's closer than the Canaan P.O.) and my daughter in Va. got it Monday. For a while the Enfield P.O. was completely staffed by people from other offices because they had no help. My friend retired as the Enfield post master a few years ago and told me it would be the first time in 23 years that she could stay home on Christmas. She didn't have kids so she let the employees with families have the day off and worked herself.