Flat rate boxes?

[Tatume]

Has anyone else noticed that Priority Mail has become very unreliable? Several packages in a row have become hung up in one sorting facility or another, and just sit there. One that I ordered from someone here came to Virginia (where I am), and then was shipped to Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, where it sat for a couple of weeks. I called the USPS and started an investigation, and two days later it was delivered. Another (again from someone here) was shipped some time ago, but the first reference in the tracking utility is November 22. There are two entries, received at 11:39 am and dispatched to sorting facility 5:48 pm. It says “expected delivery by November 25.” I’ll call them on Monday to inquire. These are just the two most recent packages; there have been others.

These packages are heavy, being medium flat rate boxes filled with lead ingots. However, my wife has been having similar experiences with Priority Mail, and her packages are light (a few ounces).

Anyway, are you having similar problems?

Take care, Tom

[Jim]

Regardless of contents and/or value, I ALWAYS send packages "Delivery Confirmation". If the contents are valuable and/or irreplaceable, I insure it for about twice the cost.

[fishhawk]

Well I just shipped 110 lbs to WA. from central wis. 2 weeks ago and no problem, couple summers ago i shipped about 4000 to board members and no hang ups. steve k

[m.chalmers]

Holiday + USPS shutting down 1,200 shorting facilities. Next is the 100,000 carrier layoffs :(

[dragonrider]

I recently shipped four flat rate boxes to various parts of the country on a Saturday morning, 3 were received on Monday, apparently one recipient lives in a remote location so it took a couple more days to reach him. I can't complain but I know that stuff happens and with the situation the USPS in in these days I am surprised when pakages reach their destinations at all.

[happy7]

Regardless of contents and/or value, I ALWAYS send packages "Delivery Confirmation". If the contents are valuable and/or irreplaceable, I insure it for about twice the cost.

USPS will not pay the value of insurance that you bought if the contents were not worth that much. No matter how much insurance you purchase the maximum they will pay is what they percieve the contents to be worth. At least that is what my local post office tells me.

[Walt]

Out of several dozen packages, either shipped or received by myself using FRBs, only one was really slow. Many of these were heavy and on my end only one arrived with the contents mixed together (still all there). I probably shoudn't complain.

[Finnmike]

The thing with insurance is that replacement cost applies to both seller and purchaser. If an item is lost, you owe the purchaser reimbursement, and you yourself are out the value of the item. Hence double insurance.

[shotman]

your going to see a slow down till after the first of year.
One thing I do know that if the box is heavy. Some workers will leave it sit. Let someone else pick it up . That is why I went to the small flat rate for lead shipments. but they do get separated

[gandydancer]

Insurance with the U.S. post office is a joke.I sold two cowbot hats on another web site last year $200.00 bucks each with insuance no tracking(that was where I went wrong) the box showed up no hats. put in a claim. I was told I needed to show a copy of my origenal receipt off where and when and how much the hats cost the hats where 10 years old I had no receipt for the claim to be paid. end of story. Refund for hats and shipping fees and I get to bite the bullet. NO RECEIPT no insurence pay out

[DCP]

You need to think out this a bit more

Lets take $100.00 of brass

Buyer sends seller $100.00

Seller insures it for $100.00 and ships

Now its lost in the mail

Seller files claim, if everything goes well USPS sends SELLER $100.00

Seller should have already sent his buyer their $100.00 back

Seller now has $100.00 from USPS and the brass is lost

Double insurance is a waste of your money



The thing with insurance is that replacement cost applies to both seller and purchaser. If an item is lost, you owe the purchaser reimbursement, and you yourself are out the value of the item. Hence double insurance.

[imashooter2]

I have had zero problems with the USPS.

[buck1]

I have had trouble with usps insurance. I had bought a pocket watch from gun broker. seller had great feed back. It was insured for the purchace amt. I could tell it was running when he took the pics, as the time was several seconds different between pics. I took it to the usps and they have to send it in for their OWN investigation. It was packaged very well but the box looked like it had been played football with.
They stalled for 6 months then denied my claim and KEPT THE WATCH! The way I now see it is the insurance may work for loss but not dammage. Talk about mail fraud! ....Buck

[Jim]

They didn't keep the watch, they LOST it.

[UNIQUEDOT]

It's the holiday's that is slowing them down. Nothing i received this month made the expected delivery date, but it's like this every year starting around late October early November. It's not just usps either as ups has left a package just sitting at the first arrival location for over a week now with an estimated delivery of the 29th, but any other time of year it would have already been delivered yet it probably won't even make the ETA as long as it's sat motionless. Don't worry though as it's normal for this time of year

[phaessler]

Tatume:
I have gone down to the Roanoke Dist center , several times after seeing packages sit idle there for days, raised a stink, and left with them, I continually flood the postmaster there with complaints now.
Its about a 45 minute ride for me, and my local PO is about 15mins. Even the local postmaster cant figure it out.

[frkelly74]

I bought an autoharp once on e-bay and it came broken. I was paid the purchase price but not reimbursed for postage. They kept the pieces which I would have liked to have.

[snowwolfe]

Regardless of contents and/or value, I ALWAYS send packages "Delivery Confirmation". If the contents are valuable and/or irreplaceable, I insure it for about twice the cost.

Wasting your money on the over insurance. USPS will only pay up to the value you can prove the package was worth. When you file a claim it asks you list who gets paid for the claim. I use USPS in my business and have to file maybe 2-3 claims a year for broken items. USPS has never failed to pay me the entire amount the package was insured for. Never over insure unless you like tossing money down the drain. I tell my clients, if the item is damaged, take it to the post office and file a claim listing me as who gets paid. Once they send me proof of the claim I mail them a new replacement. Generally USPS pays me within 3 weeks.

USPS insurance people are not stupid. If you package an expensive, fragile item in a cheap and flimsy way they will deny your claim based upon how the item was packaged. The package has to be taken to the post office to start the claim in most situations. If you try to send 60 pounds of lead in a flat rate box without extra reinforcement and lots of tape and the box busts open, you just screwed yourself.

Would like to add that USPS insurance seems to be on the list of dirtballs that try to scam people. Two guys will get together and send an item between them, then claimed it was broken, etc. They seen it all. Be honest, be able to prove the value, and prove it was packaged correctly.

[Mr. Cha Ching]

We sell/ship an average of 25 to 40 packages a week, all thro the USPS and most using flat rate and have NEVER had one issue.............just lucky I guess.

[Jim]

Wasting your money on the over insurance. USPS will only pay up to the value you can prove the package was worth.

Begging your pardon, Sir, but that's not absolute. If the item is custom made, an antique, irreplaceable or not available on the open market, the shipper may set the value.

[TNsailorman]

I have yet to get a package lost with USPS but there is always a first time I guess. I have sent small flat rate packages to the west coast and they get there in 3 days max. with USPS. I have paid extra to get packages in 3 days by UPS and they would get there 5 or 6 days later and UPS would not even talk about refunding the premium charge for the faster service. Always some excuse about "conditions beyond their control" etc. I do not (as yet) ship lead as I can't let any of it go, its too hard to come by for me. I send my boxes by USPS because shipping is light weight items that will go in a flat rate box. UPS plays games such as "you may ship ammo but you have to take it to a shipping hub". For me that is over an hour away. I don't have any such problem with FedEx. My experiences anyway. The day is soon coming that we won't be able to ship ammo, primers, primed brass, powder, or any such item unless it goes by truck from a registered business. That will be when the prices for shipping these items will go thru the roof and only the well heeled will be abel to load or shoot. Sorry about the rant, but I'm getting tired of being "saved" by the liberals and greenies.

[Ziptar]

I haven't had any problems yet but, I think due to the Holidays and heavier volume they are getting slow and with heavy packages they just don't handle them as quickly and leave them laying around.

On Wednesday the 23rd I shipped 11 Priority Mail packages mostly to members here. I got home from work too late to get to my Local Post Office by 5:00 PM. I drove them into Boston where there is a Post Office Retail Location at South Station that is open until Midnight and dropped them all off at around 8:30 PM. All of the tracking numbers come up as being accepted at my local post office on Friday the 25th all just a few minutes before 7:00 PM. Most don't show anything other than being received at the Nashua, NH Regional Sorting center at 8:06 PM yet, one was received by the Spokane, WA sorting Facility at 9:08 PM on the 26th and another made San Fransisco on the 27th at 12:43 AM.

So I think it's hit or miss.

Yesterday I shipped 4 Priority Mail packages to forum members here, I dropped them at the post office near my club instead of near my house because I went to the range yesterday morning right before 11:00 AM. One was a Medium Flat rate Box of ingots that weighed 64 lbs. The clerk at the counter took the other three at the counter and scanned them. He asked me to leave the heavy one on the loading dock on a cart.

No tracking information showed up for the 64lb box until late today. Tracking info says the package wasn't accepted (the first time) until 6:56 PM and it was bounced back and forth between the post office and sorting center twice last night so it shows being accepted twice yesterday. All of that seems just odd to me since that post office closes at 1:00 PM on Saturday, seems like someone didn't want to take it off the truck the first time maybe.


Detailed Results:
Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility, November 26, 2011, 10:19 pm, NASHUA, NH 03063
Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility, November 26, 2011, 9:04 pm, MAYNARD, MA 01754
Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility, November 26, 2011, 8:11 pm, NASHUA, NH 03063
Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility, November 26, 2011, 6:56 pm, MAYNARD, MA 01754

Meanwhile the other three dropped off at the same time all show accepted at 11:00 AM and arriving in Nashua at 5:16 PM.

[snowwolfe]

Begging your pardon, Sir, but that's not absolute. If the item is custom made, an antique, irreplaceable or not available on the open market, the shipper may set the value.

Agreed, to a point. You can set any value you want, but you have to be able to prove it. I sell my photography and price it myself. Insure it for the selling price. They usually ask me for a copy of my price list to prove it sold for "X" value. I also been asked for a copy of my business license.

Yes, you can set the value, but you better be able to prove it otherwise they will not pay. If what you are sending is that valuable then you need to send it registered mail and take photos before you ship it as well as have appraisals on file before hand.

USPS also keeps on file the number of claims presented by a claimant. To many, to weird, they take a closer look.

Just be honest, be able to prove the value, and prove it was packaged well and everything will go fine. Try putting a $10 glass figurine in a box and saying it was an antique and not replaceable and you insured it for $1,000. People do it every day and wonder why they will not pay. Like I said, USPS insurance people are not stupid.

It is also the sellers responsibility to make sure the package arrives in one piece, even if the buyer declines insurance. I learned that the hard way thru my credit card processing company.

[Twinkiethekid]

Delivery confirmation is a must if your smart. .75 cents for it.

[Tatume]

Interestingly, the first example I mentioned was one of two essentially identical packages shipped at exactly the same time by the same person at one post office. One package came through immediately, the other took over a month.

[rbertalotto]

I ship dozens of my "Proper 17HMR Bore Guides" a week. Have been for well over a year. Never had one one lost or even delayed. In fact, at 59 years old I've NEVER had anything lost in the US mail.

Although visiting a USPS branch office is usually a nightmare, the folks that sort and deliver seem to have their jobs down pat!

[m.chalmers]

Delivery confirmation is a must if your smart. .75 cents for it.

Free when you print and pay online. Also is cheaper and this:

No weighing or calculating needed
Delivery within 2 days in most cases
Free Package Pickup™**
Free Delivery Confirmation when you ship online
Saturday delivery and residential delivery at no extra cost
The only 2-day service that delivers to mailboxes, mail slots, and PO Boxes

https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-flat.htm

But I still have issues with DC closing all the processing plants and layoffs.

[edsmith]

I have never had any problem, I do have to go to the post office to pick up heavy items, most of our mailmen are female.:bigsmyl2:

[PatMarlin]

I sometimes wonder how long I can keep using them?

We drop off packages in the drop box in the closest small town PO to us. They are all over the place with service. Sometimes they scan there that day or they don't and it gets scanned in the next city.

It depends on who's there. Everyone at that PO has left or retired and there's temps filling in on a constant basis. Unfortunately, there is no rhyme or reason to it. I have packages show up to customers in a few days, some with a few weeks delays. Some show up on tracking and some don't.

I've had tracking say they were sending parcels back to me, then the customer gets it. I've had parcels held up there and not get shipped. I've had parcels sent to me sit there for weeks, and then someone finds it. USPS there is a mess, but it's the cheapest way to ship. UPS would cost a lot more, plus I would have to buy boxes and charge more.

[MT Gianni]

The thing with insurance is that replacement cost applies to both seller and purchaser. If an item is lost, you owe the purchaser reimbursement, and you yourself are out the value of the item. Hence double insurance.

You are only out the value if you didn't receive anything for the transaction. If you were not paid for the item why did you ship it? The only ways to make money on Insurance are selling it and buying their stocks.

[Stick_man]

A couple months ago I sent two identical small flat rate boxes to another member here. One arrived in about 4 days time. The other one got bounced back and forth between my PO and the local hub for about 5 days, then it finally went on its merry little way and arrived to the destination about a week after the first box did. These were both the same weight, packed the same, dropped off at the local PO at the same time.

One other thing I have noticed is that it generally takes 1-2 days less time to go to the East coast than to the West coast. Must be the earth's rotation or something. :) I have no other way to explain why a package can go 2,000 miles faster than it can go 600 miles.

[Reload3006]

USPS will not pay the value of insurance that you bought if the contents were not worth that much. No matter how much insurance you purchase the maximum they will pay is what they percieve the contents to be worth. At least that is what my local post office tells me.
that is a fact and why i quit paying for insurance and fat chance collecting even so.

[SSGOldfart]

We sell/ship an average of 25 to 40 packages a week, all thro the USPS and most using flat rate and have NEVER had one issue.............just lucky I guess.

yep that's some real luck 40 a week without one lost package,what are you shipping silver or gold???????????:redneck:

[bowfin]

I have had more problems with UPS than the Post Office.

I wouldn't know how to get a CARE package to Afghanistan if it wasn't for the flat rate boxes.

[Tatume]

My most recently shipped package arrived at my home in Virginia a few minutes ago, but the USPS tracking website still says it's in Clarksville, TN.

[jcwit]

I order stuff from E-Bay almost weekly and get my shipments from anywhere in the continental U.S. within 4 business max, most within 3 days. All my meds from the VA I get thru the mail, have yet to have a problem.

I have NO complaints with the USPS

[ErikO]

I don't tend to have trouble either. +1 to the delivery confirmation from me.

[Tatume]

The front page of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch had the answer:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/nov/28/audit-finds-mail-delays-sandston-facility-worst-na-ar-1498249/?referer=None&shorturl=http://bit.ly/uq7DoG

A recent audit found that a U.S. Postal Service distribution center in Henrico Count's Sandston community had the highest volume of delayed mail among 43 such centers nationally

[azrednek]

One other thing I have noticed is that it generally takes 1-2 days less time to go to the East coast than to the West coast. Must be the earth's rotation or something. :) I have no other way to explain why a package can go 2,000 miles faster than it can go 600 miles.

A very large portion of Priority Mail is shipped via passenger airlines. A large city on the east coast like New York likely has several flights daily from your city. A city in the west may only have airlines from your city arrive once every 2 or 3 days.

[azrednek]

The front page of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch had the answer:

I'm glad to see somewhere bumped Chicago from the top. Chicago's Post Offices were plagued with high theft and employees refusing to do their jobs properly. When USPS mgmt tried to lean on somebody to work properly the race card was pulled. Chicago postal workers got around the law that makes it illegal for federal employees to strike by calling it a racial demonstration. Last I heard and let me emphasize "heard". Haven't seen it in print. The Chicago Post Offices were operating smoothly with help from local civil rights leaders.

[mroliver77]

I thanked and praised the nice lady at our local tiny post office. She thought it was great! She said they usually get only negative feedback.
I am impressed that I can drop a package off in Podunk, Midwest and have it delivered less than 72 hours later in Hick-town, CA at somebodies mail box for less than $6.

I don't do a lot of shipping but have never had a problem.
Jay