USPS vs. UPS vs. FEDEX

[joeb33050]

It is said that the USPS is not a well-run quasi-governmental operation. Saying that reinforces the contention that the G doesn’t run anything well.
Maybe a list of comparisons of price would help us. I’ll report mine, and hope you’ll report yours. I’ll keep the records.
9/14/09, a double cavity RCBS bullet mold from Marathon FL to Raton NM.
USPS Priority $8.10 UPS $16.16

Tell us about your comparisons.
joe b.

[Russ in WY]

joe b , its gonna be very difficult to beat the USPS & the flat rate boxs. I just sent about 85 rnds on rifle ammo back to IL fm WY. Cost me $11.08. Had to go UPS as USPS will not ship ammo. Probably could have got that in a USPS small flat rate box @ $4.95. Midway was suppose to start using USPS Flat Rate but haven't seen any yet. My 2¢ Russ.

[dsmjon]

Usually USPS is cheaper, sometimes it's worth the extra to not stand in line for a hour to mail 1 package.

Florence, SC has/had an 'experimental' self-use kiosk if you are mailing boxes, etc. Something I think a lot more PO's need.

What I hate most about the USPS is the counter & staffing. They're worse than Walmart. 20 open counters, 1 person working 1 counter, and a line that wraps around the building.

Can't wait till that translates into getting to see a doctor! (ooops, another rant for another topic) :)

[cabezaverde]

Try running a package that weighs about 35lbs and is larger than a flat rate box. That is where UPS is better.

[Whaump 'em]

On incoming packages, FEDEX gets them to me in the best condition.

[JeffinNZ]

From a purely commercial point of view I use FedEx at work a lot and they really are very good. Remembering I live at the bottom of the world. I contrast a friend in the USA tried to use UPS to send me something and was told there was no service in my area. Their office is next to mine!!!

[Powderpacker]

Had to go UPS as USPS will not ship ammo.
Unfortunately, USPS seems to have a long list of 'verboten' items. Even a 4oz. bottle of LLA in an order is prohibited by USPS so UPS gets the package.

[cajun shooter]

You can't compare apples to oranges and that is what you are trying to do. If you are sending something like a 2 cavity mold then use the USPS $4.95 flat rate. Guess what try sending a handgun via the USPS. It won't go. Cost over nite fee of $50 with both FED-X and UPS. As was stated above if you have a package that is in the 40 or more pound class then you are better to use Fed-X. They do less damage than either of the other two. It's good that we have a choice but you can't do a fair price comparison

[S.R.Custom]

Depends on what you're doing. A few points...

*UPS and FedEx beat you to death on small packages. If an item will fit in a flat rate box --and it's legal to do so-- then USPS is the way to go.

*As soon as you get bigger than a flat rate box, UPS is vastly cheaper.

*UPS is much easier to ship with than FedX if you're shipping ORM-D. (FedEx regards ammunition as "hazardous," whereas UPS just regards it as ORM-D.)

*Both FedEx and UPS beat you up with residential surcharges, fuel surcharges, remote location surcharges, etc. But FedEx is worse. Ultimately, a small time shipper like myself will pay much more for the same shipment through FedEx than through UPS.

*If you care to go through the haz-mat shipper certification process, FedEx is way cheaper. But the FedEx certification process is a royal PITA --and expensive-- so must shippers just opt for the UPS + hazmat fee.

[runnin lead]

UPS has strange hours here , they don[t open till 2 PM & it's a 40-45 min drive ,post office is less than 1/2 mile. The post office lost a mould that I returned because the gascheck shanks are undersize & claim it was delivered , UPS lost an antenna tuner & took 2months to deliver it . Anyone need an antenna tuner ? Fed Ex ground won't leave a package if I am not home,
Fed Ex ground could not find my ffl & gave me the package when I saw the truck pass my house & chased him down . Fed EX ground is over an hour drive one way

[Rocky Raab]

I use USPS Priority for almost everything. Not only do they provide the boxes for free, they'll even deliver them to me! I can print a label online, the mailman picks it up every day, I get delivery confirmation no charge, and I can do it all without leaving the house.

[montana_charlie]

I never use any of the fast delivery options like 2nd Day Air, etc.

But, when shipping something out, or ordering something in, I much prefer Priority Mail for raw speed. They usually make good on the 3 to 5 day claim...even when a weekend falls in the shipping period...because the mail doesn't just sit someplace because it's Sunday. It never stops moving.

On the other hand, if your UPS package gets to 'Denver' on Friday night, it won't head for 'Cheyenne' or 'Salt Lake' until Monday morning.
If it arrives in your home town around midmorning on Friday...you won't see it until Monday.

There is a lot of 'service' we get from the Post Office that doesn't generate any income. People ignore that when comparing 'efficiency' between USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

CM

[bullshot]

I have had good luck with both USPS and FedEx. UPS, not so good. The street I live on crosses a major route but is not labeled north and south, so when the UPS driver ends up on the wrong side of the road and can't find my number, leaves it withe the closest house number and the person at that address calls me.

[largom]

Like CM. I prefer priority mail. I think it gets a little better attention. If I an concerned that it may get lost I can add Del. Comf. or Ins.
Larry

[MT Gianni]

I use USPS Priority for almost everything. Not only do they provide the boxes for free, they'll even deliver them to me! I can print a label online, the mailman picks it up every day, I get delivery confirmation no charge, and I can do it all without leaving the house.

I use USPS priority for almost everything. I can request mailers, packages and stamps and then drive to their office to get them as my area is a PO Box only, no delivery. Large parcels go Fed-Ex or UPS though these lines are usually longer than USPS. If I need a money order nothing is faster than a USPS in a one horse town, usually there is no line. Occasionally that is worth a 20 minute drive if I am working in a town.

[462]

Out-going Priority Mail/Flat Rate Box...free boxes, computer generated postage, next business day pick-up.

In-coming is not too straight forward, since the shippers usually have their preferences. If the order includes any kind of liquid, UPS seems to be the default carrier.

UPS for long guns and handguns, primers and powder.

[cbrick]

My local UPS office won't accept any firearms, ammo etc. I have to drive 25 miles one way to take it to one of their hubs. Not to long ago I had to open a sealed box because they know me there and I had to prove to him that it was only boolits, not loaded ammo, they did re-pack it for me.

Aside from that UPS is still a better situation than any attempt at dealing with the civil servants of uncles PO, I could write several paragraphs on these failed attempts. My town no longer has a PO anyway. Was one here for about 45 years but in their infinite wisdom last winter they decided we no longer needed a PO. It was a 10 minute round trip walk to the PO, now it's a half hour round trip drive.

USPS flat rate is cheaper and they supply the box's but UPS is in town and if you have a box (a USPS flat rate box for example [smilie=1:) they pack and tape it and print labels for you free.

Rick

[longhorn]

I ship 20+ packages per day. All UPS. They manage to misdirect or lose about 1 out of evey 1200 packages for me. I can track a package for a client or a patient in seconds (literally) with UPS. Not so with USPS--no tracking. Last time I tried USPS, 3 or so years ago, they managed to never deliver about 1 out of every 70 packages. UPS for me.

[Geraldo]

I ship 20+ packages per day. All UPS. They manage to misdirect or lose about 1 out of evey 1200 packages for me. I can track a package for a client or a patient in seconds (literally) with UPS. Not so with USPS--no tracking. Last time I tried USPS, 3 or so years ago, they managed to never deliver about 1 out of every 70 packages. UPS for me.

Now there are some real stats. I've used USPS and UPS to ship, but not Fedex. Over the years here's what has happened:

I had two USPS priority packages take two weeks, one incoming and one outgoing but both made it to the destination. As stated above, there is no USPS tracking to see what is going on. I've shipped internationally via mail without incident.

UPS takes firearms only at main terminals, a five minute drive for me. The employees are no better than the UPS store across the street or USPS. They've gotten everything everywhere I wanted it to go.

I don't care for Fedex deliveries. UPS never says a word about ORM-D, but the Fedex drivers always want to quiz me on what I'm getting: Do you reload? What do you reload? Is this gunpowder? Is this ammo? The service is fine but the drivers are too nosy.

Almost everything I ship goes USPS. If it's too big for flat rate or is a firearm it goes UPS. Fedex can stick their nose in somebody else's packages.

[Alchemist]

As stated, USPS flat rate boxes are the way to go if it fits and doesn't contain restricted items.

As a mailman, let me give you a few tips to improve shipping success. (I see the problems every day, so let me share some pitfalls to avoid.)

Proper packing-tossing things in a box loosely and putting one strip of tape across the box is a set-up for lost/damaged items. The worst offender of this principal is one of the big box shippers.

Accurate addresses. Double check your information and make sure it's correct. I see mail every day addressed to some other city/state but listing our ZIP code. ZIP code is how mail gets routed...not sure about the other guys. It will still get there with the wrong ZIP (usually) but it will take a lot longer.

Think about using carrier pick-up. You order flat rate boxes on-line (free) they're delivered to your home (free) and when postage is paid on-line, they're picked up (free) with delivery confirmation included (free, as part of the label printing).

If you insist on going to the post office on your lunch break like a lot of people do, be prepared to wait in long lines. As a result of trying to contain costs, the P.O. is trying to use as few counter clerks as possible. I don't agree with it, it's just the way it is.

I once attempted to convince the postmaster that the postal service should accept ammo (ORM-D), and her response was "we don't want to get blown up!" I think the root of the problem is ignorance/laziness on the part of management. If you don't understand something, it's easier to let someone else ship it than to figure out how to do it safely.

Okay, rant over!
Cheers

[Rocky Raab]

What alchemist said. There most certainly IS package tracking with Priority Mail, and it's free when you print labels online. There's even a postage discount when bought online.

The tracking record for my most recent shipment using Priority showed the time the carrier picked it up at my house, when it got to the several sorting centers enroute, and that it was delivered at 11:16 am Saturday. Hard to beat that.

[blackthorn]

Well--- UPS may work OK if you are shipping in the States!! If, on the other hand you are shipping to Canada (like I did) be prepared to get screwed! I had a 6"x6"x4" package containing $60.00 worth of books (3) sent to Canada. The shipper charged $19.00 shipping and your wonderful UPS dinged me another $34.00 in so called "docking fees" (I assume they also got the $19.00 from the shipper). What I learned from this is to always ask what method of shipping will be used and if it is UPS----DONT! If you live outside the U.S. UPS SUCKS!

[canebreaker]

I sent 600 rounds of mixed brass through the mail in a medium flat rate box for 10.35. Regular postage would have been 17.25.
Kinko/fedx wanted 15.45.
UPS was 17.50.

We sent a medium flat rate box of plants for 10.35.
Regular postage 13.30.

I left my headset here, Flutterby was going to ship it to me. Overnite Fedx wanted 47.00 from Nashville,TN to Southaven,MS. I went and bought a new one, on sale from 25.00 to 18.00.