Shipping

Was going to post it in lounge but it might be better here. FedEx ground is having problems. Example ordered stuff for work fedex says delivery on 14th didn’t get it till 25. Troutdale Oregon hub down 65% workforce so no sorting or delivery. Trucks come in and drop off trailers and leave. I’m hearing other hubs same issues, and this is before peak. Before long this will start to affect air delivery as well. Anyone need Christmas delivery might want to do it early this year.

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Probably better idea…home-made gifts
to the family and loved ones…and not the stuff from China.
But, yeah, Fedex seems to have different delivery people; seldom see the same person twice.

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FedEx delivered my porcelain fence insulators to a house a mile away. I got notification they had been delivered and they failed to respond to me when I inquired where on earth they delivered them. Luckily I had a PO Box listed on the package and the party that received them dropped them off at the post office. Being a small town post office the postmaster agreed to take them. Their delivery people change constantly and they’re often in rented vans. One delivery notification I received stated “in z can”. I finally found it in my garbage can at the end of the driveway. Thank goodness it was a book order and not food. I expect it’s a regional thing, but around here FedEx sucks.

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I have no idea about regionality, but FedEx also sucks here. Easily the least dependable and poorest service of the “big four” (FedEx, USPS, UPS, SpeeDee)

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In the last year I have ordered a lot from people who shipped FEDEX. Only one to a few orders came on time. The ones that did come on time were at one point scheduled to deliver late so they just came on time instead of early. It as been two years and FEDEX is still blaming covid19. I love UPS and USPS is decent for the price assuming the seller ships priority. Priority is 3 days expected with USPS while first class is up to 7 days expected. It gets really bad during the holiday time though. Last season I had a priority take 13 days and I work at USPS so I had to track passport transmittals in my old office. Some people did passport applications last Christmas season and it did not get delivered until the second month of the new year. A lady actually threatened to sue me because first class took so long. By the way the holiday season is starting soon as USPS is expected to raise prices for holiday delivery in October.

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If USPS raises Amazon’s rates, I’ll cheer. 58 cents for first class letters, not so much.

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Stamps just rise with inflation. Before the 58 cent mark they had not raised it since something like 2019. I think USPS is undercharging as a whole. You go to UPS they will charge you double for a package and drop it off at USPS in a lot of areas.

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I have found USPS to be a bargain for very specific packages, and UPS to generally be the most reliable for shipping time, communication, and packages not being damaged. FedEx is sometimes less than UPS but rarely a better value for the service provided. I’m sure there are use cases where they excel, it just isn’t on time small volume home delivery orders.

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I think a lot of businesses use FEDEX because they pick up there packages from their business. Great value for the business but not great value for the customer. I do think you can use a prepaid label for packages at USPS too. If you just put stamps it only goes up to 10 oz with USPS though. I have had a few late packages with UPS but that is far and in between. I am happy with both USPS and UPS. I don’t like it how so many busssinesses use FEDEX. If I had a choice on who ships my package FEDEX would be last of the list. I still remember buying mushroom spawn from Northspore and shipped it FEDEX Smartpost. It was 15 or 16 days before it came and it sat in each location at least 2 days.

It’s my understanding that UPS is the industry leader for the logistics management side of things. Their software /personnel etc. is top notch and it shows. I WANT all 3 to be excellent to provide competition which would likely lower prices for the consumer, but that’s such a convoluted thing with one option run by the government. To be clear, I’m not trying to steer this towards a political discussion, just making an observation. Additionally with USPS, there are options like pirate ship which allow anyone to get lower rates and ship whatever size they want to, as long as you invested in a scale and a measuring tape.

UPS typically retains their employees for the long haul…Fedex doesn’t.
(And USPS wouldn’t if not for the Postal Workers Union and all their packaged government benefits).
Happy employees that have regular routes are a big asset.

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In late August, I shipped a 37 lb. box of mangoes to a dear friend in Washington D.C. using FEDEX. When they accepted the box, I indicated that it was perishable. They promised a 2 day delivery. After 4 days of non receipt, I started calling to track the shipment. They were totally uncooperative in trying to expedite the delivery until there was total spoilage, at which point they called me to inform me they were discarding the box. I filed a claim which they denied. In my many years of shipping with the post office (USPS) all around the country, I never had that experience. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to my fruits, I am emotional. This whole experience has been very upsetting to me. I will never use FEDEX again, period.

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So in the end the mangoes never made it there and you still had to pay for shipping?

I ordered some bike parts not too long ago direct from China and they got here pretty quickly or so it seemed (2 to 3 weeks). I think one part was UPS and the other came usps. The part i paid shipping for took a week longer then the free shipping part…go figure.

I used my friend’s account for the shipping. I will have to ask him if he was credited the shipping cost. My claim was for the value of the content.

Even USPS does not retain their non career employees. USPS has a 40% quit rate of non career employees. It is only once they get career and get the higher wages that people stay. I get a 90 something dollar match on my TSP and I am just starting career for example. They give 5% match of whatever you make. Non career don’t have benefits for squat though.

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All shipping has been bad lately. FedEx is the worst, but almost everything gets stuck somewhere for a day or three. Definitely frustrating when it’s live plants!

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Agreed. I don’t care how long something takes when the item is not living or perishable. I had a grow bag that shipped via UPS that was supposed to come yesterday but came today. I could care less how long the grow bag took to ship because it is not living. I don’t plan to even fill it until December around the time some of my peach trees come anyway. When I had a peach tree that was shipped from MO to here in CO two states away and they were already having it take 3 or 4 days and they were going to make it take 4 or 5 days I was on the phone with FEDEX saying why the heck is it taking so dang long and why is it getting even more delayed.

The three cent first class stamp worked for decades. Once they left the three cent stamp the price of postage steadily increased year to year until the last few decades it seems like it changes about every year. Since 2019? That was yesterday.

And whenever the price of gas decides to explode in price they tack on a few cents at the post office. But soon as gas comes down the stamp never did.

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2019? YOU must be old as the hills…postcards 4cents and envelopes 5cents for first TWO ounces…when I was in elementary school! Soon it was 6 cents. I used to write quite a bit for a 4th or 5th grader!

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