mediatechnology wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 10:08 am
over the decades I have had good and bad experiences with multiple last mile delivery services. The USPS makes me angrier for their refusal to recognize the existence of my physical street address.
Which is hilarious considering that the Post Office is across the street.
Did you not invite them to your late-night parties JR?
I wish it was that easy..... When I first moved here in the mid 80s, I would be able to get my newspaper out of my PO Box, and read the front page with my morning coffee, and still be in my office by 8AM (only 8 miles up the road without a stop sign). Now I am lucky to get mail/packages by 10AM
USPS has gotten much better recently and as a shipper for low-value items domestically and International in general they are now my first choice.
I use their flat rate packages for my business shipping because they are now competitive/cheaper than UPS. Their website for generating labels was a little dodgy at first, but have since worked out most of the bugs. In case you weren't paying close attention they just raised their prices again so something like +16% since I first started using them... Of course the convenience of dropping off pre-labelled packages across the street beats the hell out of UPS.
At the same time it seems like their international shipping rates have become less competitive, but I do not sell enough internationally to worry about that.
UPS deserves to be tied with USPS and I use UPS if its domestic and high value.
I recently ended up using UPS when I shipped a very old (1930s) and very heavy, WE amplifier chassis to NC. For a few tens of pounds, UPS was cheaper than USPS.
If the USPS driver steals any mail they have committed a felony.
UPS has a financial incentive to keep their drivers honest.
Fedex has no incentive to perform or keep their contractors honest.
Other than the shipper or recipient who absorbs the loss no one has any standing to charge the driver with criminal theft.
surely any compelling pattern of loss will rise to become a cost issue and influence shipping decisions.
Fedex's reputation has suffered but they don't seem to care about that either.
Any shipper that continues to use them is an idiot and I'll tell them at the time of order not to use Fedex.
I get lots of west coast stuff (green coffee, beer supplies, etc) shipped very inexpensively via fedex. I do not discern any problem or pattern with those.
Amazon has started taking pictures of their delivered packages.
Knowing that they are likely on another camera keeps them from stealing the packages after they photograph them.
Amazon does a pretty good job but they drive like hell.
I've started using them again some but still prefer to buy elsewhere including brick and mortar.
I prefer bricks and mortar if I can purchase locally during my once weekly food shopping, otherwise web orders with home delivery is very convenient.
JR
PS: my 1000mAh nicads arrived this morning, from amazon wedged into my POB. Already on the charger with one topped off already.
PPS: I just ran into my local appliance repair guy, and he has never seen/worked on a heat pump clothes dryer, he didn't even know that Whirlpool was already shipping one... I don't think this means that they never break, only that premium appliances are rare here in nowhere MS.