I've used USPS to ship my hand built instruments to many mainland customers. I always use priority mail and insure and haven't had any delivery problems. I've shipped up to 50 Lbs. without any hassle.
That being said I've had items purchased from ebay that haven't reached me for a month as some sellers won't spend the money on the proper USPS priority mail service. If it was shipped priority mail and Customs doesn't hold it up and it was insured you should be fine.
It took me a month to receive a Boss D-2 from California because the seller sent it parcel post which means it was put on a ship to Maui and took a heck of a log time to reach me. I know what people mean when they use the expression Slow Boat to China....
USPS tracking
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George McCann
- Posts: 103
- Joined: 10 Dec 2011 9:36 pm
- Location: Maui, USA
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Eric Philippsen
- Posts: 1966
- Joined: 14 Jan 2008 5:38 pm
- Location: Central Indiana, USA
Tony,
You are correct in that the performance of the USPS, relative to the class of mail purchased, is actually very good. Heck, something sent via domestic Priority Mail usually gets there in just 2-3 days. News flash - I use Priority Mail for parcels I personally mail and regular good ol' First Class Mail for just paper.
Steelers, here's what I have learned (again, after 32 years with the USPS) as to why a mailpiece gets delayed in it's timely delivery. In order:
1) Something about the address printed on the box is wrong, unclear or illegible. Easily the #1 reason by far. More often not, a mis-addressed piece will get to where it's supposed to go. But it takes longer because, think about it, every step in it's progress from point A to point B often requires some kind of special handling or increased processing time.
2) There's been some kind of forwarding situation involved with the addressee. "Uh, yeah, I did move from my old address where the box was sent."
3) The Postal Service screwed up. Yep, it happens. I won't say it doesn't happen. But, in order of priority (pun intended) it's the very last reason.
Tony, about dem.' tracking numbers. I do think that FedEx and UPS do an outstanding job of listing a parcel's step-by-step/location-by-location's progress from origin to destination. Of course, it's the scanning of the tracking number that makes that happen. The Postal Service often provides the very same information to customers. At a minimum there should be an originating scan, an arrival-at-delivery-unit scan and a delivery or left-notice scan.
2)
You are correct in that the performance of the USPS, relative to the class of mail purchased, is actually very good. Heck, something sent via domestic Priority Mail usually gets there in just 2-3 days. News flash - I use Priority Mail for parcels I personally mail and regular good ol' First Class Mail for just paper.
Steelers, here's what I have learned (again, after 32 years with the USPS) as to why a mailpiece gets delayed in it's timely delivery. In order:
1) Something about the address printed on the box is wrong, unclear or illegible. Easily the #1 reason by far. More often not, a mis-addressed piece will get to where it's supposed to go. But it takes longer because, think about it, every step in it's progress from point A to point B often requires some kind of special handling or increased processing time.
2) There's been some kind of forwarding situation involved with the addressee. "Uh, yeah, I did move from my old address where the box was sent."
3) The Postal Service screwed up. Yep, it happens. I won't say it doesn't happen. But, in order of priority (pun intended) it's the very last reason.
Tony, about dem.' tracking numbers. I do think that FedEx and UPS do an outstanding job of listing a parcel's step-by-step/location-by-location's progress from origin to destination. Of course, it's the scanning of the tracking number that makes that happen. The Postal Service often provides the very same information to customers. At a minimum there should be an originating scan, an arrival-at-delivery-unit scan and a delivery or left-notice scan.
2)
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Tony Glassman
- Posts: 4470
- Joined: 18 Jan 2005 1:01 am
- Location: The Great Northwest
After all is said and done, undamaged delivery is the "gold standard" by which all carriers should be judged, but this thread was specifically started about "tracking".
FedEx and UPS do a pretty good job at letting the sender and recipient follow the package's progress. Sometimes there will be no updates for a few days, but that's because it is on the same truck driving cross country. At those times there is neither the ability nor need to scan the package.
USPS delivers reliably, but they do not post the scanned "progress" of the package during its trip. You cannot track anything more than departure and arrival.
In the end, tracking is not vital, but it is a convenience that is reassuring to both buyer and seller
FedEx and UPS do a pretty good job at letting the sender and recipient follow the package's progress. Sometimes there will be no updates for a few days, but that's because it is on the same truck driving cross country. At those times there is neither the ability nor need to scan the package.
USPS delivers reliably, but they do not post the scanned "progress" of the package during its trip. You cannot track anything more than departure and arrival.
In the end, tracking is not vital, but it is a convenience that is reassuring to both buyer and seller
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John Roche
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 2 Feb 2006 1:01 am
- Location: England
Tony, good news the pickup arrived this morning, as luck would have it I was at the dentist and missed the postman, I will pick it up later today from the sorting office. Had i been abl e to track it to the door I would have arranged for someone to be at home to receive it . Sods law... I will contact you with a PM to confirm that it arrived intact. Thanks to everyone for their views.
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George Redmon
- Posts: 3529
- Joined: 8 Apr 2005 12:01 am