UPS vs USPS

[wilt the stilt]

the next time someone tells you how private enterprise is so much better than government tell them this story.

I recently bought a guitar on craigslist from Bloomington, IL. The UPS quote was $36.00 and it would take at least 5 business days(if it wasn't over a weekend). The seller of the guitar went to the post office and had it shipped priority mail( which is first class) and it arrived in 2 days and a signature was required. It cost $30.00

Also, I recently sent a computer to a place that does board repair for a flat fee of $175 and that includes shipping back. It took 8 days to get there via UPS and 11 days to come back and UPS charged me $32.00 to ship. The board repair place turnaround was 1 day(they were great).

I use ebay a bit and almost everyone ships USPS. It is cheaper and faster.

My days of UPS and FEDEX are over.

[NightWatcher]

1. more important question.

what kind of gee-tar did you get?

[wilt the stilt]

8. yamaha FG 180

It is a black label made in Taiwan circa 1975. It was in good shape. There is a cult around the Yamaha FG series from japan(late 60'searly 70's) but after a lot of reading the Black labels were better guitars. It has a really nice sound. My old roommate has a Guild F-47 from the sixties(bought at Manny's in NY) and talk about sound quality. They match up with the martin's of the same vintage. The F-47 guilds today cost in excess of $2,000.

[salguine]

RIP Manny's.

[Jim__]

2. Amazon used to let me specify USPS on my shipments.

Now, they won't let me specify and they always ship UPS. USPS puts the package in my mailbox and its there when I get home from work. UPS leaves me a note, I have to call them telling them when I'll pick it up, and then spend Saturday morning picking it up. UPS sucks for home delivery.

[sharp_stick]

18. You need a signature?

I've had UPS drop stuff on my porch for ages (Amazon, Ebay, others) no signature required. Even FedEx drops stuff without signature now. You may want to check your UPS profile, maybe it has sig required on it.

If you live in an aparment that may be different, I remember it was a pain in the ass to get stuff delivered to my old apartment building if nobody was home to take the package.

[wilt the stilt]

20. I wanted a signature

it was a guitar.

[sharp_stick]

26. Wrong reply

I was curious with Jim_ about Amazon deliveries needing UPS signatures.

No question about the need for them when it's something pricy and important like the guitar.

[Jim__]

25. Yes. I live in an apt - condo.

I think I can have them leave things or not leave things w/o a signature - 1 choice covers all. I don't want them to just leave everything sitting in the hallway.

[sharp_stick]

27. I remember that

We once had something delivered and they left it in the hall, never found it.

[zipplewrath]

3. I've preferred them for some time

Saturday delivery.
Offices everywhere
The delivery guy is in my neighborhood for hours.

UPS and FedEx, not so much.

[booley]

4. I only used UPS once

After two attempts that failed over three weeks because they wouldnt' leave it and they wouldnt' deliver when the guy was home and cost me 18 bucks which they would not refund, I sent it post.

Got there in three days and cost me 4 bucks.

Yeah, I feel what you're saying.

[Arkana]

5. I know the difference!

There's one more "S" in USPS.

What do I win?

[onestepforward]

6. I use USPS exclusively

for all my Ebay sales. I haven't had any problems at all. I have often received damaged packages from UPS or FEDEX including one box that was totally destroyed and empty of its contents.

[pipi_k]

7. I don't ship much, but I do buy online a lot...

sometimes UPS is faster and cheaper, sometimes USPS is. It all depends.


But Fedex....NO.

I don't even want anyone to ship ME stuff by Fedex. Although it seems they got rid of the asshole driver who used to (not) come out here.

Two years ago I ordered Christmas gifts for the grandkids around Dec 4th. They were shipped two days later. The asshole Fedex guy didn't bring them until the day after Christmas. And even then, he didn't deliver them to my house...he dropped them off at a neighbor's house out on the main road.

He used to lie and say we weren't home for deliveries. We're retired. We're here mostly all the time. One time he left the package at the neighbors' house up the hill...in the driveway...in the snow. He also left Mr Pip's diabetes meds at another neighbor's house and their kids opened it up without looking at the name first. Luckily the parents got hold of it and called us.

[MineralMan]

10. Fedex is good for one thing. Very heavy and awkward packages.

I shipped a 6 hp outboard motor from CA to MN, in a crate I custom-made for it. Fedex Ground was about the only place that would handle it. It weighed just over 80 lb. Expensive, but it arrived safely.

[pipi_k]

21. yeah, I'll give them that....

We ordered one of those air bed mattress things, and a couple of TVs online and Fedex was really good about delivering them safely

[wilt the stilt]

13. I don't believe they are ever faster

if you ship priority or cheaper. UPS has gotten ridiculous.

[pipi_k]

32. Oh, sometimes they are...not often, but sometimes.

Most of the time they're about the same speed as USPS.

I've had stuff take two whole weeks from the other side of the country by USPS, but only one week by UPS.

But that's just where I live.


cheaper? I don't know.

We don't really ship a whole lot, and when we do, it's by USPS because we can print out our own postage and leave the box out for the mail lady.

The nearest UPS place is 20 miles away, so whatever does get shipped goes by USPS.

[wilt the stilt]

35. not if you use priority mail

no comparison.

[pipi_k]

36. OK...like I said...

I wouldn't know much about that because I don't ship a lot of stuff, and when I do it's not Priority Mail.

All I do know is how long stuff takes to get to me.

[sharp_stick]

24. It's often all about the driver

our Fedex drivers are fantastic. At work we have to use FedEx for everything because of contracts and these guys go out of their way to make sure it gets there on time. I had a package shipped to me from TelAviv to Connecticut and by some weird stroke of luck I got it within 24 hours.

I don't think I could get myself from Tel Aviv to CT in 24 hours without a lot of advance planning.

If you have a crappy driver on the other hand it all goes to hell in a handbasket in a hurry.

[wilt the stilt]

30. I don't like how FEDEX

is subverting what I believe is the intent of the law. They were organized under the Federal railway act which makes it impossible to unionize and I don't believe that they should have been given that designation especially once they entered ground delivery. The drivers are also not "employees" and such I don't believe they get benefits.

[pipi_k]

38. Well I have noticed an improvement in service

since getting two new drivers.

At least they don't lie and say packages were undeliverable because nobody was here when we were here, and they're willing to come down the hill in the winter.

One of them ended up getting stuck on the hill in a ditch a month ago. It took him an hour to get out and if I hadn't had a snow shovel he'd probably still be there. :)


I could never understand why the other guy lied like he did, since it was an easy matter to go online and track the progress of packages, and whether or not there was an "attempted" delivery.

I'm always afraid the company is going to start sending him back out here again.

[MineralMan]

9. I sold from a website and from ebay for years. I shipped

everything USPS. No package was ever lost. Only one of the hundreds I sent was damaged enough to damage the contents. The insurance was paid promptly. I did pack and label carefully, and always used Priority Mail. No problems, and USPS even provided the boxes at no charge. What a deal!

They don't provide guitar boxes, though. The one time I shipped a guitar, a local music store let me take one from their scap pile. I did buy a new set of strings from them, though.

[liberalhistorian]

11. UPS and FedEx also won't deliver to PO boxes,

which is a real hassle when you live in a rural area or rural small town where your official address IS a PO box, since that's how the post office delivers it, not to your physical address. They assure you they can deliver it to the physical address, but, nine times out of ten, UPS leaves it at the post office itself and doesn't even tell you that that's what they've done. Or they leave it out on the porch, no matter the weather, or take it to the wrong place and then refuse to do anything about it, etc., etc. Don't have those problems with post office delivery of anything when I've used them.

[951-Riverside]

12. USPS is faster than UPS also when UPS says your item will arrive in 5 days....

If the item is being shipped ahead of time they will let it sit at a depot unlike the USPS who keeps your shipments moving. BTW, I was surprised to see trucks leaving my local postal center on Sunday. You'll never see that with UPS.

[Skink]

14. Fed EX is faster than UPS and costs less. USPS is faster than Fed Ex and costs less.

I once sent a saxophone to Australia USPS that weighed 15lbs for less than a hundred bucks and it got there in 8 days. I don't even want to think about what UPS would have charged.

[gateley]

15. I think UPS goes ground (unless air is requested) and the Post Office always

flies the mail to its destination(s).

I much prefer the PO, too. Recently sent some really important stuff back to NC (from WA State) Priority Mail and it was there and delivered within two days -- this over a weekend and the Presidents Day holiday.

[katmondoo]

16. I have always liked USPS

Never had a problem. I have a small business and I ship only with USPS. Cheaper and faster. I never could understand why people use UPS.

[Warpy]

17. I've always preferred the USPS.

The key to shipping anything parcel post is to package it correctly and I've never had anything I've shipped arrive broken.

The only time I've used UPS is for prepaid overnighting, same for Fedex.

[Boxerfan]

19. I ship long-fragile-valuable items all the time.Its US Postal priority mail for me!

I lost 2 antique airguns & had a few damaged by UPS. They also screwed up my billing royal.
I switched to the local Post Office & never looked back. Ka-ka occurs-Knock on wood-but I have never had a problem since.

Just for the nosey.I have a hooby/job since I tore my arm up & can't(get paid to) work on cars anymore. I target shoot airguns & it was a good fit for my talents.

[Xithras]

22. They each have their advantages.

This really isn't an either/or situation.

USPS Pros: Cheap shipping on lighter items. Almost always faster for domestic shipments.
USPS Cons: Try to ship a very heavy item with the USPS, and you'll get why UPS exists. Also, their tracking system terrible (essentially "delivered/not delivered"), their package insurance is very expensive, and filing loss/damage claims is a process that can take weeks. For international shipping, it's not an option for anything bigger than a letter. They hand it off at the border to the postal service of the destination country, and you have no gurantee of delivery times, security, or handling policies. USPS insurance also doesn't apply to packages lost overseas.

UPS Pros: Cheaper shipping on heavier items. Excellent tracking system and insurance claim procedures. Faster and more reliable for overseas shipping. Discounted rates for merchants who ship large numbers of items.
UPS Cons: Slower domestic package shipping, more expensive than USPS for small, light items.

For businesses shipping large numbers of items where consistency is a must, UPS is almost always a better (and cheaper) answer. For individuals shipping normal sized "one-off" packages, the USPS is almost always a better answer.

And FedEx isn't really a part of the discussion, because they are rarely used for package shipping anyway. FedEx is the "I need this portfolio on another continent at 6AM tomorrow no matter what it costs" company. Neither the USPS or UPS can match that.

[subterranean]

23. But the USPS isn't profitable.

Therefore it is a failure in the eyes of conservatives.

[sharp_stick]

28. I love the post office

the guy that delivers our mail and parcels is fantastic. They deliver right to the house 6 days a week and pick it up daily too.

[OllieLotte]

29. This may be of some interest.

http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/2006/pr06_048.htm

[ohheckyeah]

31. Not to mention the fact

UPS drops the package wherever they feel like on any particular day. It might be on the front porch, or stuck right in front of the garage door, or maybe on the back patio. It's like a treasure hunt ever time I have something shipped UPS. I almost ran over a package one day as it was small and blended into the garage door.

I use USPS whenever possible.

[cascadiance]

33. Easier to do hold deliveries with USPS and to send it to a PO Box too...

When holding UPS shipments, you have to call them about the specific shipments, and if you don't have that info about who is sending you something, you can't just do a blanket "hold all packages" until I pick them up, etc. like the post office has. And the post office of course will let you mail stuff to a PO Box too, whereas you can't with UPS or Fedex.

[Heywood J]

34. When crossing the border...

$35 "brokerage fee" vs $5 (at worst). Normally USPS doesn't bother with brokerage fees, whereas UPS likes to have drivers surprise people and hold packages hostage.

[DrCory]

37. I use USPS frequently to ship packages to China...

And they always arrive on time in perfect condition. Never a hitch. Used FedEx once, box was lost.

[Kitty Herder]

39. I honestly don't know why people complain about the post office.

They do a damn fine job and charge less for it. Sure, there's an occasional mistake, but that's certainly true of private carriers, too. When you think about how much mail they handle, it's amazing that they make as few mistakes as they do.

[wilt the stilt]

40. I know one guy who says

it's because too many blacks work there.

[HopeHoops]

41. Priority mail is almost always the best way to go.

You can order boxes, labels, delivery confirmation sheets, and pretty much anything you can ask for at the post office online. Mailing supplies are all free (with the restriction that you can only use them when shipping through USPS) and they deliver them to your door! I flatten other boxes I get and write the dimensions on the lower left flap. If a Priority Mail box won't hold something quite right, I can usually find a box that will. They make Priority Mail stickers and I put one on each of the six sides. They USED to make plastic strapping tape marked for Priority Mail but for some reason they no longer produce it. I still have some.

UPS can be cheaper for really heavy boxes if you ship ground and don't mind it arriving some time in the next decade. FedEx is useless. USPS Express Mail delivers 7 days a week and is almost always cheaper.