I know everyone has horror stories about all three of the above carriers destroying things in transit; but, I have not had that problem (at least not because of the carrier). The damaged items that I've received were so poorly packed that they would have probably sustained damaged if they were delivered across the street.

My biggest thing has to do with shipping times and package tracking. With UPS and FedEx, most ground packages arrive in 3-4 days, regardless of how busy they are. The only exceptions have been those that were shipped from the West Coast, which can take 5-6 days at the most. And, I like their tracking system. At any given time, I can go online and see exactly where my shipment is or if the shipment has been delayed.

With USPS, it's anybody's guess as to when the shipment will arrive. And, they might as well not have a tracking system, as it will only either tell you if the package is "in the system" or if it's been delivered. And, if I'm not home, they'll leave an "attempt to deliver" notice in the mailbox, which means I have to sit around the next day, waiting on the mail truck. Which, could be anywhere between 10 AM and 2 PM. For the past two days, I've been sitting here waiting on a package from NC to arrive. I know it's Christmas and they are busy; but, you wouldn't think it would take 5 days for a package to get from NC to MS. So, now I've got to wait until Monday and they still may or may not deliver the package.

An ex-postal worker friend once told me that the USPS would really love to get out of the package delivering business. That may or may not be true; but, I know the other carriers seem to be more efficient. And, if it wasn't for junk mail and bills, the PO probably would go belly up. Even mailed bills are not as common as they used to be, since so many people pay their bills via the internet (I'm not one of them).

UPS will destroy anything you send that isn't made of metal, and putting 'fragile' stickers on the box is like asking them to kick the package around more than they normally would. Case in point, the 21FJP22 Scotty sent me: they dropped it so hard the shadow mask was resting on the faceplate by the time it got here, and some glass had broken off inside! This was with a purpose made CRT shipping box, I imagine that in any other box it would have been completely destroyed.

Say what you will about USPS, I've never had a lost or damaged item using them. True it might take a little longer, but IMO if you want something to arrive intact there really isn't any other choice. I've shipped to Africa, GB, and all over the States, they have always done good by me.

If something has to get there, you can always take it yourself...

I've had good and bad luck with all of them, UPS does seem to be the worst though, even if something isn't damaged the package looks like heck.


Packaging is really the key to the issue, you can pack anything to be bulletproof if you want to but it takes time and sometimes money if you have to buy packing materials.

There were two things that I remember that were damaged in shipping.

One was a big, heavy Wilcox-Gay "Recordio" radio/phonograph/disc recorder combinations from the late '40's. It had very little packing and the cabinet was busted all to pieces. Surprisingly, Fedex paid the claim; but, I couldn't blame them had they denied the claim, since it was no where near packed right. I still have it and a good woodworker could probably fix the case; but, I'm not a good woodworker.

The second item was an early '40's Emerson Bakelite radio that the ebay seller basically tossed it in an oversized, worn out box with a few crumpled up pieces of newspaper inside. Surprisingly, there were no pieces broken out of the radio; but, there were plenty of cracks in the case that weren't there in the ebay pictures. That was a USPS sent radio and I didn't bother to file a claim because I knew it probably would be denied (who could blame them) due to poor packing and had they honored the claim, I would have been forced to give them the radio so they could run it through the trash compactor.

When I was selling on ebay, I always packed items to withstand rough treatment. Despite this, I still had two things arrive damaged to the buyer. There were no problems with claims, as I was willing to work with the buyer and the items were packed correctly. And, I've had very few complaints about the extra cost involved to "over pack" items. Actually, most people were more than willing to pay a little extra to insure that their item arrived safely. I also feel the same way when I'm buying something.

There are two items that I try not to buy if it involves shipping: TV sets and large Bakelite radio/phonograph combinations. The only exception would be if I bought such items from people who know how to correctly pack them. If folks can't pack an AA5 radio to get here safely; then, I don't think they'd do too well with a TV or some other large, fragile object.

Oh, I was given a '53 Zenith 21" TV by a friend, who got it from someone he knew, who received it damaged from an ebay seller and the carrier paid the claim. From what I was told, the TV was supposed to have been working at the time of sale; however, the seller placed this heavy monster in a cardboard box that was not much bigger than the TV and used packing peanuts to fill up the empty space. The TV arrived with a busted CRT and some minor cabinet damage. Given how poorly it was packed, it's a wonder it wasn't totally destroyed.

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Personally, I have an account with FedEx and have never had anything damaged or lost. Of course, I tend to overpack and double box things. Among the more complicated things I've shipped successfully are an antique 3-gallon crock, a full-size Hermes typewriter, a couple dozen glass ashtrays and an old GE canister vac.

i sold a seeburg mechanism on ebay once.packaged it up with foam rubber in a huge box.shipped to oregon.when they received it,it had been ran over.tire marks on it.this thing weighed 70 lbs.they ran it right over.they paid the claim but they argued about it.i certainly didnt run it over before i sent it.usps seems to be the way to go.sent several items and was always dleivered on time and undamaged.

The usps is like a black hole for packages... they get sucked in, then spit out sometime later with no tracking info inbetween.

I ship a lot of light bulbs at work with fedex, they generally arrive in one piece.

J

I would definetly say FedEx is the best of the lot,at least in my experience.
I have had too many radios,record players and a couple tv's ruined by USPS,a few due to sellers who didn't pack them well,but others due to flat out abuse.

They must have trained Gorillas throwing packages around there.

If you're wealthy like Thurston Howell the 3rd you can always go with Craters & freighters,but be prepared to shell out $325-$375+ just to ship a portable tv that weighs around 60lbs.

Living on the west coast, I can depend on UPS taking 5-7 days for their ground shipments. On the flip side, USPS deliveries from the east coast can get here in as quickly as two days.

In fact, I once bought a 45 rpm record from a record shop "back east", and got it the next day! I wrote the seller (this was before the internet), and asked him what took so long, lol!

I think however, seller packaging, as you all have seemed to also indicate, is a LARGE aspect, regardless of which service is employed.

Earlier this year, I bought a Bakelite Admiral AA5 from a Fleabay seller, with the auction pictures displaying it as being completely intact.

When I got it, and there was no damage to the box, not even stress marks, there had been a hole smashed into the side of the cabinet. The seller must have honestly felt that it was not his fault, as he not only refunded my entire cost, but also paid me to send it back, since he wanted to inspect it himself.

I use USPS quite a lot and have not had much trouble. A large package shipped cross country via parcel post can take so long sometimes that you think it must be lost, but sooner or later it gets there. Smaller packages seem to go quicker. Having a great local post office helps.

Every time I shipped UPS the price ended up higher than expected. And I've found FedEx to be very inconvenient to deal with. (the only thing convenient about UPS is that the hardware store down the street from my office is a shipping center for them) The one thing that the post office really needs to do is get with the program when it comes to tracking.

My experience, YMMV:

USPS: 100% success with domestic shipping, with 7+ years of eBay selling. Delivery Confirmation is not a tracking system. You want tracking? Use another service. Express Mail does provide some tracking, but at a cost. I've had First Class Parcel items go from east coast to west coast in one day, and I've had Priority Mail parcels take 10 days, so USPS has it's faults.


UPS: Generally, cheaper ONLY if you are a high volume shipper. Tracking is origin to destination - "On truck for delivery," etc. Under one pound ships as though it is a pound - i.e. no ounce increments like USPS. Quantum View tracking is second to none. Delivery times are better if you are near a major interstate - I-40, I-95, I-5, etc. The package smasher reputation is an earned one. I got one package from Florida minus the peanuts, but with the contents, smashed up.


Fedex - Uncle Sam's favorite for express shipping, and for a reason. They Know exactly where your item is, thanks to RFID, networked planes, trucks, and shipment centers. Costly even for the lightest items, unless you are a volume shipper. I've had one or two packages left on the porch, with no doorbell ring, no notice. I knew they were delivered - they emailed me! Last summer, I had a package delivered, saw the driver drop it off, and within a minute, got the delivery email. Fedex ground drivers are independent contractors, so YMMV, depending on the driver.

Just my 2c.

Cheers,

The one thing that the post office really needs to do is get with the program when it comes to tracking.

Agreed, but with no capital to spend, the USPS has to make do. $8.5 billion in losses for 2010 makes 2011 a year for big changes.

Saturday delivery should go, with the exception of express and priority parcels. First Class parcel rates could stand a 20% increase, and thanks to eBay shippers, might be a money making center for the USPS. I've always thought the USPS should be using electric vehicles - Post office Zip codes in most cities are only a few square miles in area, making them ideal for the electric cars. Huge savings on gas, oil, and ICE consumables. Add birth to death tracking for parcels (at an additional cost) and rake in the funds.

Perhaps the biggest detractor from the self-service/online postage offered by the USPS is the security issues. Solve those, and the volume could surely go up.

Once again, my 2c.

Cheers,

Agreed, but with no capital to spend, the USPS has to make do. $8.5 billion in losses for 2010 makes 2011 a year for big changes.

Saturday delivery should go, with the exception of express and priority parcels. First Class parcel rates could stand a 20% increase, and thanks to eBay shippers, might be a money making center for the USPS. I've always thought the USPS should be using electric vehicles - Post office Zip codes in most cities are only a few square miles in area, making them ideal for the electric cars. Huge savings on gas, oil, and ICE consumables. Add birth to death tracking for parcels (at an additional cost) and rake in the funds.

Perhaps the biggest detractor from the self-service/online postage offered by the USPS is the security issues. Solve those, and the volume could surely go up.

Once again, my 2c.

Cheers,

NO WAY! The postal rates have already been increased enough throughout the years, and the USPS taking away Saturday delivery would be horrible - my mail and packages already take too long to arrive. You can save plenty of money by closing down unneeded post offices and consolidating zip codes, as well as cutting back on the bloated pensions. If the USPS keeps raising rates they will just continue to lose mail and shipping volume, and lose even more money as a result.

Yep,I agree with "classictv80s"
The post office has raised their damn rates enough,and they still provide the same crappy service,they've put themselves in the sorry shape they are in.

The government can't run anything correctly and their answer is always the same... raise costs.

I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a post office only to find 12 people standing in line and only one person at the counter,while others goofed off in the back talking..and this wasn't during the holidays.

They charge extra for "confirmation" which *isn't* the same as a tracking number,and unlike fedex or ups nothing is automatically insured! Then there's the employees,most of which seem to be marginally retarded.

They certainly don't need to blow more of our money on worthless electric vehicles that cost more to maintain and run than gas powered ones and would take years to recoup the investment.

They need to cut the employees pensions and wages and hire an efficiency expert to come in and clean house.
A government job shouldn't be a ticket to a $20 an hour job,benefits and endless breaks.

I avoid the post office whenever possible.


Any bussiness run by the government will fail.

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Yep,I agree with "classictv80s"
The post office has raised their damn rates enough,and they still provide the same crappy service,they've put themselves in the sorry shape they are in.

The government can't run anything correctly and their answer is always the same... raise costs.

I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a post office only to find 12 people standing in line and only one person at the counter,while others goofed off in the back talking..and this wasn't during the holidays.

They charge extra for "confirmation" which *isn't* the same as a tracking number,and unlike fedex or ups nothing is automatically insured! Then there's the employees,most of which seem to be marginally retarded.

They certainly don't need to blow more of our money on worthless electric vehicles that cost more to maintain and run than gas powered ones and would take years to recoup the investment.

They need to cut the employees pensions and wages and hire an efficiency expert to come in and clean house.
A government job shouldn't be a ticket to a $20 an hour job,benefits and endless breaks.

I avoid the post office whenever possible.


Any bussiness run by the government will fail.

The branch that I use has 3 windows; but, there's NEVER more than one person working the window. And, it has been that way for years. If you want to really pull your hair out, go in on the 1st and 3rd of the month. There will be 30 people ahead of you, each person will ask for five or six money orders, and there will only be one person working the window. Especially during known busy times, they need to have all three windows open since people generally have more to do in a day's time than spend 45+ minutes standing in the post office line.

BTW, the NC package arrived yesterday.

The branch that I use has 3 windows; but, there's NEVER more than one person working the window. And, it has been that way for years. If you want to really pull your hair out, go in on the 1st and 3rd of the month. There will be 30 people ahead of you, each person will ask for five or six money orders, and there will only be one person working the window. Especially during known busy times, they need to have all three windows open since people generally have more to do in a day's time than spend 45+ minutes standing in the post office line.

BTW, the NC package arrived yesterday.

That's true about the money orders
There's always an "undocumented' person who can't speak even the slightest English buying several money orders at a time.

Sometimes if there isn't someone up front who speaks Spanish it slows the line even more because they have to bring someone up from the back.

It can be quite maddening.

In my town there's usually 2-3 clerks manning the counters. The Postal Service has also reopened small branches in neighboring areas. Overall, they're very efficient in Greater New Orleans; from reading some other posts, I should feel quite fortunate.

For a year or so after the storm, everyone in the Parish had to retrieve their mail in person from one of several trailers set up in the post office's parking lot. That went a lot smoother than you'd think. Even with dozens of people in line you were rarely there for more than a half hour.

Yep,I agree with "classictv80s"
The post office has raised their damn rates enough,and they still provide the same crappy service,they've put themselves in the sorry shape they are in.

The government can't run anything correctly and their answer is always the same... raise costs.

I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a post office only to find 12 people standing in line and only one person at the counter,while others goofed off in the back talking..and this wasn't during the holidays.

They charge extra for "confirmation" which *isn't* the same as a tracking number,and unlike fedex or ups nothing is automatically insured! Then there's the employees,most of which seem to be marginally retarded.

They certainly don't need to blow more of our money on worthless electric vehicles that cost more to maintain and run than gas powered ones and would take years to recoup the investment.

They need to cut the employees pensions and wages and hire an efficiency expert to come in and clean house.
A government job shouldn't be a ticket to a $20 an hour job,benefits and endless breaks.

I avoid the post office whenever possible.


Any bussiness run by the government will fail.

It's interesting that we're discussing the Postal Service when just last week my neighborhood mail carrier did something really bad to me. I've taken up the hobby of collecting celebrity autographs through the mail, and I wrote to an actress and sent her a copy of a picture that was taken of the two of us at an autograph show years ago. I went out to get my mail and noticed it was raining outside, though not real heavily like it did later on that day. When opening my mailbox I noticed the inside of it was completely dry but saw that the bottom portion of my return envelope was drenched with water, and a large puddle of water was on the ground beneath my mailbox. The mailman had to have dropped it.:tears: I opened the envelope and saw my beautifully autographed photo water-damaged on one of its edges.:tears:

Earlier this week I sent the actress another letter explaining what happened, along with another copy of the picture. I'm going to hold on to the water-damaged copy. This time I addressed my return envelope to my PO box, which I'm definitely going to use more in the future after what happened to my autographed photo.:thmbsp:

Saturday delivery should go
Guess I'm showing my age here, but...Up until 1950-51, we got our mail delivered and picked up...TWICE a day! That's right, morning and afternoon, just like the newspapers used to publish an early morning and late afternoon edition.

Isn't progress wonderful, lol?

Saturday delivery is safe for now, but tracking is being added to a new class of mail: Critical Mail. Details on all of the USPS changes are on their website:

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2010/pr10_103.htm

They've added a PADDED Priority Flat Rate Envelope - sure to be a hit with small item sellers on eBay. No more having to buy bubble wrap!

Also, a new "regional" flat rate box - great for those shipping in the same region, perhaps Chicagoland to Milwaukee or the like.

Sill a big fan of the USPS! YMWV, based on what we've heard here!


Cheers,

NO WAY! The postal rates have already been increased enough throughout the years, and the USPS taking away Saturday delivery would be horrible - my mail and packages already take too long to arrive. You can save plenty of money by closing down unneeded post offices and consolidating zip codes, as well as cutting back on the bloated pensions. If the USPS keeps raising rates they will just continue to lose mail and shipping volume, and lose even more money as a result.

Let's say someone buys a tube from a seller on eBay in their same region (East Coast address to East Coast address), and the parcel weighs 7 ounces. By UPS, it ships at the 1 pound rate, whether ground, 2nd day air, or next day. At the retail rate, this could be anywhere from $7.15 to $33.40.

Fedex would ship the same parcel, depending on service, for $7.45 to $29.90.

The Postal Service cost would vary, again depending on service, from $2.24 to $15.90, unless thay want Sunday delivery (available only at express mail level) for $28.40. Even a small increase in rates, and you still save over the others.

Priority mail, with the packaging provided by the post office, offers the best price/value. Even adding delivery confirmation or signature confirmation, and it's still a value. Granted, you have to independently insure the package (UPS and Fedex include indemnity based on weight for no charge), but most of us would probably pass on the insurance.

UPS Ground (91% of the domestic parcel business for UPS) does not deliver on Saturday without an added fee, nor does Fedex Ground.

The USPS Pension system was arranged by Congress when the Postal Service was a cabinet-level department. Congress is the only entity able to change that, not likely given 100% of the House has postal workers and postal worker unions in their districts. I used to do volunteer taxes - USPS employees have a w-a-a-y different W-2/1099 than other workers. I believe (someone smarter than me can weigh in on this) they pay taxes on some of their benefits, much like some Railroad workers.

Most USPS branches in cities were built before the advent of e-mail, and were built to handle the volume of the times. Our post office (built when Kennedy was Prez) has 5 retail clerk windows, but only 2 or 3 clerks working at any given time. Lines are only long the monday after Black Friday, and from Dec 15th to the 23rd. Our postmaster (A funny, saintly lady) handles the line-clogging "picking up mail, back from vacation" folks and that really speeds things up. I hate going in on Thursdays, when they do passports. Bye-bye one retail clerk!

I speed things up for myself by printing 90% of my postage online - only visiting a retail clerk for express shipping and added services. Buy forever stampsand save money - in fact, most stamps issued form now on will be "Forever" stamps.

I don't work for the USPS, never have, just a big fan. Our UPS office is open 2-6:30 only, and the UPS Store is 3 miles further than the post office from both my work and home. Hence, convenience for me.

Once again, not trying to fan any flames, just trying to better illustrate my statements.

Cheers,

"Findm-Keepm",
That's true,the post office is a much better deal on the smaller items.
After you reach a certain weight and size then fedex becomes cheaper.

My biggest complaint with the post office is the long lines and lack of tracking and automatic insurance.

I use the post office in the town I work in. It's all small towns around here, and the smaller the town, the better the PO, I have found. Where I go, everyone in the office knows me on a first name basis, from the postmaster down to the guy who cleans the floors. It's really a joy to do business there. Now, I have had to use some larger offices from time to time and it was a much different experience. One thing I noticed is that they made it very difficult to ship parcel post. They really didn't want to give you that option. At my regular office they will give me the price for priority but they know that, if I'm shipping 30 lbs to Oregon, I want parcel.

There are some very tiny post offices that, if they could get away with it, the USPS would close. I'm talking about places that are about 10'x16', the whole building. They exist because the moment word got out they were being closed, somebody would be getting a call from a US Senator. From my understanding, the PO doesn't get any money from the government, but they have to meet a lot of mandates set by congress.

From my understanding, the PO doesn't get any money from the government, but they have to meet a lot of mandates set by congress.
That's true now, but they may have to ask for a bailout - the USPS is one of those that can't fail either. Official mail, military (APO/FPO) mail, and all of the incoming foreign mail are but three of the reasons they have to exist.

I'll also bet they start pushing more of the stamp collector "experience" - 'cuz for every stamp they sell to a collector, they've just made money selling what is essentially a sticker. Stamp goes into a collection, no mail to deliver, pure profit. I "accumulate" stamps (no longer collect) and I've given them hundreds of dollars feeding my collection. Smaller than TVs......


Cheers,

Last thing I shipped, It was a console television from California to west Texas. I used C&F and I think I spent a little over $500 for a wooden crate,insurance,tracking, and knowing I will get it in one piece. I got it, un-screwed the crate and the television was shrunk-wrapped, foam padding all around it with bubble wrap and packing peanuts to fill empty spots, pretty much, for what I spent, this crate was bulletproof. There was no empty air in it. Foam,packing peanuts, bubble wrap, shrunk-wrapped with wooden crate.
I think it was worth it.

But yeah, They are expensive. You get what you pay for though.

I was listening to Marketplace one morning, A NPR program about business. And they were reading from a report that some group did, where they put recorders inside many similar packages and shipped them around the country and recorded the number of times the packages got dropped. The results were not what I had expected. Fed-Ex had the highest number of drops, UPS came in second, and the post office had zero drops.

The post office has been rough lately.I shipped a jukebox amp to Pennnsylvania from Maryland and the thing was dropped so hard the screws pulled out from the protective board I had screwed under it and the chassis got bent.I can't believe I shipped the same type amp packed identicaslly overseas and it survived intact but one 1 state away was damaged.

Of course the claim was denied citing poor packing.

And I received 2 items with holes in the boxes lately. 1 damaged but I fixed it(not 100% but good enough to keep it works but the meter doesn't always go back to zero.The needle was getting stuck on the face and I fixed that.) Eico 944 flyback tester(It looked like brand new before shipping ,now has 2 bent corners) and 1 undamaged a Heathkit television alignment generator.
Neither were what I call good packing though especially the flyback tester.(No bubble wrap or foam anything,just crumpled newspapers)




I was listening to Marketplace one morning, A NPR program about business. And they were reading from a report that some group did, where they put recorders inside many similar packages and shipped them around the country and recorded the number of times the packages got dropped. The results were not what I had expected. Fed-Ex had the highest number of drops, UPS came in second, and the post office had zero drops.

I've just gotten in the habit of overpacking anything I have to ship. I use a lot of tightly crumpled newspaper, leaving no room for it to shift around. Usually wrap the item thickly with bubble wrap. Also stuff newspaper in any gaps in the item - leave no room for movement. Double boxing ain't a bad idea either. Basically, when I'm done I kick and drop it myself to make sure nothing is moving inside. I've shipped everything from vases to typewriters this way with success. The key is at least two inches of padding around the item and no shifting inside the box.

We had a formal policy in the Navy for bublewrapping expensive Avionics parts - if you could feel the corners through the bubble wrap, you didn't use enough. We had 13 pound transponders that were the size of a small ammo can that were the size of a 19" TV when fully "packaged." 38 grand for the transponder, 28 bucks for the bubble wrap and tape. Justifiably economical.

I shipped an Altec amp one time in three boxes - two for the tubes and one for the amp. I used so much packing, the buyer weighed all three empty boxes and packing and figured it weighed as much as the amp did. I had access to tons of packing materials back then - a local ISP was getting in server racks from the west coast and had to rent an oversized dumpster to get rid of the packing. I grabbed a Minivan full of bubble wrap - clean stuff - and a dozen double wall boxes. Even UPS couldn't destroy my stuff!

Cheers,