I would be more miffed that someone is being charged for and promised overnight shipping and not getting it. If you can't guarantee the service don't offer it.

I received a package from Marcos last week. It had a USPS flat-rate box INSIDE a USPS flat-rate envelope.

I guess someone there realized that shipping the envelope was cheaper than shipping the box, so they just stuck the box inside it.

Kind of a silly world we live in.

3 of my last orders were like this.

Ok...here's my contribution to this thread:

I just shipped a small pinball key fob that is flat and weighs less than .3oz. I was told i have to put it in a bubble mailer because it wouldn't go through the letter processor (*ahem...BS...ahem), and the they proceeded to charge me 4 dollars for it!
I get it...it's only 4 bucks...but there's zero reason why that couldnt have gone in an envelope. It was tiny! They better be baton-passing that to Usain Bolt personally to get it there. Thats ridiculous!
They have continually raised prices and excluded what they will ship via envelopes and media mail, in addition to making everything include tracking (so they can charge more).

That is a rip off.

Ok. Rant over.

USPS rates are going to skyrocket within 12-18 months.

As a few others in this thread who ship a lot have said, UPS is pretty much bulletproof. Of course, a delivery sometimes may be late a few days but they hardly ever completely screw up. We do thousands of shipments per year. Maybe once a year we see a parcel with shipping damage and I can remember only 1 or 2 cases where a parcel went missing (probably stolen from a porch).

For us as a business they're well worth the money (and we have the statistics of thousands of shipments to back it up).

Why BS? Letter processors are designed to handle letters (imagine that) and not small objects. Regardless of its weight, a key fob is a small dimensional object in a much larger envelope... I can absolutely see something like that jamming or tearing in an automatic system with pinchrollers and such.

If you really want to see if it'll make it, toss the fob/envelope in a postal pickup box with enough postage and see what happens.

I don't get this...

- Rural people tend to be conservative
- Conservative people seem to hate the post office, but
- Rural people benefit most from the post office

Get rid of USPS and watch Fedex, UPS, etc. start charging out the wazoo (read: appropriately) for deliveries to your ranch in East Bumfuc, Nowhereville.

Uh, what? This confuses the hell out of me. I've never seen nor heard of this being a thing.

If i wrote a letter and folded it over, it would have been thicker. I ship hundreds of items a year, so i am quite familiar with it. I have noticed this disturbing trend in post offices for awhile now. They have changed MANY rules to raise prices...in addition to outright increasing prices as well.

metallik,
Do you or several of your first of kin work for USPS? That statement was a load of poppycock. Daditude is has it right. The USPS is like Amtrak, a black hole of government sponsored, taxpayer funded inefficient crap!

Can you run the envelope with fob through your printer with no problem? Machines designed for consistently flat material don't like lumps. But if you're the expert and know their machines can handle fobs, why don't you just stick stamps on the envelope and mail it anyway?

BTW, "Inefficient" is delivering mail 6 days a week to every location in the country. Could tighten things up quite a bit by reducing deliveries in the sticks to once or twice a week. Is that what y'all want? Also helps to review all the rules the government forces the PO to work under...

And no, no one here works for the post office LOL

Spoken like a true public sector union boss...

Im not saying you work for the post office...but...can you hook me up with a book of stamps?

USPS service in my area has always been reliable. There have been a few packages I've sent or received over the years that have gotten held up or lost for a few days, but nothing serious so far. I've gotten a few damaged packages, usually due to the sender's poor packaging, but everything has made it here intact.

Every couple months, I get notices in my mailbox about them looking to hire mail carriers. It's a rough gig, from what I understand.

As for UPS, when packages arrive, the boxes are more often than not in rough shape. I've had 2-3 instances where items were actually damaged enough where I had to contact the retailer about the issue. I don't sent out via UPS mainly because with my experience, they seem to be a lot more rough with packages than USPS or Fedex.

For Fedex, I've never had a problem. The boxes always arrive here in good shape, and I haven't gotten any complaints about the boxes I've shipped out. I've also received Fedex freight shipments a handful of times from both across the US and Europe. The delivery on one shipment needed to be rescheduled since it missed a connecting train somewhere, but otherwise, they were all delivered within the expected window safe & sound.

I've only ever had something delivered via DHL once, but that was probably over 10 years ago. Otherwise, I haven't encountered them and have no comment to offer.

has the package arrived yet?

Better than them telling you it has been delivered and it is on someones porch other than your own!

I just had a go 'round with the local UPS distribution center. It's nearby, so I dropped in personally with a box containing the remains of a backglass I had delivered to me this morning. It arrived broken.
They took the box back, "damaged refused". They gave me a phone number to have the sender call to initiate a claim. It was insured for $200.
Am I mistaken, or does the recipient file a damage claim, not the sender? It seemed to me that no one there knew what they were talking about.

I wonder for high dollar value items like back glass and playfields , if a video of complete boxing is made showing double box or thereof
Would be proof enough. ?

I had a couple of pictures that I just happen to take on a whim of the playfield I shipped UPS and it was even in a custom made wooden crate and cardboard boxed on the inside. UPS lost it and has no idea what happened to it. Took four months of SCREAMING to them on the phone and I don't remember how many emails, faxes and red tape BS paperwork for them to FINALLY pay the $700 insurance claim. That was the final straw and I vow to never use UPS again for anything, ever!!

John

Im lucky my UPS guy rocks. He always says "another toy!!?" when he drops off one of my big boxes with a new star wars statue. Can't wait to see him tomorrow when he drops off the life size thanos bust which weighs 130 lbs or something. He's probably going to say "what is this shit?". When he dropped off the Alien Queen life size wall mount he said "Im glad Im got this crap off my truck" then walked away.

queen-studios-collectibles-thanos-avengers-endgame-lifesize-1-1-scale-bust-img03 (resized).jpg

What a thorn in the you know where!!

Typically whoever "pays" for the shipping would have to file the claim. If the person you purchased the glass from "hired" UPS to ship it, it would fall on them.
If YOU gave the shipping party YOUR ups account number to ship on (thus would end up paying your monthly invoice), it would be YOUR responsibility.

Yes that is correct, they wont talk to the buyer at all.

John

These guys must be a little overworked right now.

I followed tracking on one package a week ago that made it to my city... then left.

Ordered stuff from Marco to europe using usps (because ups and DHL rates to europe is a robbery). Normal usps delivery time max 2 weeks. Marco sent it properly but then it got stuck in a mail sorting place in Miami I think (according to tracking). After nothing happened for over 40 days and several mails from me to iglobal they agreed packet was lost and refunded me.

Made another order from Marco with same stuff (really needed those parts) and usps and this time my parcel got stuck in the us for "only" four weeks before going to europe. In Brussels it got stuck another two weeks before I got it delivered to Sweden.

Made a third order from Marco and this time I've learned my lesson, never more usps. Choose ups and got the package delivered in four days. Too bad the parts cost 107 usd and the freight with ups 220 usd which obviously sucks

Thanks for the answers to my question. I was always under the impression that the recipient was the one who would file the claim.
To me, that would make more sense. If I send something out insured, I'd like to think it's no longer my problem. Also, if you're purchasing something from someone who is unmotivated to pursue the claim, and you've already paid him, you could be stuck holding the bag (of broken glass fragments). Luckily, I bought this glass from a well known collector in the hobby, who is a stand-up guy.

Somewhat off topic - but does anyone have any suggestions as to what it should cost to package and ship an object from London to the U.S. east coast? It is a fossil (basically a long rock) 40 inches x 9 inches by 6 inches and weighs 25 pounds and I am getting quotes in the $500 USD range, exclusive of insurance, (of which about $100 is to crate it). $500 seems ridiculously high, but I don't ship things that often and some of you may have valuable insight. Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, that seems about right for retail pricing.

I realise this is an older post, but as someone that works on the DBCS machines that process the mail, maybe I can shed some light on the subject. This isn't a conspiracy to get you to move up to parcel size to make more money for the USPS. Honestly, the clerks probably don't care. Thickness, size of envelope, uniformity of envelope all play a part in rates and restrictions. If your key fobs are rigid, they will get stuck in a machine. If they are loose and not secured in the envelope, they will most likely tear through the envelope. The DBCS machines can process 25 to 40 thousand letters an hour when running properly and not down due to items caught in the rollers, belts, or gates.

Next time you send out some fobs, instead of sending them first class parcel, try securing them to a postcard in an envelope, and asking the clerk for first class letter, non machinable. It's an additional .21 cents, but still cheaper than first class parcel.