[Elecraft] OT: Package shippers

[Alan Bloom]

I've had exactly the opposite experience than Ken - excellent, flawless 
performance from FedEx and horrible experience with the post office.

The local post office claims to have found a rule that says that if your 
house is more than 1/2 mile from the public highway, they don't have to 
deliver packages.  So to save the driver the 5 minutes it would take to 
drive to my door, I have to make a more than 1-hour round trip to the 
post office and stand in line to pick up my package.

When I order on-line I always try to get it shipped FexEx, even if it 
costs more.  Unfortunately Amazon doesn't give you the option to specify 
the shipping company, so I have to have everything shipped to a friend's 
house in case it comes by USPS.

Alan N1AL



On 04/26/2017 11:13 AM, Rick Tavan wrote:
> The radio world seems to be converging on your opinion, Ken. Almost all
> packages I've received in the past few years have come via UPS and I use it
> myself for my occasional outbound shipments. That being said, there is a
> disturbing relationship between UPS and USPS: In some rural areas, and
> maybe elsewhere, UPS can hand off a package for ultimate delivery by USPS.
> Seems reasonable except that the two providers have different conditions of
> carriage. UPS agrees to deliver to a home doorstep while USPS requires that
> a home have an official USPS mailbox which they use when able. If USPS
> delivers a package too large for the mailbox, then they will deliver to the
> doorstep. However, if there is no mailbox, USPS will not deliver any
> package of any size. They return the package to the sender, no notice to or
> recourse for the intended recipient. UPS and mail-order shippers don't
> disclose this occasional glitch (at least I've not seen it) so both
> shippers and recipients get screwed. Moral of the story: If you don't have
> a mailbox, don't order packages that will be shipped by UPS. Better, use
> someone else's delivery address that has a mailbox. If you have a PO box,
> some US Post Offices will accept courier packages addressed to their own
> street address with an appended box number. But the shipper must specify
> that street address because UPS will not deliver to a PO Box explicitly!
> Catch 22.
>
> 73,
>
> /Rick N6XI
>
> On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 10:56 AM, Ken G Kopp <kengkopp at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I suspect for each of us our view of shippers will vary widel.
>>
>> While certainly not a "large" shipper, Rose (Elecraft Covers)
>> ships a number of packages a week, with many going to
>> foreign destinations.
>>
>> She -always- ships via the USPS and mostly via Priority Mail.
>> In almost ten years she's had one package go astray, and
>> that was due to me typing a wrong ZIP code.  A Priority Mail
>> package will reach any US destination in no more then three
>> days.
>>
>> FedEx is absolutely terrible!  One fat envelope of legal papers
>> from our bank was left on the driveway, laying in two inches
>> of water.  Another was tossed over a fence into the yard.  Yet
>> another was dropped near the BACK door of the house.  Didn't
>> find it until a trace was instituted for the "missing" delivery.
>>
>> When we order fabric, webbing, Velcro supplies, the vendor
>> is told in no uncertain terms if the order is sent vis FedEx it
>> will be the last one they get.  A gawd awful company! (:-)
>>
>> FedEx problems may stem from their use of non-company
>> contract drivers in their trucks ... at least in this area.
>>
>> UPS is OK in our view ... all of Rose's orders are shipped via
>> UPS or the USPS.
>>
>> Trivia:  A case shipped to Istanbul via USPS Airmail was
>> delivered in Turkey in -five- days!!
>>
>> FWIW ...
>>
>> 73!
>>
>> Ken - K0PP
>> ElecraftCovers at gmail.com
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