Postal Whine

snow

It is no wonder the postal service is going bankrupt the way they run things, for example I can only choose priority mail or express mail if I want to use their clik n ship online service it will not allow you to choose 1st class standard post or media mail which is the dumbest thing I have ever ran across, this forces you to stand in line at the post office for up to over an hour to mail a package if you want to use these services which cause a lot of people to use FedEx or UPS instead and they will come to your door to pick up your shipment.

The ironic thing is if I sell something on Ebay they will allow you to ship 1st class or standard post and pay for it through paypal. I am certain that some Einstein decided that if they only allowed people to choose either priority or express services that people would simply choose these more expensive services which simply isnt true especially since they have almost doubled shipping costs in the last 2 years.


REGARDS SNOW

jbooker82

Usually if your wanting to use 1st class, media mail, or parcel post your decesion is based off cost savings. UPS and FedEx ground are not really going to be the cheaper option especially if they are coming to your door to pick up the package.

jbooker82

Hell at this time of night go use the automated postal machine and have no line at all.

snow

jbooker82 wrote: »

Usually if your wanting to use 1st class, media mail, or parcel post your decesion is based off cost savings. UPS and FedEx ground are not really going to be the cheaper option especially if they are coming to your door to pick up the package.

Good points but if you are going to pay as much for priority mail as fedex or ups ground why bother going to drop off the package at the post office?

jbooker82 wrote: »

Hell at this time of night go use the automated postal machine and have no line at all.

There is no automated postal machine in any post office where I live at and even if there was do they even allow you to ship any way other than priority or express mail? if not then no reason to waste the time and gas to do so simply wait for the fedex or ups guy to show up because the cost is the same or less.

One of the reasons behind a small savings of printing out a label online versus standing in line to mail something is that the postal service saves money by not having to pay a clerk to interact with a customer that is shipping priority or express mail it costs them less so they offer a small discount if you pay online and print out a label. The same should hold true for paying a clerk to have to wait on someone wanting to ship 1st class parcel post or media mail if anything since the profit margin is less on these type of services it costs them even more to do so which is the whole point of why they are going broke it is senseless to operate like this. Perhaps they are concerned about customers cheating on the box size or weight? versus a flat rate for priority or express mail. Simple fix for that is dont ship it if the weight or size is wrong and have an automated email response to the customer stating that the weight or size is in correct and needs to be re done once they scan a package and it comes up wrong.

REGARDS SNOW

obieone

The USPS is run by psychotics! Anyone who has taken the entrance exam can testify to that.

heiney9

snow wrote: »

It is no wonder the postal service is going bankrupt the way they run things, for example I can only choose priority mail or express mail if I want to use their clik n ship online service it will not allow you to choose 1st class standard post or media mail which is the dumbest thing I have ever ran across, this forces you to stand in line at the post office for up to over an hour to mail a package if you want to use these services which cause a lot of people to use FedEx or UPS instead and they will come to your door to pick up your shipment.

The ironic thing is if I sell something on Ebay they will allow you to ship 1st class or standard post and pay for it through paypal. I am certain that some Einstein decided that if they only allowed people to choose either priority or express services that people would simply choose these more expensive services which simply isnt true especially since they have almost doubled shipping costs in the last 2 years.


REGARDS SNOW

I agree, but I think the main reason is Priority is a fixed rate where 1st Class and Parcel Post are based on weight and size for which you'd need a scale. If you buy a postal scale you can link it to an account and print shipping labels from there. Media mail is strictly scrutinized so people don't take advantage. The difference is UPS and FEDEX tend to be larger packages that are more easily weighed and measured and they will back charge your account if you get it wrong. And, they use standard priced cardboard envelopes for shipping documents, etc. The USPS doesn't want to be bothered with keeping track of postage in that way so they allow you to use a third party (like Endicia) and why you can pay for it that way on EBAY (they are the third party and will back charge you if you fib on the postage).

H9

helipilotdoug

If you have a paypal account, you may be able to do the shipping through them. My account is a commercial account, so don't know if a regular account can do this or not. Log into paypal, and on the right side of the page under My Account tools click on Multi-order shipping. You'll have to set it up, but you should be able to ship through this. I'm able to ship using this method even if the payment was not through paypal. It does save a lot of time at the PO that's for sure! Again, not sure if a regular account has this feature or not, but check it out.

DaveHo

helipilotdoug wrote: »

If you have a paypal account, you may be able to do the shipping through them. My account is a commercial account, so don't know if a regular account can do this or not. Log into paypal, and on the right side of the page under My Account tools click on Multi-order shipping. You'll have to set it up, but you should be able to ship through this. I'm able to ship using this method even if the payment was not through paypal. It does save a lot of time at the PO that's for sure! Again, not sure if a regular account has this feature or not, but check it out.

+1

You do not need a commercial account. I use it frequently to ship media mail. Here's the link.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

zingo

[QUOTE=snow;1910371...this forces you to stand in line at the post office for up to over an hour to mail a package if you want to use these services which cause a lot of people to use FedEx or UPS instead and they will come to your door to pick up your shipment.[/QUOTE]

Bingo. But, I will not stand in line at USPS because they offer zero customer service, where as if I go to UPS, they will do the entire process for me and I'll pay about the same.

sucks2beme

The postal service is in the red because the government told them to bank 75 years of
pensions in just a few years. It was a thinly disguised kiss of death from a few politicians.
So far I'm amazed it has managed to survive it.

tonyb

Isn't it painfully obvious that the private sector can do the job of the USPS better ? Why not outsource the mail service to private firms then and save the country a boat load of coin ? Why keep throwing bandaids on a bleeding wound ?

sucks2beme

tonyb wrote: »

Isn't it painfully obvious that the private sector can do the job of the USPS better ? Why not outsource the mail service to private firms then and save the country a boat load of coin ? Why keep throwing bandaids on a bleeding wound ?

The postal service pays it's own way. The private sector already competes. So now what?

snow

heiney9 wrote: »

I agree, but I think the main reason is Priority is a fixed rate where 1st Class and Parcel Post are based on weight and size for which you'd need a scale. If you buy a postal scale you can link it to an account and print shipping labels from there. Media mail is strictly scrutinized so people don't take advantage. The difference is UPS and FEDEX tend to be larger packages that are more easily weighed and measured and they will back charge your account if you get it wrong. And, they use standard priced cardboard envelopes for shipping documents, etc. The USPS doesn't want to be bothered with keeping track of postage in that way so they allow you to use a third party (like Endicia) and why you can pay for it that way on EBAY (they are the third party and will back charge you if you fib on the postage).

H9

I do have a postal scale and an account with the USPS clik n ship service it simply will not allow me to select any other service other than priority or express mail which is the source of my aggravation and complaint :cheesygrin: I agree with it may have something to do with fear of people purchasing and printing out the wrong label for size and weight of package but since your only 2 options to pay through their clik n ship service is either PayPal or credit card simply do as UPS or FedEx does and charge the extra fees to the account used if the label is underweight or size.


REGARDS SNOW

snow

helipilotdoug wrote: »

If you have a paypal account, you may be able to do the shipping through them. My account is a commercial account, so don't know if a regular account can do this or not. Log into paypal, and on the right side of the page under My Account tools click on Multi-order shipping. You'll have to set it up, but you should be able to ship through this. I'm able to ship using this method even if the payment was not through paypal. It does save a lot of time at the PO that's for sure! Again, not sure if a regular account has this feature or not, but check it out.

Thanks

DaveHo wrote: »

+1

You do not need a commercial account. I use it frequently to ship media mail. Here's the link.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

Thanks Now this makes sense, why the USPS clik n ship service online does not allow this is a mystery to me especially if you choose to pay via PayPal.


REGARDS SNOW

Face

Are you sure it's not due to your desolate location?

snow

Face wrote: »

Are you sure it's not due to your desolate location?

Yes i'm certain it's not :cheesygrin:




REGARDS SNOW

jbooker82

tonyb wrote: »

Isn't it painfully obvious that the private sector can do the job of the USPS better ? Why not outsource the mail service to private firms then and save the country a boat load of coin ? Why keep throwing bandaids on a bleeding wound ?

You mean like when UPS drops your package off at your local post office then the post office is the one that actually delivers it to you?

jbooker82

snow wrote: »

Good points but if you are going to pay as much for priority mail as fedex or ups ground why bother going to drop off the package at the post office?

Because US Priority Mail will go across the country in 3 days vs UPS or FedEx Ground taking 5. US Mail also considers Saturday a regular business day where as FedEx and UPS will require you to pay more for a Saturday Delivery. I haven't ever needed any thing delivered or received on Saturday but it is a nice to get something vs waiting until Monday. If you wanted a fair comparison in price compare Priority Mail to UPS 3 Day Select with Saturday delivery. I bet Priority mail will come in way under what UPS will charge. It is a pain having to go to the post office but there are pluses too.

snow wrote: »

There is no automated postal machine in any post office where I live at and even if there was do they even allow you to ship any way other than priority or express mail? if not then no reason to waste the time and gas to do so simply wait for the fedex or ups guy to show up because the cost is the same or less.

One of the reasons behind a small savings of printing out a label online versus standing in line to mail something is that the postal service saves money by not having to pay a clerk to interact with a customer that is shipping priority or express mail it costs them less so they offer a small discount if you pay online and print out a label. The same should hold true for paying a clerk to have to wait on someone wanting to ship 1st class parcel post or media mail if anything since the profit margin is less on these type of services it costs them even more to do so which is the whole point of why they are going broke it is senseless to operate like this. Perhaps they are concerned about customers cheating on the box size or weight? versus a flat rate for priority or express mail. Simple fix for that is dont ship it if the weight or size is wrong and have an automated email response to the customer stating that the weight or size is in correct and needs to be re done once they scan a package and it comes up wrong.

REGARDS SNOW

I am not for sure what all ways you can ship. I do know that you can send Parcel Post because I have done that before. It is nice because they leave the post office unlocked and you have 24 7 access to the machine. They also have flat rate boxes out so if you need something then its available. If you do use it and send something other than priority don't use a priority mail address label. That can cause problems. There would be a lot of angry people if US Mail returned a package to them due to the weight or dimensions being fudged or miscalculated. Especially if you were out the original shipping charges.

heiney9

The reason you can do it through PayPal is because they are a 3rd party vendor. This way disputes of any kind are handled through PayPal and not the USPS directly. The USPS has no interest in a direct online or if you will cyber activities. Priority and express mail are fixed rate. You pay, you ship simple as that. Every person that ships a small priority box gets charged the same, no disputes, no overage or underage to worry about. No credits or debits to individual accounts, etc, etc.

Jhayman

I too have a bone to pick with your USPS.
I ordered a package and so far it's been at least 6-7 days and still have not received it could be in customs but I have no idea..
Up here in the North I can ship a package from east to west in 3 days standard rate..
I had no idea your postal service is such financial trouble..
I was really hoping to get my package today as I'm on holidays starting now and it gives me lots of time to play with my new cables and interconnects.
I am excited

Systems

Jhayman wrote: »

I too have a bone to pick with your USPS.
I ordered a package and so far it's been at least 6-7 days and still have not received it could be in customs but I have no idea..
Up here in the North I can ship a package from east to west in 3 days standard rate..
I had no idea your postal service is such financial trouble..
I was really hoping to get my package today as I'm on holidays starting now and it gives me lots of time to play with my new cables and interconnects.
I am excited

Well, I for one hope you get that package!:eek:

I always worry about shipping up North (I have shipped there a few times).
That said, and like you mentioned, I have never had a package lost, so hopefully it will show up.
I hate that you did not receive it yet, but as I told you, it is out of my hands, no tracking # because of the hand off.
Absolutely no tracking into Canada from the US, but I do have an inquiry phone # if you need it.
That is all the USPS could offer me.
I think I sent it to you, if not pm me.

snow

heiney9 wrote: »

The reason you can do it through PayPal is because they are a 3rd party vendor. This way disputes of any kind are handled through PayPal and not the USPS directly. The USPS has no interest in a direct online or if you will cyber activities. Priority and express mail are fixed rate. You pay, you ship simple as that. Every person that ships a small priority box gets charged the same, no disputes, no overage or underage to worry about. No credits or debits to individual accounts, etc, etc.

I am sure your right Brock, I am pleased that two good people here on the forum showed me how to ship through PayPal other methods than priority or express mail Thanks to you both. It still seems that the postal service is losing out by not allowing other methods through their clik n ship online service though but nothing I can do about that.

Jhayman wrote: »

I too have a bone to pick with your USPS.
I ordered a package and so far it's been at least 6-7 days and still have not received it could be in customs but I have no idea..
Up here in the North I can ship a package from east to west in 3 days standard rate..
I had no idea your postal service is such financial trouble..
I was really hoping to get my package today as I'm on holidays starting now and it gives me lots of time to play with my new cables and interconnects.
I am excited

Sorry to hear about your package not arriving quickly but I'm certain it will show up eventaully, from my experience shipping to Canada it seems that 12 days is the average time to arrive if shipped priority mail from the US sometimes sooner or later but that seems to be the average.


REGARDS SNOW