And we wonder why shipping cost are high?

[Mike B]

I bought a driveshaft from a fellow in Minnesota and he shipped it out this Monday for me..

I'm in California.

Today, I checked the tracking number to see how things were going...

Mi to Pa to be sorted......hmmmn, heck, if it'd been sent west the same distance, I'd probably have it tomorrow...I'm curious as to where it will go next

USPS BTW.

[alan]

I was purchasing agent for a US Navy ship, we needed a scoop shovel and as there were some in the supply chain so we ordered one. Turned out it was in Rota Spain, sent to Rhinestat Germany then to Holy Loch Scotland then to Mechanicsburg Pa and then to Charleston SC--there were labels for all these destinations-- and you wonder why the nation is broke??? Scoop shovel at the local hwd store in Charleston was $2.50 then

[34pickup]

In their defense, there are only certain places equipped to sort out the parcels.They are all sent there from the outliers before anyone starts to sort them out. Can't send them in your direction if there is no where to send them. The days of sending stuff one at a time where it goes is long gone. It would be even more expensive if it were done the old fashioned way..or so they claim.

[Bill S]

UPS is going up 5%

[Tinker]

Pony express would take a while, days even! On the oregon trail they started out with one group of people and by the time they got there it was a whole new group of people. I joke, but i am glad you found the drive shaft you needed.

[Mike B]

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Originally Posted by 34pickup

In their defense, there are only certain places equipped to sort out the parcels.They are all sent there from the outliers before anyone starts to sort them out. Can't send them in your direction if there is no where to send them. The days of sending stuff one at a time where it goes is long gone. It would be even more expensive if it were done the old fashioned way..or so they claim.

I agree...but sending something 1000 miles to the east, to be sent 3500 miles to the west...a bit odd..

You'd think..just my opinion, that there would be a few sorting areas spread across the US...I mean things aimed to the West should head west, things aimed to the east, should aim east.

But I don't work in the government sector, wadda I know?

[expavr]

Mike
I'm on the "flip" side of your question. How can the USPO ship so cheap and fast? I sent a pair of shocks (12.5#'s) from Seattle to Bill Worzek in Florence, Mass. on 11-7 and they were delivered on 11-9. I paid $12.50 for flat rate 2-day service which I assume is based on air freight rates. I had originally stopped at the UPS store to see what it would cost and they quoted $44.00 regular 5 day delivery. Its been a while since I've shipped anything so I thought the USPO charge was a helluva deal. Of course the thought lurks in the back of my mind is this shipping rate some kind of a loss leader to keep the USPO in business?

[Ross6860]

Originally Posted by alan

I was purchasing agent for a US Navy ship, we needed a scoop shovel and as there were some in the supply chain so we ordered one. Turned out it was in Rota Spain, sent to Rhinestat Germany then to Holy Loch Scotland then to Mechanicsburg Pa and then to Charleston SC--there were labels for all these destinations-- and you wonder why the nation is broke??? Scoop shovel at the local hwd store in Charleston was $2.50 then

When we question our official "Supply Chain", we typically get a response that starts with "You don't understand..."

Yup, I don't. For instance, I can go to Home Depot and buy fluorescent tubes for a couple bucks. Our official policy would require me to buy my tubes from an electrical supply house 600 miles away, for 50%-100% higher cost. At least 50% of the time they show up broken, so someone has to spend the time to fill out a defective materials report and ship the broken bulbs back, or dispose of them at an even higher cost. Then order more tubes and start the process over again. Just a simple example of corporate lunacy. Oh, BTW you need to cut your O&M budget.

This is a Fortune 300 company...

Originally Posted by expavr

Mike
I'm on the "flip" side of your question. How can the USPO ship so cheap and fast? I sent a pair of shocks (12.5#'s) from Seattle to Bill Worzek in Florence, Mass. on 11-7 and they were delivered on 11-9. I paid $12.50 for flat rate 2-day service which I assume is based on air freight rates. I had originally stopped at the UPS store to see what it would cost and they quoted $44.00 regular 5 day delivery. Its been a while since I've shipped anything so I thought the USPO charge was a helluva deal. Of course the thought lurks in the back of my mind is this shipping rate some kind of a loss leader to keep the USPO in business?

I do a little Ebay business on the side. I currently only ship USPS as long as it's under 70 lbs. Better service and far less damaged goods than using FedEx or UPS.

I had a guy ship me a guitar through USPS and he just slapped a mailing label on the guitar case and sent it on its way. No box, no packing materials, etc. Just a guitar in its case and the case was not a locking type case. I couldn't believe it when it was delivered. There was one tiny mark on the case (which may have been there before it was shipped). Other than that it was in perfect condition. Try that with someone else.

[Ken Crans]

Make damned sure there is a tracking #

[Mike51Merc]

Sorting means it is being put together with other stuff so that they can fill the trucks and planes headed your way.

Half empty trucks and planes coming to you would raise shipping costs even more.

[Cecil/WV]

My wife mailed a registered letter to Accomack, Va from Martinsburg, WV, a distance of 450 miles, or 4.5 hours, and it went to Memphis Tn on its trip to Va, a distance of 1850 miles or 27 hours. We got our moneys worth from that stamp.

[Barry-ct]

I tracked a recent purchase and it went via USPS and was shipped from New Jersey to Nashua, NH , then Springfield, Ma to me in Ct. Somehow it missed Springfield on the way north which is a sorting hub. We also have a sorting hub in Wallingford, Ct ( 20 miles from me ) but nothing sems to go thru there.
UPS ground takes forever as residential sorting and delivery is secondary. THey wait for a full load before shipping. THey have the highest rates and beat the hell out of the box.
Fedex has better rates than UPS, but lately, I've had alot of battered boxes from them. Maybe they hired ex-UPS people?
To me, the post office has the best prices and record for getting my stuff shipped.

[BlueSunoco]

I have to admit, USPS has been doing a pretty good job w/ packages. I use their Priority boxes a lot no complaints whatsoever. They do a better job than UPS anymore it seems.

[Mike51Merc]

It's kind of surprising that USPS is getting so much praise here. Usually I just see a lot of government-bashing going on.

USPS has recently signed an agreement with Amazon for residential Sunday deliveries. They also have an agreement with UPS for joint-delivery ventures.

Lately some tags allow you to deposit parcels at any UPS or USPS facility.

[Barry-ct]

THey also do Fedex small packages.

[rotorwrench]

I have a customer that needed main rotor blades repaired so we checked to see what it would cost truck freight up to Ft Worth from San Antonio. This customer had a blade destroyed in shipping before so he wanted them insured. None of the truck freight companies would insure more than so many cents per pound so that was out. The cheepest quote was still over $ 1K. The customer rented a van for $350 a day and paid around $170 in fuel by taking them up there personally. He's retired now so it's not like it's taking a bite from his schedule and he only can kick himself if they get damaged in shipping.

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

I have a customer that needed main rotor blades repaired so we checked to see what it would cost truck freight up to Ft Worth from San Antonio. This customer had a blade destroyed in shipping before so he wanted them insured. None of the truck freight companies would insure more than so many cents per pound so that was out. The cheepest quote was still over $ 1K. The customer rented a van for $350 a day and paid around $170 in fuel by taking them up there personally. He's retired now so it's not like it's taking a bite from his schedule and he only can kick himself if they get damaged in shipping.

Yes, he saved money (because he doesn't value his own time) but he still had no insurance for the blades....

[G.M.]

I find sometimes it's cheaper to buy things on eBay that have free shipping then the fuel I use to go get it. That's if it don't need it for a few days. Price of the items are less money also. G.M.

[trulyvintage]

At least you don't own this Hudson ....




Jim

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by trulyvintage

At least you don't own this Hudson ....




Jim

Guess the guy didn't want to pay ya