Rant on shipping

ultrarunner · Jul 12, 2025

NoTrespassing said:
Had one stolen and washed from a city box. Bank covered it after I filed a police report. I no longer use city or rural boxes. I will mail from inside the post office but don't send checks.

I got fined by HOA for late pay of assessment… the neighborhood big USPS mailbox was stolen… only the feet remain below where it was cut off.

HOA wouldn’t budge and my replacement check had UCC verbiage check tendered as payment in full and HOA cashed it… open and shut in Court for the $60 late fee of 5 days…

Decided I didn’t have the time to make a point.

Some government agencies no longer agencies no longer accept postmarks as proof of timely payment.

kenmbz · Jul 13, 2025

We had some insured packages go missing from USPS dropped off at post office.
When we went to file claim, they kept leaving one digit off, until I called the local postmaster and complained.
We had 2 of the same item go missing in 2 different shipments.
Got insurance back on both.

Whoever stole them, got 2 broken radios units being shipped back for repair

newbury · Jul 13, 2025

Jstpssng said:
Here's an example of privatized mail service; I ordered two books last week. They are being shipped via "DHLGLOBAL".
Estimated time to get here from Georgia is 11 days.
Yeah, let's privatize the mail service.

DeJoy of da mail

newbury · Jul 13, 2025

JethroB said:
I mailed a sizable check recently to a relative across the country via USPS Priority Mail ($10.10). Estimated 3 day delivery became 17 days. He eventually received it to find the envelope had been opened and the check was missing. I had already placed a Stop Payment on the check at day 10. A few days later my bank called to say someone had changed the payee name (washed it) and attempted to deposit it.

That’s 2 of 3 checks undelivered I mailed to him in six months. I’ll be sending wires from here on. The question that bugs me is why did the thief put the empty envelope back in the mail box?

Have you tried Zelle or Venmo?

kenmbz · Jul 14, 2025

Zelle got hacked so many times that my banks won't use it anymore (but they will still run their adverts on the bank sites

).

Venmo has worked fine for us, not really enamored of it though.
For years it's default was public for payment trails, and you had to set to private for each batch of transactions.

Direct wire account to account is usually free (not always) and this works for us for any larger sums.
I still run a test for under 1$ to any new routing numbers I add to verify the money is going to the correct place. One typo and...

JethroB · Jul 14, 2025

newbury said:
Have you tried Zelle or Venmo?

Their $ limits too low for this purpose. Otherwise I’ve heard good things about them.

tallyho8 · Aug 8, 2025

How can this happen? I mailed this small package to a customer on September 25, 2024 and today I got it back marked Return to Sender. I even printed a photo of the house to deliver it to on the back in case they didn't have an address number showing. I tried to track it to see what type of journey it went on but the tracking only shows the last couple of days.

Tinhack · Aug 8, 2025

tallyho8 said:
How can this happen? I mailed this small package to a customer on September 25, 2024 and today I got it back marked Return to Sender. I even printed a photo of the house to deliver it to on the back in case they didn't have an address number showing. I tried to track it to see what type of journey it went on but the tracking only shows the last couple of days.

View attachment 3882264 View attachment 3882265

If it's too big to fit in their mail box, they'll get a little yellow slip to pick it up at the post office. Apparently, they failed to pick it up.

My incoming USPS packages too large or heavy for the mail box get placed in silver trash can under the trees near the road (along with the mail). My mailman used to deliver them to the house (1/4 mile driveway) but they had to stop doing that a couple of years ago. Something about not being able to see the house from the road. Ether way, he gets remembered at holidays and special occasions.

NoTrespassing · Aug 8, 2025

tallyho8 said:
How can this happen? I mailed this small package to a customer on September 25, 2024 and today I got it back marked Return to Sender. I even printed a photo of the house to deliver it to on the back in case they didn't have an address number showing. I tried to track it to see what type of journey it went on but the tracking only shows the last couple of days.

View attachment 3882264 View attachment 3882265

My 83 year old father who is still carrying mail on a rural route after almost 65 years has resorted to telling people not to use the USPS if there are other options. He is that disgusted with their service. There may be legitimate reasons for the return of your package but there is no reason for the delay you've experienced. Obviously it sat in a sorting facility for months.

stephenh · Aug 9, 2025

Last summer I bought a weed whacker from Costco.com and soon received mssg from USPS that it was waiting at the local Post Office. We don't have delivery in our county, you gotta pick up at PO [everyone also has a PO box]. Drove to the PO, they couldn't find parcel. They checked online, their records, etc. and said yes it was logged in off the delivery truck to their loading dock. They never found it. I politely asked which of their employees now owned a new whacker.

Fortunately, Costco promptly sent me another one, gratis. The USPS used to be, when I was younger, respected around the planet as an example of a great mail service. Now it is a joke.

rontaki · Aug 9, 2025

stephenh said:
>snip snip< The USPS used to be, when I was younger, respected around the planet as an example of a great mail service. Now it is a joke.

And we are the punch line.

Gem99ultra · Aug 9, 2025

This NOT going to be a popular statement, BUT...
Amazon has delivered my last two orders on/before their stated delivery date estimate!
Noted, both were delivered by thier own Prime trucks. Still, I hope that performance is an indicator of days to come.

Doofy · Aug 9, 2025

No complaints about USPS. Live on a Rural Route and have mail and packages delivered 6 days a week. If our packages are to large for our box they are then dropped off at the front door or we meet them as they pull in. Their mail route is 170 miles long each day and they never complain no matter the weather.

BravoXray · Aug 9, 2025

Doofy said:
No complaints about USPS. Live on a Rural Route and have mail and packages delivered 6 days a week. If our packages are to large for our box they are then dropped off at the front door or we meet them as they pull in. Their mail route is 170 miles long each day and they never complain no matter the weather.

Same here,been at this address for 50 years, and have only had a couple of problems that were really due to bad packaging and not delivery problems.

goeduck · Aug 10, 2025

Doofy said:
No complaints about USPS. Live on a Rural Route and have mail and packages delivered 6 days a week. If our packages are to large for our box they are then dropped off at the front door or we meet them as they pull in. Their mail route is 170 miles long each day and they never complain no matter the weather.

Same here, but their route is nowhere near 170 miles. I'd guess 25.

kenmbz · Aug 10, 2025

Just had a missed Amazon delivery by Amazon, I think the truck was running late so my package got into Amazon Purgatory, returned for processing or something like that.

I was able to cancel and order a new one, so not all bad.

Tinhack · Aug 10, 2025

Gem99ultra said:
This NOT going to be a popular statement, BUT...
Amazon has delivered my last two orders on/before their stated delivery date estimate!
Noted, both were delivered by thier own Prime trucks. Still, I hope that performance is an indicator of days to come.

That happens most often from shipments I receive from sellers ON Amazon. Not very often from Amazon itself. It's happened with Amazon enough to count with fingers on one hand. I average close to one order a day and count on the stated delivery date. They totally miss the time but I generally get it the day promised. There have been numerous failures here though.

There have been troubling occasions where Amazon sends the package back to the origination because of damage but they make a good effort to replace it quickly. These are Amazon packages from other Amazon warehouses. I like that they catch these while in transit.

I just sent a damaged product back to one of Amazon's Return Centers. It was sent by a seller on Amazon. It was a heavy 2-piece product made of cast iron. One of the pieces was cracked and the shipping box looked like FedEx had it's hand in it but it was shipped by a private company (I don't remember the name). I got a new set within a few days with a zero charge.

tallyho8 · Aug 27, 2025

My truck has been laid up for 3 weeks while I was waiting for a part. I live right outside New Orleans and the package got to the New Orleans post office a week ago. Today I tracked it again and it is in Anchorage Alaska. WTF?
Tracking Number:
9405508106244165467843
Copy Add to Informed Delivery

Latest Update

Your item arrived at our USPS facility in ANCHORAGE AK DISTRIBUTION CENTER on August 27, 2025 at 5:10 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

Oaktree · Aug 27, 2025

BravoXray said:
Same here,been at this address for 50 years, and have only had a couple of problems that were really due to bad packaging and not delivery problems.

What few USPS issues I've had can mostly be blamed on new or substitute carriers unfamiliar with the route. Our regular carrier almost never screws up.

kenmbz · Aug 27, 2025

Oaktree said:
What few USPS issues I've had can mostly be blamed on new or substitute carriers unfamiliar with the route. Our regular carrier almost never screws up.

Our regular carrier is not the problem. stuff just never shows up.
We know him pretty well and he will go out of his way to help, but most mail is not traceable