SIGforum
Some reason to ship via UPS vs USPS?
August 22, 2019, 04:14 PM
konata88Some reason to ship via UPS vs USPS?
I ordered some replacement headset ear pads. Company is on opposite coast.
Apparently they shipped via UPS ground which seems to mean, based on tracking updates, it's going to take 10 biz days to get here.
I'm sure that if they just put the pads into an envelope and put it into USPS, even the slowest route, it would be cheaper and faster (arriving in 3 days).
Is there some reason the vendor would choose to ship via what seems like would be a more expensive and slower method? Other than to just piss me off?
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book August 22, 2019, 04:31 PM
RHINOWSOLots of packing / shipping is automated - handled by a third party. If you do a lot of business with a vendor (UPS, FEDEX), you can get preferable business rates as well.
August 22, 2019, 04:36 PM
9mmepiphanyIt's cost related.
If they don't offer alternative shipping,at different rates, it is more cost effective to ship everything through the same carrier. they only have to package a certain way and only have to deal with getting it to one carrier
No, Daoism isn't a religion
August 22, 2019, 04:39 PM
RustpotIt seems backwards to me, as well. I've had items come from the next state over that take the better part of a week, but a USPS Priority from California can make it to me in a day.
And yeah, every once in a while I buy something online and it takes most of a week for the vendor to pack it up, another 3 or 4 days for the package to be picked up, and 10+ days to move a few hundred miles. It boggles my mind when it takes 2 weeks to ship an item in 2019.
August 22, 2019, 05:35 PM
lymanquote:
Originally posted by 9mmepiphany:
It's cost related.
If they don't offer alternative shipping,at different rates, it is more cost effective to ship everything through the same carrier. they only have to package a certain way and only have to deal with getting it to one carrier
yep,
corporate rates, gets cheaper by volume supposedly,
and easier (meaning less labor)
pack it, labels printed, and done,
https://www.chesterfieldarmament.com/
August 22, 2019, 06:34 PM
az4783054For a smaller item it doesn't hurt to ask if they'll ship via USPS. I was going to order two small parts recently until I saw the vendor only ships UPS...and for $10.95. That was close to the price of the parts!
I asked if they'd ship USPS and they agreed. It was half the UPS shipping cost.
August 22, 2019, 08:11 PM
jimmy123xBecause it will actually get there. UPS ground shouldn't take 10 days from coast to coast, usually 5-6 days. But with USPS the amount of mis-deliveries and items getting lost is much higher than UPS and FEDEX, and both companies tracking systems are acres ahead of USPS.
August 22, 2019, 08:42 PM
Sigmundquote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
...UPS and FEDEX, and both companies tracking systems are acres ahead of USPS.
USPS tracking is much better than it used to be. I just submitted my passport for renewal and I'm getting daily emails on its progress. Here's what the www site shows:
August 22, 2019
In Transit, Arriving On Time
Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered by the expected delivery date. It is currently in transit to the next facility.
August 21, 2019, 8:43 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
MILAN IL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
August 21, 2019, 5:35 pm
Departed Post Office
BETTENDORF, IA 52722
August 21, 2019, 2:21 pm
USPS in possession of item
BETTENDORF, IA 52722
August 23, 2019, 05:50 AM
Anushquote:
I'm sure that if they just put the pads into an envelope and put it into USPS, even the slowest route, it would be cheaper and faster (arriving in 3 days).
Cost of shipping also relates to labor & decision making. For a small company the shipping area would have to double. Who is going to make the decision for UPS or USPS? The shipping clerk @ $15/hr or the order entry person also @ $15/hr who can barely make change? Hopefully software can make the decision based on weight, container size (required by UPS), also necessary to determine USPS 1st class or Priority. This type of software is not cheap, but even more expensive is the cost of data input. Small parts shipping is a customer service, not a profit center, so it becomes a marketing decision.
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August 23, 2019, 09:50 AM
610Around here 1/2 of the time UPS will bulk drop stuff at the post office and then the post office put my package in my mail box.....explain that.
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August 23, 2019, 08:52 PM
darkest2000quote:
Originally posted by 610:
Around here 1/2 of the time UPS will bulk drop stuff at the post office and then the post office put my package in my mail box.....explain that.
That's called UPS Surepost. FedEx does the same thing called Mail Innovations where the packages go through the UPS/FedEx system with the local post office making the final delivery.
People really aren't a fan of these type of solutions because you only save a couple of bucks but the result is typically an additional 2~3 days delay over just regular service.
August 27, 2019, 10:17 AM
229DAKI don't usually have issues with UPS or USPS. However, my last experience with each was not good.
I mailed an envelope USPS to the local SSA, 5 miles as the crow flies. It ended up taking a trip to Philly first.
Ordered a part from Ruger; UPS shipped from North Carolina. It ended up being stuck in Secaucus, NJ for almost two months.
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“A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.”
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August 27, 2019, 10:47 AM
ChowserSometimes UPS will not drop stuff at the post office and will make final delivery. My house is 1 mile from the post office and if UPS has a delivery on my street they will skip the post office and deliver to me.
Not minority enough!