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?

Lots 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.

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

It 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.

quote:

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,

For 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.

Because 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.

quote:

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

quote:

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.

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.

quote:

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.

I 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.

Sometimes 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.