USPS versus UPS/FedEx tracking

[Alkali Ike]

Just out of curiosity, were the wayward packages hand-addressed when handed off to USPS? Or did they have computer-generated labels right from the get go? If a clerk or someone has to manually enter a destination address in order to generate a label, that's an opportunity for a mistake. I always generate labels online myself so I can guaranty their accuracy when handing off the package.

 

[ctmullins]

Most of mine are machine-labeled.

 

[Gibson Victory]

I find this so annoying.

When I order something that gets shipped via UPS or FedEx, tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in Flagstaff AZ
• Day 3 - Package in Amarillo TX
• Day 4 - Package in Memphis TN
• Day 5 - Package out for delivery

If, on the other hand, the seller ships via USPS, the tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 3 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 4 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 5 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 6 - Package out for delivery

How is that value added? If USPS can’t tell me how far along its journey my package is on any given day, then why even bother??

Amen X 2 !!

 

[Gibson Victory]

Nothing is perfect, but I’ll go for Fed-Ex when I can. The “hold at location”, like a Fed-Ex Office place really comes in handy when someone insists on the signature required thing and you can’t be around the house all day.

 

[pcake]

i have an item on the way via USPS, and it's got the best tracking happening so far i've ever had from USPS.

 

[Alkali Ike]

This is the tracking info for a shipment I just made via USPS Priority Flat Rate. Doesn't get much more detailed than this.

June 12, 2020, 11:27 am
Delivered, In/At Mailbox
PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050
Your item was delivered in or at the mailbox at 11:27 am on June 12, 2020 in PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050.

June 12, 2020, 9:15 am
Out for Delivery
PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050

June 12, 2020, 9:04 am
Arrived at Post Office
PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050

June 12, 2020, 6:34 am
Arrived at USPS Facility
PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050

June 12, 2020, 6:03 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
GARDEN CITY NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER

June 12, 2020, 4:01 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
GARDEN CITY NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER

June 12, 2020, 3:24 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
METRO NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER

June 12, 2020, 1:06 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility
METRO NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER

June 11, 2020
In Transit to Next Facility

June 10, 2020, 8:17 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
EUGENE OR DISTRIBUTION CENTER

June 10, 2020, 7:02 pm
Accepted at USPS Origin Facility
EUGENE, OR 97403

June 10, 2020, 2:12 pm
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
EUGENE, OR 97403

 

[Michedelic]

I find this so annoying.

When I order something that gets shipped via UPS or FedEx, tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in Flagstaff AZ
• Day 3 - Package in Amarillo TX
• Day 4 - Package in Memphis TN
• Day 5 - Package out for delivery

If, on the other hand, the seller ships via USPS, the tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 3 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 4 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 5 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 6 - Package out for delivery

How is that value added? If USPS can’t tell me how far along its journey my package is on any given day, then why even bother??

What is this ‘value added’ that you refer to?

 

[JRA]

i ship with all of them and i get deliveries from them all. IME: there can be glitches/misinformation and spotty transit info with any of them. when it happens, i'm usually surprised which items have the most trouble. i don't think USPS is as detail-oriented as the two biggies --- and they're not as expensive either (for my stuff).

 

[Phaenomenal]

If, on the other hand, the seller ships via USPS, the tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 3 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 4 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 5 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 6 - Package out for delivery

Yep, I have the same thing. I recently received a Joe Satriani record after it spent two months on tour along the east coast with a month-long residency in Jersey City and a week-long tour of the five boroughs of NYC. Heck, it toured longer than Satriani himself will this year.

Since the package arrived obviously having been opened, the plastic on the record slit, the record dirty with scratches, it's practically a tour.

 

[MJ5150]

I had a chance to put the USPS tracking to the test over the last few days as a handful of packages are on their way to us, or have arrived via USPS.
What I noticed was packages sent first class most often gave me the 'Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility' status when I checked the tracking number.
Packages sent priority mail gave me a nearly day by day status update, including when it arrived somewhere and when it left.
This makes sense to me since priority mail costs more and thus would get a better level of tracking and service.

-Mike

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

I’ve always gone to ups because of all of the horror stories of usps and fedex. Not to say ups is much better. I have a bass on the way to my place and it’s being shipped via usps. One thing I’ve noticed is that tracking just doesn’t work late at night. I’ll try and pull up the usps tracking page and it does the whole “infinite loading” in my browser.

 

[ctmullins]

Seriously???

 

[fdeck]

I find this so annoying.

When I order something that gets shipped via UPS or FedEx, tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in Flagstaff AZ
• Day 3 - Package in Amarillo TX
• Day 4 - Package in Memphis TN
• Day 5 - Package out for delivery

If, on the other hand, the seller ships via USPS, the tracking looks like this:

• Day 1 - Package received in Los Angeles CA
• Day 2 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 3 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 4 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 5 - Package in transit to next facility
• Day 6 - Package out for delivery

How is that value added? If USPS can’t tell me how far along its journey my package is on any given day, then why even bother??

How does knowing that your package is in Amarillo help, for that matter?

I've been shipping packages through USPS for several years, and I've noticed that the "pattern" of tracking info has changed since the COVID crisis. My guess is that they've adapted their logistics to cope with the loss of business, but haven't updated their tracking system to their new processes. Also, before COVID, there just wasn't a day 4, 5, or 6, so it would have been less noticeable. The value added is evidence of shipment and delivery, which some of the payment services require.

 

[MJ5150]

Seriously???

View attachment 3899543

Maybe The Dog and Leland grabbed it up for a bounty.

-Mike

 

[CB3UK]

Im a USPS clerk. Not that Im going out on a limb ton peak for them, just want to clear a few things up. It all depends on what kind of postage youve paid for. Express mail and priority are the only types that get tracking scanned as part of what you pay for. First class on down, depending on what it is and what machine it is run on, get what are known as en route scans. The short answer is you get what you pay for based on level of shipping postage youve paid. If you guys are sending or receiving packages via express or priority mail and not getting tracking, then yes, you have a complaint. If its not those, well, it is what it is so to speak. As someone alluded to earlier, FedEx and UPS focus on parcel delivery so they scan everything as part of their business model. USPS has so many different things we do as well as the additional levels of shipping options, only a few tiers do you get guaranteed tracking and scanning. And yes, invariably, someone will point out an instance where they did pay for express and still got bad tracking. All I can say to that is that mistakes happen on every job. Ive seen it happen. All I can tell you is if I see a package, I scan it, because I know there are guys like yall, and me too , want to know where your package is. If something has been delivered and you dont get the uodate until later that has to do with when the scanner the carriers use are docked, info transmitted into systems, and then summarily scanned by us as delivered, thereby generating said info to you. Basically, someone somewhere is running behind and it doesnt get done until the next day because there are 1000 other things that have to be done. I know we all want to have our cake and eat it too, but what is more important....getting more packages out as timely as possible or stopping to ensure packages that are already delivered have their paperwork for our own internal purposes in order?

Hope this helps.

 

[ctmullins]

Thanks for chiming in @CB3UK ! Always good to hear from an authoritative and informed expert.

Perhaps this is a semantic issue then? What exactly do we mean by “tracking”? To my brain (which, admittedly, often reaches a different conclusion than most people’s), “tracking” means “visibility into the progress one’s parcel is making as it traverses the geography”, much like an outfielder, who knows exactly when the ball has left the bat, can see exactly what direction it’s headed, how high its arc is, when it reaches its apex, and where and when it will touch earch (or hopefully a mitt) again. Every split second of that journey is plainly visible, and the outfielder can plan his or her movements to exactly coincide with the ball when it comes down.

Is that not what “tracking” is?

What some of you have described I would label as “delivery confirmation”, analogous to a gopher, whom one can see pop down into the ground, but then they’re out of sight, and one doesn’t know what route they’re taking, or exactly how long it will be before they pop up again at their destination. It’s kinda hard to plan around that.

 

[CB3UK]

Thanks for chiming in @CB3UK ! Always good to hear from an authoritative and informed expert.

Perhaps this is a semantic issue then? What exactly do we mean by “tracking”? To my brain (which, admittedly, often reaches a different conclusion than most people’s), “tracking” means “visibility into the progress one’s parcel is making as it traverses the geography”, much like an outfielder, who knows exactly when the ball has left the bat, can see exactly what direction it’s headed, how high its arc is, when it reaches its apex, and where and when it will touch earch (or hopefully a mitt) again. Every split second of that journey is plainly visible, and the outfielder can plan his or her movements to exactly coincide with the ball when it comes down.

Is that not what “tracking” is?

What some of you have described I would label as “delivery confirmation”, analogous to a gopher, whom one can see pop down into the ground, but then they’re out of sight, and one doesn’t know what route they’re taking, or exactly how long it will be before they pop up again at their destination. It’s kinda hard to plan around that.

Honestly, it really is just about like that. Say you order some strings. Regular ground shipping. Those smaller parcels go across a machince called APBS. It automatically takes a picture of every package. (If you use the informed delivery app....thats where those come from. Similar deal for letters and mags..different mahcines....I digress.)
Now some of you may say...well...if the machine sees that piece of mail, small package (again...not big ones. Big stuff is all handled manually so if you want tracking for that stuff you absolutely need to pay for appropriate level of shipping to get it. With something like a bass I sure as heck would) why doesnt it just take down the info and transmit it as part of tracking. Well my friends....that would make too much sense.

The reality is express means we drop everything and get it done. If a package is express and its 100 miles away, and somehow got lost in the mix, they will literally send one guy that 100 miles to ensure it gets to you on time for just that package. Ive had to do it myself and Im a clerk, not a carrier. Priority mail is exactly that....once express is dispatched it takes priority over everything else. Then pther classes of mail get dealt with. The business model is exactly that. The first two get you that tracking info as part of what you pay for, beyond expedited shipping consideration. Everything else, not so much.

My assumption is they opt to keep tracking only for those two as an additional incentive, on top of guaranteed delivery window, to use the higher cost shipping. The bulk of our mail volume is the lower tier classes, so from a practicality standpoint, theres a whole lot of stuff that could get scans but doesnt that would add frankly an unrealistic amount of additional time to get stuff out to folks. However, in 2020 I believe having tracking is a basic expectation at this point, and they need to change. JMO.

I also ship with FedEx and UPS. Whoever is convenient. I worked for UPS for a summer while I wad in college and my brother in law works for them now. I really dont think any of them are better or worse than the other TBH. Its all about your money...what is best for you. If you want to reliably get something somewhere cost effectively no one beats USPS in that regard. We'll also ship a lot of stuff the other guys wont. The upgraded shipping stuff, me, I shop around for the rates just like I would any other commodity. Money talks. Not trying to schill or anything like that. Just trying to give yall some answers and understanding on things from the inside. Rest assured theres at least one of us low enders on the inside looking out!

 

[MJ5150]

I love the informed delivery service USPS offers. I never have to wonder what's coming in the mail. I just look online to see what's in the mailbox.

-Mike

 

[Phaenomenal]

Here's a new one on me:
4:45pm arrived at my local post office
5:45pm arrival at unit
Never seen "arrival at unit" before and no idea what that means except it doesn't mean my house, lol.

 

[Downunderwonder]

The complaints about UPS lately are all about packages shown as delivered when in fact they have not been delivered. I don't think USPS Priority Mail service has too much competition there.