I always get USPS MO’s cashed at my bank and have yet to have an issue of any kind. Easy to do and I can get cash instantly or have the funds deposited into my checking account.
USPS damage in shipping
- Thread starter russcc
- Start date
I always get USPS MO’s cashed at my bank and have yet to have an issue of any kind. Easy to do and I can get cash instantly or have the funds deposited into my checking account.
Me too.
As far as the original post, without insurance, sadly I think you'll find you are out of luck.
A few days ago for the very first time a package was left at the end of my driveway in a snow bank by DHL. Luckily we had just arrived home and saw it. We live in the country, and have a long steep driveway which leaves us with no view of our main road. Was very surprised as all other packages are either dropped off at the door, or we are notified a “delivery” was attempted. UPS will bring it to the door, meaning someone has to hoof it up our driveway to the house, Purolater delivers to local convienence store. Fedex and Amazon hire private companies/individuals that deliver to our door as well. Recently I have received a few packages via USPS (in what I consider a timely manner) and all items were very well packaged. The thought of insurance never even crossed my mind, but perhaps I’ll need to consider it in the future.
deuce_roadster
Well-known member
I just had a new first time issue with the USPS. I ordered a part from a large dealer in CA. Usually I get things in 2 sometimes 3 days from the LA area. After 5 days I called and talked to the customer service person, told them I never got a tracking number only an "order shipped" email. She read the tracking number to me and tried tracking it herself. Said package had gone to "Dead mail" location as it couldn't be delivered and couldn't be returned. (sounds like label came off or was destroyed) I looked up on line what happens at the "dead mail location" and if they can't determine where it came from or where it was going they destroy it or if it is worth more then some amount of money, auction it off. Luckily they are reshipping me another part and I told them if the original actually by some miracle arrives, I will return it to them. So this is another reason to INSURE anything you send because weird things can happen.
swedishsteel
Senior Member
I think the biggest single factor that has had negative effect on USPS is Amazon dumping all their packages at local post offices. I retired a couple years ago after 33 years as rural mail carrier in small town central Minnesota, so I witnessed the advent of online buying and the subsequent change in mail type. when I started 95% of what I delivered was letters, magazines and newspapers. When I retired packages accounted for 80-90% of the volume. When Amazon started sending a truck to our post office they "told" USPS they would be there at 5:30 am. Too bad that the postmaster normally started at 7--she was told "be there", and gets no extra pay for the early time, nor the several hundred extra packages that need to be sorted. I talked with her just before Christmas and she told me that two Amazon trucks had dumped nearly 1000 packages that day---in at town with population of less than 400. Multiply that by the many thousands of towns across the country and you can begin to understand that USPS is accepting volumes of packages beyond the capacity to efficiently process and deliver them. Add in the fact that some employees could give a damn, some are dishonest and will steal packages and mail, and bad weather, authoritarian, ignorant management, etc, etc, etc. So out of the billions of mail pieces handled, it is actually surprising how much does get delivered on time. If you have a good mail carrier, tell them you appreciate them. I took pride in my accuracy and quick delivery and it was evident my customers appreciated it, especially at Christmas time with all the goodies left in mailboxes for me. Even during the year I would encounter still warm cookies, even hot carmel rolls. I delivered to 620 families over 72 miles, one of three routes in our office. Cheers. Rod
I had a package get lost in the mail several years ago. I had it insured and we did everything we could to make sure the USPS didn't screw it up. Well needless to say it was lost. I fought with the USPS for 2 years to get reimbursed. One of our employees made it his personal quest to get refunded. After 2 years we just gave up, and I've never shipped anything of value through the USPS ever since.
flatmotor40
Well-known member
A lot of my UPS package get transfered to USPS when they get to the town before it comes to my town for delivery.But the UPS truck comes by my house everyday can't see why they don't deliver mine.Who knows how this really works
Frank Miller
Well-known member
Would you like insurance? Translation: Would you like to pay extra in case we do not do our job?
ct1932ford
Well-known member
Same here! I go to a UPS depot instead of a UPS store. One less set of hands and cheaper.
MrBruce
Senior Member
I had shocks shipped to me from CA and there was a hole in the box when the Post man delivered it. I ran back out and showed it to him and he said what do you want me to do? I told him take it back, realized later that there were 3 shocks missing he had shipped 5 shocks. I just received some KRW tools and the box was open on two sides and the PO had re-boxed it, fortunately all the tools were there. Boy was I glad, they just throw these boxes around and the one yesterday had extremely heavy parts and should have been taped with nylon tape around the entire box. I still am amazed that they didn't all fall out.
I had a FedEx depot near me that has since closed. That coupled with an account, brought the cost down quite a bit. Unfortunately, they closed the depot.
Chuck Kuntz
Well-known member
UPS is no angel either. They recently delivered a new 35 tailgate that was bent over on one corner. The box was clearly damaged. Past experiences with them told me that it would take months to resolve the damage. Gaslight sent me a full set of new Model A fenders some years ago and the fronts were both damaged. The boxes had shoe prints on them. Rears were ok. They picked up the damaged fenders and a mere 5 months later I received the cost of the fenders but not about $100+ shipping cost. In the meantime I had to buy another pair of fenders.
tubman
Well-known member
There is an inherent risk in shipping large, heavy, bulky items via any carrier. I can tell you a similar story about Fedex and a set of "triple nickel" hemi heads. The best defense against this is proper packaging by the sender. I sold a Weiand 4 carb set up to a guy in Salt Lake City. I spend a full day making a shipping crate from 2X4's and 3/8" plywood to make sure that is went through OK. It did.
mrlaser
Senior Member
I have have had so many issues in the past with the USPS. Never the less, I recently decided to use Priority Express with a guarantee of 1-2 days shipping to an address 340 miles away thinking that that would avoid some of the problems that I have experienced in the past The contents were fully insured and the total cost was $34.35. The actual time from the local Savannah post office to the addressee in North carolina,was 11 days. Tracking revealed that the envelope went from Georgia to Florida, to Greensboro, NC (which was 49 miles from the final destination ) to St Paul, Minnesota, then back to Greensboro, NC , and finally to the final destination! Very frustrating. Lesson finally learned.
Kube
Super Moderator
Once again, I find myself agreeing with you.
If anyone thinks that a UPS, FedEX or USPS employee has time to carefully place your box, then you are living in LaLa land. All of these shippers handle millions of packages on a daily basis.
It is up to the shipper to package the box well.
I'd received within a small flat rate box (USPS) two extremely rare tail lamp lens (NOS). The shipper, I kid you not, had wrapped a single (read ONE) piece of paper towel around the pair. Um, guess what? A million pieces. I blame only the (idiot) shipper.
In the past week, I have received two, not one, but TWO reproduction trunk lids from Carpenter via FedEx. Both were heavily damaged in shipping.
This is on Carpenter. Each was packed within a cardboard box with NO internal reinforcement. Each had nothing more than a number of those air pillows.
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