Train Derailment? UPS issues.....

I've stopped using UPS entirely. Boxes showing up damn near demolished and taking 2x as long as FedEx on average for most shipments. Just did a trade with a guy in Houston where I used FedEx and he used UPS, both used ground and mine arrived four days later than his. For equivalent pricing, that discrepancy in speed is insane.

I've never seen the specific issue that you got there, though.. More of just an anti-UPS rant I guess. Sorry for your luck and I hope your box shows up eventually.

 

I haven't done any trading but have shipped plenty of things and have had numerous issues with UPS similar to what you described. I've yet to ever get any real resolution out of them, so I just switched to FedEx or USPS for everything. Only one I've found to be worse is LaserShip, and sometimes domestic DHL.

 

Just want to weigh in that I've used UPS for trades about 7 times and no problems.

 

I've sent out a total of 31 boxes. All of them with UPS . . . Never one problem (one in transit at the moment). Most have arrived within 2 days. Even sent one box to Alaska from Ohio. That box arrived three days later and in perfect condition. I'm sure one of these days my confidence in UPS may be tested for some reason. But until then I'm happy with them.

 

Astounding that they got a box to Alaska in three days and one from Houston to Pittsburgh took almost a week.

 

I have the exact opposite thing to say. I have lots of issues with fedex including a box being returned to sender right now from CA once it made it all of the way out there. I have never had a single issue with UPS. It is sometimes a day slower but they pretty much always meet their delivery day. Fedex a lot of times will quote a faster delivery time and then take longer anyway. UPS has been much more reliable for me.

 

Always interesting to see the experiences of others.

I always heard horror stories about USPS as well but I've never really had an issue when I've used them. My biggest beefs with them have been that, when shipping regionally prices are okay but if it's going across the country the prices are crazy. Sometimes up to 40% higher than FedEx.

Boxes shipped USPS usually show up looking like they cam from Fallujah, but they generally arrive on time and intact.

 

I've shipped a ton of stuff beyond beer (and a couple of beer trades) and never had a problem with UPS or FedEx. USPS sucks for air IMO.

I know the people at my local UPS store and they said if you put "fragile" on your box and a worker is having a bad day they are more likely to give that box a hard time. I know it's advised to put fragile on beer shipments so that may play in to some of the horror stories. I was told it was better to pack the fragile items (I didn't tell them it was beer just something fragile) very well and not indicate it's something that could break inside.

 

I've never once used a fragile sticker for anything. To me it just seemed like it would give them more of an excuse to be curious about what was in the box.

 

I have also heard this about fragile stickers. If they are on an incoming box and I reuse it
I take them off. Pack well and it shouldn't matter if they handle it in a normal fashion.

 

Yep, and hoard packing supplies! I've not bought any packing supplies (sans bottle shipping boxes for some bigger hauls) for ages. I keep every piece of bubble wrap, newspaper, foam and packing peanut that comes my way.

 

Just wanna chime in and give my usual praise for UPS. It's not that they're faster or cheaper, because they're neither. It's that the people behind the counter mind their own damn business, which is exactly what I want when shipping something I'm not supposed to be shipping. All I've ever gotten from FedEx is criticism on how I've packed my box and suspicion as to what's in the box. Every single time I've used UPS at many different locations, they ask "What's in the box?" I say "Cooking sauces" and they say "Okay, should get there Friday." No further inquisitions, no unnecessary inspections. Every single box I've sent and received through UPS has arrived fully intact. No complaints as of yet.

 

RE FedEx asking what's in the box, it raises a question that I've always been curious about.

Why do more people not take advantage of FedEx pick up? When I print a label I just click a box to set it up and the next morning I leave the box outside the garage for them to pick up. No muss, no fuss, they just pick it up and the drivers don't give a rats ass what's in there. Why don't more people take advantage of this?

 

I had the "train derailment" pop up a few weeks ago and the status stayed like that for a few days. I signed up for email updates and also checked back a couple times a day to see if anything actually changed, but nothing. Then on the original delivery date, the box shows up like nothing happened and the tracking online looked normal. *shrugs*

 

I could see a few reasons. First, it does cost an additional fee (~$3.00) to have them schedule a pick-up. Second, I could see people not wanting to leave their package on their porch, outside their apartment, etc. possibly due to where they live, or history in the neighborhood. I'm sure there might be other reasons too. For me personally, I live close to a FedEx depot so I'd rather save the money, have the peace of mind knowing I'm physically handing off the package to an employee, and getting a receipt for the drop-off.

All of that said, I have utilized their pick-up service before when I was in a pinch and quite literally could not make it to the FedEx depot. I just do it very, very rarely.

 

Funny because I didn't notice the $3 fee at all.

Still worth it to me though to A. not have to go in to the FedEx store and B. not have to deal with their questions. The nearest store isn't remotely convenient for me.

 

That is quite interesting as not once have I ever been asked, in the upwards of 100 boxes dropped off at FedEx, what the contents of the box are. I print my label at home, slap it on, drop it off and say "Have a nice day!" I suppose that it could vary from location to location but I have never encountered an inquisitive FedEx employee.

 

I've actually never had anyone ask me at FedEx either but some say that they always get grilled about it. When I used to use UPS they always asked which was one of the reasons I stopped using them.

 

My local Fed Ex office knows me by name and jokes around that I should get a job there I'm in there so much...I'm honestly shocked they've never asked me what I'm shipping