Shopsmith Forums

I can't believe that I have this problem with almost every package I expect to receive.

I am waiting for a package that is coming from just 800 miles away. I have a tracking number that tells me nothing more than that the package has entered into the system.

My package reportedly left Denver on the 23rd with a forecast delivery date of today and that is the last status report available. No change in three days.

The postman just left - no package.

Aaah, this may explain:

What does Track & Confirm show? Enter your label number to see the status of your item. If you shipped with Express Mail®, you’ll get point-by-point tracking details. If you used another service—Delivery Confirmation™, Certified Mail™, Registered Mail™ —you’ll see when it went out for delivery.


The tracking number, once decoded, tells me that the status will not change until it is in the hands of my carrier - when I get the package.

I have been spoiled by the UPS tracking service.

A friend mailed a small package to me from Virginia on Tuesday First Class mail, it arrived Thursday. In turn I sent a priority flat rate box to that friend on Wednesday which arrived in Charlottesville today. A package sent to Charlottesville from Denver via UPS on Tuesday has not yet arrived. Jim

FedEx and UPS definitely have superior tracking systems - pretty amazing in this electronic age that USPS hasn't tried to keep pace, especially as their share of the shipping market continues to erode...

dgale wrote:FedEx and UPS definitely have superior tracking systems - pretty amazing in this electronic age that USPS hasn't tried to keep pace, especially as their share of the shipping market continues to erode...

I'd rather not know!
I order stuff, ship FedEx NEXT DAY, and I can track it with their system.
I order stuff, ship USPS Flat Rate and I get it in one or two days, no worries.
The FedEx stuff? I get it in 7,8 or 10,11 days.
BUT I can track it. I can see that FE satisfies their Next Day contract by getting it from the shipper to a HOLDING POINT in 2 days or less. And I can then track it as it sits in that holding point for a week or more.
And when it finally gets here it almost always is damaged, significantly.

I prefer USPS. I don't have to track it. It gets here when it should. It is almost always NOT damaged.

And the USPS delivery pers- oh screw that political correct crap-- the mailman has never broken my doorbell (UPS- four times) or kicked in the screen door when I don't get to the door in less than 23 milliseconds (FedEx).

My package finally arrived in good condition after three extra days (beyond forecast) in transit. Good size package, not light and only cost $30.00. I have to say that USPS is at least OKAY on this one.

BTW They think they missed forecast by only one day (weekend involved).

I've only had two delivery problems with the USPS. one was a M/0 I sent and it never arrived. The biggest hassle was getting my money back. The other was a delivery of bicycle parts from Tucson to Snowflake. Took 14 days, using a small flat rate box. Tracing of both was an exercise in frustration.
FedEx couldn't find our house a couple times. Better now.
UPS has always been excellent.
A story to warm a woodworker's heart: A few years ago, I ordered a few hundred BF of QSWO out of MN. Due to package size restrictions, it came in several packets, all cellophane wrapped. The UPS guy unloaded it and stacked it neatly, cross stacking each layer. He could have stacked it in the drive, but he took the time and effort to stack it inside our garage. I have no doubt that, had they been available to him, he would've stickered the stack.

I ordered the power pro headstock and it was sent UPS, as driver was delivering to my office he was carrying by hand and he dropped it causing the packaging to break and contents to end up on or lawn. Our receptionist saw this out of the door. The driver put the parts back in the box and taped it up and brought it in for delivery. He didn't say a word about dropping it. I refused receipt and spoke with a supervisor and sent it back to Shopsmith. They checked the unit and it was OK and sent it back.

Accidents happen but I was upset by the fact that the driver tried to get someone to sign for it without explaining what happened. Also, it delayed me getting my unit for a few weeks.

I have had so many problems with the USPS, but most of it has been because of my local mail carrier. I've stopped subscribing to magazines because they always arrived looking like they rode around on the floorboard of her car for a week. Shoe/boot imprints on the cover, all torn and crumpled up. The last straw was when I had some comic books shipped to the house. They were in a flat rate envelope, well packaged inside, with "Fragile" and "Do Not Bend" stickers all over the package. This is how I found it:



That's it on the lower side of the mailbox, folded in half, and crammed in.

She has also left packages for us at my in-law's house. Laying in the driveway. In the rain. She just pulled up the driveway, dropped the box out the window, and drove back off.

Remember when, if you didn't have a stamp, you could put the money for the stamp in the mailbox along with the unstamped envelope and the mail carrier would handle it? Not mine. She just takes the money and leaves the letter there still unstamped. And every time I've mailed a Netflix DVD back from our mailbox, Netflix has never received it.

We've complained but it has done no good. The only result is the lack of mail for a week or so following a complaint. So, I have packages mailed to my work. And I drop off letters (and Netflix DVDs) at a post office I pass on my way to work.

Heath, you really need to patch up your differences with your mother-in-law, the mailman

Man I really am lucky. All of packages mailed to East Coast arrived as promised as did the UPS package. That last one was most valuable. A hand made cane handle saw that my friend was afraid the security geniuses might think was a weapon and take from him. Even Sandy didn't mess with delivery. Jim