• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

RANCOURT & Co. Shoes - Made in Maine

NYCTechNerd

Timed Out
Timed Out
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
2,386
Anyone have delivery problems with Fedexsmartpost?
Choosing ground cost more
Think it really depends on how service is in your area. I have not had issues with it in New York City.
Smartpost is super slow to California, my last order was 15 days in transit. Free though!!
I had a similar experience, 12 days to TX. Would not use again.

Smartpost is not specific to FedEx, UPS does the same thing but calls it something else. The service is a combination of multiple carriers with the intention of saving on shipping costs.

The service works like this: You buy something, the company wants to save on shipping costs, they choose this "smart" service, FedEx or UPS picks up package(s) from company, FedEx or UPS moves package(s) from company to your (the buyer) local USPS office, local USPS office delivers package "the last mile" to your home.

It saves money from a logistics standpoint because FedEx and UPS are really good at picking up lots of packages at companies at the same time, moving those packages through their network, and then dropping off lots of packages at a local post office for final delivery by USPS. USPS goes to every home in America every day so they are better equipped for the last portion of the trip most packages take. The issue is that the handoff can take time and the USPS has been complaining for months that they are understaffed and delivery delays continue.

Often, as @Churchill W suggests, in major cities FedEx and UPS find it more efficient to just deliver Smartpost packages themselves because it would actually take them more time to drop off packages at a USPS facility than deliver many packages to larger apartment buildings. The issue is, you never know if this will actually happen and it is rare in suburban and rural areas.

And last for our logistics and economics lesson, we can all blame Amazon for Smartpost as they basically invented it as a way to save millions of dollars on shipping costs. The other bad part of it is Amazon has basically bankrupted the USPS and our tax dollars pay to keep the USPS afloat.
 
Last edited:

smartbrother

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Messages
2,121
Reaction score
6,773
Smartpost is not specific to FedEx, UPS does the same thing but calls it something else. The service is a combination of multiple carries with the intention of saving on shipping costs.

The service works like this: You buy something, the company wants to save on shipping costs, they choose this "smart" service, FedEx or UPS picks up package(s) from company, FedEx or UPS moves package(s) from company to your (the buyer) local USPS office, local USPS office delivers package "the last mile" to your home.

It saves money from a logistics standpoint because FedEx and UPS are really good at picking up lots of packages at companies at the same time, moving those packages through their network, and then dropping off lots of packages at a local post office for final delivery by USPS. USPS goes to every home in America every day so they are better equipped for the last portion of the trip most packages take. The issue is that the handoff can take time and the USPS has been complaining for months that they are understaffed and delivery delays continue.

Often, as @Churchill W suggests, in major cities FedEx and UPS find it more efficient to just deliver Smartpost packages themselves because it would actually take them more time to drop off packages at a USPS facility than deliver many packages to larger apartment buildings. The issue is, you never know if this will actually happen and it is rare in suburban and rural areas.

And last for our logistics and economics lesson, we can all blame Amazon for Smartpost as they basically invented it as a way to save millions of dollars on shipping costs. The other bad part of it is Amazon has basically bankrupted the USPS and our tax dollars pay to keep the USPS afloat.
Okay. It is still incredibly slow and unpredictable, particularly the last mile part. If you are the type of person that wants some confidence as to when your package will arrive, do not select the smartpost option from Rancourt.
 

NYCTechNerd

Timed Out
Timed Out
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
2,386
Okay. It is still incredibly slow and unpredictable, particularly the last mile part. If you are the type of person that wants some confidence as to when your package will arrive, do not select the smartpost option from Rancourt.

It is slow because you pay less money for a lesser (aka slower) service. If you want overnight shipping then pay for it. if oyu want slower than overnight but faster than smartpost, then don't choose samrtpost.

I am updating your quote as this should not be a criticism of Rancourt: If you are the type of person that wants some confidence as to when your package will arrive, do not select the smartpost option from any company.
 

smartbrother

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Messages
2,121
Reaction score
6,773
I am updating your quote as this should not be a criticism of Rancourt: If you are the type of person that wants some confidence as to when your package will arrive, do not select the smartpost option from any company.
This is a Rancourt thread, which is why I said what I said. It’s not a criticism of Rancourt, just an FYI to Rancourt customers in this thread.
 

stook1

Master Builder
Joined
Jul 2, 2015
Messages
3,914
Reaction score
10,336
The other bad part of it is Amazon has basically bankrupted the USPS and our tax dollars pay to keep the USPS afloat.

Not according to USPS. tldr - USPS earned 1.6b in profit from AMZN in FY 2019. I'm not sure about the impact of AMZN scaling its last mile delivery over the last ~ year or of any COVID related implications, etc.

 

NYCTechNerd

Timed Out
Timed Out
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
2,386
Not according to USPS. tldr - USPS earned 1.6b in profit from AMZN in FY 2019. I'm not sure about the impact of AMZN scaling its last mile delivery over the last ~ year or of any COVID related implications, etc.


I stand corrected. The last I read on the matter was some time ago (and it was not from a tweet) and it appeared the USPS itself was complaining Amazon was killing them but the internal memo quoted in the article states otherwise.

And for those who care...


 

smartbrother

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Messages
2,121
Reaction score
6,773
Not according to USPS. tldr - USPS earned 1.6b in profit from AMZN in FY 2019. I'm not sure about the impact of AMZN scaling its last mile delivery over the last ~ year or of any COVID related implications, etc.

Also, it was the pre-funding pension requirement along with other factors that caused USPS to struggle, but congress recently addressed that issue.

 

FatTuesday

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
3,774
Reaction score
31,428
My experience w/ the USPS's delivery of Fed Ex or UPS's shipments is similar to those above. I'd rather pay for normal shipping then have to endure the last leg of this delivery process. It's "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" once the package reaches the USPS.

In the meantime, shell Ranger maintenance...

20201012_173428.jpg

Hidden gem inside!
20201012_173234.jpg
 

mscb

Active Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2012
Messages
25
Reaction score
4
Strange Fedex ground delivered my shoes today not USPS
 

NYCTechNerd

Timed Out
Timed Out
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
2,386
I'm in just before the ending bell. I assume they ship if they have current stock and then backfill over time.

Anybody actually know?

1613770323893.png
 

mscb

Active Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2012
Messages
25
Reaction score
4
Is there any advantage to adding a full sock liner instead of the stock sock liner?
 

Luscombe

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2015
Messages
394
Reaction score
797
It will take up a little volume in the toe box and may be slightly mire comfortable. It boils down to personal preference. You can also order them separate at $10 each if you want to add them to some existing shoes.
 

Luscombe

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2015
Messages
394
Reaction score
797
I am looking for a comparison between the RLH Aspen soles and the mini Vibram in honey. I am not sure if the color makes a difference.

The Aspens on my Ranger Mocs are the most comfortable shoes I own. The only issue I have with them is that they are slippery on wet surfaces, really slippery. I don't have any experience with the mini vibrams from Rancourt and would like to know how they compare in cushion to the Aspens. Are they super firm or is there a bit of give to them?
 

A Harris

Distinguished Member
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 6, 2003
Messages
4,599
Reaction score
78
I am looking for a comparison between the RLH Aspen soles and the mini Vibram in honey. I am not sure if the color makes a difference.

The Aspens on my Ranger Mocs are the most comfortable shoes I own. The only issue I have with them is that they are slippery on wet surfaces, really slippery. I don't have any experience with the mini vibrams from Rancourt and would like to know how they compare in cushion to the Aspens. Are they super firm or is there a bit of give to them?

The Aspen is quite a bit darker than the Vibram - dark caramel vs light tan. The Aspen is considerably softer. The mini Vibram isn't quite as hard as a Montagna, but closer to that than it is to the Aspen. The mini Vibram's also harden with time and crack a bit around the edges in my experience. Better grip than the Aspen for sure though.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,132
Messages
10,578,712
Members
223,888
Latest member
bioxtrimUS
Top