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USPS, UPS or FedEx

Fabro

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I won't vote because I'm international, but in this case, USPS is always the way to go. No question. Couriers are no faster, always assess customs duty and local taxes (post office has some discretionary leeway here for gifts), and add hidden brokerage fees that can run $20-$50 extra. Never use couriers international.
 

michaeljkrell

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Originally Posted by truestorytravis
It might be a pain for you mjk, but could you give the buyer a choice? I voted for USPS over the other services because I can pick my packages up at a convenient location instead of having to drive to another city to pick them up at a UPS or FedEx location.

I'd rather not. I want to just use one...
 

whodini

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Originally Posted by GetSmart
when I used to post regularly on Harmony Central, some fella posted pics of his marshall JCM 800 head that was sent by UPS but it looked like it was shipped on the back of a donkey that fell off a cliff somewhere in arizona whereupon it fell into a river and followed the current to where a band of illegals crossing into the country found it and carried it with them before coincidentally discarding it at the doorsteps of the intended recipient. **** was fucked up.
******* great description! Now try having **** sent to a third-world country... I keed. Things actually aren't that bad sending/receiving here as I'm sure you can attest. UPS/FedEx/DHL all have offices here although I can't say I've used any since regular mail works with about anything. (BTW, were you looking for those hot new Dashboard tabs, GS?) ANYWHO, back when I was living stateside I loved USPS. Super cheap pricing quotes with super fast shipping. Yes, tracking's a joke, but the way I see it I could either track my package's route from a warehouse in NY to JFK, stopped over Mt. Rushmore to take photos with the other baby packages, stopped for a Cardinals game in STL, and then nothing for a few days until it it showed up in south LA with an arrival scan...or have my package in 2-3 days. I guess with UPS you know exactly how long your package will be delayed for. Fedex seems to be faster than UPS and have never had trouble with them, either. Still, USPS priority is my choice.
 

A Harris

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UPS is too slow. FedEx is too expensive and will screw you for even more money every chance they get. USPS is the only real choice...

That being said, there are a couple of things you can do to make their service better. If you print your own labels and pack the items in plain boxes without any Priority Mail stickers or tape they will go through the system as parcel post, not priority mail, which means they take forever to arrive. Use priority mail boxes or labels/tape. With those, delivery is always 2-3 days, sometimes even overnight! To resolve the tracking issues, insist that they scan the items in as accepted when you drop them at the post office.
 

coiol

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I voted for USPS before I saw the part about international orders staying as they are.
 

michaeljkrell

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Originally Posted by A Harris
UPS is too slow. FedEx is too expensive and will screw you for even more money every chance they get. USPS is the only real choice... That being said, there are a couple of things you can do to make their service better. If you print your own labels and pack the items in plain boxes without any Priority Mail stickers or tape they will go through the system as parcel post, not priority mail, which means they take forever to arrive. Use priority mail boxes or labels/tape. With those, delivery is always 2-3 days, sometimes even overnight! To resolve the tracking issues, insist that they scan the items in as accepted when you drop them at the post office.
In my short experience printing out my own labels, it seems that it takes the longest for the flat rate boxes to get to their destination. I did forget to tell Colby to stick priority mail tape or stickers on the padded envelopes we use to send out our knits... Thank you for the advice on the tracking...
 

The Grapist

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Originally Posted by Get Smart
when I used to post regularly on Harmony Central, some fella posted pics of his marshall JCM 800 head that was sent by UPS but it looked like it was shipped on the back of a donkey that fell off a cliff somewhere in arizona whereupon it fell into a river and followed the current to where a band of illegals crossing into the country found it and carried it with them before coincidentally discarding it at the doorsteps of the intended recipient. **** was fucked up.

I'm still glad my JCM 800 came in from Canada unharmed, and with a surprise in the back, Mullard tubes that still worked!

Voted USPS, I've never had a package lost, at least within the US. :-/
 

A Harris

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In my short experience printing out my own labels, it seems that it takes the longest for the flat rate boxes to get to their destination
Interesting, I'll keep that in mind. I almost never use those so I don't have much personal experience with them to comment on.
 

Tokyo Slim

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Usps
 

DocHolliday

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I absolutely despise dealing with UPS. They're slow, they're unhelpful, they don't deliver on Saturdays. Sometimes they leave stuff at the doorstep, sometime they don't. The stuff I don't want left (i.e., expensive) gets dumped in the rain, while other stuff gets carted back to the shipping center, forcing me to either go pick it up or play tag with the UPS guy.

I once called and asked them to hold a package because I wasn't going to be there to get it. They refused, but said the package would be returned to the shipping center. Instead, it was left on my doorstep, in the rain. I discovered it had been delivered using the online tracking, so I called and complained. They promised to pick it up and hold it for me. They didn't. Got home, days later, to discover the item still sitting in its soggy box, ruined. Guess I was lucky it was there at all.
 

The Grapist

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Originally Posted by A Harris
Interesting, I'll keep that in mind. I almost never use those so I don't have much personal experience with them to comment on.
Get Smart sent me one of his TaT suits last Thursday, from LA. I live in NYC and got in Saturday morning. And he used a Flat Rate Box.
 

whacked

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Originally Posted by A Harris
That being said, there are a couple of things you can do to make their service better. If you print your own labels and pack the items in plain boxes without any Priority Mail stickers or tape they will go through the system as parcel post, not priority mail, which means they take forever to arrive. Use priority mail boxes or labels/tape. With those, delivery is always 2-3 days, sometimes even overnight! To resolve the tracking issues, insist that they scan the items in as accepted when you drop them at the post office.

Great tips. Thanks!
 

michaeljkrell

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For these next set of orders I think I will just have Colby send the garments to me and then I will ship them out from Omaha. Maybe there is a bottleneck of some kind in the Ames post office. It may take a couple more days for me to actually send them out, but hopefully they will get to where they need to go in 2-3 days...
 

dougie

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I think UPS is the best of the offered options if for tracking alone...I just want to know that my jacket is safe, and that it's happy. I've never had a problem with them but I get everything I order online shipped to my job. It doesn't help that the Brooklyn postal system would make MC Escher weep, though.
 

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