NO MORE UPS SHIPPING

Don't forget the residential surcharge. I seldom ship UPS any longer, USPS all the way

They are also slowing delivery.  I sent a package to a buyer, and it's been sitting in Baltimore for a couple of days now.  They claim delivery is actually going to be 5 days, but this is within the area that used to be one day.  I hope my buyer is understanding.  Oddly, a package to NY was delivered within the standard one day.  I dunno.

Mike

ups has what they call program delivery.  if the original delivery says 5 days and it only takes three they will hold the package until the fifth day.  I had this happen to me and when I email them this is what I was told.  because with tracking I saw the package sit in the local office for one day.

They're in a "service industry."

Are you sure you are not confusing sitting in Baltimore a few days as on the weekend?

I shipped an item to Illinois recently and they shipped to me and we both finished delivery two days hence.

I just received a Priority Mail box that took 6 days to get to Portland from California.  How "Priority" is that??  I'm thinking First Class postage would have been faster ...

The price of energy is being reflected in just about everything that we buy. Just look at the jump in price of food, utilities,services and hard goods in the last 3 years. Its terrible and this administration is talking about letting gas prices rise higher.

I would agree that at this point the USPS has the better deals on package delivery but they won't be able to stay in business in their current condition as letter deliveries and ad mail volume are down sharply and they still have huge pensions bill to pay. 

                  Carrier pigeon >UPS>Fedex>USPS

Bring back RPO (Railway Post Office) cars.

And you perhaps thought that the outrageous price of fuel was only going to affect car drivers?

The days of $9.95 for shipping & handling on something as simple as a club boxcar will likely be history very soon -- if not already.  When I was checking UPS shipping quotes the other day, I was amazed to see even the simplest of packages were coming back in excess of $15.  When I looked into it further, I noticed all the surcharges mentioned above... fuel, delivery area, residential delivery... and there's even an extra $4 or $5 charge if you require a signature! 

Having said that though... I'm still amazed that packages get routed across the country as quick and accurately as they do.  I do a tremendous amount of photography these days... and if I upload our images to the lab (which resides in the Midwest) by 2PM Eastern Time, it's not unusual for me to have the finished prints or even a gallery wrap or press book in my hands on the East coast by 3PM the next day!  Simply amazing... considering some days I find it's a challenge just to squeeze in a ride to the local post office!!! 

THE INITIAL CHARGE ISN'T TOO BAD BUT THEN THERE IS A FUEL SURCHARGE - OK WE KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON NOW AND I CAN UNDERSTAND THIS CHARGE SOMEWHAT.

 

HOWEVER THEY ARE ALSO NOW ADDING IN A DELIVERY AREA SURCHARGE - THIS IS BASICALLY A CHARGE UPS IS ADDING BECAUSE THEY FEEL IT'S TOO FAR OUT OF THEIR WAY. I GUESS IF IT'S NOT IN A MAJOR CITY ITS AN EXTRA CHARGE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT - IT'S OVER $ 3.00 ADDED ON A $15 REGULAR SHIPMENT. WHAT'S NEXT ??

 

WHEN WILL THIS CRAP END ??  I KNOW - TODAY BECAUSE I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN.

Oh SNAP! Now where are all those sheeple complaining about USPS now!

Business/industry uses (and pays for) UPS because they know exactly when the package will arrive ... with complete certainty.

USPS is for buying coal hoppers from ebay and new undies from JC Penney ... not urgent. I've had quite a few times over the years where even USPS Express Mail did not arrive on time. The charges were always promptly refunded, but it just wasn't worth it trying to ship overnight with the post office.

Jim

It's been a while since I've had to ship anything.  But, I was shipping more USPS Priority Mail than UPS just because of those surcharges.

Fuel surcharge is actually based on current market price of all fuels.  My brother-in-law runs a custom shipping house - all commercial and private carries are charging this fee.  It provides the shipper with the ability to not have to change their shipping pricing structure with swings in commodity prices.  Of course, it never seems to go down when fuel prices do the same.

Residential Delivery surcharge is whenever a package is shipped to someone's house. I would always try to make it a shipment to a business to avoid this one.

You pretty much nailed the Delivery Area surcharge.  If the delivery isn't a major metro area or close to one of their hubs, you are going to pay that fee.

I stopped using UPS (except for oversize packages) because I was averaging $8-$9  in extra fees for each package that provided no added benefit.

I chose USPS Priority Mail because I typically got 2-3 day delivery, free shipping boxes, free package pickup at my door, free tracking when I printed my own labels, and even with added insurance I beat out UPS by at least $7 to $10 for shipping the same package.

And, I never had anyone tell me there was a problem with a package shipped USPS.  Properly packed, there should never be a problem with a packge - unless someone drop kicks it or runs over it.

Fred

Awesome! One less package to slow down my delivery.

Never say never. USPS hasn't announced its restructuring and downsizing plan yet. I'm already seeing the"Out For Delivery" message on the USPS tracking site, and not getting the package until he next day. The future of consumer package delivery looks brown.

For small to medium size packages, USPS priority mail usually is always cheaper than UPS.  If you print our own labels, there is also a discounted fee.

It seems Hope and Change is working.

Its pretty rural here and when I buy from the bay, they insist on a physical address instead of PO box. Well after a few messages where I explain it doesn't matter, I give in. The UPS or FedEx guys drop the boxes at the PO for delivery for the 'last mile', similar to the way long distance works on telephones. The only packages that UPS/FedEx deliver here are perishables and the like around Christmas.  Evan Amazon and other online stores drop at the PO.

Ralph

Another reason that York is a bargain.  Discounted prices and it leaves under my arm.

I've been shipping O-scale boxcars in the Shoebox size Priority boxes.  For many cars, I have to "build" a longer box by cutting one in half and sticking it on the full one.  I wrap the car on the sides with bubble-wrap and use peanuts on either end.  So far they've come through fine.

The only time I use UPS is for stuff that's heavy and far away, otherwise the USPS prices are lower.

UPS gives me great service coming and going.  Yes, they charge extra to "remote" or however they characterize out of the way places, but it seems reasonable, and they are fast and reliable.

USPS is not unreliable, but they are very slow for me -- took eight days with a numbered and registered (small) package this week: not competitive in my mind, even if cheap.

i work for ups as a driver and i can tell you first hand that they are in he business to make money and when they pay me and every guy before me for your package with all being gas to get it to that point its going to cost. Just wait til summer when they expect 5.00 a gallon of gas see what it cast to ship then. I take my truck out every day full of gas and when i return at the end of night i have to fill up 30 to 35 gallons every day so think what it cost for gas just for 1 truck out of thousands.

I have had no problems with USPS shipping to any place I've shipped to, that's 100's of packages.  I use Priority Mail about 95% of the time.

Maybe they can lower the corp tax rates so that we see some "trickle down" savings.  Oh wait, that did not work as proposed the first (and second) time.

One of the newer (and probably more brazen) examples of a company surcharge is Columbia Gas using a "therm multiplier" to your actual btu usage.  Claiming a btu has varied energy efficiency and needs to be accounted or paid.  More likely reason is the very, very, low natural gas commodity prices and warmer than average winter reduced the gas company's revenue and they needed a creative way to raise the effective rates and also avoid public utility rate change hearings.

Dennis, its a fact of life that the price of gas will rise.  The price of oil has nothing to do with the cost of producing that oil.  Oil prices are set by world demand for oil and not based upon U.S. production and demand.  In July 2008 (pre-Obama and before the world economy tanked) the price of gas was over $4 a gallon and as the world's economy recovers the worldwide demand (and price) will rebound to those levels.  (  http://gramlinglocomotiveworks.com/ 

The growing middle class in both China and India soon will eclipse the total population in the U.S.  Cheap gas prices would encourage them to buy cars.  Thus, $3 a gallon is the 'good old days." and we would be wise to expect gas to rise to $4 -$5 a gallon.

Jim

UPS stock dividends are averaging about 3%. Better than the bank...owning UPS stock might help finance the shipping costs.

I was in Europe 12 years ago, and gasoline was approaching 6.00 per gallon THEN.

Somehow life continued.  In this part of the world, we are just starting to experience

reality as far as energy prices are concerned.  That doesn't mean we have to like it,

but, as in Europe, life will probably go on here, as well. 

How many of you remember the original Star Trek series, with the classic "beam me up, Scotty" matter transfers. 

Maybe someone will invent a way to transfer goods in the same fashion, and these high fuel prices will become nothing but a bad memory.

Dream on...............

The price doesn't bother me nearly as much as the destroyed $1500 brass loco's that come via UPS....  How much extra do we have to pay UPS to not break things?

That's funny Allan...but get this...our Governor in Maryland is fighting hard for a gasoline fuel tax hike...perhaps he doesn't get it???

Tell the other side of the story...I shipped trains PRIORITY to Houston and San Diego...TWO days from Baltimore...is that not impressive???

At least with UPS I hear the truck pull in the driveway and the thump of the box being dropped on the porch followed by the sound of the delivery man running back to the truck to make his getaway,

FedEx this week managed to totally avoid delivery - snuck in and posted a DoorTag that I was not at home.  Except that I was home, a car in the driveway, and I was sitting at the kitchen table waiting!  Did not knock or hit the doorbell.....  Stealth technology, I guess, combined with a total lack of interest in actually delivering the item??  I ended up going to the FedEx center later that day to pick up the item that they did not deliver....

At least USPS knocks and tries to deliver personally!

Say what you will.  There is no excuse for us to be paying these high prices when we have more oil and natural gas deposits than the rest of the world.  But we're not allowed to touch it because the federal government (the White House) wants fuel costs to rise to the point that we are forced to buy into green energy (a science that has been debunked over and over again). 

What do you suppose would happen to the price of gas at the pumps if the oil companies were not allowed to export domestic crude and had to sell it to the people it rightfully belongs to (US)?

I ship USPS for items 5 lbs or less and UPS from 6 lbs to infinity. Each usually does a good job. The most important thing you can do is to pack it right. Although UPS and Fedex say they deliver to every address they really don't. They hire contractors to do the out of the way places, hence you pay for it. 

Any business that relies on fuel as an expense is going to pass those increases on to its customers. It will get worse with the current administrations green energy policy and its attempt to curtail oil usage. How many folks in your neighborhood are driving Government Motors Volts, they are about as rare as the PW Girls Set.

Wow another shipping "rant thread"with a side of politics! What a surprise! Another "overpriced ebay item " thread in 5.......4.......3......

Once again,  it would be a totally different scenerio if we produced AND consumed all the oil that was produced in the U.S.  In this case, increasing supply would lower demand and prices we see at the pumps would fall.  However, in the modern world this is not the scenerio.  If it cost $40 to produce a barrel of oil in the U.S., and the market price (this is a world based price) is $120 a barrel, the price of our gas will be based on $120 a barrel, not $40 a barrel.

There is also no direct substitution of natural gas for oil, i.e., we can't use natural gas to power the cars that currently sit in our driveways.  Seems to me that there is little control that anyone can excise over gas prices as they will continue to be set by increasing WORLD demand.    On the brighter side, we have hugh depotis of natural gas.  The industry needs to be working to come up with the technology to safely frack without potentially damaging nearby water supplies.  If we can make enough natural gas available domestically,  then this could have a hugh economic boom to the U.S.

Jim

I was shipping a book to a relative recently and admittedly know nothing about the "media mail" regulations. When I took it to the counter, I asked the clerk if the book would qualify for a lower rate. The huffing and puffing practically blew me over as he rolled his eyes with that "stupid customers, here we go again" look.

He looked at the ceiling and everywhere else as he explained the guidelines for qualifying for media mail. Then he looked right out me and said "And of course, the packages are subject to inspection to verify the contents." With that he smirked at his cronie at the next station and snarkily asked "Are you SURE this is really a book?"

Not being one to miss a perfectly teed up softball, I took out my pocket knife, cut the seal and dumped the book on the counter. "Sure looks like a book to me - waddayouthink?"

Good bye Mr. Spaulding.

The couple of really nice folks who work there were all snickering. One tried so hard to hold it back, she ended up snorting. 

It's like anything else, the service a company provides is only as good as its front line clerks. There are many nice and helpful people I've encountered at the Post Office and some real doozies otherwise.

But if the USA used all it's domestic production to supply only the USA, the Big Oil companies wouldn't make the billions they get from exporting.

It's all about the money and only about the money.

Don't think any of the businesses big or small have any other agenda; $$$$$ profit pure and simple.

And we think the crooked politicians from Chicago aren't in on it?  Oooops, Obama is from that political machine ... he just couldn't be in or it ... could he ....