Unverified: USPS Directives Could Result in Delayed Mail

by: Silver Ice King

This change would not surprise me at all.  This change was put in place to increase what we pay for shipping packages and to further justify privatizing the Postal Service. What this is going to cause in an increase in USPS related thefts of shipped products as currently in most larger cities mail is not allowed to sit in a local PO overnight and a Postal Inspector checks each local PO to make sure this is being strictly enforced.  All this policy would do is give thieves that work at USPS more time time to steal items before they are even scanned into the USPS system in many cases.

WTG USPS on another worthless policy that will result in more and more Shippers changing to another service and as usual force USPS to continue raising their prices just to break even.  I cannot wait to see what kind of new rates that the USPS puts out for China to bring some equality in what their sellers pay and what we as domestic residents have to pay. China's ridiculous position with the Universal Postal Union  that says they are entitled to pay the same amount to mail something to the US as a resident of Gabon in Africa.  That is how they have continued to ruin other nations economies while all of us pay for their services.

by: lessthanthreerecords

I recently had a USPS first class package (shipped domestically to and from the continental U.S.) take 37 days.  So are we talking about longer delays than that?  I sure hope not!

by: E. Tomchin

It would be a very difficult thing to do to change the nature and status of the USPS.  FIrst of all, it is mandated by the Constitution and would require a Constitutional convention to do so.  The establishment of a US Post Office is mandated by Article 1, Section 8, Item No.7 wherein it states that Congress shall have the power ''To Establish Post Offices and Post Roads''.    It would take an act of Congress to even change the  nature of the Post Office and to privatize it would be near impossible.

by: lostliz

Also had a slow experience recently.  Two weeks to get from Arizona to Hawaii.  I expected that as it was normal for my class of mail (Media Mail).  However, to get from Honolulu to Maui was another 7 weeks.  Filed both an inquiry and a lost package form before it was finally delivered.  

by: ox-mix

I had a 2-day Priority Mail Parcel take three and a half weeks to get from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Spent most of that time, according to tracking, sitting at the Greenville, SC distribution center.

by: tlcranch95

I have a friend who works for USPS and said weeks ago that no overtime is allowed but they are timed on all functions. Therefore, they just throw all the boxes. I froze my Etsy vintage glassware shop because they were breaking everything and not honoring claims on insured boxes. Very bad.

by: tlcranch95

I have a friend who works for USPS and said weeks ago that no overtime is allowed but they are timed on all functions. Therefore, they just throw all the boxes. I froze my Etsy vintage glassware shop because they were breaking everything and not honoring claims on insured boxes. Very bad.

by: Tiffee Jasso

I have already noticed that it takes a week for First Class mail to be delivered across the country. Four to five days for Priority mail or longer.  

by: Chicago48

It may be a good thing that the new Postmaster is from the outside.  New set of eyes.  As for delayed mail -- it's been happening all this year, so this would be nothing new.

by: Chicago48

I've been using UPS more and more for "boxed packages" and big packages, because it is more reliable for delivery and less likely to break things.  And I found that the difference in cost between Priority mail and UPS ground is a few pennies.  So I go UPS.

by: FeelingFroggy

Nothing new. When it takes the post office 3 weeks to deliver a priority mail package to the neighbor girl for her birthday you know its bad. By the way the little girl lives across the street from me. The USPS might not be run by the government bubt you sure wouldn't know it. It has all the symptoms of a Washington swamp.

by: captainzombie

It seems the USPS just keeps getting worse. During this pandemic, they lost so many of my packages that we were doing all kinds of refunds. Then a month later, the packages would show up to the customer. I even had a few defects on my account where I've had to get eBay involved to remove from the shipping. This whole thing with the USPS has gone down the tubes. This past week I signed up with the UPS, I'm planning to go that route even though they are at times pennies to $1 more than the post office, I will take my chance with them.

by: lisapar

USPS has been experiencing SEVERE delays since the beginning of June.  I ship approx 250-300 packages a week -- items under 5 lbs ship USPS, larger go UPS.  I have had USPS Priority packages take 3-4 weeks to deliver.

I had one customer that lived just 10 miles away receive her USPS Priority package 27 days after I shipped it.

To make matters worse, if you look at the tracking, USPS has a new manifest system that falsely tells you a package has arrived at the receiver's post office.  I called my local P.O. to ask why a package was sitting at my P.O. for a week and not delivered -- she said that this new manifest system shows that a package was ''supposed'' to arrive on a specific container, but if it's not on the container, online tracking shows it's at the P.O. (but it's not).  She said they answer calls ALL day long bc of this new system.

by: toolguy

I'm 99.9% satisfied with the job the US Postal Service performs.

Just wish the chinese paid their fair share.

by: Shanna

This is a good thing. Yes, we will be temporarily inconvenienced, but the new PMG's goal is to make the PO more efficient, and thus faster overall.

Unfortunately, when you are determining where the problems are, you start at the last leg and work your way back. If everyone needs overtime to do their job, that is a problem. Either there are too few people working, or they are not using best practices to accomplish their job. Anyone who has spent any time in a post office knows it is the latter.

They moved my local PO to a new location in a strip mall, so they got a brand new, fresh start. What did they build? Exactly what they had when they built the first one in 1959. Small counter space, no do it yourself computer stations, same small chute in the wall for packages that will clog after a few are placed within. Tiny counter space for overflow packages, same long wait times while granny buys exactly 2 stamps.

Why are packages left behind? Why are packages sitting in distribution centers for days or weeks? He is trying to find the answers to these. Unfortunately he will find its because government unions protect the sloths and those who think overtime pay is a guaranteed benefit.

by: wrslss1222

The Post Office needs to be fully overhauled.  A system similar to the one used by Amazon would eliminate backlog and through attrition would lessen the number of employees.  The Post Office continues to raise prices but does not deliver the mail in a timely manner.  I have, on numerous occasions, responded to buyers who are asking where there purchase is.  I spend the time to try to explain that the Post Office is having a backlog due illnesses from the virus.  I put a tracer on each package and on one occasion I asked why Postal worker that responded to the tracer why the package stayed in New Jersey for 6 days.  No, I did not get a response.  

by: Mamak

This is already happening from what I see locally.  I dropped off packages in my local office without scanning because the line was so long.  The packages were not scanned for 3 days and then sat in the distribution location for 2 additional days.  

by: angryllama

As another poster wrote, I TOO am 99.9 percent HAPPY with post office and my last FedEx shipment was MONTHS ago and then ONLY because the buyer SELECTED FedEx from the FOUR options I used to give EVERY buyer.  FedEx and UPS are frequently.
Easily 90 percent of my shipments are 13 ounces AND BELOW so using FedEx ground or UPS ground would just be phenomenally higher price on a percentage basis.  Why?  Because BOTH of those companies START at ONE FULL POUND.
One pound UPS ground rate for a $2.80 5 ounce Media Mail item would be just OUTLANDISHLY more expensive.
I don't think I should even NEED to cite this, but when you VIEW shipping costs on eBay as you are setting UP any new listings it is showing you the $$ to ship FROM your zip right back to within 150 miles OF your own zip.
Time and again I laugh myself sick looking at newbies who elect to list as FREE SHIPPING on a 5 or 6 pound item using UPS / FedEx when I know from 20 years experience that the rate for that heavy a GROUND package from Houston to EITHER coast would exceed the $gross price$ charged
Those of you who are CONVINCED that items SIT in such and such city for Days or Weeks are clueless as to HOW the USPS/tracking is reported.
What do I MEAN?  Simple... USPS reports the LAST SCAN, not the CURRENT location of any package.  If the last scan was MEMPHIS and the truck/trailer/CargoContainer is still IN TRANSIT to next point it WILL show Memphis until it DOES reach that Next USPS depot/sorting center.
As long as I'm bursting bubbles,  the CHINA SELLERS getting such ridiculously low $$ shipping costs is vastly overstated.  Do they pay PENNIES? YES, they do, but it is on Very LIGHTWEIGHT direct shipments.  They pay those minuscule shipping costs on MOSTLY sub-One-Pound-Packages.
You don't see STEAM IRONS or 25-pound Stereo Systems shipping for FREE from China.
I do feel for any of you who think it that this NEW GUY at as PostMaster
General will be beneficial.  My money is on how he will go POOF before the end of February 2021.

by: Whatever

Is there no one who is willing to discuss the big fat elephant in the room? Are we so afraid of the repercussions now of having your life destroyed that we are all cowards? I'm a 70 year old great grandma with little to lose at this stage of the game. All our lives are slowly being eroded so to just basically scraping by.  

I've been selling online - earning a decent living for 25 years - the post office has for 25 years aided me in that endeavor perfectly fine. How about you?

Is it a surprise to any of you that a new postmaster - "the first postmaster general in more than 20 years to lead USPS without prior experience working there,"  Who the heck do you think got that taken care of? (you only get 1 guess)

the trumps have been in china obtaining new voting machines for well over a year - it's been in the news. 1st who gave them authorization to do that? Could it be the fix is already in?  So what happens - many many states know what's up - they want paper mail in ballots.  Trump has gone crazy declaring fraud.  He can't seem to get that stopped so what's the next reasonable course of action? destroy the post office.

You can call me a crazy old insane woman - I don't care. Call me a conspiracy theorist - call me whatever you want but just think about it - of course this is just my humble opinion  - I still have the right to my own thoughts and opinions but hasn't the post office functioned pretty danged well for you over the years. What could have happened so quickly and dramatically just this year?

Surely there are still rational thinking people left in this country. Is that theory all too shocking for you? well just look at what has happened recently with eBay and this site - who could have ever imagined anything so shocking like that could happen to such nice innocent people..  

by: Whatever

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ivanka-trump-voting-machines/