At the risk of going severly OT, here's ∗my∗ two cents:
USPS does indeed pick up packages. See www.usps.com for details. All this can be
transacted through the web, very similar to UPS. So theoretically, you should not have
to go anywhere near a post office lobby.
Priority mail w/Delivery Confirmation is a cost effective solution, and delivery time is
almost always 2-3 days in the contiguous states. I've placed orders with Mouser on a
Sunday afternoon and received it on the following Tuesday. International Express
mail, while pricey, does provide tracking, The bottleneck is Customs, yet another
monopolistic bureaucracy, although in light of Homeland Security, they have enough
problems to deal with.
It also should be pointed out that UPS charges a premium for residential delivery. The
USPS goes to all US addresses (some 9 billion) 6 days a week. 2 to 4 pound packages
∗are∗ their bread & butter.
Full disclosure; I'm a mailman and have 10 years to retirement, help me out here ;-)
Paul, I think I speak for all MOTM customers in giving thanks for your sub-contracting
with SynthTech to speed up the throughput. You don't need more headaches, so give
the carrier pickup service a try, it might change your mind.
Chuck
who receives no gratuities for this blatant (but voluntary) commercial
--- In motm@yahoogroups.com, "paulhaneberg" <phaneber@o...> wrote:
>
> I wanted to add my two cents to this.
>
> I would much prefer to ship everything by UPS or FEDEX or anybody
> other than the US Postal Service.
>
> Why is that?
>
> Everybody else will pick up from the factory. USPS must be taken to
> the post office.
>
> Everybody else believes in customer service. The USPS does not.
>
> The last bunch of MOTM packages that were sent out by USPS required
> 20 minutes to drive to and from the post office, waiting in line
> another 20 minutes, waiting for the post office person to correct
> the transaction, because they forgot the insurance the first time,
> and having to write them a second check because the first amount
> they charged did not include the insurance they had forgotten.
>
> The USPS will not track packages unless you pay for their premium
> service.
>
> When you contact the USPS because a package has not arrived when it
> should have, they tell you that the package will not be considered
> lost until it is missing at least a month.
>
> In short they act as if they have a monopoly, and as if they all
> have guaranteed jobs, no matter what kind of customer service they
> provide, or how rudely they treat their customers.
>
> UPS and the others will get the packages there with much better
> service, although they too are subject to the delays of customs.
> There are other couriers cheaper than UPS, but generally not at the
> size and weight of MOTM packages. Small boxes weighing 2 to 4
> pounds are not the bread and butter of most couriers.
>
> I personally would recommend paying the few extra dollars and
> getting UPS shipment to anyone outside the US. Your package will
> ship faster, it will get there faster, and you can track it.
>
> The same applies to anyone who has their shipments sent to a PO Box
> in the US. You will probably get better service if you have it sent
> to a friend's or relative's street address via UPS.
>
> When we ship via UPS we enter the shipment in the computer program
> provided by UPS, the label is printed automatically, and UPS is
> notified via the internet that we have a pickup waiting. They
> usually pickup within 4 hours. It is fast and accurate. My
> business ships about 50,000 packages per year all over the world.
> UPS has by far the lowest error rate of any carrier we use.
>
> Paul Haneberg