Shipping in December 2020

[Gary Dotson]

The most recent order from Amazon was scheduled to arrive a little over a week ago, still waiting. In our area, there's no Amazon truck making deliveries, usually Fed Ex, but can be any of the three. We normally get along well with USPS, I think it depends, greatly, on your location. Our local post office is pretty good and our mail carrier lady is fantastic. USPS is incredibly slow, right now but I don't think it's too surprising. Fed Ex, for us, has been unpredictable. Sometimes good, sometimes not so much. For the past several months, we've had the same friendly and thoughtful delivery man, makes a big difference but it's still hard to know when he's bringing your parcel. Not much he can do about it. UPS is generally rock solid. A lot of sellers will chose the others over UPS because the best service cost more. You get what you pay for!

[Don McCombs]

I have an incoming supply of hearing aid batteries from the VA. The first shipment was made on December 2nd by USPS. On day 15, I called the VA to let them know they had not arrived. The call taker assumed they were lost and reordered with next day shipping by UPS. Kept track of them online. Yesterday they tracked as being out for delivery. Then about 6pm, they suddenly disappeared from the radar screen. Then a message arrives that they will be delayed. I’ve always understood that a UPS driver got his package load in the morning and was required to stay out until it was all delivered. Apparently that is no longer the case.

[tomstractor]

I have 1500 ft drive that goes across a field an into the woods to our house. We get UPS and Fedex almost every day. Yesterday the " new" Fedex driver left the large box on the ground at the street by my drive. Good thing I came home before it got legs. Where do they find these guys?

[JimCub48]

I also get my hearing aid supplies and eye wear from the VA ,usually a 2 day turn around from placing order, I believe they come from Colorado and Florida, USPS. But recently USPS on overload delivery 2 times a day anywhere from 6a.m. to 10 p.m. Covid or Christmas ??

[Lt.Mike]

. . . at this location . . .

Funny you mention that. I have better delivery people here, no matter which company they work for, than any I had at my previous location. Maybe we have a better work ethic here.

This is it in a nutshell

[Jim Becker]

I. . . Then a message arrives that they will be delayed. I’ve always understood that a UPS driver got his package load in the morning and was required to stay out until it was all delivered. Apparently that is no longer the case.

Another possible explanation is that it didn't actually get loaded on the truck.

[Clemsonfor]

I ordered a bushing I need for my hydraulic rebuild from TM two weeks ago. It was sent via USPS 2-3 day. After 10 days and no delivery, I contacted TM to make sure they didn’t overlook my order and Ron provided a USPS tracking number. It shows my package has been in Cleveland (40 miles away) since Dec. 13 but it will “arrive later than normal” due to Covid.

I don’t do much online shopping but my wife does and UPS and FedEx delivery seems normal. I also had a recent check mailed via USPS from Wisconsin to Ohio take 16 days from the Postmark date to be delivered.

My point is, if you really need a part or something delivered fast, it’s probably best to use UPS or FedEx if you want to get it in a timely manner. USPS may have a perfectly legitimate reason for the delays, but based on my very limited recent experience the other carriers seem to be operating as normal.

TM gives you shipping options and if you are in a hurry, I’d avoid USPS for now.

We literally get boxes delivered by either fed ex, ups or USPS 2-4x a week. Were rural and it makes no sense to try to buy something in person for MORE money at a store than they literally will bring it to your door for. I order from all kinds of places. It had gotten real bad. But it's better recent. But USPS has been bad lately. I ordered a Cub oil bath air filter off eBay. It was in Kentucky. I was expecting it, looked up the tracking, cause it was several days late, and it was sitting in Puerto Rico !!??? No idea why it ended up through PR before it came to SC.

Stuff was taking 2 weeks to be delivered. I sent a check to Oregon a week and a half back but as of a few days ago the guy hasn't got it yet??

[Clemsonfor]

The one near perfect constant through all this has been Amazon. We've been relying heavily on them for all sorts of things and with just one exception everything has been on time, often next day. There are several tractor parts vendors with a storefront on Amazon, including Amazon itself. If it's a small package the driver walks it all the way up onto the porch, if it's large it's set against the corner of the garage door and within a minute I get an email telling me it's out there.

USPS is a joke. They are the only shipper who ships cremains (cremated remains). I needed to ship to the Navy base in VA so I ordered a cremains shipping kit from the post office. It took 5 weeks from the time they said they shipped it for it to arrive and the Navy wanted to know why I had not shipped yet. Ridiculously bad service.

Fedex ground is hit or miss. The drivers are not Fedex employees but independent contractors. Sometimes I get a good one, one time the dope turns around in my driveway within 3 feet of a mailbox with 6 inch address numbers on it and drives off. When I called in the super told me the driver said he couldn't find my place. Seriously!

The UPS guys that deliver to me are really good. Maybe I'm just lucky but in 16 years at this location they've never failed me. I can print a label on-line and flag him down when he comes by and just hand him the package, no muss, no fuss, off it goes saving me a trip to town.

Count yourself lucky. The first several months of corona lockdown it took almost 3 weeks to get Amazon packages delivered. Then about October or was down to about 1 week for delivery. Now it's back to normal 2 for 4 day delivery for stuff. Yes I have Prime even in the best times they often don't hit the 2 day delivery dates. It really makes me mad that I pay for it and don't get it. Especially since I am not that rural. It's not like I am in Montana 60 miles from a one horse town. I am less than 3 hours from Atlanta GA, Charleston SC, Charlotte NC, less than 2 hours from Greenville SC, Columbia SC, Augusta GA. All off them have Amazon distribution centers and several are HUGE cities. I swear Amazon prioritized cities and put rural areas that the Amazon trucks could not deliver too on the back burner. They wouldn't even ship the orders for a week or more, you can't tell me they were weeks behind filling orders!!

Needless to say I am less than happy with amazon. Walmart could still manage to get things to me in a few days the whole time, sometimes overnight and I don't even pay them to deliver in 2 days. But what can you do Walmart doesn't have the selection Amazon has and I can't drive to a city an hour away everytime I need something I can't get in town 23 miles away..if they have it even.

[Don McCombs]

Another possible explanation is that it didn't actually get loaded on the truck.

I suppose that is a possibility. I think the more likely scenario is that, due to the current road conditions, the driver got to a point in time yesterday evening, when he said “The hell with it” and drove back to Cumberland. If I see him on Monday, I’ll ask.

[ScottyD'sdad]

Not defending them, but UPS and Fedex suddenly got vaccine shipments, added to their busy season. Here, USPS has been poor. My daughter had some stuff ordered from a department store right after Thanksgiving. Shipped first week of December, still hasn't appeared.

Ed

[Lt.Mike]

I. . . Then a message arrives that they will be delayed. I’ve always understood that a UPS driver got his package load in the morning and was required to stay out until it was all delivered. Apparently that is no longer the case.

Another possible explanation is that it didn't actually get loaded on the truck.

This happened twice...
I’m watching the tracking info and it says out for delivery, didn’t get it, then the tracking says undeliverable and available for pickup from the post office. So I go to the post office the next morning and they say it’s on the truck out for delivery.
The second time this happened the post woman quietly said sorry, it probably came in after the truck left for the day so the guys on the dock marked it as undeliverable later on. She then said unless I get a card in my box to pick up the package it’ll be delivered the next day, ignore what tracking said.

[Urbish]

I've had several inbound and outbound packages stuck in the Detroit sorting facility for 3-6 days. One of the outbound packages was being shipped to a destination 60 miles from me. I probably should have just hand-delivered it.

[Lt.Mike]

Yup, you should have

[Waif]

Well , reading these posts sure relieve my feeling singled out! L.o.l..

U.S.P.S. fell on their ears BIG TIME! Which is disappointing as I've cheered them on , until the mayhem started with evaporating objects , black holes and unexplained mysteries.

Started with a lighter sent to Zippo in Pa..
Oh it made it ,and was repaired and shipped U.S.P.S..
It encountered some difficulty in returning to me though when the envelope was stamped damaged at one office. Followed by package received contents missing at another. I can't hardly describe how pleased I was to receive an envelope without my lighter.

My suspicion was that someone decided they liked the lighter. And that the same someone had access to the envelope.

My communication with post master got me no closer to seeing my lighter again.
A "lost" item/package place was suggested , where the lighter did not exist.
Who should have been investigated as to the whereabouts of the item???

Recently some packages were sent to Urbish's side of the state.
A 21/2 hour drive roughly.
One took weeks. Another took days/less than a week.
No , not full sized trucks packed in boxes...
Tracking the tardy package was baffling. Why it went where and why it stalled out so long......Not many businesses could succeed in such a manner.
But , they do. Probably by my paying postage for them to punt packages about hither and yon. Spin the wheel and giggle when they take a detour. Or fall into the mystic void of ....Sitting in the same place for days on end???

The post office quit sending me surveys on how they were doing.
Might have something to do with my repeated reply being , "where's my damned lighter!".

[ScottyD'sdad]

About 10years ago, I ordered 2 front axle stem and hubs, from a vendor on Ebay. Got an empty box, with. hole in the side, big enough for a cat to walk in. Post office couldn't find the parts. I was afraid of a lawsuit from a postal worker with a broken foot! So, the problem isn't new.

Ed