[Gort]

Allow me to dig around your fertile, loamy brains and ask: Which shipping carrier do you prefer: UPS, USPS, Fed Ex, or whomever? And why? I'm speaking about receiving packages.

No doubt this hinges on a variety of factors like speed of delivery, condition of boxes upon arrival, if the carrier delivers to the right address, etc. In my case the driver him/herself makes the difference: I’ve received so many packages the last four years, I know most of them.

Here’s my list ...

First: UPS: So long as a guy named Stew shows up, I’m good to go. He knocks on my door—and waits, believe it or not—until I or my wife answers. He doesn’t linger for hours, obviously, but at least he gives us a moment to reach the door. Jerry and Theodore are reasonably good, too; but they leave the package on the stoop without knocking. Boxes arrive mostly unscathed no matter how poorly the vendor/seller packages the model.

Second: USPS: Packages arrive on time, mostly; sometimes later than I like. Much depends on how they’re sent: Priority Mail, First Class, Parcel Post or slow boat from China. Boxes show up OK, but occasionally they look kinda chewed up.

Third: FedEx: Half the time, FedEx drivers deliver my packages to a house across town, causing all kinds of panic. Why, I haven’t a clue, but they ditch my boxes at a rental home inhabited by ninnies who filch my packages. Once I tacked a map to their door to ward off offending FedEx drivers, but that didn’t go down too well with the renters (as you’d guess). Not to mention the boxes themselves arrive frequently mangled, crushed and/or severely bruised. These days a lady FedEx driver runs the route, which is encouraging; but I’m too soured on the carrier to give them another try.

Here’s the upshot: Given a choice, I use UPS or USPS. I avoid FedEx when I can.

But that’s just my experience. Yours could be totally different. Tell us about it!

[PappyB]

Oh Shiny One my list would read the same as yours for the same reasons -- but I'd add DHL to #4, for some strange reason they can't find my house when everyone else can -- they call me every time and say "you're not in the thomas guide" in an accusatory tone, no less, like it's our fault or something. When I asked if maybe they could put a note with my address in their system so I didn't have to keep giving them directions (house is very close to the heart of downtown, too) they also got all "huffy".

Fedex has also left badly damaged packages without ringing the doorbell to see if I'm home and to see if I would accept them in the shape they were in.

[hworth18]

I use USPS primarily, and UPS if no other option but i stay away from the others.. I have not had too many problems with USPS as long as I insure the package, then it typically arrives in decent shape.

[brunowbe]

When I order, I will always choose the good ol' United States Postal Service. It seems that they are always the quickest and usually cheaper. I used their 1-2 day shipping on a couple of models and the rates were cheaper than UPS ground service, plus insurance was included in the cost of shipping. Packages always seem to be delivered in 3 days or less with USPS. UPS is my second choice, but they seem to take forever and have no initiative to deliver a package earlier than their expected arrival date. My Carousel 1 D13 took 12 hours to make a 1 hour drive from the time it departed from Maumee Ohio and made it to Milan Ohio. It then sat at the final UPS checkpoint/shipping warehouse in Milan for 2 days before it was sent out for delivery (God forbid they deliver it early). The package arrived in good shape though. Just my thoughts.

[KG_Jag]

This is a tough question and the answer depends in part on whether I am dealing with my Texas postman (the worst ever in both the experience of my wife and me) or our Nevada postman (the best in our collective experience of 115 + years of receiving mail).

In both locations I put UPS first. Although less than perfect and not as good as they were 10 to 15 years ago, they are the most reliable and the service comes with insurance for items shipped.

USPS is second in Reno, but dead last in suburban Austin.

Fed-Ex is third in Reno (second in Austin) because they sometimes deliver to the wrong address and sometimes report items delivered before they are.

DHL comes after Fed-Ex because they are sometimes brain dead. For example they delivered my package to a house next door in the face of the following facts:
1. The street numbers appeared clearly on the mailboxes at the street and over the front doors
2. The home to which they delivered a realtor's key box locked to the front door.
3. The home to which they delivered had handbills stuffed into the front door.
4. All of this was done in the light of day.

[91ken]

USPS is by far the most convenient for me. They deliver on Saturdays and if they can't fit the package into the mailbox or community package box, they leave a note for me to pick it up at the nearby post office at my convenience. With the postal service, I also seem to get many more options. I can go Priority if I want it there in 3 days, parcel post if 5 days is good enough and first class if a week or two is OK. Then there's media mail, which is even cheaper for certain items.

UPS does none of that. They show up around the same time every day and if I'm not here, tough cookies. Three tries and the package gets shipped back? What the hell is that? And if I want to pick it up myself at their distant warehouse, I have to either call them to not ship it out on the delivery truck or show up there at around 7PM when the truck comes back in. In other words, I have to accomodate their schedule.

And then there's the matter of priniciple. Sure, package delivery is a profitable business, that's why there are so many private package carriers (at least in the US). It amazes me that some stoopid people actually think that all mail service should be handled by these private companies and the postal service done away with. I wonder if these people have ever thought to consider how much it would cost to send a simple first-class letter to, say, Alaska, using a private shipper. Somehow, I don't think they'd do it for 41 cents, the current postal rate.

So, if given the choice by a retailer, I always use the United States Postal Service (USPS).

[1250ships]

I use USPS for everything. Their Priority Mail service routinely gets parcels from California to the east coast in 2 days. My theory is the less time the carrier has the parcel the less likely they are to damage it.

They are not good if you require tracking though. In that case you have to look to either UPS or Fedex.

[dboulais]

If I have a choice I pick UPS. In my experiance when I've had really abused packages they came from USPS. I just got in two completed plastic 1/72 scale aircraft single engine jet models from the other side of the US by USPS. The senders packaging was good. The box had obviously been violently dropped or thrown around. Both aircraft had their landing gear really crunched into multiple pieces. So, I've got some re-building and glueing to do. At least the bodies and wings were not cracked! My other complaint is that the USPS will deliver to the wrong address about once every three months. My UPS guy leaves the packages at my front door and then rings the door bell. I'm home during the day so I hear the bell. I'm in a rural area so, so far I've not had a problem with any of the packages going "missing".

[larz]

Originally Posted by brunowbe

When I order, I will always choose the good ol' United States Postal Service. It seems that they are always the quickest and usually cheaper. I used their 1-2 day shipping on a couple of models and the rates were cheaper than UPS ground service, plus insurance was included in the cost of shipping. Packages always seem to be delivered in 3 days or less with USPS. UPS is my second choice, but they seem to take forever and have no initiative to deliver a package earlier than their expected arrival date. My Carousel 1 D13 took 12 hours to make a 1 hour drive from the time it departed from Maumee Ohio and made it to Milan Ohio. It then sat at the final UPS checkpoint/shipping warehouse in Milan for 2 days before it was sent out for delivery (God forbid they deliver it early). The package arrived in good shape though. Just my thoughts.

Brunowbe, I know what you mean about UPS packages sitting around a wharehouse--I'm just anal enough to watch the
progress of my packages on their website and many of mine sit for a day or 2 in Illinois before they go out for delivery.
I prefer FedEx--the delivery guy is way nicer and easier on my packages, plus a package from California takes only
3 or 4 days via FedEx, while UPS usually takes a week. USPS is my second choice, pretty fast delivery times and my
mail carrier seems to give just a little extra to get those packages to me in good shape. DHL just started to deliver to my
area and they can never seem to find my house.

Larz