14 replies to this topic

[holygrailvideogames.com]

I sent out 4 packages Parcel Post on December 8th and not one has arrived yet. One of the packages was sent 250 miles away and another one was sent 280 miles from me. All of the priority (smaller) packages that I sent that day have arrived but not one of the larger packages sent parcel post. This was the first time that I paid the post office for the pick up on demand.

[Zwackery]

Someone sent me a package Parcel Post on 12/14 from almost 650 miles away (North<-->South) and I got it today, 12/18. I've noticed that PP tends to go slower across East/West regions. I was at the PO today and sent one package Priority and another PP, and the employee basically could give me no clear estimate as to transit for the PP stuff at this time of year (it's not time sensitive, but still).

[Trade-N-Games]

That seems ok so far considering the size. An Atari Age member sent me a media mail package on 12/9 and it arrived today 12/18 it was 2 pounds. I have mailed a ton of priority mail and they have arrived super fast.

[guitarmas]

Hang tight man. If I'm not mistaken, Parcel Post has 15 days to deliver your package until a complaint can be filed.

[Zwackery]

Did you happen to put delivery confirmation on those packages?

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Zwackery, on Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:26 PM, said:

Did you happen to put delivery confirmation on those packages?

I use delivery confirmation for everything that I send. There isn't a scan on any of them. A good portion of the packages that I ship are only scanned on delivery.

[Zwackery]

gah, it drives me nuts when the PO does that - just scan the dang thing already, the technology is portable and convenient...I suppose a uniform policy on that is too much for such a massive bureaucracy

[shadow460]

Most of the time when I deal with Parcel Post, it takes well over a month for the package to arrive. Priority Mail usually costs less, too. I don't see why anyone would mess with parcel post at all. If it's too big or heavy for Priority, that's what FedEx is for.

[nathanallan]

I have been sending and receiving packages for about three weeks, and the shortest of them was 8 days. The longest took 15 days. One package got taken from the porch but that wasn't the PO's fault. I'm sending one out tomorrow, a big one, to Nevada from El Paso. I'll see how that goes.

Nathan

[MrRetroGamer]

mcgrail0007, on Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:29 PM, said:

I sent out 4 packages Parcel Post on December 8th and not one has arrived yet.

I find that during the holiday rush around this time of year, all US mail services take much longer that usual. I've had First Class take 2 weeks, Priority take 10 days, Media Mail take 3 weeks or more, etc. The US Post Office is really overloaded with all the holiday mail in their system - I got package deliveries this past Sunday for media mail items I ordered from an online store - they have so much stuff to deliver they just want to get rid of it as fast as possible!

mcgrail0007, on Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:29 PM, said:

This was the first time that I paid the post office for the pick up on demand.

You paid them $13.25 to pickup your packages?? I've used the free carrier pickup option from the Post Office for my Priority Mail packages, but it doesn't look like you can use it for parcel post, and it doesn't let you schedule the time they will come either. That being said I find that it's worked out pretty well for me anyway, especially being free!

[holygrailvideogames.com]

MrRetroGamer, on Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:48 AM, said:

mcgrail0007, on Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:29 PM, said:

I sent out 4 packages Parcel Post on December 8th and not one has arrived yet.

I find that during the holiday rush around this time of year, all US mail services take much longer that usual. I've had First Class take 2 weeks, Priority take 10 days, Media Mail take 3 weeks or more, etc. The US Post Office is really overloaded with all the holiday mail in their system - I got package deliveries this past Sunday for media mail items I ordered from an online store - they have so much stuff to deliver they just want to get rid of it as fast as possible!

mcgrail0007, on Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:29 PM, said:

This was the first time that I paid the post office for the pick up on demand.

You paid them $13.25 to pickup your packages?? I've used the free carrier pickup option from the Post Office for my Priority Mail packages, but it doesn't look like you can use it for parcel post, and it doesn't let you schedule the time they will come either. That being said I find that it's worked out pretty well for me anyway, especially being free!

I usually use the free option but the packages that day had a value of over a $1,000 and I didn't know if I would be home when the carrier came by. I didn't want to leave the packages outside do to the weather and value. My back has been out or I would have just taken them to the post office. I won't be paying again for pick up. I did another pick up on demand and the post office didn't pick them up. I called the post office and the postmaster there didn't even realize that they offered the service. He said that he told my carrier to pick up the packages (about 3 hours after the scheduled pick up). I told him I was paying the $13.25 so that I wouldn't have to wait for my carrier. He just seemed clueless.

Edited by mcgrail0007, Tue Dec 19, 2006 9:58 AM.

[Uzumaki]

An AA member sent me a package via parcel post. It was postmarked on 9th of this month. I got it today so around average for cross country shipping.

[Albert]

I personally would not ship anything via Parcel Post this time of year. Even Priority Mail is taking quite a bit longer. I had someone send two nearly identical Priority Mail packages to me recently.. One took about five days to arrive, and the second package arrived five days after that (both sent at the same time, the same size box, same weight). Go figure.

UPS is much more reliable for packages. I sent a package to someone via UPS Ground to someone in Houston yesterday and it arrived this morning. Also it is often cheaper to use UPS Ground than the USPS, you get much better tracking information, and packages are insured up to $100 without having to pay extra.

..Al

[shadow460]

The USPS is a mixed bag during the holidays. Reach into their bag of shipping services and arrival dates and you never know quite what you're going to get.

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Two of the parcel post packages have arrived! It only took 10 days for the one and 11 days for the other. Less than 300 miles for both.