Commentary from the staff of Auctiva.com
USPS Comes Through!
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Is it just me, or has the post office been much faster lately?
Recently, I sold a video game on eBay to a man who lived on the other side of the country. He bought it late Friday night, and sent me a nice note stating that the game was a gift for his grandson’s birthday on the following Tuesday. While he knew it was a long shot, he was hoping I could get the game in the mail quickly so it might arrive in time for the big day.
My first thought was there was no way the package could travel 3,000-plus miles in one business day, even if I upgraded the shipping from the stated First Class Mail to Priority Mail. I’ve mailed several packages and cards to family on the East Coast and even Priority Mail sometimes took a full four days to reach them. (First Class took as long as seven days)!
Knowing that fulfilling his request would be nearly impossible, I sent my buyer a friendly reply Saturday, saying I doubted the game would reach him by Tuesday, since I would be mailing it on Monday. (I state in my listings that I ship within one business day since it’s so hard for me to mail items on the weekends).
Though I wasn’t planning on making a trip into town on Saturday, I decided that afternoon that I should make the trek to mail the game that day instead of waiting until Monday. I shipped via First Class Mail, since I knew from past experience that upgrading to Priority still wasn’t a sure bet the package would make it to its destination on time, not to mention the extra cost I would eat. As the buyer himself said, it was a long shot, and he knew he was late buying the gift so close to his grandson’s birthday—but I figured I would roll the dice and see what happened.
On Monday at around 10 a.m. Pacific Time, I logged in to my eBay account and found a lovely note from my buyer. Somehow, against all odds, that game made it to Virginia that day! I replied back that I was just as surprised and that most of the credit should go to the U.S. Postal Service for getting it to him in less than 48 hours. Maybe it was just a rare occurrence, but it couldn’t have happened at a better time. It made a little boy in Virginia very happy on his birthday. Kudos, USPS!
What has been your experience lately with delivery times for USPS packages? Has service seemed quicker or slower than usual? Have you ever had a similar experience to mine? Let us know.
About the author
Rebecca Miller is Auctiva.com's product manager. As an eBay seller of more than 10 years, Rebecca is well tuned into the needs of online sellers, and serves as an internal advocate for merchants. She continuously monitors Auctiva's Community Forums, answering customer's questions and taking their feedback to developers for future enhancements. Rebecca continues to sell on eBay, and is currently a PowerSeller and a Top-rated Seller.
I sell on eBay and ship items from Puerto Rico to USA. USPS delivery time was improved lately, specially for First Class Mail Parcels. Some times it takes 3-5 days for delivery, the same as Priority Mail. Media Mail deliveries were improved also. It take 5 days for delivery from Puerto Rico. The trick is to use #2 or #5 bubble mailers. To protect books from damage during transit, I wrap the book with cardboard and tape. If I ship the books in a box, it may take up to three weeks for delivery.
I wanted to add something: Yes, USPS has gotten faster, but they have also gotten sloppy, and the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. I have always sent my clothing items in Flat Rate Priority Envelopes. On Thursday, I dropped off 13 Flat Rate Priority Envelopes with misc clothing in them. Saturday they were left on my door step with a note: “These envelopes are for documents only, do not use them for anything else.” It was signed by my local post office.
Today I received a dress stuffed in a Flat Rate Envelope, and it was bulging, but no one had an issue. And I receive items in Flat Rate all the time. So I took them to the post office, 20 miles away, explained the issue, they took them and continue to.
I have called 1-800-ask-USPS, e-mailed them, talked via phone, in person, and no one can give me an answer to the “If it fits, we will ship” motto on TV! That is just one of seven issues I have had in three months where everyone has a different answer and no one can help me, but they waste my time, my money (I ship free to clients) and make me look bad to my clients!
Has there been a change in policy that I did not hear about, or is my local post office instilling their own policies now?
As a seller on eBay in Australia, I sell items from the U.S., and they use USPS. I am afraid my experience has not been a positive one. My customers have waited for up to nine weeks for their items. I have phoned them several times, and it appears my shipments are going all over the world and ending up in China or England, or just going all over the U.S. and getting sent back to my manufacturer!
Not sure how that happens! Anyway, I can honestly say that as far as international shipping is concerned, they have a great deal of improvement yet to be done. I have had nothing but long, long waits! Approximately six months ago, the shipping was no longer than seven working days! I would have been full of praise back then, but not now!