<p>I just did a search of USPS and UPS for a series of packages we will be shipping for a school booster organization. We are going for cheaper prices. A few days in shipping time are not important to us. We are not a business, and this is a limited series of, say, 10 packages over the course of five months we are talking about.</p>
<p>UPS has such a complicated website and schedule of charges! Sheesh! We simply wanted to be able to include shipping costs in our pricing for an item that needed to be shipped out to a manufacturer and then back to us.</p>
<p>USPS was much easier to deal with. Both their website and when I went to a local post offiice was much more user friendly.</p>
<p>I usually send chocolate-chip pumpkin bread to D using the USPS small flat-rate priority boxes. For $5.15 in the smallest box I can fit in 6 mini loaves. She’s a senior and I’ve sent this many times during college. When I mail it Saturday it arrives Monday.</p>
<p>Got up early to bake the bread on Saturday. Had to do 2 errands (both places opened at 9 am) before a 9:30 event. The first errand took way too long because of broken equipment so I got to the 9:30 event late and didn’t make it to the post office before it closed at noon.</p>
<p>I decided to take it to the UPS store. Packed the pumpkin bread in my own similarly sized box. They asked if it needed to arrive by Christmas. D is flying home Friday so I said before then. They said it would be $20 to mail. I said it wasn’t worth it. They also told me that the post office wouldn’t be able to guarantee delivery before Christmas, and the only way it was going to get there was if I paid $20 to mail it with them, and it was guaranteed to arrive by Thursday.</p>
<p>I hadn’t told D I was going to send her the pumpkin bread, and had sent her earlier care packages this semester. I decided not to send it. I certainly wasn’t going to spend $20 to send 6 mini-loaves only to have it arrive the day before she’s coming home. I had waited in line and they had entered everything in the computer when I walked away, and felt a lot of pressure to pay the price.</p>
<p>So consider signing up with a company (UPS or Fedex) that will offer you a discount for your shipping. I have it with Fedex and its often cheaper to send it priority than ground. </p>
<p>If someone suggested a different way to ship, the first words out of my mouth would have been “what will that cost”? Your wife wasn’t conned. UPS/Fedex/USPS are pretty busy this time of year.</p>
<p>The folks at the UPS drop off location (Mailboxes, etc.) nearest my house are very terse and unhelpful. Last year, I wanted a package to arrive within three days (non-holiday), and they were very cagey about the likelihood that it would arrive on time. I do get the difference between “guaranteed” and “likely,” but they most definitely tried to steer me to the more expensive option, which I found offensive.</p>
<p>After that, I switched to a “UPS Store” a little further away where the people are great. One of the clerks actually came out to the car when he saw me pull up and he helped me carry the packages in! I shipped two large boxes via UPS yesterday morning (east coast city to midwest city). I was told they would “probably” arrive on Friday, but three day service would guarantee it. My choice, he said, but he felt “very comfortable” that they would arrive on time. I opted for regular delivery - decided to take my chances because I’ve noticed that UPS is operating on time this holiday season - many packages have arrived at my house a day early than scheduled. </p>
<p>Many UPS locations are franchises, so the attitude of the staff can vary considerably. The OP should look for another location where he/she will get friendlier and more communicative service.</p>
<p>I looked into buying a UPS store franchise. Let me just say that they make a LOT more money when they sell you faster shipping. I personally have an online UPS account. I go online, look at all my options and prices then print a label at home. Drop off as prepaid at UPS store. The store gets $1.00 flat fee back from UPS. The UPS store generally charges 25% more than a UPS account holder would pay. I have told my elderly parents to never ship from a store. Once a year they ship something heavy to me and I email a label to my dad. He prints and then drops the box off.<br>
I find the OPs story highly believable. I would complain to the store.</p>
<p>:) Thanks, igloo. I hit you with rep points but apparently not quite enough to get that next green square.</p>
<p>Its pretty easy to calculate shipping costs on the fedex website. Someone upthread said its harder on the UPS site. Dont think DHL does much anymore, does it? </p>
<p>I ordered a gift for someone and it was delivered by a company called “ensenda”. [Home</a> Delivery | Ensenda](<a href=“http://ensenda.com/content/home-delivery]Home”>http://ensenda.com/content/home-delivery) Anyone have any experience with them? The gift arrived the same day as another gift I also ordered for them (the items were from 2 different companies but part of one gift) that was delivered by Fedex</p>
<p>I just mailed four packages. Three were sent USPS fixed rate priority mail because they were heavy and doing far. The fourth was sent regular priority mail. The stuff didn’t fit in a large fixed rate box…and good thing. They were very light weight items…and the box cost me only $10 to ship from CT to Ohio. I sent it on December 7 and the following Monday…plan ahead.</p>
<p>OH…the three fixed rate boxes also arrived that Monday. $55 or so to mail four boxes.</p>
<p>Agree that the fixed rate USPS boxes can be great for heavy items if they fit in the box. My post office, unfortunately, happens to be painfully incompetent, crowded and slow. I have had more than my share of bad experiences with them, so have, for the mostpart, used my Fedex account, even if its a bit more expensive. The time wasted and aggravation with the USPS, and the inability to reach anyone on the phone if there is a problem just isn’t worth it.</p>
<p>But also agree that doing it early and planning ahead saves a lot of headaches. I don’t think the OP’s spouse was conned. Just waited too long and didn’t ask enough questions before making a shipping decision. Perhaps the frustration should be directed at the spouse, not the shipping company.</p>
<p>It normally takes 2 days to arrive to the destination because it’s close. Even if it took 5 days, it would still arrive by Christmast. The employee erred in telling my spouse that 3 days service was needed to arrive by Christmas.</p>
<p>And your wife either “erred” by not knowing what you (and many other adults) know…or…she really did know, but wanted to make sure that the pkgs got there before Christmas and now she’s back-pedalling because you’re angry over the cost. (next time she won’t tell you.)</p>
<p>For sending packages I tend to use USPS flat rate boxes. I have a choice of a couple of different post offices. One is large and I find it is easy to use the do it yourself machines.I use them mostly for sending packages to my kids and I fill those boxes pretty tight. Even when my D was on the other coast the packages got there in just 2 days.For work we tend to use Fed Ex since we have an account.
For best delivery service to my home I find UPS is the best. We have had the same UPS driver since my 25 yr old was a baby. He takes the time to open up my side gate and put the package inside our gate where I will see them when I drive up the driveway. They also wrap them in plastic when it rains. Plus he always has a bisquit for our dogs. He is just a really nice man.The Fed Ex and ON Trac people just leave them sitting on top of our call box or leaning on our driveway gate. Anyone walking by could pick them up.
The post man depends on the driver. We used to have a driver who would never leave a package and we would have to go to the post office and stand in a long line to pick up. The mailman we have now will leave packages in the mail box or take the time to get out of his truck and leave it leaning on our gate.</p>
<p>I am very lucky to be able to ship personal items from our company’s mail room. We have a really good discount from UPS (probably about 1/3 of the normal cost) and our staff prints out the labels for me, etc. I just hand over the cash and it’s all done! I HATE dealing with shipping things, so this is a real perk for me.</p>
<p>Right. It sounds like you run a tight ship, are controling and got upset that she spent money you didn’t want her to. Maybe you find saving money more important than she does, in which case it would behoove you to do the shipping versus undermining her. I’ve lived through this scenario; it’s not pretty.</p>
<p>I agree shipping things/ standing in line is a PITA.
Thats why I like the post office because I can use their scale & do it yourself shipping center 24/7, so I dont have to wait in line.
They always have express & priority boxes available but I also always have boxes from Amazon/rei so I just reuse those usually.</p>
<p>We also have a neighborhood coffee shop that has pickups from all the main services & they keep all my addresses on file, that I also use, cause I like to support local businesses.</p>
<p>I have wasted money shipping, sending care packages- when D came home the next weekend, but my budget isnt so tight I can’t ever have an oops.:o</p>
<p>I was also thinking that *my H would never even think to mention *to anyone that I paid a couple more dollars for mailing something than I needed to, let alone make a thread about it online.</p>
<p>However, perhaps OPs wife thinks it is a PITA too, & is thinking that perhaps OP will take over that chore for her. That seems fair.
;)</p>
<p>Has anyone every used Office Depot to ship. I live closer to an Office Depot than either a post office or a UPS store. My Office Depot will ship either UPS or USPS. They will give you the cost to send either way, and any type of rate. They sometimes even have coupons. The people that they have at my store are great. I almost never go anywhere else. Only rarely is it a better deal to send something UPS than it is to use USPS.</p>
<p>I have had amazon prime for years, and have gotten use to being able to shop online the week before Christmas. This year I shopped local! I went to a ups store at 12 today and got my options to ship across country. $17 for next Friday, $56 before Xmas. Next Friday it is! Maybe I’ll also send an amazon card. Anyway I ship often from this ups store, and I’m glad their and other local businesses are making it. I’d rather not see another empty storefront.</p>
<p>I always have good luck shipping directly from UPS, but have run into what I believe are outrageous rates at those franchises that almost lead you to believe are UPS satellites stores.</p>
<p>shipped two packages this afternoon at USPS, one priority, the other the employee offered prices for two day vs 5 day ground. a five cent difference. I appreciated his checking, because I would have assumed it was a larger difference. (surprisingly, not Christmas items so didn’t need to arrive by then)</p>
<p>personally I found your description of your wife’s decision making a bit demeaning. She’s an adult, and I would think she could think to ask, what’s the cost differential? especially since it’s likely she knows she’d have to answer to you. ;)</p>