I was told the envelop has to be 1/4" or less. I’ve been sending 5-8 masks in an envelop and they are considered a package. Yesterday I mailed 4 and put stamps on the envelop. I hope they get there. Next time I think I’ll iron the masks even flatter.
Private shippers like UPS and Fedex are swamped due to more online shopping due to the pandemic. A relative who runs a business had ordered an item that would be considered large and bulky. Three weeks past the expected delivery date it had not arrived. UPS was contacted and they were told that they would look in “the pile”. Large bulky tough-to-transport items were set aside to be delivered when they had time. They dug their item out of the pile and delivered it because they asked for it. Who knows how much longer they would have waited?
Amazon has been awesome lately. But I am in a major hub area and they are adding all the time. Things are coming a day early and pretty much the next day again for prime.
We got an Amazon package last night at 8 pm, ordered earlier in the day.
I don’t take anything to USPS anymore.
We’e had USPS problems for years. FB posting of different neighborhoods not receiving mail for up to 5 days!!! One of the worst times was after Thanksgiving last year.
I’ve put in a request with the most used online retailers to avoid the USPS as much as possible. Yes, Fedex and UPS are running a bit slow - packages get stuck in the ‘label generated’ mode or sit in a hub for a few days before moving on. But I still prefer them to the USPS. USPS has a habit of declaring they ‘attempted to deliver package, left notification’ when we all know they did no such thing. If you go to the office you’re told the package is out for delivery and you can’t pick it up. At least the other guys will give honest updates. If it’s stuck somewhere, it’s stuck, if it’s late, it’s late. None of this - we tried but you weren’t there, couldn’t find the address, left notification - crap.
When I visit the UPS store I’m greeted with smiles and the employees seem really interested in moving the line as quickly as possible.
Contrast to my USPS office where I think the policy is - if there are 5 people in line, for the love of god, close a service window because we must be working to hard. That said, our local mail carrier is great.
We’ve had mail clustered at our office for years. In my general area, postal workers have thrown mail in a ditch, stolen gift cards and money out of mailed cards, hoarded in their houses mail that was supposed to be delivered, etc. They never get much punishment.
I’ve also had the post office change codes on mail-order meds that were lost for months to hide their ineptitude. Postal ombudsman stopped just short of telling me it is fraud (because, after all, they circle the wagons).
Actual USPS mail volume has declined during the pandemic. It stands to reason that less labor is needed. Whether that is 10% or 20% or xx% reduction remains to be seen.
Or the USPS has been so woefully understaffed that maintaining labor pool might bring the levels up to almost enough.
Before I read the entire thread, I want to suggest that everyone check to see if your address qualifies you to see your mail via USPS’s Informed Delivery. It’s free and easy to sign up for and use. It is my lifeline when I’m expecting mail. If I can see the picture of it, and I have yet to receive it I can tick ‘I didn’t receive this’ and surprisingly within a day (2 max) it shows up. Sometimes even the same day I tick the box. Seriously. Sign up for it.
https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action
Agree! I love informed delivery. I check it every morning as it comes through at 7:30. I also get text alerts for every package every step of the way. A label is generated. It is expected on X day. It is on its way and it’s been delivered.
We have a lot more trouble with FedEx. We don’t have an office here. Maybe that’s why. UPS is better, but their office hours are terrible. Just a couple of hours in the afternoon.
Our main post office can be a PITA but the one right by my work rarely has more than 2 people in line. I never mail anything from home. Regular letters go into the blue box at my office. Anything not normal I take to be measured and weighed. I would never guess what it should be.
@JustaMom - thanks for the tip! Just did it!
I am going to use my food saver next time, I sometimes have luck using zip lock bags in it. For sure I put the right postage for weight but that 1/4 inch was the problem.
UPS Surepost and Fedex Smartpost are now using USPS to deliver mail.
Any time someone ships something via UPS Surepost to me, it’s terrible. The last package took 5 weeks to get to me. I spoke to the local postmaster about it at least twice. It was stuck at an airport and there weren’t enough planes flying to move it.
I have informed delivery, and it doesn’t seem to help.
Amazon > UPS > Fedex > USPS for packages. But until the others start delivering letters ANYWHERE in the USA for 55 cents, we need USPS to be healthy and functioning.
However, it does seem to me that the “delivered to incorrect residential address” rate is higher for UPS and FedEx than for USPS.
Our mail has been very slow lately and we can go for days without getting any mail at all. When I called the post office I was “yelled” at, as though I was the 500th person to ask this question.
I get notices saying something wasn’t deliver since they couldn’t get past the gate. I don’t have a gate. ?. This normally means it’s coming the next day.
That hasn’t been my experience at all. The only mail provider that has ever delivered incorrectly here is USPS. For decades here, we’ve been getting other people’s mail and some of it is sensitive in terms of mail that would contain financial info, which means they are likely getting ours.
I have some mask due to arrive tomorrow; this is a replacement order for the first set that never showed up. I wanted to track as I got an email saying they were on track to be here tomorrow. USPS tracking has been down for a couple of hours, so was not able to check, not that I would believe what it said!
Our neighborhood has not received mail since Thursday. As I have informed delivery, I knew I had mail coming, and when it wasn’t in my box, I posted on our FB page to see if maybe it was in someone else’s box. We have 3 central mail boxes, and for some reason, two of my neighbors and I keep getting each others mail. My carrier is very nice, but when we talked to him about this, he doesn’t understand why it happens-hey, dude, you put my mail in the box above mine; it didn’t jump there by itself! The funny thing is, the outgoing box is between the two of ours, so he has to make an effort to do this. Anyway, it has become a running joke with my next door neighbor as she doesn’t check her mail often, but my husband and I go to the box daily.