I Guess USPS Can't Handle Amazon

[Ben]

Maybe it's just me, or my area, but for fully 30% of the packages I've been ordering the last couple of weeks from Amazon for Christmas, I've been getting the "package delayed in transit" message from USPS and an apology from Amazon. That's with 90% of the packages being delivered via USPS.

I've never had that problem in the past with the other carriers. Even normally, USPS is pretty good too, but they seem to be unprepared for the holiday rush this year. I even got one notice saying the package was delayed because it was routed to the wrong USPS location a full day before it was actually routed to the wrong USPS location. 

[Fly320s]

I haven't seen that delay with Amazon packages here, but my local USPS has become pretty crappy.  Tons of wrong deliveries to my mailbox.  My mail usually arrives after 6pm now and often in someone else's mailbox. 

[Hawkmoon]

I haven't seen that delay with Amazon packages here, but my local USPS has become pretty crappy.  Tons of wrong deliveries to my mailbox.  My mail usually arrives after 6pm now and often in someone else's mailbox. 

Ditto. For 24 years, my mail person generally hit my side of the street between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. As of a couple of weeks (or so) ago, I hear the truck stop at my mailbox between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.

[Scout26]

Both UPS and Fedex limit the number of packages they'll take from Amazon so there sort operations don't get overloaded.  They have delivery guarantees, and they both would much rather deliver to business addresses, then residential.   So the "overage" goes to USPS.  (Also USPS tends to be cheaper for smaller Amazon vendors, because they generally, can't the rate discounts that large shippers get.

And USPS really can't say "No" to anyone tendering them a package or envelope, whether their system can handle the excess or not.

And as someone who used to work in the (overnight) Air Freight industry, this is one reason why I really hate this time of year.

[Boomhauer]

I have also noticed a marked decline with the USPS year round. Five years ago they were pretty decent anytime I dealt with them but lately it’s sucked majorly. Stuff gets delivered late, wrong mail in my box, etc. thank god the only bill I need to hit my mailbox is the water bill, everything else is handled online

[RoadKingLarry]

Both UPS and Fedex limit the number of packages they'll take from Amazon so there sort operations don't get overloaded.  They have delivery guarantees, and they both would much rather deliver to business addresses, then residential.   So the "overage" goes to USPS.  (Also USPS tends to be cheaper for smaller Amazon vendors, because they generally, can't the rate discounts that large shippers get.

And USPS really can't say "No" to anyone tendering them a package or envelope, whether their system can handle the excess or not.

And as someone who used to work in the (overnight) Air Freight industry, this is one reason why I really hate this time of year.

A friend of ours is a supervisor at a local rural USPS distribution center.
She got called in Sunday morning because they had just gotten 6 pallets of Amazon packages from UPS.
Understaffed on a Sunday working with a called in crew they managed to get it done for Monday distribution and delivery.

Yeah the USPS has some serious problems but where else can you have someone come to your house, pick up a letter and deliver it anywhere in the US for 50¢?

[Scout26]

A friend of ours is a supervisor at a local rural USPS distribution center.
She got called in Sunday morning because they had just gotten 6 pallets of Amazon packages from UPS.
Understaffed on a Sunday working with a called in crew they managed to get it done for Monday distribution and delivery.

Yeah the USPS has some serious problems but where else can you have someone come to your house, pick up a letter and deliver it anywhere in the US for 50¢?

Yep, and neither UPS or Fedex have not been able to grow and expand as rapidly as Amazon.  You can only get so many packages on plane, you can only lnad (and then launch) so many aircraft.  A sort center can only process so many pieces per night.  Then you can only make so many deliveries before 10:30am.  They'd rather piss off one residential customer that gets 2-3 packages per year, then then business that get 10-50 per day.   So the residential stuff gets dumped on USPS.

[grampster]

Unless you have inside help, you can't even get the phone # for your local PO.  Try and call the 800# sometime.  The robot will tell you, after having punched several different keys while listening to the prompt for everything you don't want, or hanging up and trying again, you eventually find out that your wait time is one hour and 45 minutes.

[lupinus]

Between FedEx and UPS my warehouse averages 250-300+ packages a day. They still do their best to piss us off regularly, but sure compared to residential they do give marginally better service.

A lot of it does admittedly come down to the guy driving the truck making the deliveries though. At my current place, UPS guy is absolutely worthless. Leaves packages in random places a couple hundred yards from the house on the ground in the rain. My mail carrier lady is freaking awesome though.

Flip to a couple towns over when I lived in my apartment and it was the exact opposite. Mail carrier sucked but the UPS and FedEx dudes were awesome for the most part.



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[Ben]

I should say that I'm not totally knocking USPS, or any of the other delivery services. I think online sales have just been growing so fast that it's difficult for the supporting infrastructure to keep up. Probably why Amazon is working on their own delivery service.

I was at Costco this morning, and even just a couple of years ago, I would have had to look for parking this time of year. Today I parked in my usual spot near the store in a 1/3 or so full lot, and had one person in front of me at the register. Online really is putting a bigger and bigger dent into brick and mortar.

[TechMan]

Here in Cincinnati, I get almost all of my Amazon deliveries via the Amazon Flex drivers (~90%.)  The reasons cited above is also why Amazon is building out their own air freight hub at CVG, including 100 767s.

[Scout26]

Here in Cincinnati, I get almost all of my Amazon deliveries via the Amazon Flex drivers (~90%.)  The reasons cited above is also why Amazon is building out their own air freight hub at CVG, including 100 767s.

Yep,  I drove by my old Airborne Express Station, it's now an Amazon station.

[Ben]

Interesting. I just talked to my mailman, who Amazon has delivering today despite the fed day off. No regular mail, just Amazon packages.

Anywho, two of my delayed packages showed up today and I asked him about it. It appears this is actually on Amazon's side and has been happening a lot here. Their delivery trucks have been routing packages to the wrong USPS distribution centers, so the packages sit an extra day until they get sent to the correct USPS distribution site for delivery to regional sites. That actually makes sense, as, looking at my tracking, the delayed packages were going to San Bernardino and Buena Park instead of Los Angeles. They then got routed back to Los Angeles and then upstate to my distribution center.

[TechMan]

Yep,  I drove by my old Airborne Express Station, it's now an Amazon station.

Yep, Amazon is currently flying into ILN, until their hub is finished at CVG.

[Scout26]

Yep, Amazon is currently flying into ILN, until their hub is finished at CVG.

I bet that makes the folks in Wilmington happy.  At least there are some jobs.

I wonder why Amazon didn't just buy ILN outright.  If I remember there are 4 sort buildings there and all the infrastructure needed. Just add planes and people...

[TechMan]

I bet that makes the folks in Wilmington happy.  At least there are some jobs.

I wonder why Amazon didn't just buy ILN outright.  If I remember there are 4 sort buildings there and all the infrastructure needed. Just add planes and people...

Here is the reason: https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/amazon-chooses-cvg-over-wilmington-airport-bring-thousands-jobs/CUI7NSJiPBi8pEirjxT0ML/


Not entirely abandoning ILN.  https://www.wnewsj.com/news/89146/breaking-amazon-announces-flights-sorting-facility-headed-for-wilmington

[Scout26]

There's already UPS at CVG so trying to stuff more planes into there is going to be a tough putt.  With ILN, they can have their very own airport and not have to worry about landing/take-off slots and competing with UPS and everyone else for slots.  

If I was Amazon, I would buy ILN for whatever cheap price I could get and go crazy modernizing the sort buildings and aircraft maintenance facilities.  Then lease a bunch of whatever old aircraft I can find a lot of (which is why ABX used DC-8's and DC-9's)  Standardize on one or two types, and start phasing out UPS/Fedex/USPS..

[RoadKingLarry]

and start phasing out UPS/Fedex/USPS..

And once they've not only captured the selling market but eliminated the competition in the shipping industry they can set back and tell their customers "you'll get when you *expletive deleted*ing get and you'l be gorram happy about it!"