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Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

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Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#51

Post by busterarm »

jweir wrote: post #3

Yeah, we use Prime in Brooklyn. And the UPSP postal slip is something I never want to see. Our Post Office has gotten a little better in the last year about delivering packages. Although they still sometimes try the wrong buzzer. One thing, with your postal slip you can schedule to have it redelivered through the USPS website. I have had good success with this. https://redelivery.usps.com/redelivery/ Fortunately very…

The post offices in Brooklyn and Queens are typically quite terrible and do really shitty things like mentioned in the OP all the time. My brother has terrible problems running his business out of Sunnyside because of problems caused by USPS.

There's no accountability in these post offices for how they deal with their customers.

I'm glad almost all of my Prime deliveries are via UPS or FedEx. Occasionally they go through USPS or through them via FedEx SmartPost and those are the only ones that ever have problems.

My post office in South Carolina is pretty crap too. If the carrier calls out sick, nobody delivers the mail that day. Every once in a while there will be several days of this and then my mailbox is stuffed with all the mail I should have received. Or something arrives 6 months after it was sent.

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#52

Post by aforty »

apaprocki wrote: post #42
aforty wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Brooklyn too. Not sure if it's a regional thing but lately all packages have been delivered via USPS. I don't currently have the problem that the OP has but that's only because I live in a larger apartment building to which USPS sends a truck with all the packages for the day. But I can definitely relate. USPS offices are usually in very unfriendly places as far as public transportation goes. Having to trav…

I also live in Brooklyn (no doorman) and pay $9/mo for a USPS registered mailbox at a laundry store so that I never have to deal with the physical post office. I used to go there to pick up packages and it was a hellish experience. $9/mo saves all of that hassle and it is definitely worth it.

Interesting! I will keep this in mind when I eventually move.

Curious, are there Amazon Lockers near where you live and if so, was there a reason why you chose not to use them?

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#53

Post by davidw »

steveklabnik wrote: post #48
davidw wrote: post #40

> I would venture to say there are a lot more people like me out there. How many people reside in areas where they go around on foot vs by jeep? Also: > doesn't bode a single issue. Should probably be "doesn't pose a single issue". Bode means: indicate by signs; "These signs bode bad news"

> How many people reside in areas where they go around on foot vs by jeep? Cities have a _lot_ of people, last I checked.

> Cities have a _lot_ of people, last I checked.

Sure, we know that, but that wasn't the question I asked, which probably requires some more detailed knowledge of the USPS to answer. I'm sure there are others like him, though, but to really reason about it you'd have to take all the numbers into account.

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#54

Post by discostrings »

aforty wrote: post #31
cfinke wrote: post #4

You see, the problem with Amazon Prime is that you are shipping almost entirely via the USPS. I've never received a package from Amazon via anyone but UPS.

I live in Brooklyn too. Not sure if it's a regional thing but lately all packages have been delivered via USPS. I don't currently have the problem that the OP has but that's only because I live in a larger apartment building to which USPS sends a truck with all the packages for the day. But I can definitely relate. USPS offices are usually in very unfriendly places as far as public transportation goes. Having to trav…

It seems like Amazon is developing quite the relationship with the USPS in New York City. Perhaps the recent increase you see in Amazon USPS deliveries is related to their recent announcement that they'll be delivering Prime orders on Sundays via the USPS in NYC and LA. [1]

[1] http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/11/america-get-ready-to...

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#55

Post by gellpak »

jcromartie wrote: post #5

I live in an apartment complex, and I find that the general issue is that carriers just can't/won't bring packages to your door. With the exception of ONE delivery out of at least two dozen, I have never had a package come to my door. I always get notified by the apartment building late in the day when they are either closed or I am out for dinner/errands, so I have to wait until the next day to actually get the pack…

Why not? I wouldn't pay my telecom for getting my data only as far as the nearest switching station. Why should I accept an almost-all-the-way-there delivery from a shipping company?

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#56

Post by crusso »

cfinke wrote: post #14
xacaxulu wrote: post #9

Not so much an Amazon problem. As with a lot of services, we see quality private sector services (OnTrac, DHL, FedEx) being consistently better than bloated government services operating at a loss and subsidized by taxpayers. I wonder how much further the USPS would dip if Amazon stopped doing business with them.

subsidized by taxpayers "The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations." [1] [1] http://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/postal-reform-...

Not directly, but they get special loans that are government funded. Guess where the money will come from when they default?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/us/politics/postal-service...

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#58

Post by VLM »

xacaxulu wrote: post #9

Not so much an Amazon problem. As with a lot of services, we see quality private sector services (OnTrac, DHL, FedEx) being consistently better than bloated government services operating at a loss and subsidized by taxpayers. I wonder how much further the USPS would dip if Amazon stopped doing business with them.

In a comic twist UPS (not USPS) is well known in my locale for sending out trucks making "2 day" deliveries with just slips, no packages. That way they can't get refund requests for failure to deliver on schedule. Holy cow do they get embarrassed when I fling the door open and catch them. "well, uh, err, sorry sir but we don't actually, uh, have your package, not just yet, but I do have a delivery failure note and I promise to deliver it for real tomorrow"

(edited to add: this almost solely happens around christmas rush time, another reason why I really don't care as long as it gets here before the 24th)

I subscribe to prime because on long term average its way faster than supersaver so I didn't get the guy in trouble, besides he's kinda my lifeline and pissing him off over nothing would be a dumb idea.

Last mile delivery seems to be a natural inherent monopoly, whats keeping the competitors alive is the extreme variability in station-station shipping where competition can actually exist (like milwaukee to chicago, not house to house)

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#59

Post by protomyth »

eli wrote: post #6
petercooper wrote: post #2

So the real problem is that the US government can't provide a postal service that's fit for purpose despite being obliged to provide a service of uniform quality to all Americans. Switching providers might help but it seems the underlying systemic issue is with the USPS not being what it's meant to be.

It is? Maybe in this one case. At my last office I would fail to get large/heavy FedEx deliveries. It would say delivery attempted, but nobody came. I'd get the package typically a day or two later. I assume it was just one really lazy driver. I think the real problem is delivering millions of packages to people all across the country is a tough problem and there are bound to be weird little edge cases that only affe…

Yep, never had a problem with USPS or UPS, but I absolutely hate FedEx Air[1]. They pulled a "we don't deliver in your area from Dec 20 to Jan 2" crap and I had to drive 90 miles to pickup the package myself. I told the vendor if they shipped the next package via FedEx, that would be the last one ordered[2].

I figure your local people are the determining factor since consistency seems not to be a corporate function for any of them.

1) mixing up Air and FedEx Ground will get you yelled at

2) we were getting parts and cables shipped overnight

Re: Why I Canceled Amazon Prime

#60

Post by PagingCraig »

shittyanalogy wrote: post #34

This is a NYC problem not a Amazon Prime or USPS problem. - Have your packages shipped to a friends work place or somewhere with a doorman. I use Amazon Prime in the city and do just that, it's great. - You can rent a PO box that accepts packages at many mail-services type stores. Many of them have notification services too. - Get a business address at a co-working space, a lot of times they will accept your business…

I got a UPS box to get all my personal/business mail. Works well. But I also live in an area where everyone has a car and not like how it is in NYC, so there's that...
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