Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

goshippo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 77 posts

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#61

Post by takeda »

programbreeding wrote: post #57
wlesieutre wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had USPS report a package "delivered" but it never showed up. Waited a few days, contacted the vendor who shipped out a replacement (it was a couple of bucks of mechanical bits). Two months later I open up the mailbox and there's the original shipment. I have to wonder if they actually track anything. It feels more like they make an estimate of the delivery route/time and play it back to you regardless of whether i…

I personally think they do actually track things, but I would guess the postal workers are held to some kind of metric for delivery times. I think if they know they don't have the time to actually deliver your package then they'll often mark it as delivered when it hasn't been, then they just deliver it the next day. In your case it sounds like maybe your package got lost somewhere in the truck after they had already…

I had this happening to me as well.

It defeats the whole purpose of tracking.

If employees are doing this, this means something else should change, either extend delivery times, hire more people, optimize how things are done etc

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#63

Post by herf »

I think shippers like Amazon pay relatively high rates to USPS, so they are higher on the priority list.

It's the heavily-discounted "slow" shipping like medicine that is having trouble right now.

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#64

Post by selectodude »

sjs382 wrote: post #60
programmertote wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same experience (especially in populous metro areas like NY). It's not just with USPS, but also with FedEx. I called FedEx support and they explained me why this happens. Turns out, people who deliver packages/mail have strict deadline to deliver their packages and on days when there are just too many for them to finish delivering everything, they mark it as delivered and actually deliver the package on the…

Wait, you're telling me that FedEx support explained that their drivers are defrauding their customers ?

FedEx contracts out a lot of last mile delivery for non-guaranteed packages to USPS. It's possible the rep was referring to that on the phone. I too have noticed USPS delivery notifications to be completely worthless for the same reasons.

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#66

Post by apacheCamel »

sjs382 wrote: post #60
programmertote wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same experience (especially in populous metro areas like NY). It's not just with USPS, but also with FedEx. I called FedEx support and they explained me why this happens. Turns out, people who deliver packages/mail have strict deadline to deliver their packages and on days when there are just too many for them to finish delivering everything, they mark it as delivered and actually deliver the package on the…

Wait, you're telling me that FedEx support explained that their drivers are defrauding their customers ?

Same thing happened to me. It was a pretty expensive laptop too. Went from a day we were set to be home, to the next day when nobody was home but we couldn't change how it was being delivered because "it was already delivered" despite it not showing up and them admitting the same thing as above.

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#67

Post by fooey »

AaronFriel wrote: post #17
TMWNN wrote: post #9

This analysis only covers USPS package delivery, which is different from flats. Ballots are flats. Magazines are flats. Letters are flats. Anything non-bendable isn't. This is what has been happening to USPS, folks: 1. Because of COVID19, flats volume has collapsed, while package volume has skyrocketed. Flats sorting machines can do absolutely nothing for packages for reasons that are left up to the reader, so USPS h…

The DMV loses money. The FDA loses money. The FCC loses money. These are public institutions, not for profit enterprises. They're funded partially by fees and usually largely by congressional appropriations. You beg the question by beginning by comparing the USPS to other carriers. It's one of the few public institutions required by the constitution! Even the Defense Department doesn't get that privilege, and it lose…

DeJoy did recently concede that the USPS will give ballots absolute priority over other mail, so in theory, it will be everything else that gets delayed.

Previously DeJoy had threatened that states which don't pay for first class postage would be delivered slower.

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#68

Post by TetOn »

chrisBob wrote: post #30

One thing this doesn't account for is fraudulent delivery reports. In my area a large percentage of my USPS deliveries are reported as delivered around 6pm on the scheduled delivery day, but I can't find the package anywhere. Then it suddenly turns up the next day. People on NextDoor also report seeing this regularly.

I see this so routinely with USPS delivery that I now assume "ah, this will arrive some time tomorrow" when I get the "Delivered" notification.

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#69

Post by greendude29 »

dawnerd wrote: post #20

One key metric missing (unless I’m blind) is time to acceptance scan. I do a lot of shipping and don’t have time to have the packages scanned in every day so I use the drop box. Last few months it’s taken the post office an extra day or two to even scan them in. So while the packages must only be on average 5-10% late they’re also being delayed a day or more just sitting waiting to be accepted. It hurt my eBay rating…

Not being as familiar with shipping, how would one find the metrics for this?

Is there some kind of an initial "scan" upon drop-in to the box and then a second scan when they pick it up?

If not, then I imagine the metrics would only be discoverable from USPS themselves, which of course, they are going to muzzle.

Re: Shippos USPS Time in Transit Data

#70

Post by kaikai »

chrisBob wrote: post #30

One thing this doesn't account for is fraudulent delivery reports. In my area a large percentage of my USPS deliveries are reported as delivered around 6pm on the scheduled delivery day, but I can't find the package anywhere. Then it suddenly turns up the next day. People on NextDoor also report seeing this regularly.

It depends on what stage of delivery they're scanning the packages. I used to ship a lot of small packages for a small business, and noticed:

- they don't get scanned into tracking until they get processed at the facility, which can take a day

- they sometimes get scanned "out" when they're loaded onto the truck, rather than at delivery point.

Since the directive is now to leave on time, rather than wait for all the packages to make it onto the truck, I bet they're getting scanned out and then waiting on the floor for the next day's truck to actually get delivered.

UPS/FedEx etc use handheld scanners at the delivery point, so they have to deal with employees faking delivery and making up for it later.

Post reply on HN