Should I be concerned about this engine order being lost?

[jrap330]

Easy, parcel post...ground only is small potatoes. For a normal package most times the postal employee informs me that anywhere from .20 cents go .50 cents more, my package can go first class...makes no sense but for almost same price..I shipped first class.

I understand motors "hazmat" has to be ground shipment per message thread.

And do you really want to pay Fed Ex and UPS prices ......they have increase there prices alot past few years.

Tell Congress to allow the post office to save some money...No Saturday mail......change that new law about funding pensions. People forget the USPS i still better than numerous foreign countries.

 

[Marc_G]

Definitely not supportive of cancelling Saturday mail. Love my Saturday mail and it also works with shippers like Amazon and UPS Surepost.
Am in favor of restructuring pensions... It's criminal how USPS is forced to do it.

This is the first USPS package I've had trouble with in a long while; I like USPS generally.

 

[jrap330]

Why, Saturday is usually "junk": mail..the ads and local advertising magazine. If it helps keep them afloat it one piece of the solution.

 

[David Schwantz]

I just believe in getting what I paid for. And the USPS does NOT deliver that.

 

[Marc_G]

I just believe in getting what I paid for. And the USPS does NOT deliver that.

Fifty five cents or whatever to send a letter works for me. Package delivery via priority mail is often a good deal; I use it a fair amount. Other than that I prefer UPS/FedEx!

 

[jrap330]

I just believe in getting what I paid for. And the USPS does NOT deliver that.

Ok, then go USPS or FEDEX..and pay more...But most people believe mail should be affordable. And for the size of USA (3,000 miles across)...with rural and mountain terrain. with little population,..they still deliver the mail. If truly corporate mail would happen.... a great deal of the USA territory would make it not affordable for companies to deliver or charge an extraordinary rate for it to happen. You can not beat the rates and YES, they increase rates for packages greatly the past few years.

 

[Marc_G]

Big progress. It left Cincinnati this afternoon and arrived in Indianapolis distribution center at 10pm this evening. Who knows; I may yet receive it in a day or two. I live in Carmel which is a suburb of Indy.

 

[Bill S]

You gotta wonder how the USPS stays afloat?????

Though frequent and flagrant spending use of taxpayer funds. Surely you don't think its through competence do you? Its not as if .gov employees know how to be be efficient or how to make profit like in the private sector.

 

[Marc_G]

Big difference between first class mail and a ground parcel select hazmat box

Good news: the package now shows out for delivery today! This saga may come to a conclusion soon!

 

[Antares JS]

Why, Saturday is usually "junk": mail..the ads and local advertising magazine. If it helps keep them afloat it one piece of the solution.

Because before I got married, it was the only day I was home to sign for packages, and I used to get a lot of stuff that was shipped internationally via EMS and required a signature. If we have to cancel a delivery day to save money, fine, but not Saturday.

 

[MikeT]

"Big difference between first class mail and a ground parcel select hazmat box"

Do you really think they care? I get 1st class mail with the wrong address in my box more than I would like. Incompetence runs rapid at the USPS. I've never had a hazmat box lost or delayed at my home or my work. Go figure.

Mike

 

[David Schwantz]

Don't ever put a fragile sticker on a box! I had a package out for delivery 3 times. Each time they sent it back to St. Paul instead of delivering it to me. I took all the tracking info each time they did it. The person at the counter just said "I don't know why". Never did get it. Ordered from Camofire in UT. Never came, when I did inquire about it, I was told "they lost the truck somewhere between UT and MN". Never did get that one either. But the best has to be I mailed my paperwork at a fake Post Office. I was in KY, mailed it from Holland, KY, on a Saturday. Dropped it in the Blue USPS mail box outside the door. Looked like a normal PO to me. Had all the correct signs, had the hours lobby was open on the door. 2 weeks later paperwork did not arrive. Went to my local PO and asked if they could help. After several phone calls they were told that that PO was no longer open. Didn't say that on the door!!! Then they were told that the PO in Scottsville, KY now serviced that sight, but only once a week. Would"ve been nice to have had a sign up that said that.

 

[boatgeek]

No joke , but the scary part is some think they can handle our voting ballots just fine.

Mike

We vote by mail here in WA, and it's a pretty damn smooth process. Ballots are mailed about 3 weeks before Election Day, so we receive them at least 2 weeks ahead. We have until Election Day at 8pm to get the ballot into a drop box (our large county with 2 million residents has about 100 drop boxes) or the ballot has to be postmarked Election Day. All ballots have signatures verified, and you can check the status of that online. Vote counting starts on Election Day with the ballots received early. They release vote totals just after 8pm on Election Day, and then around 4pm every day after that. About 80% of the ballots get counted in the first two days.

The only real drawback is that it may take a few days to know who won. By the weekend after Election Day, it's almost always pretty clear. One huge benefit is that the fact that you have returned your ballot is public record (just like whether you signed in at the polls). If you vote early, your name will get taken off campaigns' mailing lists. It's also really nice to be able to choose when you vote. Our voter turnout stats reflect that.

Also, it's not like in-person voting systems never have issues (cough, Georgia, cough).

 

[MikeT]

The problem is that many are mishandled , stolen , harvested , found after the fact ......... The list is endless. There's previsions in place for those who want to vote absentee and for those that just can't make it in person. This whole vote by mail thing is not necessary and ripe for fraud. If you can go protest or go to WalMart than you can vote in person with a ID.

Mike

 

[CalebJ]

'Many'?

 

[Marc_G]

THE PACKAGE HAS ARRIVED. None the worse for wear. I think it sat in a corner of a truck for two weeks before someone noticed it and put it into the Memphis mail stream.

Funny, there's a big pink sticker: USPS DO NOT DELAY.

Here's what steams me: Sure, it's labeled ground only and so on and has the compliance info packet. But I paid $39.99 for USPS shipping and the USPS shipping label is for $14.10. I got soaked for $26. The itemized receipt doesn't call the $40 for "shipping and handling" but very specifically says USPS Shipping.

Not sure I have any recourse on this, but it will definitely factor into my decision when I place another order at some point. It was over a hundred dollars worth of engines (before tax/shipping). I almost cancelled the order before placing it when I found it was going to be $40 for shipping (AC Supply is free shipping over $100 as long as not hazmat). But only Belleville had stock of some of the stuff I wanted so I just rolled with it rather than obsess over it. But them skimming nearly $26 REALLY pisses me off.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[David Schwantz]

Bend over

 

[boatgeek]

The problem is that many are mishandled , stolen , harvested , found after the fact ......... The list is endless. There's previsions in place for those who want to vote absentee and for those that just can't make it in person. This whole vote by mail thing is not necessary and ripe for fraud. If you can go protest or go to WalMart than you can vote in person with a ID.

Mike

Erm, no. The top line of the article is 204 cases of vote by mail fraud in 20 years, with 250 million votes cast. The data behind that statement is from a Heritage Foundation database, too, so it's not from a "liberal news media" source. That database has just over 1100 cases of voting fraud of any kind. Voter fraud is extremely uncommon.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/494189-lets-put-the-vote-by-mail-fraud-myth-to-rest

 

[Marc_G]

Amazing the things that crop up in a thread about a lost package.

 

[Marc_G]

For kicks I sent a note to the person at Belleville I've been in touch with, pointing out the nearly 3X difference between the invoiced shipping cost and the actual shipping cost. I asked for a refund of the difference. I don't expect to get anything but it never hurts to ask.

 

[Marc_G]

Another update.

An hour or two ago, my phone rang. The house phone, my landline. It's is usually spammers but looking at the phone number, which had an area code I didn't recognize but with an actual name that didn't look spammy, I picked up. I was ready to just hang up quickly, because I've found it isn't worth it to engage spam calls.

But it was actually a guy from Belleville, one of the nicest guys you will ever talk to on the phone. He had gotten my email about the postal charges and told me I would be getting a refund check in the mail (yes, we made the obligatory jokes about whether or not the check would make the rounds down to Memphis first). He was very apologetic about the delays, we talked about the postal delays that are happening due to high volume, and also that periodically they have to do cleanings due to contamination, and generally the works are gummed up. I'm not sure how much I'll be getting back but will appreciate whatever it is.

The good news is that he said the stay at home orders have been a boon to their business: orders of hobby supplies are way up.

I'm considering the incident resolved with a favorable note to Belleville. They shipped my order within a business day and responded within hours both times I emailed them. The order was appropriately packaged and arrived safely despite USPS delays outside Belleville's control. My concern about postage overcharging is resolved.

These guys get the Marc_G "Good Egg" certification. I recommend them (as long as you don't need your stuff in a hurry).

 

[CalebJ]

Was there an explanation of why the initial charge was so high?

Regardless, glad they sorted it out.

 

[MikeT]

Glad their taking care of ya.

Mike

 

[Marc_G]

Was there an explanation of why the initial charge was so high?

Regardless, glad they sorted it out.

Not really. But I'm getting something back.

 

[SDramstad]

Shipping charges are really difficult to calculate ahead of time. You have a limited range of box sizes and each would be a differant charge. If you order more then one part will they all fit the small box or do you have to upsize it? The computer is usually not smart enough to figure it out so it does its best guess....

 

[Marc_G]

I got my check in the mail today. Woohoo!

 

[Marc_G]

I'm necroposting my own thread, though I don't know if less than a year is actually a necropost.

It's happening again. Ordered engines from Belleville. They shipped promptly with great communication. At first, I was delighted because instead of languishing at the Belleville post office, it actually started moving, and showed up quickly at St. Louis. It has been there for 11 days. No motion. Tracking says it's en route to its next facility but I understand that to be bunk. It's sitting in a heap, probably outside, waiting for a slot on a truck to somewhere.

Since the last one turned out just fine, I'm not getting anything in a twist here... but it still peeves me. $40 for shipping and it will likely take the better part of a month to get here. Like last time, I'll probably bring it up with the Belleville folks and see if they will give me another refund of any overage between what they actually paid and the fee I paid.

I feel bad for the Belleville folks that their little corner of the Postal world seems particularly plagued. I've ordered other ground shipments from other locales, always with no problem other than a day or two.

 

[Bill S]

I'm necroposting my own thread, though I don't know if less than a year is actually a necropost.

It's happening again. Ordered engines from Belleville. They shipped promptly with great communication. At first, I was delighted because instead of languishing at the Belleville post office, it actually started moving, and showed up quickly at St. Louis. It has been there for 11 days. No motion. Tracking says it's en route to its next facility but I understand that to be bunk. It's sitting in a heap, probably outside, waiting for a slot on a truck to somewhere.

Since the last one turned out just fine, I'm not getting anything in a twist here... but it still peeves me. $40 for shipping and it will likely take the better part of a month to get here. Like last time, I'll probably bring it up with the Belleville folks and see if they will give me another refund of any overage between what they actually paid and the fee I paid.

I feel bad for the Belleville folks that their little corner of the Postal world seems particularly plagued. I've ordered other ground shipments from other locales, always with no problem other than a day or two.

Haven't they always been slow to ship and slow to arrive? Maybe its time to move on to another vendor.

 

[Marc_G]

Haven't they always been slow to ship and slow to arrive? Maybe its time to move on to another vendor.

The vendor ships quickly and is very responsive. They typically get the package to USPS within a business day or two. Belleville Hobby is a great vendor.
The recent issues (and, persistent ones that have gotten worse) at USPS are at fault here.

 

[shockie]

I ordered primarily Estes and ATQuest ABCD from Belleville and they arrived within 4 days......

Consider that the physical location of Belleville, IL and Louisville KY are both right off I-64....a 4 hr drive at 70 mph + another 50 miles

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Missing-Mail-The-Basics