WTF ?????

[bobby_hamill]

I ordered a item from ebay that was shipped from Richmond VA and I live 85 miles south of Richmond

BUTTTTT the USPS ships my package from Richmond VA to 750 miles south to Orlando Florida !!!!

 

[MidOH]

Hazmat?

 

[lakeroadster]

I think I see a couple things there.

Yep.

It's USPS...

"We're from the government, don't try to make sense of it."

 

[tim cubbedge]

I bought some lipos from seller in Texas and took a month to get to Florida via USPS.

 

[Banzai88]

There was a thread here last year or so where we all chronicled similar insanity.

Currently I'm getting books from England faster than books mailed the same day from Florida....and I live in Virginia!

 

[Hobie1dog]

I normally have good results with them, but it's a huge system, it happens.

 

[Funkworks]

It would be interesting to see a map of USPS's distribution centers. A quick search this morning was fruitless.

 

[bobby_hamill]

it is a borescope that you attach to cellphone to inspect car engine cylinders

 

[bobby_hamill]

there are USPS's distribution centers in Raleigh and Greensboro along with Rocky Mount

 

[tim cubbedge]

it is a borescope that you attach to cellphone to inspect car engine cylinders

Battery operated?

 

[bobby_hamill]

nope it attaches to cell phone. fiber optic cable with camera on 1 end

 

[Sparkyflyer14]

wtf=where's the fiber optic cable?

 

[Rocketjunkie]

It's the USPS. If I mail a 1st class letter to another location in my home town, it goes to Macon (140 miles away) to get postmarked then comes back. Even if mailing it to my next door neighbor!

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

You can’t get there from here.

 

[tsmith1315]

You can’t get there from here.

 

[Hobie1dog]

It's the USPS. If I mail a 1st class letter to another location in my home town, it goes to Macon (140 miles away) to get postmarked then comes back. Even if mailing it to my next door neighbor!

Hearing how inefficient things are, it makes you wonder if it can ever be corrected?

 

[mh9162013]

Hearing how inefficient things are, it makes you wonder if it can ever be corrected?

I'm guessing it can't be "corrected" because it doesn't need to be. The most efficient logistical system may not be the most efficient 100% of the time.

 

[CalebJ]

I'm guessing it can't be "corrected" because it doesn't need to be. The most efficient logistical system may not be the most efficient 100% of the time.

That would make sense if the hub were in Florida for the op, but it isn't.

 

[Hobie1dog]

This reminds me of the George Carlin routine, "where's all the bright, young people who can straighten this mess out? We don't have any. They're at the Mall picking their noses and buying sneakers with lights in them."

 

[mh9162013]

That would make sense if the hub were in Florida for the op, but it isn't.

My response was to hobie1dog (commenting on the letter across town going 140 miles away), not the OP.

 

[boatgeek]

I've seen similar things from UPS and FedEx, so it's not just a USPS thing. On the whole, USPS has been pretty reliable for me.

While we're at it, why is it less expensive to fly from Seattle to Chicago via Phoenix than directly? Or worse, a few times I've seen it be cheaper to fly to Chicago via Phoenix than to fly the exact same flight just to Phoenix. There's all kinds of weirdness in logistics and pricing.

 

[tsmith1315]

I think the OP’s VA to VA via Orlando delivery was a mistake. It happens.

Otherwise, they’re shuffling an unreal amount of stuff around. It makes sense that some movements wouldn’t make sense at a glance. I’d hate to know I was in charge of it.

 

[BigMacDaddy]

I also wondered if it was Hazmat -- I have seen Hazmat packages get bounced around quite a bit extra... Not sure what is going on -- maybe it is like a hot potato game...

 

[bobby_hamill]

this what I got from ebay

 

[Peartree]

I also wondered if it was Hazmat -- I have seen Hazmat packages get bounced around quite a bit extra... Not sure what is going on -- maybe it is like a hot potato game...

Possibly, because USPS uses a lot of contract carriers and not just USPS employees and trucks. It's possible that Hazmat goes a little weird because it has to stay on carriers that are licensed to carry it.

 

[smstachwick]

I've seen similar things from UPS and FedEx, so it's not just a USPS thing. On the whole, USPS has been pretty reliable for me.

While we're at it, why is it less expensive to fly from Seattle to Chicago via Phoenix than directly? Or worse, a few times I've seen it be cheaper to fly to Chicago via Phoenix than to fly the exact same flight just to Phoenix. There's all kinds of weirdness in logistics and pricing.

Airlines mostly use the hub and spoke model. It’s less expensive to have most of their aircraft based at a handful of large airports and make arrangements to have passengers connect than it is to have a much larger fleet connecting every serviced city pair. An increasing number of airlines are taking advantage of improving aircraft efficiency to connect high-demand city pairs, but going through a hub is still the norm.

My guess is that the postal service does something similar, it probably takes fewer trucks running fewer routes to take a big detour to a big sorting/distribution than it does to carry letters across town on lots of short, “thin” routes.

 

[MidOH]

Your one single package going waaay long distance to a hub, and having to double back, is less costly than making more hubs.

Or...................they simply put it on the wrong truck.

I've been to a few hubs. There's a ton of stupid going around. Memphis is by far the worst. The ones I can get in and out, without talking to anyone, are the best ones. Interacting with anyone, especially security gate tards is a nightmare of idiocy.

 

[mh9162013]

My post office usually makes 2 deliveries each day, one for packages (if applicable) and one for the regular mail. And during the holiday season, we sometimes get USPS mail delivered 3 times a day.

Seems inefficient, and it probably is. But it's still probably better than having the "regular" postal employee delivery both letters and boxes on the same route.

I should also note that my regular postal delivery person is on foot for most of their route, so not having them deliver packages in addition to letters makes sense.

 

[bobby_hamill]

as of 6pm today package is now in Raleigh NC

 

[Hobie1dog]

as of 6pm today package is now in Raleigh NC

see, and you thought there was a logistics issue.