The Post Office is Nuts

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by johnmilton, Dec 21, 2020.

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  1. bikergeek

    bikergeek Active Member

    Jeffjay nailed it. Christmas happens every year, but those other two factors are unprecedented and could have crippled any institution. Yet, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." :)
     
    Paul M. likes this.
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  3. Idoono

    Idoono Member

    Be glad if you get a package at all. My wife sent a check for work to the IRS in Louisville, Ky. It was sent with a tracking number and now the USPS says that they have no idea where it is at and that she might want to stop payment and re-issue the check. IRS doesn't take excuses why it is late and oh yeah, it has been 30 days since she first sent it.
     
  4. Scuba4fun777

    Scuba4fun777 Well-Known Member

    The “Allen Park, MI” sorting hub (aka Detroit Post Office) should have been a Halloween attraction in October. And probably still should be.
    Ever since about late August, if a package arrives there, it either leaves the next day, or camps out for 2-4 weeks. 75% of the time, it’s the latter. There are no exceptions in my experience, as I live in SE Michigan. Sometimes, they completely avoid Allen Park and are routed thru Pontiac. Like clockwork, packages thru this facility always arrive the next day. I wish there was a way to completely avoid the Allen Park / Detroit facility.
     
    coin dog likes this.
  5. Phil's Coins

    Phil's Coins Well-Known Member

    I'm still waiting for one that left Dallas, TX Nov 27th, living in Missouri, I could have driven there picked it up and been back home in a day and a half. I guess they are waiting for us to vote them a price increase for their fast service. MY ASS.
     
  6. Bradley Trotter

    Bradley Trotter Well-Known Member

    I'm still waiting on two ancient coins myself. The Domitian AE hasn't updated in a week. The last time it checked in on tracking was just outside of Smithsburg, Maryland, in transit. It was originally supposed to be delivered around the 18th, but I guess that's part of buying something so close to Christmas.

    Domitian AE Combined Image.jpg
    Domitian
    AE20 of Amphipolis, Macedonia
    81-96 A.D.
    Obverse: AYT KAIΣAP; ΔOMITIANOΣ, laureate head right
    Reverse: AMΦIΠOΛITΩN, Artemis standing left, holding long torch and branch, shield at her feet.
    Weight: 8.5g
    RPC 339, Sear GIC 801

    This past Friday, I also purchased a Nerva denarius. It last checked in this morning in transit after passing through the Akron, Ohio distribution center. It is supposed to be delivered by the 23rd, but that's a pretty big if this time of year.

    Nerva Denarius.jpg
    Nerva
    AR Denarius
    97 A.D.
    Obverse: IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P II COS III P P, laureate head right
    Reverse: CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM, clasped hands.
    Diameter: 17mm
    Weight: 3.20g
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2020
  7. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    My wife just got back from the local post office. Since I'm retired po management they know us both. The clerk told her it's a mess and I should be glad that I'm retired. She also said that all first class mail and packages are at minimum, one week behind schedule. That was according to her postmaster. Yes, I am very glad that I retired 3 years ago.
     
  8. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    I have had trouble with stamped letters too. One took over three weeks to go from Florida to Michigan.
     
    Paul M. likes this.
  9. almostgem

    almostgem Junior Member

    Amazing what happens when you disassemble the post office. What bothers me is all the people that get their prescriptions in the mail. Don't get me wrong, it had issues before, but it seems they have gotten exponentially worse.
     
    Etcherman, John Burgess and Paul M. like this.
  10. UncleScroge

    UncleScroge Well-Known Member

    On 12/5/2020 I had a Kohl's Gift Card sent to me that originated in Ohio. It was scheduled to arrive sometime between 12/10 & 12/23. So, if I'm real lucky it should be here in the next couple of days.
    The Gift Card arrived in Detroit on 12/16.
    I haven't received any further updates since it arrived in (Allen Park) Detroit.
    And here's the reason why ...
    2020-12-07 Lined Up Trucks.jpg
    Watch the video at ...
     
    Scuba4fun777 and coin dog like this.
  11. Silverpop

    Silverpop Well-Known Member

    what does one expect with the holidays so near? of course things will be nuts people are shopping and sending off packages by the dozen

    the post office will be slow nothing we can do to speed things up so just relax and let things work themselves out
     
    Two Dogs and Dynoking like this.
  12. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    I have my own thoughts about the efforts to remove sorting machines and ban overtime. But even without those factors, I think the PO would be in a world of hurt right now just from COVID -- the additional handling time due to distancing, the additional absenteeism due to illness, but most of all, the increased volume from so many people shopping online instead of in-person. And, of course, Christmas.
     
    Etcherman, Two Dogs, BJBII and 2 others like this.
  13. charlie123

    charlie123 Well-Known Member

    I found out the hard way to not ship during the holidays, if you don't have to.

    Friday I left a package out for return to Amazon. It was a $360 vacuum. Box was 4' high. No return label, UPS supplies it on pickup.

    I heard the UPS truck outside. Rushed out to see he hadn't left a receipt. I asked him where's the receipt. He said he didn't have a label either. Told me to take a picture of his hand held tracker info. Said it would scan in when he got back to the station.

    3 days and no record of it being picked up.

    UPS insurance is $100, so it looks like I'm out $260.
     
    Paul M. likes this.
  14. brg5658

    brg5658 Well-Known Member

    My recent package from Washington to Minnesota took from 7 Dec (mailed) to 20 Dec (delivered). It was delivered on a Sunday, so the back-log of packages must be huge.

    The USPS has been an absolute mess since DeJoy was installed as Postmaster General and started shutting down sorting machines, shuffling personnel, and screwing up everything - 150 years of experience and logistics surmounted by one bureaucratic moron.
     
  15. Derrick Combs

    Derrick Combs Well-Known Member

    Indianapolis is worse they say. I think it's a major terminal
     
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  16. Derrick Combs

    Derrick Combs Well-Known Member

    The stuff will eventually move. Be patient with the seller. I have already seen one guy with only one negative feedback. It was in the past month by a buyer who said his package still hasn't arrived...
     
    Two Dogs likes this.
  17. ZoidMeister

    ZoidMeister Hamlet Squire of Tomfoolery . . . . .

    I'm curious what ever happened to Covids 1 through 18 . . . . ?

    On another note: Amazon has stopped sending return address labels for anything you need to send back. Neither UPS nor USPS is working well for them.

    They advised me to take the items to Kohl's department stores for return. I didn't even have to box the items, Kohl's would take care of that. The guy at Kohl's says they pallet the returns and use their trucking haulers to get the stuff back to Amazon. They won't use UPS or USPS for anything any longer.

    Z
     
    masterswimmer likes this.
  18. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    At least there is someone else here able to use some common sense besides playing the blame game.

    My friend just started at UPS, 2 days a week, said that he could come in and work any amount of hours he wanted because of the extreme volume they are getting this Christmas season along with the sickness's covid related or not. Anyone with the sniffles is required to stay at home.
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2020
  19. whopper64

    whopper64 Well-Known Member

    I guess I should consider myself super fortunate! Three coins were shipped from Germany on 9/17/20. All separate vendors thru MA Shops. First coin received 11/27/20. Second coin received 11/30/20. Third coin received 12/4/20. Two of them were stuck in transit for months and third stuck in Chicago hub for almost two months. Slow boat to China and back again. However, I did eventually receive all three coins.
     
  20. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    I did a deal with @stldanceartist a few weeks ago that involved me sending him a coin and a check, and him sending me a coin. Both coins arrived a couple of days later than what USPS advertises for Priority shipping, and my check didn't show up until almost 2 weeks after it got mailed out!

    It was a pretty meaty deal, my check made up about half of my end, and I really didn't want to pay the PayPal fees on it if I could help it. We'd dealt with each other before, so neither one of us were really worried about getting ripped off, hence the check. Based on previous experience, I told him "I'm having my bank send this out Monday. If you don't see it by Friday or Saturday, let me know and I'll figure something out."

    Saturday rolls around, and no check in his box. I had no idea where it was, because my bank doesn't mail these checks with tracking, which is normally no big deal. So, I end up telling him "since you're on Eastern time I'm on Pacific, and I can't really do much on a weekend, anyway, just check your box on Monday and let me know if it isn't there yet. That will give me at least 3 hours to do something about it."

    Monday rolls around, and still no check. I finally ended up just giving in and using Paypal. Meanwhile, the check showed up in his mailbox several days after the deal was completed, so he ended up shredding the check.

    The timing worked out weirdly so that our coins arrived at roughly the same time, which left the deal 3/4 done, with me owing him a good sum of money. Because of the amounts involved, he was a little anxious about the whole deal, and I was anxious because USPS basically left me hanging.

    It was all a bit absurd, but both coins arrived safely, and we're both happy, so it worked out. I just wish the gubmint could have saved us all that needless anxiety.
     
  21. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    They didn't appear in years 2001 through 2018, I suppose. :rolleyes:
    That's... interesting, and more than a little scary. It makes me wonder if this is more positioning to set Amazon up as a competitive shipping service.

    I've got a lot of mixed feelings about unions, but I worry about Amazon cleaning up in the delivery space because they can overload and underpay their employees with impunity. (Under normal conditions, if they're underpaying or overworking employees, they wouldn't be able to hire people. These aren't normal conditions. At least, I hope it isn't the new normal.)
     
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