It seems outbound mail from Canada goes through a sorting centre either in Montreal, QC or Vancouver, BC. Stuff routed through Montreal takes forever and a day as Quebec has had lots of issues with COVID lately. Mail going through Vancouver arrives much quicker.
At least it seems the last of the packages I shipped on Dec. 29 last year have now started to arrive.
The postal system is usable ... if you're patient. If not, go with UPS or FedEx.
Tom
At least it seems the last of the packages I shipped on Dec. 29 last year have now started to arrive.
The postal system is usable ... if you're patient. If not, go with UPS or FedEx.
Tom
"...there are 41,702 ZIP Codes in the United States."
So not even half are used. At the 5-digit level.
I hear ya.. The problem is people are abusing USPS now,they send EVERYTHING THRU THEM which bogs them down....Patrick Bateman said:
Why arent ppl using UPS and FEDEX as much??
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I send all my outgoing stuff, parcels and mail, via courier.
It saves me going out to the Post Office and queuing - and getting exposed to COVID19!!
No problems so far except for 1 package arriving here damaged. Whether it was packed properly in the first place is debatable !
Andy
PS Things start to change on Tuesday when I get my COVID jab,
.
I send all my outgoing stuff, parcels and mail, via courier.
It saves me going out to the Post Office and queuing - and getting exposed to COVID19!!
No problems so far except for 1 package arriving here damaged. Whether it was packed properly in the first place is debatable !
Andy
PS Things start to change on Tuesday when I get my COVID jab,
.
I send lots of stuff via the USPS and have used them for most all of my Tubelab shipments for 15 years. Usually, they do a good job and lose or damage about one shipment every two years. This year they raised the rates and have lost two shipments so far. This one however sets a new record for incompetence and lack of concern for customer service.
On Dec 2 I sent a package of boards to a customer in Poland. It left here, went to the hub in Pennsylvania, then to Chicago where it left the USA. The next stop was at a US Air Force base in Germany. From there it went to Frankfurt, where it was sent back to the US. It wandered around New York for 5 days and then was sent to Miami. From Miami it was sent to Kingston Jamaica. From Jamaica it was sent back to New York. It left New York for "it's destination." Where is that? They don't seem to know.
This package has traveled over 12,300 miles in 26 days, and been to 9 cities in 3 countries, none of which are correct. What are the chances that the boards will ever reach the customer and be in good condition if they do? I have been into our local post office and filled out the usual missing mail and service requests with no answers or random guesses. I will be back there tomorrow, but don't expect much help. Tubelab will lose considerable money this year, and if the USPS can't deliver my boards, Tubelab will cease operations.
On Dec 2 I sent a package of boards to a customer in Poland. It left here, went to the hub in Pennsylvania, then to Chicago where it left the USA. The next stop was at a US Air Force base in Germany. From there it went to Frankfurt, where it was sent back to the US. It wandered around New York for 5 days and then was sent to Miami. From Miami it was sent to Kingston Jamaica. From Jamaica it was sent back to New York. It left New York for "it's destination." Where is that? They don't seem to know.
This package has traveled over 12,300 miles in 26 days, and been to 9 cities in 3 countries, none of which are correct. What are the chances that the boards will ever reach the customer and be in good condition if they do? I have been into our local post office and filled out the usual missing mail and service requests with no answers or random guesses. I will be back there tomorrow, but don't expect much help. Tubelab will lose considerable money this year, and if the USPS can't deliver my boards, Tubelab will cease operations.
I sent some PCB's via USPS to a fella in Russia and they arrived two days later, similar experience with Australia, but NJ to California ten days!
I ship a few pcbs and assemblies into the US and some other countries using Canada post via usps or other service. So far so good. burnt once by a Mexican, I did not have it insured. I learnt to send everything tracked and insured.
I sent one assembly to Germany and they sent it back for free, undamaged. Same for one to France, it came back. The buyer paid to have me send it back to Germany and they put in a complaint to DHL. One time it took 6 months to get to Iceland. It eventually arrived after I received the insurance money back. The customer was sent new pcbs and he paid for the extras too even after I told him I got insurance money. Let’s hope things improve and do not get worse for all of us.
I sent one assembly to Germany and they sent it back for free, undamaged. Same for one to France, it came back. The buyer paid to have me send it back to Germany and they put in a complaint to DHL. One time it took 6 months to get to Iceland. It eventually arrived after I received the insurance money back. The customer was sent new pcbs and he paid for the extras too even after I told him I got insurance money. Let’s hope things improve and do not get worse for all of us.
I’m getting similar probs here with Royal Mail and Deutche Post. Normally boards mailed standard international airmail should take 5-7 working days to any 1st world country. It’s been taking 3 weeks and in one case 4 weeks. Internally in the UK, no problems encountered.
I think it’s pandemic related and lots of stuff is backed up and/or staff shortages.
Strange times.
I think it’s pandemic related and lots of stuff is backed up and/or staff shortages.
Strange times.
USPS shipments within the US, either coming or going, have been fast and accurate this season.
No complaints at all, and no damage or losses. Even FedEx has been very good and fast.
No complaints at all, and no damage or losses. Even FedEx has been very good and fast.
Now after 30 days, 16,600 miles 10 cities in 4 countries, the boards are finally in Poland, but not yet in the correct city. Maybe there is still hope.
Some parts I ordered about 2 weeks ago that were sent "Fedex 2 day" are still wandering around the country. Fedex tracking shows that it was last scanned in Oakland California on Dec 29 with "No scheduled delivery date available at this time." Maybe they also need a vacation in Jamaica.
Some parts I ordered about 2 weeks ago that were sent "Fedex 2 day" are still wandering around the country. Fedex tracking shows that it was last scanned in Oakland California on Dec 29 with "No scheduled delivery date available at this time." Maybe they also need a vacation in Jamaica.
A lot of businesses have had trouble with component sourcing over the last year.
I buy in electronics components for pcb's I have designed and a lot of stuff is out of stock for months.
Its got to the point where I have to buy in components before I order pcb's to ensure I have the components to go in the pcb's !
I buy in electronics components for pcb's I have designed and a lot of stuff is out of stock for months.
Its got to the point where I have to buy in components before I order pcb's to ensure I have the components to go in the pcb's !
I keep adding stuff to my cart for weeks. Then I finally place the order when I'm ready.
I started a cart with Mouser about six weeks ago. I went to add a couple items to the cart last week and 3 of the 7 items are out of stock. One (resistors!) is permanently discontinued, with no warning. The other two items are plain basic diodes and 10xLM1875 (now over $5 in bulk!). The lead time is as high as 11 months.
Someone is seriously dropping the ball. For over 40 years I've been able to buy all the 1 amp, 100 volt diodes I could ever use. I took it for granted.
They made their bed, and we have to lie in it. Thuis is just wrong. It's just bad for business.
I've always had great service from USPS. Every now and then something can get screwed up anywere within any organization. That does not make the whole organization bad. One thing that does concern me though is the way congress has been hobbling the USPS financially and the way Postmaster General DeJoy has been intentionally sabotaging its capabilities. So is USPS pefect? No. But are there reasons for it problems beyond its control? Decidedly yes. If you want good postal service then start voting for candidates that value and support our common essential services.
You are free to drive to wherever you get things and pick them up yourself. USPS funding was beat up by the last admin. They have notified officially, 5 days for first class letters. On top of that COVID had hit the distro centers hard. Greensborough NC was a disaster. No one there who could come to work. You then add in the variability of post offices and their management. Bowie used to be excellent. They changed PMs and it went to hell. And, occasionally something falls on the floor and is not noticed. USPS is as short of drivers as all the firms. If you don't like their reliability, try DHL. You may re-***** your view.
I didn't want to say it, but...
A lot of things aren't working very well any more. The reasons are decisions made for the wrong reasons, going back decades... I'll leave it at that.
I don't blame the USPS, or any administration or party; it's just comeuppance.
I'm finding most postal services were hit hard by the pandemic. Effectively, I won't order goods from eBay or Ali if they aren't tracked.
I send my boards to people tracked in Canada and USA but untracked to ROW because the cost is ridiculous. I can send a 100g box to Czech for 10$ but if I want it tracked it's 68$! Cheaper to resend lost boards at that point.
I send my boards to people tracked in Canada and USA but untracked to ROW because the cost is ridiculous. I can send a 100g box to Czech for 10$ but if I want it tracked it's 68$! Cheaper to resend lost boards at that point.
After digging for info it seems that much of the problem in my case is due to the reliance by USPS on commercial passenger airlines for the bulk of mail delivery. Now there is a screwed up industry with thousands of cancelled flights a day now due to Covid and poor logistics. My large envelope weighed just under 300 grams and it cost $24.50 to send it to Poland. Tracking is included to some, but not all countries. In this case the tracking worked, and that's how I knew where it was.....most of the time. The USPS gets the package to an international dispatch center on US soil. A US Air Force base in Germany IS US soil. It is then sent to an international center in the destination country, by whatever means available, again usually a passenger airliner. Once it is in the destination country it is delivered by the local postal service. The postal system, customs office or both in some countries are quite corrupt. There are places that I will not send boards to for those reasons.