UPS

[BruceZ]

You know what? UPS is a lousy shipping company. I have had more bad experiences with them than with any other method of shipment. The last two book orders I've received shipped UPS have been damaged. I received a $900 telescope with the secondary mirror detached and rattling around inside the optical tube, rendering the primary mirror, secondary mirror, and the corrector lens completely useless. Working with them to get this returned was an exercise in frustration, and a clear case of one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing. Another shipment was promised to be expedited for 2 day delivery, and it took over a week. If you call and tell them to hold an order at the local center, they put it on the truck and try to deliver it anyway. Why does anyone use this company? I'm done now, ty.

[HDPM]

I avoid it when possible. I have had problems with them as well. Including being hassled by them at midnight (yes midnight) when they were trying to send a package to some other dude. I ended up having to go to one of their outposts to say I was not Joe Smith or whomever and I didn't order the chia pet and to stop bothering me. They wanted me to fill out forms and go to the office in another city or something to keep from being hassled. And they're anti-gun. When given the choice I go with fedex or the post office.

[BruceZ]

Perhaps they would be a profitable short. They seem to have serious problems with their infrastructure that may not be obvious yet to analysts. It's pretty bad when you can't compare favorably with the PO. I like FedEx, they're fast, reliable, and they can guarantee a delivery date. Maybe buy FedEx and short UPS on a hedge.

[John Cole]

HDPM,

You're not suggesting Fedex and the post office are pro-gun, are you?

John

[chaos]

Some postal workers seem to be pro gun! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[ZManODS]

I used to work in the shipping department of my company and you have to see how UPS handles packages, its funny. The would stand at the end of the truck and we would give the packages to him and he would just throw them into the back. Not surprised you got damaged goods.

[HDPM]

Of course postal service is anti-gun, but it's mostly due to idiotic federal laws. I don't think you can legally mail guns but have to use a shipping co. UPS either made it harder to do or stopped. Fedex is fine. Given federal law, you can't even carry a gun into a post office which is of course unconstitutional and a load of crap. Where are you more likely to need one? /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

[BruceZ]

have to see how UPS handles packages, its funny

Yeah, hilarious. What a bunch of goofballs. I figure they have a business model that is based on doing such high volume that it doesn't matter if they break commitments, or else they are really an extremely elaborate front for drug smuggling. Let's see...brown. Heroin is sometimes brown, as is marijuana.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Bruce:

Well this is an area that I probably have more experience in than anyone else on these forums since the majority of our shipping goes UPS. Simply put, even though there are some problems, they are the best. FedEx Ground (formerly RPS) is a close second, and the Post Office is a distant third for large packages. However, for small packages, such as one or two books, the post office becomes the best because of media mail rates. But anything over 20 pounds is in danger of getting destroyed.

If you think you had trouble dealing with UPS, try dealing with the post office when you have something insured by them and it is damaged. UPS is far easier and more efficient.

Best wishes,
Mason

[BruceZ]

I was about to tell you I've always been happy with Priority Mail from the PO. I just picked up a package shipped that way. Nice solid box, not some one-piece folded piece of garbage. Inside was Roy Cooke's book Real Poker II...and it was warped! But I don't think it's permanent. I guess there's something about shipping books. You've got to put in some filler for bracing. Anyway, soon I'll be able to answer the guy's question about comparing this book to Mason's essays III and Jim Brier's book. Right now my comparison is that Mason's book is the only one that wasn't warped. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

I never have much patience for companies who make their whole business out of something as straighforward as delivering packages and still can't get it right. I mean, it's not like they deliver packages as a sideline while they are sending sattelites to Pluto, or while they are solving cold fusion. All they have to do is deliver packages, it's the same thing every time. What's the problem?

[Ed I]

I'm glad my fellow workers can not carry guns. With my own high level of frustration its definitely good that I'm not packing.

[Easy E]

This is from someone I know, concerning the shippers.

" (The business) used UPS for 10 years and NEVER had a problem. Also, (work) uses them and we've never had a problem. As far as how they handle packages...well no duh! They ALL do that. (My brother-in-law) worked for a company loading trucks. Even HE couldn't believe how the packages were handled.
And they said, DO NOT EVER mark something as fragile...the guys think that's funny and abuse it more than normal. But seriously, when they get paid more to load trucks quickly, you better believe they are standing way back and just throwing them babies on board! Fed-X and the USPS do that as well.

I've found UPS to be by far superior to USPS when dealing with packages...and Fed-X used to only do letter sized stuff and are way, way more expensive. So there! My 2 cents.

By the way...if something gets broken, it's generally because the person didn't pack it correctly, not because the UPS handler was rough. You SHOULD be able to throw boxes around containing glass and not have it break. You
just have to know the correct way to pack it...which UPS is glad to tell you."

Now, I'm not sure how many BOOK deliveries that they personally experienced, so this may or may not apply....

[Glenn]

Yeah I agree. I really have had good experience with UPS both with personal use and while working. They were the first to use online package tracking (I think...?) and they are very fast compared to the post office. This is due to the high quotas set for their employees. While their employess are worked very hard, they are payed well and given good benefits. I think it is one of the best run businesses there is. I have had worse experiences with Fed Ex, but they too are a solid company. The USPS is terrible compared to either.

[BruceZ]

" (The business) used UPS for 10 years and NEVER had a problem. Also, (work) uses them and we've never had a problem.

Yeah right. Highly unlikely. They may not have had a problem, but the customer sure did.

By the way...if something gets broken, it's generally because the person didn't pack it correctly, not because the UPS handler was rough. You SHOULD be able to throw boxes around containing glass and not have it break. You
just have to know the correct way to pack it...which UPS is glad to tell you."

Tell him to stop and smell what he is shoveling. My telescope shipped by a world class manufacturer packed in 12 inches of custom made styrofoam and marked fragile did not have the mirror ripped off and a hole punched in the side of the box because it was packed incorrectly.

[Easy E]

Hey, Bruce, evidently your experiences were different. I'd be willing to bet that you could find horror stories like yours at EVERY shipper, not just the main 3.

I didn't think much of the "correct way to pack it" and the "should be able to throw around" comments either, but they DID say "generally"....

Sucked for you, unfortunately... Did you finally get a free replacement?

[BruceZ]

Did you finally get a free replacement?

Yes, it was insured, so UPS bought it for scrap, and the manufacturer replaced it. I guess they are using it as a wastebasket now or something. This was after I had to wait 9 months for the first one since it was backordered.

BTW, it wasn't marked fragile, it had the standard international insignias on it that they want you to use. They stand for "glass", "do not use a hoist", and "this end up". The hole in the box was almost certainly caused by a hoist. When I picked up the package, I saw that they had it stored sitting on its end, proving literally that UPS doesn't know which end is up /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

[BruceZ]

Not with UPS this time. I had Amazon send me a new copy of Zee's book to replace the one that was damaged, and they sent me the wrong book! It wasn't even a poker book, it was a computer book that was supposed to go to someone else. All they have to do is ship books.... /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

[DanS]

Hi Bruce,
I just ordered Getting the Best of It from Amazon along with a few other book, and even using the Super Saver ground shipping option (given that I'm a cheapo), everything arrived in great shape. I take that back, the 2+2 book had some miscut pages and some weird ink smudging on the outside of the pages, but the point is that all 3 books (two separate shipments) arrived in solid shape via UPS.

Dan

[BruceZ]

Ray's book finally arrived in good shape. Now I have two books to return. They said they would enclose a return label. I asked them to enclose two. They said they would enclose a return label. I asked them again to enclose TWO (2). They said yes they would enclose a return label /forums/images/icons/confused.gif When the box came, there were zero (0) return labels.

I've generally gotten my stuff from Amazon before. Watch out for the "merchants". They are separate from Amazon, and they can take forever to deliver if at all. Sometimes they don't respond to email, and you have to wait 30-60 days to cancel your order and get recourse from Amazon. You have to read the customer reviews for the merchant.

[orbie]

In poker i may not have the experince to advise ( yet), but in shipping I dealt with UPS , Fedx , and UPS on a daily baisis. I would have to agree that UPS has the best ground service, and a majority of the packages sent to the stores i managed made it good condition. I have seen a decline over the past 5 years with my personal deliveries ( drivers not waiting for me to awnser the door ,but opening my door themselves yelling "UPS" and then setting the package inside the door,or throughing packages on my 2nd floor balcany when no ones home ).
I still use UPS to ship ground packages with value , but always get the insurance!
ORBIE ......thanks for the amazon merchant tip.

[BruceZ]

The other problem with the merchants is that once you hit the button to buy, you can't cancel the order online. You are dealing with the merchant from that point on, and if you can't contact him, you're out of luck. You may not even realize you're ordering from a merchant. It generally happens whenever you buy a used copy, and then it tells you who the seller is. I ordered John Fox's books from a merchant, and then realized from the reviews that it was a lousy merchant. Luckily, the order finally came 3 weeks later.

[tewall]

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