Need Opinions on Strange UPS Question

[jabba359]

Just a friendly reminder to the OP, subjects that don't have to do specifically with Spyderco belong in the "Off-topic" section. :)

I worked in a shipping department of a large company for a couple years, so I'll tell you my experience (which may not hold true for all locations). One of the main reasons that something may go out for delivery at the beginning of the day but not show up until the end (or get bumped a day) is that the drivers drop off at their large customers first (businesses) before getting on with the residential deliveries. They then deliver the individual packages to residential areas before returning to the businesses to pick up outgoing shipments. Now how does this affect you? Well, if the driver attends to lots of businesses and runs out of time to get all the residential packages delivered, the personal packages may suffer a bit, as it's cheaper to deal with the couple of packages that get complaints for non-delivery from residents than it is to deal with late delivery of 25-100 packages that a business may receive (and the financial penalties that may incur).

Like others have said, I find it highly unlikely that the UPS guy opened your friend's knife, used it, and then put it back in the box. You could try Cutlery Shoppe, as they use USPS and I've had good luck with them. Jeff ships out priority mail and, as noted, it usually gets delivered in 2-3 days, and at a much cheaper price than UPS 2nd day.

[Diamondback]

While anything is possible, I think the scenario you speculate is highly unlikely. The folks at UPS are professionals, who work hard for their keep. Those that are dishonest or don't pull their weight are quickly weeded out.

[Wolverine666]

So are UPS reschedules a common occurrence ? Even with 2 Day Air Deliveries ?
I wonder if i should just keep the knife when it arrives on Monday (assuming it looks to be fine and untampered with). After all it is a brand new Native5. Hmmm. Or I could be stubborn as usual and return it. These decisions are killing me.

[Wolverine666]

Just a friendly reminder to the OP, subjects that don't have to do specifically with Spyderco belong in the "Off-topic" section. :)

I worked in a shipping department of a large company for a couple years, so I'll tell you my experience (which may not hold true for all locations). One of the main reasons that something may go out for delivery at the beginning of the day but not show up until the end (or get bumped a day) is that the drivers drop off at their large customers first (businesses) before getting on with the residential deliveries. They then deliver the individual packages to residential areas before returning to the businesses to pick up outgoing shipments. Now how does this affect you? Well, if the driver attends to lots of businesses and runs out of time to get all the residential packages delivered, the personal packages may suffer a bit, as it's cheaper to deal with the couple of packages that get complaints for non-delivery from residents than it is to deal with late delivery of 25-100 packages that a business may receive (and the financial penalties that may incur).

Like others have said, I find it highly unlikely that the UPS guy opened your friend's knife, used it, and then put it back in the box. You could try Cutlery Shoppe, as they use USPS and I've had good luck with them. Jeff ships out priority mail and, as noted, it usually gets delivered in 2-3 days, and at a much cheaper price than UPS 2nd day.

You make a good point. And I will make certain to keep my posts to Spyderco-related topics too. Sorry for the straying.

[The Deacon]

Yes, UPS reschedules are fairly common, or at least not uncommon, and probably occur most often with packages scheduled for Friday delivery. Assuming you have decent mail service, Priority Mail is a less costly option and will generally arrive as fast or faster.

No problem with posting about non-Spyderco topics, just try to remember to put them here, in Off Topic. Saves Kristi work. :)

[JNewell]

So are UPS reschedules a common occurrence ? Even with 2 Day Air Deliveries ?
I wonder if i should just keep the knife when it arrives on Monday (assuming it looks to be fine and untampered with). After all it is a brand new Native5. Hmmm. Or I could be stubborn as usual and return it. These decisions are killing me.

I have had them happen very, very infrequently. I haven't noticed any patterns. When the box shows up, obviously, check for tampering. :)

[Wolverine666]

Yes, UPS reschedules are fairly common, or at least not uncommon, and probably occur most often with packages scheduled for Friday delivery. Assuming you have decent mail service, Priority Mail is a less costly option and will generally arrive as fast or faster.

No problem with posting about non-Spyderco topics, just try to remember to put them here, in Off Topic. Saves Kristi work. :)

I will definitely put off Topic posts here in "Off Topics" from now on. Now I know. Thanks. :) I have decided to keep the Native5 as long as the packaging (and the knife itself of course) looks fine and untampered with. So that means tomorrow I will (should) be holding my brand new Spyderco Native5. My excitement is growing by the minute for this awesome knife !!!

[jackknifeh]

Really it ships that fast? I thought it took longer. Could of saved myself 10 dollars when I ordered from knifeworks and probably would of got my knife saturday or monday instead of tuesday. Honeslty the best service I ever had was USPS express mail, I think thats what its called. But they ship fast and they deliver to your house prior to 12 noon. But I guess Ill be going with usps from now on.

The first thing is how fast the vendor gets the package ready for the mailman. I ordered a knife one Thursday from cutlery shoppe about 2PM. I got it Saturday. The mailman comes to my house around noon. That's less than 48 hours. That is the only time that happened. Normally it would have been at my house on Monday. Once in a while it would take an additional day, making me wait till Tuesday. For me USPS works better because I know what time the package will arrive (within an hour). Also, UPS leaves the package on the ground outside. My door is not near the road so no one will see it and just pick it up but I lived in an appartment in Mobile, AL and ordered come audio CDs. I worked out of town a lot then and was gone all week. When I got home the box was outside my apt. door on the ground. I'm grateful to my neighbors for not taking it. So, if you live where a package may sit in plain sight on the ground USPS may be a better choice. A problem with apts. though is the mailbox is small and the box may not fit. Then the mailman will leave it with the manager. If you get home after the office closes you still may have to wait til the next day. Hopefully your job will accomodate you going to pick it up. Didn't think I was going to get so long winded. Sorry.

Jack

[Wolverine666]

The first thing is how fast the vendor gets the package ready for the mailman. I ordered a knife one Thursday from cutlery shoppe about 2PM. I got it Saturday. The mailman comes to my house around noon. That's less than 48 hours. That is the only time that happened. Normally it would have been at my house on Monday. Once in a while it would take an additional day, making me wait till Tuesday. For me USPS works better because I know what time the package will arrive (within an hour). Also, UPS leaves the package on the ground outside. My door is not near the road so no one will see it and just pick it up but I lived in an appartment in Mobile, AL and ordered come audio CDs. I worked out of town a lot then and was gone all week. When I got home the box was outside my apt. door on the ground. I'm grateful to my neighbors for not taking it. So, if you live where a package may sit in plain sight on the ground USPS may be a better choice. A problem with apts. though is the mailbox is small and the box may not fit. Then the mailman will leave it with the manager. If you get home after the office closes you still may have to wait til the next day. Hopefully your job will accomodate you going to pick it up. Didn't think I was going to get so long winded. Sorry.

Jack

Not long winded at all. I appreciate the info. Luckily , My job (and my boss) allow me to run home whenever I need to so I am able to put any deliveries inside my house that may have been left on my porch. And I have the UPS app on my iPhone so i will know when it gets delivered. But UPS usually shows up after I'm home from work anyway.

[pyrguy]

Had a package scheduled for regular delivery, nothing special in the delivery. It sat at the local facility for three days before it was delivered. Only took the normal delivery time frame BUT way did it sit for three days??????

[Wolverine666]

Had a package scheduled for regular delivery, nothing special in the delivery. It sat at the local facility for three days before it was delivered. Only took the normal delivery time frame BUT way did it sit for three days??????

It could be a number of reasons why packages that should get delivered on a certain day get delivered on the next day instead. I was quite curious why my package sat in the UPS facility in PA for 11 hours then sat again in the Shrewsbury , MA facility for another 9 hours. I guess when you look at the big picture there are so many packages and so many customers that some things sometime are not going to go according to plan (like Jabba359 pointed out). A lot of variables that could go wrong unexpectedly. Now that my initial disappointment and annoyance have subsided , I am seeing that more clearly now. But if my new knife does not show up tomorrow then .......


I really hope I didn't just jinx myself :)

[hunterseeker5]

Ok hang on here lets address the problems separately.

First off for everyone who thinks UPS is some special service with special tracking and everything I'm going to burst your bubble. UPS actually ships most of their packages via USPS. Yeah no sh*t they receive the packages, repackage them in larger boxes (which is why they crush everything), and then deliver it to select USPS loading bays under cover of darkness. I'm not sure what sort of NDA is involved here that has kept this from coming out for so long.

So where does that leave the tracking? USPS always has lousy tracking, but their packages arrive FAST. Its two or three days to get a flat rate box from just about anywhere in the country to just about anywhere else most of the time. Its long been my theory that UPS tracking is bogus, because they really have no way of tracking packages in the USPS system like that, maybe whole trucks, but their tracking never reflects anything. You can watch their tracking push through storms, natural disasters, etc without ever breaking pace. Its always perfect all the way until its delayed after it should have arrived. Why? I suspect because they just make up the tracking along the way, because they have no idea where your package is until it doesn't show up at their facilities on time.

So lets disconnect your theories here. Without any evidence for it actually having been a UPS worker tampering with your knives I'd suspect you were just mailed a used knife. I'd take the issue up with whatever shop sent you the knife. UPS offering a lousy service at a high price is a completely different issue.

[jackknifeh]

Ok hang on here lets address the problems separately.

First off for everyone who thinks UPS is some special service with special tracking and everything I'm going to burst your bubble. UPS actually ships most of their packages via USPS. Yeah no sh*t they receive the packages, repackage them in larger boxes (which is why they crush everything), and then deliver it to select USPS loading bays under cover of darkness. I'm not sure what sort of NDA is involved here that has kept this from coming out for so long.

So where does that leave the tracking? USPS always has lousy tracking, but their packages arrive FAST. Its two or three days to get a flat rate box from just about anywhere in the country to just about anywhere else most of the time. Its long been my theory that UPS tracking is bogus, because they really have no way of tracking packages in the USPS system like that, maybe whole trucks, but their tracking never reflects anything. You can watch their tracking push through storms, natural disasters, etc without ever breaking pace. Its always perfect all the way until its delayed after it should have arrived. Why? I suspect because they just make up the tracking along the way, because they have no idea where your package is until it doesn't show up at their facilities on time.

So lets disconnect your theories here. Without any evidence for it actually having been a UPS worker tampering with your knives I'd suspect you were just mailed a used knife. I'd take the issue up with whatever shop sent you the knife. UPS offering a lousy service at a high price is a completely different issue.

Next you'll be telling me there's no Santa. :eek:

Maybe Fed Ex is better. Remember that movie with Tom Hanks. He compared Fed Ex to the mail service as if they were two entities who never did business together. Even if there isn't a Santa, we know we can trust Tom. :)

Actually now that you mention it I ordered something from someone on ebay. They shipped it USPS and provided a tracking number. It took about two weeks to get to my house. As I made phone calls to find the package I was told that the USPS gave the package (as well as many others) to Fed Ex. Therefore the USPS tracking number wouldn't tell them or me anything until the package showed up at a post office and they scanned it into the computer. Finally, it showed up at the post office in my town and they scanned it on the very day that was the time limit they use to determine if a package is lost. Maybe the deal is after all of the planes that the USPS uses are full they pay Fed Ex to ship the extra boxes so they will get to the destination faster than waiting until there is a space on a USPS plane. Who knows where my box went. I may have it wrong though.

Jack
PS Edit: The tracking number did track the box to a post office in New Jersey and it appeared to stay there. But that is where they gave the package to Fed Ex.

[rodloos]

Hopefully you will receive your knife today, and the package will be undamaged and the knife unused.

No company is 100% infallible. I had a knife on order that I really wanted to have with me before I left for a camping trip. UPS showed a scheduled delivery the day before I planned to leave, then the status was "Out for Delivery", then the status changed to "invalid delivery address". I confirmed with the shipper that my address was entered properly, and my house has been at this address for 55 years :) and UPS managed to find my address to make a delivery the week before. New driver, or he fat-fingered the address he typed into his GPS, or whatever reason, they finally managed to deliver it to my house late the NEXT day after I had left for my trip.

While I have been happy with Cutlery Shoppe and order *most* of my Spyderco's from them, be aware that not every shipment gets sent out immediately, even if the online status shows the item as "in stock". If you really need a quick delivery, it is worth calling Jeff on the phone to be sure it really is in stock and that he can get the delivery out quickly. I've had some orders from him take 4-5 days to get notification of being shipped, not a big deal if I don't have an urgent need for it since I do get the notification when it ships, and I do have other knives to play with in the meantime.

[Bradley]

I want to chime in, it seems as if this thread has kind of strayed from the Op. Anyways, I have something coming to me from PA. Flate rate box. Estimated delivery today (10/3) I look at the tracking info, and my knife is sitting 3 hours away, and arrived yesterday (10/2) at 3 am. It wasn't delivered today, so basically my package will have been sitting 3 hours away for over 24 hours. Every time it goes to this office it happens. I don't get it, at least get the estimated delivery right. Get my hopes up, then as soon as I see it hit this post office, kills my dreams.

[jabba359]

First off for everyone who thinks UPS is some special service with special tracking and everything I'm going to burst your bubble. UPS actually ships most of their packages via USPS. Yeah no sh*t they receive the packages, repackage them in larger boxes (which is why they crush everything), and then deliver it to select USPS loading bays under cover of darkness. I'm not sure what sort of NDA is involved here that has kept this from coming out for so long.

That's actually backward. The USPS doesn't own any aircraft, so they contract out to UPS, FedEx, and others for transportation from city to city. So the USPS actually boxes up all their packages and gives them to FedEx or UPS, who then fly them to the destination city before returning them to the USPS. So the shipping is handled by UPS, while actual delivery may be through themselves or the USPS (which handles only the local side of things). In fact, most of the deliveries may be done by USPS, but not the shipping side. So there's a few ways this can happen:

Origin->Shipper->Deliverer

UPS->UPS->UPS
UPS->UPS->USPS (rural deliveries)
USPS->UPS->UPS (isolated areas)
USPS->UPS->USPS

In all these instances, the shipper is always UPS, unless it's transported short distances by truck, in which case USPS may do their own city to city shipping.

Also, this isn't a big secret or conspiracy. There is no NDA. This information is freely and widely available if you care to look at it.

Summary of FedEx and UPS contracts with USPS can be read here: http://people.howstuffworks.com/usps5.htm

UPS contract to fly USPS 1st class and priority mail:
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stor ... st=b_ln_hl
or
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/disp ... rival_ups/

FedEx delivering USPS Global Express mail:
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stor ... ily19.html

FedEx 7-year contract with USPS (from 2001, but was renewed/renegotiated in 2006):
http://money.cnn.com/2001/01/10/deals/fedex/

and some of the fallout from the FedEx/USPS contracts
http://www.apwu.org/news/webart/2008/we ... 080317.htm