Favorite shipping methods

I tried searching for shipping threads, but too much BST stuff comes up with the word shipping.

Anyway, I wanted to ask what everyones favorite shipping methods were. This would be for within the US and international. This is from small items like a CD to bigger heavier packages.

The 3 options I know of is USPS, UPS and Fedex. Any methods within those better than others?

I love FedEx, they are more reliable than UPS in my experience and their tracking system is superb.

Airborne Express/DHL should not be forgotten either. Extremely fast for urgent shipments(there is a reason why a lot of their offices are situated within major airports).

Nick

I have a business where I have to ship overnight packages. Their reliabilty in my experience goes like this.


1) usps
2) DHL
3) fed ex
4) UPS
The above list only pertains to express overnight shipments. It also reflects the past year and not when DHL was still Airborne. Airborne used to be on the bottom of the list.

USPS Priority

The best...USPS. I've mailed thousands of packages all around the world and not a single one was lost, nor were the contents damaged. A few took longer than expected to arrive due to being held up in Customs. One went missing for several months in the Australian postal system. None of this was the fault of the USPS.

The worst, by far...UPS. I've never received a package from them that wasn't dented, crushed, punctured or in some other way damaged. Several have been delivered to the wrong address.

I too think that Fedex has an excellent tracking system, but they are a little flack on delivery. I have had instances where I was sitting at home waiting for the package, and it never came, and online it says that no one was home :shrug: . Overall I have had good experiences withe everyone (Except DHL, I have never used them). But if i had to place in priority:

1. FedEx
2. USPS Priority
3. UPS

Fedex by far is tops. They have a fantastic tracking system and their warehouse is just down the street, which is verrrry convenient. My list is the same as the gentleman above me:

FedEx
USPS
UPS

Hi Tree,

In the past I've been happy with UPS.

I'm using FedEx exclusively for now in the post-K world. I had one shipment 2nd day aired into N.O. a month and a half ago and it sat at the airport for six days because UPS just didn't have enough drivers to deliver it.

In all fairness I've seen lots more UPS trucks in the Quarter lately, but a friend who owns a store there is still having a little trouble with all carriers.

My favorite method of shipping: http://www.princess.com/ships/index.html :nana:

For larger stuff, FedEx Ground.
For smaller stuff USPS Priority Mail flat-rate envelopes/boxes.
For small international stuff USPS Global Priority Mail envelopes.

Hard to beat FedX for reliability and convenience. For price however, the USPS is still way better.

* For "low" value items, I use USPS priority. Affordable and covenient since they supply the boxes. Creating the label online gets you free delivery confirmation.
* For high value items, I use either FedX or USPS registered mail. In the US, registered mail is slow but economical and reliable. Packages get special treatment and handling. Just have to use that awful brown tape that never seems to stick. Apparently, that tape makes it easy to see if the package has been tampered with... if the tape doesn't fall off on its own.
* I never, ever use UPS if I can avoid it. Way more bad experiences with UPS than any other carrier. One time, after waiting in line for over an hour, they wouldnt let me send a broken computer back to Dell in the original box. Said it wasnt adequate protection.:huh: Had to pay them to package it better. Not a pack n ship place, UPS itself. Another time, I watched on UPS tracking as my second day package slowly wound its way around the state of Texas for 10 days before eventually making its way to me in Austin.

greenLED said:

For larger stuff, FedEx Ground.
For smaller stuff USPS Priority Mail flat-rate envelopes/boxes.
For small international stuff USPS Global Priority Mail envelopes.

Click to expand...

Ditto! Word for word.. :rock:

USPS for the small things and UPS for the bigger ones. I've never used Fedex much but looking at the results of this thread I might have to check into it.

-Mike

Thanks for all the info!! :thanks:

Looks like I'll stick with USPS and Fedex.

Sub_Umbra, the Fedex station in 1 Shell Square is open. It's a few blocks from my office.

USPS gets the job done fastest in my experiences. Then FedEx, but I've not used them much. At the bottom of the pile is UPS. Far, far, at the bottom.

FedEx ground for all but the smallest things. USPS for those. My experience with UPS is that every package arrives torn and crushed. "Every" is not an exageration, at least for the last 8 years.

My experiences with USPS has always been good, I love their small global priority envelopes! They're perfect for having flashlights and parts mailed around the world and always arrive safely in a very economical manner. I've heard that FedEx is the actual carrier for USPS Global Priority. In general the Canadian and US postal system work fine for me, especially when items cross the border and customs duties are involved.

UPS is the worst by far, they charge $30 for brokerage fees at the border for items declared over $30, this is in addition to any taxes you owe! I have no problem for paying whatever taxes I owe, but it's outrageous to be held hostage by UPS when other carriers include or charge a minimal brokerage paperwork fee. Unfortunately many US corporations ship UPS exclusively, so that automatically means I have to look for an alternative seller that's willing to use FedEx or USPS.

Canada and US Postal Services > Purolator > FedEx > DHL > .............. UPS.