Slow USPS Deliveries - Grumpy Old Men Complaining About Post Office, Ebay, & Kids On The Lawn

BTW, for those who don't know, in the US this is only the case for domestic registered mail. It isn't the case for foreign registered mail inbound to the US. It's treated as normal mail except at pickup. From USPS:

I recently received a priority mail parcel that took seven days to travel the distance it would take 3 hours by car. I'm so glad I did all the Xmas shopping for the kids online last month.

Several things are clear to me.

1. The USPS has been backlogged since the pandemic hit. The holidays are only making it worse. Avoid shipping anything until after January 1 if at all possible. Otherwise, suck it up and live with the delays.

2. Registered mail is secure, but very slow. This is nothing new. Use other methods/classes whenever possible - certified, insured, etc.

3. The USPS should not post tracking information except for the initial and final scans. All the intermediate scans should be internal unless an inquiry is filed. It is logical they use hubs for the various types of mail, Express, Priority, parcels, etc., so that any individual piece may travel an apparent illogical route, but the hub system works for the overall mass of mail they move. It is not any different than passengers on airlines having to fly through Atlanta or DFW or O'Hare.

4. It's far easier to criticize than to propose meaningful solutions.

Chicago area is awful. I've shipped a number of packages at the end of November, which are still in transit. Several took 10 days to get from the local post office to a new facility about 10 miles away. They then took another 8 days to make it to the receivers local sorting facility.

Here is one meaningful solution. Let Fedex and/or UPS deliver the mail. They know how to actually perform well. They have shareholders to answer to. They get it done. Of course, we are all shareholders in the USPS but they could care less. Louis Dejoy tried to change things vis-à-vis actually meeting times and goals and was excoriated and vilified. SO there you have it.

There are no real excuses for the USPS performance.

rogdcam,
I have a significantly divergent viewpoint, but that would sidetrack this thread into current politics, which I will not do here.

A very puzzling comment. So there should be LESS transparency?

If my Priority Mail package does not show up for two weeks I should not be able to see anything beyond its acceptance? The final scan is irrelevant since that should mean that I now possess the package. (Should) Why should USPS treat tracking differently than Fedex/UPS?

I am sure that I am missing something here.

Interesting:

US Postal Service accused of falsifying delivery info to boost performance stats: report

https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/scanni...sues-persist
https://www.postaltimes.com/postaln...-statistics/

Funny since many times their tracking system shows it left and then doesn't update until days after I already received it.

I missed the earlier comment about the illogical routes - I am waiting for a package that was coming from PA to IL - its currently in NJ. I also have one I shipped from Chicago to PA, which is now in Kansas City. Both seem to have gone in the wrong direction.

In my opinion the USPS should have transitioned into email hosting two decades ago; communications between humans obviously has evolved to digital. Surely no one thinks that one day the USPS will be delivering letters between colonies on the moon or other planets (talk about costly 'last mile'!). We need to learn how to let go; keeping outdated, costly, inefficient services just because we feel nostalgic about it is inane. Parcel services and expediated mail also should be part of the vision (obviously) for USPS but stick a fork in First Class mail.
Don

One day I am sure mail will be sent to Mars and too the moons of Jupiter ;because of the time lag (speed of light) sending a message would be only one of the solutions.Future space colonists would be over joyed receiving an envelope from someone(family, friends,ect)...and the stamps ? That's anyone's guess.
http://astrophilatelist.com/news/space_mail/2-0-3

I certainly don't agree with this. My local post office only scans about 1/3 of the mail I put out in the curbside mailbox. If there were no intermediate scans there would be no evidence that the USPS even had my items. Also, when things take a really long time for whatever reason, having intermediate scans lets a buyer at least know that their mail is making progress and is not lost.

Oh, I can see the stamps now.....

Using the current cost of sending something to the International Space Station (ISS), a one ounce First Class letter rate would be $624. I am pretty sure that using $624 worth of discount postage isn't going to work well!

Given that the ISS is only 254 miles away, I cannot imagine the cost of a one ounce letter to a space colony a light year (6 trillion miles (9 trillion km) away.
Don