Giving Up On Priority Mail - Switching To Registered

I've had a string of bad luck using "2-Day Priority" mail as of late. I sent some stamps to PF for certification on 2/27 and it still says "Alert - awaiting signature". Fortunately the PF did get it but the PO never scanned it - I was in a panic for a while. I am also awaiting another stamp from a dealer that was mailed 1 week ago Priority Mail. Tracking says that it made it to our city but has yet to get into a mail bag.

From my experience of buying and selling items, the PO service on "Priority Mail" has really gone downhill. I sometimes think things would arrive faster using regular mail. I sold some lp records a while back and the ones that were sent media mail got to their destinations at least 2 days faster than the ones sent "Priority".

With this in mind, I have a couple items I will be sending PF soon and am considering using Registered Mail. Based on what I read, this enters a different, more secure, stream of mail. Costs about twice as much but may be worth the piece of mind. Anyone using registered mail instead of priority?

CAVEAT EMPTOR.

Beware of USPS Registered Mail. First - it is much slower than regular mail. It can also indicate "VALUABLE" on your shipment, making it a target for thieves.

A seller sent me some expensive stamps via Registered Mail on Oct 01, 2020. The scans show it was received and dispatched from the local PO. After that....nothing. It is still unaccounted for to this day. The PO initially refused to pay the seller's insurance claim, but after legal action was taken, they reversed their decision.

Yes and the service in the current pandemic era is slower due to the extra human handling required.

But the pandemic era reason doesn't explain why first class and media mail (in my experience) are going through the system faster than 2-day priority mail. I'm wondering if so many people are using Priority Mail for everything these days that it is clogging that stream up.

Interesting comment on registered. I was told by the PO that it is more secure that regular priority mail. Perhaps "Express Priority Mail" option is best?

Good thing Amazon has their own trucks these days.

canyoneer - in all honesty, of course the PO will say Registered is more secure. I think you answered the 'why' yourself - it is roughly double the cost. It is designed and intended to be more secure, thus better for more important/valuable packages. Certified says 'important/valuable'. Registered says 'VERY important/valuable'. On an inside job, which is going to be more targeted?

I am sure it is more secure, and that the incidence of loss/theft is much lower, but that security comes at the cost of being slower.

Nothing says "steal me" like Registered and Priority Mail.

My worst case however, was a valuable group sent Registered Mail. The carrier left the item on top of a string of mail boxes with an impending storm approaching. If not for a good neighbor retrieving it and delivering it personally, it would have been lost forever. The buyer and myself both formally complained. Only response was "well at least it got there"

Thank God I had a honest buyer. He could have claimed that he never received it.

If collecting on that insurance was as bad as my experiences trying to collect on Priority Mail, it would have been a major loss for me.

First class mail in a plain envelope with current postage is the way to go.

The airlines and their lack of consistent schedule coupled with a steep reduction in flights has been a big pandemic issue for the USPS.

Also remember, unlike normal first class, the priority items need to be scanned by humans, just less so than registered matter.

Because it has to be signed for at every step on the way, registered is hard to steal without getting caught as the person should only have access to it if they signed for it. Unless you are talking registered to another country as they do not treat it the same and it does become a big Steal Me sign. Send registered to some place like Italy and you should just save yourself the shipping cost and the time in line and throw it away yourself.

I used to do a lot of Registered Mail in both directions. No more. It is now a myth that it is signed for and kept separate every step of the way. Signatures are also now hit or miss. Registered Mail no longer is logged or even scanned properly just like all of the other mail that does not get scanned along the way or is the victim of nonsensical tracking (in, out, in, out, in again....)

There really is no solid way to get it done nowadays. The absolute best thing to do is get what you are sending to it's destination as fast as possible. Pretty much leaves Express mail or Fedex overnight. Less time in the stream means less chance to be pilfered or damaged and fewer people to examine if something goes missing. That said do not expect signatures. The COVID excuse has been found to be a powerful one that the delivery services will not let go of easily. Drop and run works for them.

Bottom line for me is that trust and reliability of the USPS is the worse I've seen. Seems to occured within the last year or so. I agree with Rogdcam, I think we are past blaming COVID. USPS employees are likely overworked with a heavy dose of low morale thrown in.