Sending Holiday Packages Priority via the US Postal Service

[ultrarunner]

Going Postal...

Every year I send Priority Mail Packages filled with California Smoked Almonds to friends in Austria... they can't get enough and I like sending something produced in the good old USA and made in California.

It costs $55.95 to ship 10 pounds Priority with 6 to 10 days delivery time...

Mailed December 1 and 15 days later my packages have not reached Austria... should have known something would go wrong when the clerk attempted to direct the first package to Australia... even though the address was clearly typed in large print on a Post Office Label.

Anyway... all packages made it to San Francisco and then to Canadian Customs... some were returned to San Francisco after several days and then sent to Austria... some are missing and still listed as being 10 days in Canada awaiting Canadian Customs Clearance.

Normally, it takes 7 days transit time.

It would seem in this day and age where information is king... it would be possible to mail a package priority mail to Europe and have it actually arrive... not to mention the inefficiency and cost of misdirected mail circling the globe...

 

[JCB]

Bummer Ultra,

I usually like to support the post office and I do like your intentions of giving local USA product, but you got screwed this time. Hopefully the delay is more of a result of customs inspection (which is never fun to deal with) than USPS.

Good luck, and I hope it sorts itself out for you!

Joe

 

[BruceWard]

We often mail packages to friends in England and have similar problems. Unfortunately UPS and Fedex have stopped shipping packages to Europe other than the fastest and most expensive services.

 

[ultrarunner]

We often mail packages to friends in England and have similar problems. Unfortunately UPS and Fedex have stopped shipping packages to Europe other than the fastest and most expensive services.

Just got off the phone with the Post Office... the clerk said they were extremely sorry my package was misdirected and assured me of the probability that it will eventually reach the final destination... Canada has 21 days from today to answer my inquiry.

As an aside... the Post Office said I should have sent my packages via Fedex for guaranteed delivery???

We have Fedex at work and the cost per package was roughly 10% higher and the delivery time measured in days and not weeks.

 

[WVBill]

... delivery time measured in days and not weeks.

Unfortunately, you don't know that yet.... it could be longer by the time you get your nuts get out of Canada. :laughing:

 

[KubotainNH]

People wonder why USPS is losing money. Anything I need to be on time goes UPS or FedEx. Their tracking numbers mean something unlike the old post office. Kinda sad. Good luck with your nuts

 

[beenthere]

A lot of things are a-changing with shipping between countries. I don't like it, but something we will have to get used to in our future.
The package with the bomb on the UPS plane bound for the US is but one example.

We will see a lot of changes to the "normal" way we used to do business.

And the "nuts" in CA are but one of the concerns.

 

[ultrarunner]

I thought you guys would get a kick about a thread exporting CA nuts...

 

[aczlan]

As an aside... the Post Office said I should have sent my packages via Fedex for guaranteed delivery???

We have Fedex at work and the cost per package was roughly 10% higher and the delivery time measured in days and not weeks.

One thing to note about shipping USPS vs shipping FedEx (this is what I saw shipping stuff to Argentina between 2004 and 2006) is that FedEx requires the receiver to go to the airport of entry or pay a courier to do so ($150+). USPS packages go through customs at the local post office who is less likely to charge the full customs fees than the folks at the airport (especially when you are in the post office every week with 2 dozen facturas for the workers)

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

Update...

Received an email from the Postal Service stating my Nuts were shipped back to San Francisco after spending two weeks in Canadian Customs and were dispatched to Austria this morning!

$55.95 priority postage and 18 days in transit so far... maybe all is not lost