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I was wondering: The shipper used DHL, so how did the USPS get their grubby hands on it? Then I looked at the Wikipedia article for DHL and found that ~8 yea

I was wondering: The shipper used DHL, so how did the USPS get their grubby hands on it? Then I looked at the Wikipedia article for DHL and found that ~8 years ago, DHL started using USPS for local delivery. I've found recently that when I order a package online, it will ship via UPS, but then the package is turned over to the USPS for last-mile delivery. I hate this because the package disappears into a black hole of USPS incompetency where they can't even do tracking properly, much less delivery. I wish Amazon had an option "don't let USPS touch this" for shipping.. I'd be willing to pay extra.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
wears_sweaters1 10y ago
Ive heard through the grave vine that approaching Amazon via customer service and asking for the primary shipper to handle all phases of the process will stop your packages from getting handed to local services.
- DaveSwift 10y ago
  I've had a similar experience. A few years I had multiple issues with LazerShip (last mile delivery) and I complained to Amazon about it. They've never sent anything via LaserShip to me since.
  - drewg123 10y ago
    You guys must be special. I've had several problems with LazerShip. Most recently they delivered a $300 watch to the wrong location. I've specifically asked if I could somehow avoid having packages shipped by them, and the CSRs have told me they can't control that. Maybe it has to do with my region, or the fact that I'm quite close to a regional Amazon warehouse.
    - throwanem 10y ago
      Here's something that's worked for me: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13660378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13660378
- rhexs 10y ago
  I had an issue where USPS was claiming packages were delivered to meet their prime contractual agreement then not actually delivering it until 1-2 days later. (So prime 2 day was taking 3-4 but marking it as delivered to my box on day 2 every time). I filed a complaint to USPS, and a USPS employee actually called and admitted that they were probably doing that to make their stats look better. I feel like any other organization admitting to contractual fraud like that would actually face consequences, but truthfully I don't think anyone holds USPS to a high bar. Contacted Amazon and they claimed they prioritized UPS for my address. Seemed to work -- packages come via UPS almost exclusively now. Pretty good resolution in my book.
  - kop316 10y ago
    I have the exact same issue with USPS. If I see Amazon shops with USPS, I don't even bother to look for the package until the next day now. The problem for Amazon now is if I need an item ASAP, I really can't trust their next day/2 day shipping so I will just end up going to a local store and buying it.
    - rhexs 10y ago
      My issue was resolved via the exec customer support team after e-mailing Jeff Bezos. Worth a shot. Amazon is many things, and being great at customer support is definitely still one of their best strengths.
      - kop316 10y ago
        Thanks! I will try that.
  - dev247 10y ago
    USPS is most definitely marking things delivered to meet agreements, while delivering whenever they can. Most all of my Amazon purchases get delivered by USPS and ALL of them are delivered 1-3 days after I am notified of delivery. Originally I thought it was due to USPS delivering at 8PM on my route (I live in an Apt), but a few months back they switched so packages are delivered mid day. Still getting packages days after delivery notifications.
jglazko 10y ago
I cringe every time I see "UPS SmartPost" as shipping method, which uses USPS for delivery. Package literally comes within a couple miles of my house, then continues hundreds of miles to another state for sorting and another 2-3 days of postal tourism. +1 on requesting shipment methods on Amazon for extra fee. edit: clarified USPS does delivery on these.
- stronglikedan 10y ago
  Just a nitpick, but SmartPost is FedEx, and SurePost is UPS.
mikeash 10y ago
It's odd to see all the hate for USPS in these threads. My own experience is that USPS is by far the best carrier out there. Part of it is the unfair advantage of actually having a mailbox to deliver to. Smaller packages are placed in the mailbox rather than left in front of my garage to be stolen by random passersby. But part of it is just that they're reliable and cheap. With Amazon, around here they like to use a craptastic local shipper called LaserShip. Now those folks are the epitome of incompetency. Tracking is useless, they like to mark packages as delivered well before they actually arrive, and sometimes they just plain give the stuff to the wrong address. Once they gave my package to a random house thirty miles away! I don't mean to say that you and the others are wrong, of course! I wonder what the difference is. Maybe I'm just lucky in this respect due to where I live or something.
- JoeAltmaier 10y ago
  Also, federal offence to interfere with the US mail. UPS? a tort I think?
- throwanem 10y ago
  Amazon doesn't make it possible to prevent a shipper from being chosen to fulfill a package, but you can request what they call "carrier deprioritization" via their customer support helpdesk, which will artificially weight the carrier in question so that their algorithm will opt against it unless it is the only carrier able to fulfill a given order. I've had good success with this last year, after Amazon's own in-house fulfillment service caused me a series of issues due to erroneously failed deliveries; since I made that request, I haven't had a single shipment fulfilled via AMZL_US save those for which I requested same-day delivery of items present in the Canton warehouse. Other sorts of orders which AMZL_US would previously fulfill are instead now handled by UPS or FedEx. If you have trouble with LaserShip, as I gather many do, you could probably do worse than to request Amazon deprioritize that carrier. If my experience is any guide, you may have to bounce from rep to rep a couple of times before you find someone who knows what you're talking about, but it's worth persisting, because the results are, at least in my experience, much worth the effort. Hope this helps!
  - 10y ago
rickyc091 10y ago
Yep, DHL is typically cheaper for international than UPS or FedEx. For shippers to save even more cost they do the last minute with USPS. This is available for every service. Tracking does show up for USPS. If you paste the FedEx SmartPost or UPS Innovations tracking # into Google, it will direct you to the link for USPS's tracking.
ac29 10y ago
Read the label on the package in the twitter link, it was shipped Deutsche Post (the German equivalent of USPS), not DHL. They use the DHL name sometimes for international packages (they are owned by the same group) but shipping Deutsche Post is decidedly not the same as shipping DHL. As I mentioned in the last thread DHL definitely does not use USPS for delivery. I get packages every week via DHL and they are delivered in the yellow DHL vans, by DHL employees, 100% of the time. They may farm out last mile delivery to USPS for some rural or residential addresses though. If someone in Germany can clarify this, I'd be interested. edit: added picture https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png
- germanier 10y ago
  In Germany, they are not just owned by the same group, it's the exact same company ("Deutsche Post AG", the parent company of the group) and you talk to the exact same persons to use their services. Letters and small packages use the "Deutsche Post" brand and larger ones use "DHL" but that should not be confused with the DHL you find in the US. Despite the name they are still the USPS of Germany. They differentiate because in larger cities they deliver both services separately, i.e. your Amazon order will not be delivered with your letters in the morning but later in the day. They also have a US-style service which they call "DHL Express". You can choose to have your package delivered by DHL US instead of USPS but that is not the default option when shipping from Germany. You have to through DHL Express for that. All of the large US couriers have a service where they use USPS for the last mile: DHL eCommerce, UPS SurePost, FedEx SmartPost.
  - ac29 10y ago
    Thanks for the clarification. I suppose I should have mentioned my experience with DHL is with packages sent from the EU (but not Germany) to the US. I guess the EU ex-Germany's DHL is more like US' DHL.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

wears_sweaters1 10y ago

Ive heard through the grave vine that approaching Amazon via customer service and asking for the primary shipper to handle all phases of the process will stop your packages from getting handed to local services.

DaveSwift 10y ago
I've had a similar experience. A few years I had multiple issues with LazerShip (last mile delivery) and I complained to Amazon about it. They've never sent anything via LaserShip to me since.
- drewg123 10y ago
  You guys must be special. I've had several problems with LazerShip. Most recently they delivered a $300 watch to the wrong location. I've specifically asked if I could somehow avoid having packages shipped by them, and the CSRs have told me they can't control that. Maybe it has to do with my region, or the fact that I'm quite close to a regional Amazon warehouse.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    Here's something that's worked for me: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13660378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13660378
rhexs 10y ago
I had an issue where USPS was claiming packages were delivered to meet their prime contractual agreement then not actually delivering it until 1-2 days later. (So prime 2 day was taking 3-4 but marking it as delivered to my box on day 2 every time). I filed a complaint to USPS, and a USPS employee actually called and admitted that they were probably doing that to make their stats look better. I feel like any other organization admitting to contractual fraud like that would actually face consequences, but truthfully I don't think anyone holds USPS to a high bar. Contacted Amazon and they claimed they prioritized UPS for my address. Seemed to work -- packages come via UPS almost exclusively now. Pretty good resolution in my book.
- kop316 10y ago
  I have the exact same issue with USPS. If I see Amazon shops with USPS, I don't even bother to look for the package until the next day now. The problem for Amazon now is if I need an item ASAP, I really can't trust their next day/2 day shipping so I will just end up going to a local store and buying it.
  - rhexs 10y ago
    My issue was resolved via the exec customer support team after e-mailing Jeff Bezos. Worth a shot. Amazon is many things, and being great at customer support is definitely still one of their best strengths.
    - kop316 10y ago
      Thanks! I will try that.
- dev247 10y ago
  USPS is most definitely marking things delivered to meet agreements, while delivering whenever they can. Most all of my Amazon purchases get delivered by USPS and ALL of them are delivered 1-3 days after I am notified of delivery. Originally I thought it was due to USPS delivering at 8PM on my route (I live in an Apt), but a few months back they switched so packages are delivered mid day. Still getting packages days after delivery notifications.

jglazko 10y ago

I cringe every time I see "UPS SmartPost" as shipping method, which uses USPS for delivery. Package literally comes within a couple miles of my house, then continues hundreds of miles to another state for sorting and another 2-3 days of postal tourism. +1 on requesting shipment methods on Amazon for extra fee. edit: clarified USPS does delivery on these.

stronglikedan 10y ago
Just a nitpick, but SmartPost is FedEx, and SurePost is UPS.

mikeash 10y ago

It's odd to see all the hate for USPS in these threads. My own experience is that USPS is by far the best carrier out there. Part of it is the unfair advantage of actually having a mailbox to deliver to. Smaller packages are placed in the mailbox rather than left in front of my garage to be stolen by random passersby. But part of it is just that they're reliable and cheap. With Amazon, around here they like to use a craptastic local shipper called LaserShip. Now those folks are the epitome of incompetency. Tracking is useless, they like to mark packages as delivered well before they actually arrive, and sometimes they just plain give the stuff to the wrong address. Once they gave my package to a random house thirty miles away! I don't mean to say that you and the others are wrong, of course! I wonder what the difference is. Maybe I'm just lucky in this respect due to where I live or something.

JoeAltmaier 10y ago
Also, federal offence to interfere with the US mail. UPS? a tort I think?
throwanem 10y ago
Amazon doesn't make it possible to prevent a shipper from being chosen to fulfill a package, but you can request what they call "carrier deprioritization" via their customer support helpdesk, which will artificially weight the carrier in question so that their algorithm will opt against it unless it is the only carrier able to fulfill a given order. I've had good success with this last year, after Amazon's own in-house fulfillment service caused me a series of issues due to erroneously failed deliveries; since I made that request, I haven't had a single shipment fulfilled via AMZL_US save those for which I requested same-day delivery of items present in the Canton warehouse. Other sorts of orders which AMZL_US would previously fulfill are instead now handled by UPS or FedEx. If you have trouble with LaserShip, as I gather many do, you could probably do worse than to request Amazon deprioritize that carrier. If my experience is any guide, you may have to bounce from rep to rep a couple of times before you find someone who knows what you're talking about, but it's worth persisting, because the results are, at least in my experience, much worth the effort. Hope this helps!
- 10y ago

rickyc091 10y ago

Yep, DHL is typically cheaper for international than UPS or FedEx. For shippers to save even more cost they do the last minute with USPS. This is available for every service. Tracking does show up for USPS. If you paste the FedEx SmartPost or UPS Innovations tracking # into Google, it will direct you to the link for USPS's tracking.

ac29 10y ago

Read the label on the package in the twitter link, it was shipped Deutsche Post (the German equivalent of USPS), not DHL. They use the DHL name sometimes for international packages (they are owned by the same group) but shipping Deutsche Post is decidedly not the same as shipping DHL. As I mentioned in the last thread DHL definitely does not use USPS for delivery. I get packages every week via DHL and they are delivered in the yellow DHL vans, by DHL employees, 100% of the time. They may farm out last mile delivery to USPS for some rural or residential addresses though. If someone in Germany can clarify this, I'd be interested. edit: added picture https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png

germanier 10y ago
In Germany, they are not just owned by the same group, it's the exact same company ("Deutsche Post AG", the parent company of the group) and you talk to the exact same persons to use their services. Letters and small packages use the "Deutsche Post" brand and larger ones use "DHL" but that should not be confused with the DHL you find in the US. Despite the name they are still the USPS of Germany. They differentiate because in larger cities they deliver both services separately, i.e. your Amazon order will not be delivered with your letters in the morning but later in the day. They also have a US-style service which they call "DHL Express". You can choose to have your package delivered by DHL US instead of USPS but that is not the default option when shipping from Germany. You have to through DHL Express for that. All of the large US couriers have a service where they use USPS for the last mile: DHL eCommerce, UPS SurePost, FedEx SmartPost.
- ac29 10y ago
  Thanks for the clarification. I suppose I should have mentioned my experience with DHL is with packages sent from the EU (but not Germany) to the US. I guess the EU ex-Germany's DHL is more like US' DHL.