cryogenic

Either that or they delivered it to the wrong house. It was supposedly "accepted" on June 2 @ 9:46am, but not by any of my neighbors somehow. So now of course, I have a $250 package in limbo that I have absolutely no clue who signed for it. Is it just me or is the USPS the most absolutely completely 100% worthless group of bumbling idiots on the face of planet earth? Honestly, can they do anything right? I get the idea that the mailman was just like "hey, there's someone 5 houses down to sign for this" and they don't even bother to check to see that the signature matches the name on the package. Heck, I don't even know that they REQUIRE a signature. So what should I do? Obviously I'll try the post office first. When they say they have no clue where the package went, should I see if Performance will re-ship it since they shipped it USPS when I specifically ticked the box that says "FEDEX GROUND CUST REQUEST"?

Edit: I think USPS's website just plain sucks... "accepted" may actually just mean that it was accepted at the local post office. Meaning it may show up today... or Saturday... or Monday... or hell, who knows. They don't have any estimated delivery date and apparently there's no signature required unless it was express mail, registered, or certified. I'm still tee'd off at Performance for ignoring the "fedex ground cust request" in my order confirmation.

linux_author

- just went through this, so i know what you mean...

- new (again) to biking... thought i'd do some 'test' orders w/various vendors mentioned here and on the Web...

- nashbar, performance and supergo seem to have some form of perverse third-party handling that, while transporting orders, seems to be a four-day bottleneck in the process... and the more folks handling an order introduces the chance of delivery problems...

- what is even more disturbing is the shipping charge applied to orders by the above three... looks like part of the profit is S/H...

- as i'm sure you know, if you paid by CC then you're OK... but it is maddening when we're nearly five years out of the Dot Bomb and some companies still haven't 'Got With The Program'...

- FWIW, the U.S. Snail person here is quite good... it's the dyslexic UPS guy that concerns me, as he keeps switching packages between my abode and my neighbor's across the road...

samp02

Get ahold the USPS and make them put a trace on it. Make the company you ordered put in a claim...

cryogenic

I'm trying to figure out what "accepted" means... Accepted at the point of deliver or accepted by the post office? At least with UPS, I *know* when they've effed things up!

linux_author

- if your package was sent by third-party, and was 'accepted' at your local USPS, then you should get the package the next day (it'll be in the delivery bin for your U.S. Snail carrier and will be delivered however you receive packages from the USPS)...

cryogenic

well, it was accepted yesterday @ 9:45am... so I'm assuming that means I'll get it today. Here's to hoping! It was in fact shipped by a third party carrier named APX. It shipped on like the 26th of May, so of course it's taken far longer than it would have taken had they paid attention and actually shipped it Fedex ground. ugh!

FLBandit

It just means Lance is scared of you! So, he got his buds from the USP team to harrass you!!!

cryogenic

and of course my package didn't show up on my doorstep today, either. Guess that means a trip to the post office is in order to find out what the hell is up with my package.

corysold

So they handle billions of pieces of mail a year, mostly flawlessly. Now, you have a problem and suddenly the entire USPS sucks. I know if sucks that you lost a package, but unless you want to be delivering all of your packages and letters yourself, somebody has to do it. I have had FedEx and UPS lose packages for me, they all make mistakes.

cryogenic

so I go to the post office and ask about the package... it's sitting at the post office of course. The clerk's explanation? "It's not first class so we don't have to get it out the same day we get it. That certainly explains why it takes so long for the post office to get anything everywhere. If a package sits for 2 days everytime it passes through a post office, yikes! Which makes me wonder why Performance doesn't ship things First Class... especially $250 worth of bike parts. My biggest issue with the postal service is the simple fact they're slow. Slow shipping and slow service at the post offices themselves. Not to mention their "we'll get it there when we feel like it" attitude they seem to have. I've not once had any problems with UPS or FedEx.

squeegy200

I've been fortunate as I've had good experiences with FedEx, UPS, and USPS. I purchase lots of stuff off of eBay, Nashbar, Coloradocyclist, PerformanceBike, and SUpergo and have had little or no problems.

martin_j001

I use USPS Priority Mail almost exclusively (unless I want something overnight), and have only had one time where it took longer than two or three days to get to someone. Overall very good experiences so far. I use the online shipping system, where I can print out my labels at home and just drop packages off without having to wait--this also gives me free delivery confirmation, so I know whether or not it got there. Of course you can add insurance to the package from there as well....

cryogenic

Things shipped via USPS Priority seem to be at least somewhat tolerable... First Class is ok, but not stellar... Anything other than that and you better not be in the slightest bit of a hurry, that's for sure. Needless to say, I'll be sticking to UPS and Fedex whenever possible.

air king

I hear ya on the absurd length of time it takes for the USPS to get anything to your doorstep. But at least in my neighborhood, it makes it here safely. On several occasions I have had packages shipped via FedEx and UPS left on my doorstep. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't live in a ground floor apartment with a public sidewalk no more than 10 feet away!! Just the other day, FedEx was compelled to leave a box with my new Sidi Zeta shoes laying in plain sight for anyone to grab. When I checked the delivery time on-line, they had been laying there for nearly an hour!! I guess I better be happy with a couple days delay and secure delivery.

linux_author

- why don't they shiip First Class? (Priority would be best)... because Performance and SuperGo and Nashbar make a PROFIT on S/H!!!!

- as others have mentioned, pay the extra $2 for FedEx and tracking if you're worried about speed of delivery... (USPS, DHL, FedEx are OK where i am - it's UPS that 't-bones' and destroys packages)

:-)

- glad you got your stuff... i guess if you know to expect piss-poor S/H and customer service it gets easier?

cryogenic

Actually, that's the problem.. I DID request Fedex specifically. I *know* how bad the USPS can be and specifically avoid ever using them unless absolutely unavoidable. Yet Performance completely disregarded my request for Fedex Ground and still shipped USPS via APX (third party shipper, thus introducing further delays). Overall, the order from Performance was a complete nightmare. Had the price on those Campy Record levers not been so amazing, I would have just ordered from somewhere else because of all the horror stories I keep hearing about Performance. Stuff I don't need in a hurry, I probably wouldn't mind ordering from them.

djbrod

eh, my USPS guy is good, but then again, he rides. I probably end up delaying other people's packages because we end up talking about what ever he has just delivered.

cryogenic

I wish I could change my thread title.. they didn't technically lose it.. just sat on it for a couple of days. idiots. At any rate, I don't even think we have a regular mailman. Our route just kinda gets picked up by whoever is available. So sometimes our mail comes at 9am, other times at 6pm.. it's lame.

cascade168

Yup, I am in the same boat. Plus, as an added extra bonus, my postman is an avid cyclist He gets all excited when he delivers my Bicycling magazine. I had a real idiot UPS guy for a while, but lately it's been great. So, as they say, YMMV. I have had a very positive experience from all of the on-line dealers you list, and Ebay,too. Sooner or later, something will get f'd up, so, when that day comes, I'll smile and reflect on all of the good experiences. Sh1t does, in fact, happen. Enjoy the good stuff and don't get too bent out of shape when it goes wrong. The majority of people are bascially good. Hey, we're talking about bikes, not nuclear war. Save your rants for something meaningful. Thanks to squeegy for saying something positive.

cascade168

Go out and buy a cardboard box and see what it costs. Oh, buy some bubble pack, too. I save all of this stuff because I found out how much it costs. Yeh, sure, buy in volume and you will save. I just returned something to Nashbar because I messed up on my order. I spec'd the wrong tube size for a front derailleur. They picked up the return shipping cost despite my mistake. If you think that they are making a killing on s&h become a dealer yourself and see how it works out. I can't complain, myself.

catatonic

I always had issues with FedEX, namely their "if we don't have time to deliver it, we won't" attitude the local one has. I filed a formal compaint to FedEX corporate, and they said they are looking into it, but I mentioned that I refuse to do business with them until I can receive confirmation that something has already been done to correct it.

My problem was hours of wasted time every other week to ride out to the sticks (one time meeting a Mr. Alligator...fortunately he didn't really care about me, he just liked chilling out in the middle of the freakin road) to get my freakin packages since they never deliver to my place like they should.

So now I go USPS, UPS, Airborne, or DHL...I don't care who so long as it's not FedEX.

neil0502

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with these guys. Often, a single station--taking care of pickup and delivery for a particular area--really can be bad within a system that's really good.

Up until 12/03, I was the planning & logistics director, for a perishable products company, overseeing the shipping of nearly two million packages/year -- all through FedEx, from 40+ origins, all over the country, to destinations in the 50 states.

They do an amazing job. Our stats for right day delivery consistently held in the 98+% range. For a high-volume shipper, that's phenomenal.

YMMV . . . but I've got a pretty knowledgeable perspective on this one....

catatonic

So true...I know it's not the company as a whole...just that particular depot...and I really am just sick of dealing with them, and the 15mi each way ride to pick my stuff up.

If I bought something big like a workstand, I would have hell getting that back home.

I had great luck with them back in california, just no luck over here. Of course from my understanding they have been looking for people for months now...so being understaffed may have something to do with it.

steveknight

sometimes it will be labled delivered but it is waiting at the post office for you to sign for it. they forget to leave you the slip.

linux_author

- well, considering what i got from those folks on my trial ordering runs:

- thin cardboard
- no packing
- nearly $11 S/H for parcel post on orders +/- US$100!!!

- nope, they ARE making a profit on S/H... i can understand high shipping costs on oversize items, but SuperGo, Nashbar and Performance charge WAY too much for S/H on small orders...

- glad you got your return costs for your purchase...

- and no, i have no intention of becoming a bike dealer...

edit: i have to amend my statement above... i did get a US$0.99 S/H deal on a 'Web special' from one of the above (Nashbar?)... and i did receive my goods... but i stand by my opinion as far as S/H costs..