Besides Amazon where?

dedmiston wrote:

Most of my Amazon deliveries come via Amazon's own service now (gray van with teal logo).

I had no idea. Thanks. The above poster lives near Portland which I guess is why.

2oldman wrote:
Amazon drivers? Not sure what that means. We have UPS and FedEx drivers.

I guess the post office is good or bad depending on where you live.

Still have your big orange kitty?

Amazon and FedEx have a rocky relationship. FedEx's performance with Amazon deliveries have been horrible for the past few years, especially during the holidays when FedEx couldn't keep up with demands. Amazon got so frustrated by issuing credits because of delayed shipments that they started their own delivery service.

Most of my Amazon deliveries come via Amazon's own service now (gray van with teal logo). We have two distribution centers nearby and Amazon seems to have their logistics down to a science in my area. Heaven help you though if you go to the Shell station near their dc at the wrong time, because those 30+ Amazonmobiles will clog up the station for a long time.

Eric&Lisa wrote:
The Amazon drivers (never the same twice) get lost without their little devices.

Amazon drivers? Not sure what that means. We have UPS and FedEx drivers.

I guess the post office is good or bad depending on where you live.

Still have your big orange kitty?

2oldman wrote:
....I have a rural mailbox which is in a stand with many other mailboxes.....

It is eight miles from my mailbox to the nearest cell service. The Amazon drivers (never the same twice) get lost without their little devices. They like to report the package as "Undeliverable, cannot reach front door" when I am home all day and they never even go past the driveway.

Truthfully, I don't blame the city-bred Amazon drivers for not delivering. To minimize package theft, Amazon has their drivers do delivery from afternoons to late evenings. I would be scared out of my wits delivering in the middle of winter when it is dark at 5pm, up a gravel lane, with no cell service, to a place where I had never been before.

After numerous complaints I got Amazon Logistics to "de-prioritize" Amazon's shipping department. As a result USPS delivers most of my packages. You have to get past the front line person and get through too Logistics to get this change made. It helps to be able to cite several lost/delayed orders that were being delivered by Amazon.

USPS knows the area and brings packages larger than an envelope the 1/4 mile from the mailbox to my door. They used to complain about it and leave the 'go pick it up at the Post Office' notes. However, Amazon wants the packages delivered - period. So they do a lot better than they did a decade ago.

I totally get it. My choice to live in a rural environment, so I cannot expect the same service level as people who live in town. My only ask is they meet whatever expectation they are setting. If it is going to take a week, tell me that upfront. Don't promise me next/2-day delivery and then fail.

dedmiston wrote:
I haven't written off Amazon yet, but I shop around before I add anything to my cart....

Completely agree. After what Amazon did to Parler, I am now questioning my choice to shop with Amazon. But, at the end of the day, it is my money.

I can regularly find stuff cheaper elsewhere. And if I cannot, I use the Amazon Chase card for a 5% discount on Prime purchases. (Free card, I never carry a balance, I actually transfer the money with Bill Pay before I make the purchase on Amazon). I figure if I have to shop with Amazon, I want to give them as little profit as possible, maybe even taking a net loss on my my business.

Another vote for etrailer.com

dedmiston wrote:
I haven't written off Amazon yet, but I shop around before I add anything to my cart.

I'm a big fan of Etrailer.com/. Their product selection is great and they've always given me good service.

My local Walmart is pretty decent, but only to a point.

I only go to Camping World when I'm truly desperate and in a hurry. Otherwise it's Amazon or Etrailer for me.

I do the same thing, except my local Walmart (25 minutes away) sucks, but I like Walmart online. I really like Etrailer.

I am also getting a little sick of Amazons passing shipping to the USPS, which is almost always late anymore. My local people are great, but they can't deliver what they don't have.

CavemanCharlie wrote:

Sounds like your local postmaster is the problem.

Could be. As for the last-mile handoff, that's an agreement made by Amazon, so I have to take it up with them. Yeah, good luck on that.

The forwarding, yeah, that's a local issue. I had no idea packages would be forwarded, as if I'd order a package to be sent to my home when I'm not there.

Oh, and another issue just came up today. The water company, who is still in the paper world, called and said my water bill was returned to them marked "undeliverable address." Other peoples' bills were being returned, people who have lived at the same address for years. I asked her to take a phone pic and text it to me, and she did.

I love living here, but sometimes it's like being back in the 60s. Some people actually pay their water bills in person, in cash.

2oldman wrote:

#1Flyboy wrote:
2oldman..... We live in a rural area and the USPS in our are is awesome....

Good, send some of that awesome here.

I have a rural mailbox which is in a stand with many other mailboxes. Included in this setup are several larger boxes where packages too large for the boxes can be placed, leaving a key for that box in the smaller mailbox. That *should* work, but the driver often just ignores that and Amazon tracking says "mailbox full", and driver leaves a slip of paper telling me they'll try again (why?), or go pick it up at the post office yourself. And that's what I have to do. And heaven forbid the mail driver goes another 1/4 mile to my house and drops off the packages.

UPS often hands off pretty large packages to this system, and delivers small ones to my house, depending on the circumstances of the delivery instructions, over which I have no control. That makes no sense.

Want more??

My mail forwarding was scheduled to end 3/31/21, and there was a note taped in my box saying so. A week into April I checked the tracking on a package, and it said it was being forwarded!! What??? So I raced to the PO and just in time was able to retrieve my package, and told them to PLEASE STOP the forwarding. Why it was continuing was a total mystery to me.

So... the USPS in my area is pretty far from awesome.

Sounds like your local postmaster is the problem. If they are incompetent all the people that work under them learn to be too. Because I've never had that problem I don't know what advice I can give.

Who is the next person up the line in your area ? In my area the local postmasters report to someone in the area office. If there is problem you can't solve locally you go to the area office. I've never had to do that though.

RVupgrades
I bought a bunch of Flair-it fittings and a new plastic cover for my propane cylinders. Did get multiple packages, but no problems.

I've also ordered from Etrailer.com.