I ship a lot of packages
I ship using USPS, UPS, and FedEx
I have a few different businesses that I make money on, but my primary business is selling on eBay. Since I’m selling goods through eBay, that means that I have packages to ship almost everyday. Everything I have sold has to be shipped to the person that bought it. I ship my packages using one of three services
- United States postal service (USPS)
- United parcel service (UPS)
- Federal Express (FedEx)
As most of my readers know, I lived in the Philippines for 20 years before returning to the United States in 2019. Before moving to the Philippines, I also sold merchandise on eBay. In fact, for a couple of years, I even sold on eBay from the Philippines, selling to the United States buyers.
Shocking Changes in Shipping
Shipping prices and procedures have certainly changed a lot in the past 20 plus years since I sold and shipped a lot of items back in the ’90s. Of course, as is to be expected, costs of shipping have skyrocketed, that didn’t really surprise me. I have experienced a lot of things that have really surprised me, though.
Best and Worst Shipping Companies
When it comes to shipping, I would say that the most shocking change is the rankings for the best and worst shippers.
Twenty Five years ago, or so, I would say that the best shipper, without a doubt was FedEx. FedEx was expensive, but it was the king of reliability. I rarely shipped with FedEx in those days because the cost was prohibitive. But, if I had sold a high-priced item that I wanted to be sure was delivered safely and on-time, FedEx was the answer. Maybe I would go with UPS in this circumstance, but UPS was a notch below FedEx, no doubt.
Back in the 90s, USPS was the workhorse. If the package was not a high-end sale, USPS was the answer. It was a high probability that the item would arrive on time, and almost always in good shape too, but the reliability factor was a little lower than UPS, and way lower than using FedEx. The level of reliability, though, was OK especially given the low cost of shipping.
Things had changed by the 2020s, though.
When I returned in tn 2019 and beyond, though, things had turned around. Now, I would rate the 3 shipping giants in this order:
- USPS
- UPS
- FedEx
It’s a complete reversal!
USPS has gone up in price, especially during 2023, but the reliability is excellent. I don’t recall having any package shipped through USPS arrive late, and usually they are quicker than promised. Another advantage is that the price of shipping USPS is the least expensive of the three options. That is an unbeatable combination.
UPS is staying steady in 2nd place of the 3 contenders in the shipping world. Their service seems to be mostly unchanged, except that the price of shipping is higher than 20 years ago, which is certainly expected.
The big shock to me, though, is shipping with FedEx. From what I can tell, shipping prices with FedEx are still the highest of the 3 contenders in shipping, but the service is not faster than the other two companies mentioned. FedEx used to be the gold standard, now I would rate then number 3, as You can see. I see no reason to pay the premium cost for standard (or worse) shipping service. Additionally, I find that FedEx drivers (at least the one who comes to my house) are lazy. Myh driver never brings my package to the door, they just leave it out in my yard most of the time.That is an invitation to theft of my packages, and I can’t rely on that.
Some may disagree with my assessment, but I ship multiple packages daily, and this is how I see it. Things have changed.
Hi Bob,
For 20 years I worked for USPS doing maintenance and repair of Parcel Sorting Machines ( cross belt sorters ) . During that time there have been many upgrades to the existing sorters as well as newer and faster models. USPS Processing centers run 24-7-365 to insure accurate and timely delivery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nw0SF7Z-Xo
The USPS is doing a great job these days, IMHO. Congrats, Bob
You nailed it!
I would tend to agree with you, Bob. A publisher just this month sent me a book to review on my website. The first attempt was through FedEx. The package arrived with a hole in it and no book. The second attempt was using USPS and the book arrived just fine (and quickly, too).
In the old days, I would have ranked the three services as you did, but USPS has stepped up its game, I think.
Last year on a trip to Atlanta, my wife lost her drivers license. As she had a flight home on Sunday evening. I paid FedEx a huge sum to ship her Passport on Saturday morning to be delivered on Sunday AM. After much worry watching the tracking number, I went to the FedEx shipping center at the airport where I had where I had shipped and paid for the package, they could not find it or determine where it was. 2 hours later they called to tell me the package was still in Wichita, and they were searching for it. They finally found it and I went back and picked it up, then had to file a claim and wait almost 2 weeks to be refunded my costs. No apologies.
Wow, I am very sure that is a big hassle to try to travel internat8onally without your
dl.
But, I am sure she had her passport, though, that would cover I guess. Still a hassle though.