Date:         Sat, 5 Oct 2002 00:07:38 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: busdepot and thepartsbin going nose to nose
In-Reply-To:  <5.1.0.14.2.20021004183215.03c2a388@pop1.attglobal.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> When Consumer Report tested express delivery services a couple years ago,
> they found that Express Mail (they didnt' look at Priority) was least
> likely to be on time among USPS, UPS, Fedex, but also least likely to be
> damaged.  Fedex was both fastest and roughest in their test.


I suspect that USPS has addressed the "on time" issue with their Express
Mail by increasing their guaranteed timeframe to some zip codes.  Express
Mail has always guaranteed either overnight or 2-day service, depending on
the origin and destination zip codes. But recently I've noticed more 2-day
rather than one-day guarantees when I've used Express Mail. It might just be
coincidence related to the last few addresses I've mailed to, or perhaps
they increased some areas from 1 day to 2.  I've also noticed that it varies
greatly from one post office to the next. A post office five minutes north
of here has a one-day delivery time to some zip codes, whereas one five
minutes south takes two days to the same zip codes.

I have found that the post office very rarely misses their guaranteed date,
but when they do, sometimes it's by several days or a week, not just a day
or so as with UPS.  On the other hand, they deliver 7 days a week, 365 days
a year. This includes Sundays and holidays at no extra charge.  So overnight
literally means overnight, not just "next working day" as with UPS and FedEx

Priority Mail, on the other hand, is not date-guaranteed at all.  It is
supposed to be 2-3 day delivery but often runs slightly longer. However, it
is about the same price as UPS ground (on average) so you're not paying
extra for it either.

As far as the breakage difference, I think it's mainly because the post
office handles fewer large, heavy packages.  There are simply fewer 100
pound boxes in the mail truck than in the UPS truck, so your fragile item
has less of a chance of a heavy box being dropped on it.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  (215) 234-VWVW
  www.busdepot.com

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