USPS

Ron Texas

Ron Texas

Joined
Nov 10, 2025
Messages
220
Most of our knives have to be shipped long distances. Here is a bit about how things work at the Postal Service.

If you are buying from a small vendor they will drop the day's shipments off at the post office. The workers there will usually not immediately scan the items in, so your tracking information will say awaiting item. This can to on for 2 days. Larger vendors will deliver the day's shipments with a master list. The master list is usually scanned immediately which results in tracking information which says "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending". That means your new knife is sitting in a pile of packages until someone at the post office gets around to scanning in the items individually. I have found that to take as long as 2 days and a tracking status of "Accepted" issues. Once the package actually starts to move things are much better with long distances covered each day. Shipment into Texas usually show a stop in Dallas. The next stop is a regional sorting facility in my city followed by my zip code post office and delivery. Delivery is usually the day after the shipment hits Dallas. Sometimes there is a one day delay. You may have noticed a similar pattern for where you live.
 
Lately the USPS has not been meeting their own expected delivery dates. I often get a "Later than originally estimated" note when looking up tracking information.

Overall I believe they do a good job. A lot of packages and letters are processed through them, so patience is key. I usually just plan on anything with tracking taking one to two days longer than the estimated arrival time.
 
Ron Texas said:
Most of our knives have to be shipped long distances. Here is a bit about how things work at the Postal Service.

If you are buying from a small vendor they will drop the day's shipments off at the post office. The workers there will usually not immediately scan the items in, so your tracking information will say awaiting item. This can to on for 2 days. Larger vendors will deliver the day's shipments with a master list. The master list is usually scanned immediately which results in tracking information which says "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending". That means your new knife is sitting in a pile of packages until someone at the post office gets around to scanning in the items individually. I have found that to take as long as 2 days and a tracking status of "Accepted" issues. Once the package actually starts to move things are much better with long distances covered each day. Shipment into Texas usually show a stop in Dallas. The next stop is a regional sorting facility in my city followed by my zip code post office and delivery. Delivery is usually the day after the shipment hits Dallas. Sometimes there is a one day delay. You may have noticed a similar pattern for where you live.
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And on the other hand, shippers have mailing programs that notify the receiver that the package has shipped as soon as the package label has been printed, before it even gets to the post office. So it works both ways.
 
knarfeng said:
And on the other hand, shippers have mailing programs that notify the receiver that the package has shipped as soon as the package label has been printed, before it even gets to the post office. So it works both ways.
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That's typical of USPS and UPS. USPS tracking will show the item as active as soon as they are paid. Normally that's before the shipment has left the vendor. An overnight delay before pending acceptance shows shows a vendor delay. If the vendor is small and does not use a master list, the customer really doesn't know whether the delay is from the vendor or post office until the post office gets around to scanning the item.
 
Things seem to be getting worse at USPS. Packages sit for 2 or 3 days before being scanned into the system. One day used to be the norm. I had a delivery which was sent to the correct sorting facility for my location, then sent across to the wrong side of town before being sent back adding a day to delivery. It may also be some vendors are getting sloppy by printing shipping labels days before they are ready to deliver to the post office. Many say don't buy from Amazon, but at least their delivery is reliable.
 
I was supposed to get three pieces of mail yesterday according to "Informed Delivery". About six o'clock I saw a mail van delivering packages to a neighbor. I flagged him down as he passed my home and asked him if he had already delivered mail to our boxes on the main road, about a half mile away.

He said they didn't deliver the mail on this route because they were short of personnel, so they only delivered packages. The mail would come today, presumably.

Nice. Especially since I literally had a "check in the mail". USPS has certainly come a long way from the guarantee to deliver with no excuses.
 
I have been experiencing USPS delays as well. Tracking often doesn't update despite packages moving through the system.

On the flip side, both of my Cutlery Shoppe REX-121 PM2's (earlier this year and just this past weekend) have shipped from Idaho on Friday, and were in my hands here in Denver metro area on Monday. But tracking basically didn't update from Friday's "accepted" until landing at my local PO Monday morning, just before "out for delivery".
 
Ron Texas said:
Things seem to be getting worse at USPS. Packages sit for 2 or 3 days before being scanned into the system. One day used to be the norm. I had a delivery which was sent to the correct sorting facility for my location, then sent across to the wrong side of town before being sent back adding a day to delivery. It may also be some vendors are getting sloppy by printing shipping labels days before they are ready to deliver to the post office. Many say don't buy from Amazon, but at least their delivery is reliable.
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Be grateful. I had a package go from the correct sorting facility for my town to Florida and take four days to find its way back. I had one package that I had the local post office track down three times and find in three different cities a thousand miles apart. Nothing wrong with the package or the shipping label, just the people handling it.
 
it always has been terrible where i am. not a new thing, here. not due to new upper management and politcs as some have suggested in the past in other threads. be glad yours has just gotten worse and bad. mine always has been. ive never known reliable mail service in all my years. doesnt exist here, never has in my lifetime.

also be glad your package didnt go into the opa locka distribution center...it truly is the land of the lost packages......
 
For those who haven’t heard: there is a scam where people dress up in delivery costumes and steal your deliveries, or they pretend to make a bona fide delivery to check for unlocked car doors. If they find an open door, you can be looking for your car.

I’m starting to wonder what percentage of package loss and angst is due to this kind of mischief, esp. in areas where service is worse.
 
annr said:
For those who haven’t heard: there is a scam where people dress up in delivery costumes and steal your deliveries, or they pretend to make a bona fide delivery to check for unlocked car doors. If they find an open door, you can be looking for your car.

I’m starting to wonder what percentage of package loss and angst is due to this kind of mischief, esp. in areas where service is worse.
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One word. Cameras! In this day and age, they're cheap and easy to install. I have 3 covering the front of my home and street.

Also, some sort of tracking device in your car is a really good idea. Tile, Airtag, Garmin, etc.
 
SpyderPhreak said:
One word. Cameras! In this day and age, they're cheap and easy to install. I have 3 covering the front of my home and street.

Also, some sort of tracking device in your car is a really good idea. Tile, Airtag, Garmin, etc.
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The woman whose car was stolen by the delivery guys had a camera! It did not deter the fake delivery guys. The camera footage may have led to finding the guys or proved what happened—or maybe it was her crashed car. What idiots are out there!
 
Inefficient seems to be how they operate lately. I ordered a sword from someone in Illinois, took it 3 days to get to Dallas, far past me, sat there for another 3 days, then took 3 or 4 days day in transit to finally arrive in Nashville. Complete nonsense route, and I've had many similar to it recently.
 
annr said:
Have to justify the fee hikes…
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.....its the hefty pay rates and benefits and pension funds that kills them. its huge and eats up a giant chunk of their available cash flow. truth be told theyre shipping things too cheap for their congress mandated overheads costs. not to mention their high cogs. good thing...... used to be fedex now think its.......ups/commercial airlines and private cargo shippers flies their packages for them. if they had to figure out how to do that themselves.....it be even worse.
 
jbmonkey said:
it always has been terrible where i am. not a new thing, here. not due to new upper management and politcs as some have suggested in the past in other threads. be glad yours has just gotten worse and bad. mine always has been. ive never known reliable mail service in all my years. doesnt exist here, never has in my lifetime.

also be glad your package didnt go into the opa locka distribution center...it truly is the land of the lost packages......
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that last, Opa Locka was where that package went and took four days to find its way back.
 
yablanowitz said:
Funny you should say that last, Opa Locka was where that package went and took four days to find its way back.
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youre lucky it only took 4 days...not kidding or exaggerating. its bad reputation is well known and earned.
 
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