China Shipping vs USPS

[FL_David]

Say what you want about Fast Tech shipping during non holiday times, but sometimes our USPS can drop the shipping ball too.
My order from Fast Tech: 02/19/2016
Acceptance HONG KONG February 25, 2016
Processed Through Sort Facility HONG KONG AIR MAIL February 26, 2016
Processed Through Sort FacilityI SC NEW YORK NY(USPS) February 28, 2016
Arrived at USPS Facility OPA LOCKA, FL 33054 March 5, 2016 About 326 miles south of where I live.

Tracking is a good tool to have, but it sure can piss off a person at times. I'm impressed by how fast my order left China compared to past years. Then to see my order pass by the city where I live to camp 326 miles away for the weekend. Hopefully there will be room on the donkey driven mail wagon for my order to get here by next weekend.

 

[ej1024]

FT is better now a days as long as the product is available
I LOVE USPS... Enough said


Vape On

 

[UncleRJ]

One little tip....

If you see where your order got off course and went to a post office location it should not have gone to, contact your local USPS office and ask them to look into it.

This has saved more than one shipment of mine from being returned to the sender!

 

[Vapin4Joy]

 

[Jim_MDP]

Here on the Wet Coast, anything from the south passes me by and gets processed at the sorting facility a few hundred miles north in Portland. Then comes back south to the more rural areas. I can picture a similar situation across large swathes of Florida.
(and weather in the Rockies has slowed a few down as well)

Massive cock-ups do happen, we've all been through it.
But keep in mind... USPS shifts over a half a billion pieces every day.
Let's try not to pretend we could do it better.

 

[FL_David]

Let's try not to pretend we could do it better.

Most of the time my Fast Tech orders go to NY then down to Orlando, or somewhere nearby. I felt I needed to whine about this order as it has my new box mod that I have been looking forward to getting. I don't buy allot of hardware, in fact most of my stuff is more then 2 years old, which still works for me. This is new and might even be shiny. I have been waiting about a year for a new box mod of my liking, so what's another few days?

 

[Jim_MDP]

I understand, been there too.
Venting is fine as well.
Glad you got your mod. I had a couple boxes go completely missing for days in January.
Sucked... but they did finally get logged in and back on track(ing).

Hell, I got three delivered last week that never got logged in anywhere, here or China.
Tracking says I should get them by the 25th of this month.

It's the constant bleating of "USPS Sux, Eleventy. " that I'm tired of (not your post).
It's childish and ignorant.
We're so damn used to tracking now... we tend to lose our shit at the drop of a hat.

Why... back in my day...

Now get off my lawn.

 

[robot zombie]

I understand, been there too.
Venting is fine as well.
Glad you got your mod. I had a couple boxes go completely missing for days in January.
Sucked... but they did finally get logged in and back on track(ing).

Hell, I got three delivered last week that never got logged in anywhere, here or China.
Tracking says I should get them by the 25th of this month.

It's the constant bleating of "USPS Sux, Eleventy. " that I'm tired of (not your post).
It's childish and ignorant.
We're so damn used to tracking now... we tend to lose our shit at the drop of a hat.

Why... back in my day...

Now get off my lawn.

Lol, yeah, I see where you're coming from. I will relentlessly give them shit for how unreliable their priority mail service can be (how often is it actually just 2-3 days?) but with that being said, their express service is on point as shit. I've never not had a package arrive the very next day.

I guess ya get what you pay for. 20 bucks gets you so much more than 7. Logistics. Moving everyone's mail around the country is expensive. With the internet market being bigger than ever, the demands are higher than they've ever been. Getting your package faster than other people are getting them is costly. It strains an already strained system.

Pay the cheap rate and it will take the cheap route, which, oddly enough can mean sending the package across the country 2-3 times. It's just that much cheaper to move things large distances in bulk quantities. They'll bounce people's shit around just to keep their quotas right... ...which is shitty for the recipients, but probably helps keep USPS in business.

I can somewhat sympathize with the people who work for USPS. I can see how being in that line of work could make you into the worst kind of person. That's not to say I can excuse shitty service... ...just that I can see why the situation is what it is, though I'm not seeing much room for improvement.

Basically, yeah, USPS is shitty sometimes, but it is what it is. *shrugs* It's as frustrating as it can be miraculous. That's just the price we pay for the service it provides for our society. How we manage to hate something we so closely rely upon baffles the mind, sometimes... ...ONLY sometimes.

 

[FL_David]

Now I feel I must recant my whining about the USPS. Not only did I get my beloved Eleaf iStick 100W TC mod (and a 5 pack of Pro Tank 2 coils), by Monday afternoon, but also my order from 101 Vape that I had ordered on Saturday. I'm still wondering how the USPS got my order from 101 Vape from the other coast to FL in 2 days with First Class postage.

 

[Jim_MDP]

Woot! Vape mail ! And bonus vape mail.

There's no knowing when ordinary ground shipment packages will get tossed in to fill out an air shipment container. But it's nice when it happens.

 

[mikeyboy74]

Lol, yeah, I see where you're coming from. I will relentlessly give them shit for how unreliable their priority mail service can be (how often is it actually just 2-3 days?) but with that being said, their express service is on point as shit. I've never not had a package arrive the very next day.

I guess ya get what you pay for. 20 bucks gets you so much more than 7. Logistics. Moving everyone's mail around the country is expensive. With the internet market being bigger than ever, the demands are higher than they've ever been. Getting your package faster than other people are getting them is costly. It strains an already strained system.

Pay the cheap rate and it will take the cheap route, which, oddly enough can mean sending the package across the country 2-3 times. It's just that much cheaper to move things large distances in bulk quantities. They'll bounce people's shit around just to keep their quotas right... ...which is shitty for the recipients, but probably helps keep USPS in business.

I can somewhat sympathize with the people who work for USPS. I can see how being in that line of work could make you into the worst kind of person. That's not to say I can excuse shitty service... ...just that I can see why the situation is what it is, though I'm not seeing much room for improvement.

Basically, yeah, USPS is shitty sometimes, but it is what it is. *shrugs* It's as frustrating as it can be miraculous. That's just the price we pay for the service it provides for our society. How we manage to hate something we so closely rely upon baffles the mind, sometimes... ...ONLY sometimes.

As a relative noobe, 8 months or so, I'm figuring out that unless the package was insured, you can't even file a claim with the USPS. You can call them and they will try to help though. Looks like the Ebay sellers are not spending the small amount to insure the package....... is that true, and what about most of the online vendors? I'm only out $12 and change for (2) LG HG2 batteries and a little plastic case, on Ebay, but it could have been far worse. Paying to upgrade the shipping could close the gap between online and B&M pricing. If I were out on a bigger purchase, like a mod, I'd have been pissed.

 

[AmandaD]

My last 3 orders from FT arrived in the US in just a few days. And sat in Los Angeles (30 miles away) for more than a week. I never had this problem when they went through San Francisco!

 

[robot zombie]

As a relative noobe, 8 months or so, I'm figuring out that unless the package was insured, you can't even file a claim with the USPS. You can call them and they will try to help though. Looks like the Ebay sellers are not spending the small amount to insure the package....... is that true, and what about most of the online vendors? I'm only out $12 and change for (2) LG HG2 batteries and a little plastic case, on Ebay, but it could have been far worse. Paying to upgrade the shipping could close the gap between online and B&M pricing. If I were out on a bigger purchase, like a mod, I'd have been pissed.

Any vendor worth fucking with will usually resend, no questions asked. Well... ...the smart ones will. IME, if you work with them, they will work with you... ...if USPS can't get you results, they will usually handle it. Just gotta show some due diligence. It's usually as simple as shooting them an e-mail explaining the situation.

It's customer service 101. Re-shipping is an investment you're putting towards future transactions. Re-ship a lost package and you've made a customer for life. The money lost is petty compared to the opportunities they face in these situations. Many vendors understand that little things like re-shipping lost packages go a long way towards ensuring good business in a very saturated and competitive market. They want loyal customers... ...that kind of trust is money, man!

You'd be surprised... ...the good ones will do you the solid, no matter what it is you ordered. Many also insure their packages and get delivery confirmation. This is something that the market generally expects from their vendors. Many people won't buy if there's not a reasonable expectation of fulfillment when there are issues.

Good vendors care about their businesses. They're in it for the long haul, you know? Everybody knows how USPS is. People who do business with them know it better than anyone. It comes with the territory. A vendor who will take your mistrust of USPS off your hands is an instant first choice. And they know that, too.

And yes, they do exist. There are countless vendors out there who operate like this, big and small. It's pretty much the norm.

Ebay is kind of a crapshoot. It's shady. Ebay should never be your first option. 9/10, you can get it at the same price or cheaper from a legit vendor with the added bonus of buyer confidence. In that low liability environment, there's little incentive to provide good service or spend the extra money to make for a confident buy. Half of the time, its hard to know who you're dealing with at all. It's not on them to replace your lost item. It doesn't hurt them. Their business with you was done when they shipped your order. That's just the nature of the beast that is ebay. Their buyer protection is a joke. Lotsa fake shit and shitty people just tryin' to cop some quick cash, too. Vape stuff is kind of a gray market there to begin with.

Next time, buy your batteries from http://illumn.com or http://liionwholesale.com/