Usps ground advantage--current experience and claims?

logger7

I heard a few members here talking about a higher level of problems with Usps Ground Advantage. With lost items, how have claims gone? I dropped off 3 items last week at a usually reliable post office, not wanting to wait in line, I dropped them off in the inside mail intake box. None of the 3 items showed any subsequent tracking, not sure if these will be eligible. I spoke to the usps supervisor yesterday, gave her the tracking numbers.

silverpop

had not had any issue here of yet with this service all packages tracked and received (a bit late but still got to where they were suppose to go)

bronzemat

It's taking days longer to send and receive, along with some items not even getting scanned until they were delivered.

Project Numismatics

Have seen no difference between Ground Advantage and the old First Class package service.

Would need a lot of data plus insight into USPS operating procedures to determine if the bad experiences discussed here are a result of the service changeover or just typical issues that have always been occurring.

jmlanzaf

@Project Numismatics said:
Have seen no difference between Ground Advantage and the old First Class package service.

Would need a lot of data plus insight into USPS operating procedures to determine if the bad experiences discussed here are a result of the service changeover or just typical issues that have always been occurring.

This.

I've been shipping about 80 packages per week all summer. So that works out to about 450 packages since the change in July. About half of those are now Ground Advantage. The other half are media mail. I don't see any excessive delays and have had no lost packages.

silverpop

mailing things off has always come with many issues and with the new service comes new issues, now combine all that and yeah things will mess up no doubt but we have no control over the mail service all we can do is grain and bear it

ajaan

My last Ground Advantage package took 2 days Buffalo to Oahu

silverpop

mail in general has always come with issues that is a given, and with new services and such being added to the mail service yeah you will have a whole new set of issues combined with the everyday mail issues and those add up to problems we have no control over

for me personally as long as the stuff i send gets to where ever i send it i'm happy

jacrispies

Sent and received a handful of packages via ground advantage with no problems yet.

oih82w8

I just sent something out today via USPS Ground Service...with signature required.

I'll let ya know how it goes.

jt88

I have no issues so far send and receiving

Goldbully

My proof Morgan and Peace $1's shipped USPS ground advantage at the same time.

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Morgans were on time and the Peace $1's were a day later.
Not sure why Morgans weighed 1/4lb more than the Peace $1's.....same quantity in each box.

edited to add: No complaints on this shipment.

logger7

@Goldbully said:
My proof Morgan and Peace $1's shipped USPS ground advantage at the same time.

---

Morgans were on time and the Peace $1's were a day later.
Not sure why Morgans weighed 1/4lb more than the Peace #1's.....same quantity in each box.

edited to add: No complaints on this shipment.

I saw a local shop had 2023 Morgan and Peace dollars; I was impressed by the latter, and made a point of showing them to a lady who came in with her son.

Cougar1978

I have had no problems. It is what it is. Once shipped it’s out of my hands.

jmlanzaf

Some people seem to want to create the illusion of issues. No one is even focusing on the very positive change that the service includes insurance.

Before, sending $100 coin with insurance costs at least $7.20 with priority or about $5 with 1st class. Now it costs as low as $3.60

logger7

The only disadvantage with Ground Advantage is that it doesn't include the packing materials that priority does. They seem to get delivered about the same way/time.

cmerlo1

I've had no problems, except for some increased delivery times.

I'll add that since most of what I sell is $100 or less, the built-in insurance has allowed me to lower my shipping charges. This is because I no longer have to charge extra for insurance, which I was doing for items that sell for $25 or more.

Kove

@ajaan said:
My last Ground Advantage package took 2 days Buffalo to Oahu

Interesting that you can send "Ground" advantage to Oahu.

kuwegg57

@Kove said:

@ajaan said:
My last Ground Advantage package took 2 days Buffalo to Oahu

Interesting that you can send "Ground" advantage to Oahu.

Ground advantage to Hawaii is slow if the item is placed in a box. The mail is funneled to San Francisco where it is then sent to the Oakland port. It is then placed on a container ship for the slow sailing to Honolulu. From the east coast it takes up to 3 weeks. From the west coast its about 10 days.

gtstang

@Kove said:

@ajaan said:
My last Ground Advantage package took 2 days Buffalo to Oahu

Interesting that you can send "Ground" advantage to Oahu.

I sent a Ground advantage to Hawaii from the east coast recently and it was very fast! I think 4 days if I remember correctly.

jmlanzaf

@kuwegg57 said:

@Kove said:

@ajaan said:
My last Ground Advantage package took 2 days Buffalo to Oahu

Interesting that you can send "Ground" advantage to Oahu.

Ground advantage to Hawaii is slow if the item is placed in a box. The mail is funneled to San Francisco where it is then sent to the Oakland port. It is then placed on a container ship for the slow sailing to Honolulu. From the east coast it takes up to 3 weeks. From the west coast its about 10 days.

It's based on weight. Under a pound goes by air to Hawaii. Over a pound goes by ship. See usps.com

jmlanzaf

@gtstang said:

@Kove said:

@ajaan said:
My last Ground Advantage package took 2 days Buffalo to Oahu

Interesting that you can send "Ground" advantage to Oahu.

I sent a Ground advantage to Hawaii from the east coast recently and it was very fast! I think 4 days if I remember correctly.

Under a pound goes by air

davewesen

USPS made a claim against me for my eBay purchased label. They claimed my 4 oz envelope weighed 10 oz and wanted another $1.26 (which eBay took). It was a PCGS Franklin half in bubble air envelope.

logger7

@davewesen said:
USPS made a claim against me for my eBay purchased label. They claimed my 4 oz envelope weighed 10 oz and wanted another $1.26 (which eBay took). It was a PCGS Franklin half in bubble air envelope.

That's outrageous. And I've had usps standard envelope come back which I had properly assessed for weight, with "postage due" 3 weeks after sending. There was no tracking on it along the way.

One of the killers with their new processing equipment is damaged parcels, even padded mailers double bagged. And it can affect your ebay rating if you sell there where buyers open claims and they'll hit you with a 5% surcharge if there are just over 2% of these issues.

Downtown1974

For the low frequency of parcels I ship, I have no problem paying extra for Priority Mail. As a buyer, I expect to have Priority mail as an option at my expense if I desire.