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[sadunbar]

A small shipment from Kutter's HD in Janesville Wi - to my home in Roscoe, IL - took this route.  I'm sure someone somewhere within the Postal System heirachy can explain why this is efficient....

[SBB]

A small shipment from Kutter's HD in Janesville Wi - to my home in Roscoe, IL - took this route.  I'm sure someone somewhere within the Postal System heirachy can explain why this is efficient....

It's how you justify keeping people on the payroll.

[tweeter13]

I my self work as a mechanic for the postal service.  I don't under stand how mail gets from point A to B my self as well as it does.  Might depend if contractors are hauling it or if its the post office.


It appears that your local post office A puts all out going mail in a tub and its taken to point B.  that is where a lot of little post offices take their mail as well.  Then all of the out going mail is picked up there by a semi and taken to point C.  This most likely is where the mail sorting machine is at.  It sorts mail by zip code and actually sorts it for each route there is at that post office by the plus four on the zip code.  It knows this by the street address and the zip if the plus four is not on there.  The plus four is the carriers route that carries that route.  It's called DPS mail to the carrier.  They don't have to case so much mail in the morning now as long as its working right from what I hear.  From there it's shipped out to each post office.   I hope this helps a little I don't know as much on the mail end as in the vehicle maintenance end as I should after 17 years.    Todd

[sadunbar]

It's about 20 miles to my house from Kutter's.  My exhaust gasket traveled about 250 miles in it's journey...and took 3 days.   

[OBB]

It's about 20 miles to my house from Kutter's.  My exhaust gasket traveled about 250 miles in it's journey...and took 3 days.   

ok, I'll bite and be the one to ask.... why didn't you go pick it up yourself?

[muddypaws]

I went to my local post office that was closed and dropped in the overnight box my post office box payment. It was in the envelope the post office gave me. This drop box was in the lobby of the post office and they LOST my payment. It only had to go 8 feet and they LOST it.

[sadunbar]

ok, I'll bite and be the one to ask.... why didn't you go pick it up yourself?

Like all MOCO parts I buy, it's cheaper to buy from their online site than in their store - 20% discount with free delivery and no sales tax (over the stateline - I'm in IL and they're in WI)...  

[ultrarider123]

ok, I'll bite and be the one to ask.... why didn't you go pick it up yourself?

I was thinking the same thing.  Just saw your response to this and I think you answered your own question as it was shipping from WI to IL.  Doesn't make sense to us but the PO has their shipping procedures.  From the looks of your map path and the description given by Tweeter, I can see why it took 3 days since it had to cross state lines.  Hey, you saved 20% and didn't have to pay the shipping or sales tax....took a while but you saved some dough.

[sadunbar]

I was thinking the same thing.  Just saw your response to this and I think you answered your own question as it was shipping from WI to IL.  Doesn't make sense to us but the PO has their shipping procedures.  From the looks of your map path and the description given by Tweeter, I can see why it took 3 days since it had to cross state lines.  Hey, you saved 20% and didn't have to pay the shipping or sales tax....took a while but you saved some dough.

Larger parts ship UPS - also free.  One day delivery via UPS.   UPS takes the 20 mile route vs. the USPS 250 mile route...  I find it interesting, that's all...  

[ultrarider123]

As a taxpayer, I agree with you.  It doesn't seem to be very efficient with USPS.  I do find it interesting that UPS will pick up from one location and deliver it straight to another without going through one of their way points/local offices.  I know they won't do that in Tennessee and your talking across state lines in your instance, too.  Here it has to go through a check point before it can be delivered.  Interesting stuff......

[sadunbar]

As a taxpayer, I agree with you.  It doesn't seem to be very efficient with USPS.  I do find it interesting that UPS will pick up from one location and deliver it straight to another without going through one of their way points/local offices.  I know they won't do that in Tennessee and your talking across state lines in your instance, too.  Here it has to go through a check point before it can be delivered.  Interesting stuff......

UPS has an airport hub just down the road from me...  

(USPS has a post office a couple blocks away too!)

[ultrarider123]

UPS has an airport hub just down the road from me...  

(USPS has a post office a couple blocks away too!)

That explains it.....

[Master Guns]

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.  Being a tax payer has nothing to do with the post office.  They are controlled by congress but use no government moneys. 

I believe you would find that all delivery services (UPS, FedEX, etc) use a hub approach of some type.

[VaEagle]

I don't understand the Postal Service thought process at times either.....In Norfolk they have a large postal processing center that services about 1 million people in the Tidewater area that is seven cities bordering each other. They are planning to shut down this facility to save money and that means all Tidewater mail will go to Richmond about 100 miles away then go out for delivery even if it was mail for the Tidewater area. So if someone mails something across town it has to travel 200 miles to get there and instead of one day delivery it will be minimum of two days now. I don't see how that will save money?

[grc]

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.  Being a tax payer has nothing to do with the post office.  They are controlled by congress but use no government moneys. 

I believe you would find that all delivery services (UPS, FedEX, etc) use a hub approach of some type.

You are correct, at least for the time being.  Eventually however if Congress refuses to let the Postal Service make changes to stop the red ink, I imagine we taxpayers will be asked to bail them out.  No agency or company can run billions in red ink every year indefinitely.

I was planning to mention that the issue Scott brought up in his first post isn't unique to the USPS.  I've had plenty of packages delivered by UPS and FedEx that went through equally circuitous routes before they got to my door.  It is just like the airliine hub business model, where you have to fly 400 miles north to catch a plane to fly you 800 miles south. 

All the various shipping companies will be happy to cut out all the extra miles if you want to pay 4 times what the package is worth for next day delivery.  I've often assumed this is part of the reason they let their normal ground shipping packages sit around or take side trips; if they can aggravate you enough maybe you will spring for the super duper next day shipping on your next purchase.

My new "favorite" shipping method involves all three of the major shippers.  UPS or FedEx picks up the package and ships it to a large regional postal hub, where the USPS takes over and has the mail carriers handle the actual delivery to the consumer.  Watching the online tracking info on one of those shipments is mind boggling.

Jerry