USPS and the Sad Tale of Postage (HORRORS)

[NYBBNUTT]

Yikes. Yesterday and today I sent 3 non-machinable PWEs ((1) 4 1/8 IN x 9 1/2 IN and (2) 3 5/8 IN x 6 1/2 IN). $1.20 for the larger PWE and $1 for the smaller PWEs. In my humble opinion the USPS has gone down the porcelain latrine. Yes, crapper. I could accept the increasing price hikes but they seem to lose items occasionally which is pre-meditated in my opinion because they want you to use more expensive tracking. Just ranting but it is no longer cost effective to send PWEs for a couple of commons for a set or even inserts. And who would be foolish enough to send an expensive card in a PWE and not a bubble envelope with tracking? Now that card shows are starting up in my area it is cheaper for me to drive and pick up the few things I collect. Sorry for ranting.

 

[mrmopar]

Shipping may slowly be killing off the advances made with the internet. It would only be a very slow, prolonged trend and not likely to ever result in death though. Too many people are OK with it. Heck, based on the trends I have seen with recent pricing, people are perfectly fine way overpaying for items too. Perhaps that is just demand finally catching and surpassing supply with newer products, but if my 40 years of card collecting have shown me anything, the common stuff rarely increases in value and almost always takes a dump in value.

I am about done personally though. I might win 10 items from 10 different sellers on ebay and feel like I did well by spending $100, but once I pay the tax man and shipping costs, I am dropping roughly another $60 it seems! Then I don't feel as good about it.

And online trading has all but been dead for me for a long time, not just for the cost of postage, but it's just too hard to find deals. Most people want the newest stuff and I don't buy new anymore.

You can't really beat shopping the entire world when it comes to finding stuff you want, but you also can't beat being able to find what you want locally and not having to deal with shipping at all. If you are one of the lucky one's who can find just about everything you want locally, you have mastered the best of both worlds!

 

[GotMelky]

They even lose the expensive stuff sometimes - it's a numbers game and all shippers lose packages. It's always a surprise to me when a package/parcel goes missing - an envelope getting misplaced...sure seems reasonable. A box? Not so much.

 

[David K.]

Expect more problems in the coming years...as the older more experience USPS retire and new ones take their place! I had a knock at my door about a month ago.....its was USPS person and she asked me to give back a box that she had given to me......why? Because she was told that it belong to someone else? I told her all of the boxes I received had my name and address on them! She said it was a box that she had given to me on Saturday...I asked her who was this other person....she got quiet and turn around and got into her mail truck! Now I'm thinking I should have reported her to her manager. Best regards, David

 

[Steelers8873]

Sports cards have become a rich man's hobby now I'm just glad I have collected long enough to have amassed great value in my collection it pretty much is self sustaining I buy and sell and I typically end up with what I want at little to no out of pocket cost. It kinda sucks sometimes due to slow payouts now but I can live with it.Im just relieved that it wasn't like this when I was a kid I never would have got a collection up and running they're the ones I feel bad for today.

 

[David K.]

Another strange day........mail person was at the mail boxes.......give them the out going mail.....when back to the house....for about 10 minutes....walked out to the mail boxes and picked up my mail......three letters and one bubble envelope....this was in the morning about 10:00 am......about 5:30 pm when walked to walgreen for soap, snacks, etc....came back and decided to open my mail box......three bubble envelopes were inside! Best regards, David

 

[OneMoreParallel]

Just have to be patient with PWE's. I've waited 5-6 weeks in some instances, but 99% they eventually arrive. Even with eBay's new tracking it shows delivered, but sometimes it takes another 5-7 days to actually arrive. Still worth the cost for low level trades.