USPS

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wesman732
 
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Joined: Sun May 05, 2013 8:19 pm

USPS

Post by wesman732 »

I don't see an option to select USPS. We live on a budget and I frankly will buy less if it cost me so much to ship. I try to spend less than $30 including shipping. If it cost me $7.95 to ship when it has been $4.95 then I might look for other sources.

adafruit
 
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Re: USPS

Post by adafruit »

thanks for the post, for some locations we have UPS as the shipping option only.

thanks,
adafruit support

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michaelmeissner
 
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Re: USPS

Post by michaelmeissner »

I must admit somewhat similar feelings. On one hand, being in Massachusetts, having the cheapest UPS option deliver the next day is really handy. On the other hand, I find a lot of my purchases are spur of the moment, and the $7-8 cost for UPS shipment is a significant part of the purchase. I often times only have $15 or so for money I can spend in the week.

In a broader scope that is off-topic for Adafruit, but it saddens me that USPS seems to be under attack from segments of the society and part of that attack appears to hamstring it and gut the quality of service. I just wanted to vent, and I don't want to turn this into a shouting match.

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oldogtrik
 
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Re: USPS

Post by oldogtrik »

I received an email from Adafruit support regarding the lack of a USPS option with the terse response of "we don't offer it to your area". Like the previous posters I also have limited funds to spend and when the shipping is almost as much as the order I find I just can not place that order. I can not just give extra money to UPS for nothing!
I wish that Adafruit would reconsider a USPS option for those willing to take a chance on USPS to save. Or at least provide a reason that we can understand rather then a "... we don't"

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adafruit_support
 
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Re: USPS

Post by adafruit_support »

thanks for the post, we try our best to be fast and polite, we're sorry if it sounded terse in any way. we've been watching USPS slow down for months and months to the point where there are too many customers stating their packages are not arriving, for the areas where we've seen this happen a lot, we're using UPS. we have a post a bout this here:

http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2014/03/14 ... rbusiness/

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oldogtrik
 
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Re: USPS

Post by oldogtrik »

I just read that post and others on USPS, something that I probably should have done before I started yapping.
And I do now have a much better appreciation of Adafruit's decision. However the problem still exists that on a $20 to $40 order UPS shipping is more then double what I have been paying for USPS. And I have no options.
Other vendors have choices that use non-USPS systems (UPS,DHL) but drop off at the local USPS for delivery. Or have the user agree that they understand the risk they are taking and that Adafruit can not be held accountable. Something.
Years ago I would not have thought that trying to save around $5 would be important and a deciding factor for buying something. But it is for me now. And I may be for other Adafruit fans.

doodah
 
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Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 5:12 am

Re: USPS

Post by doodah »

I also think the decision to remove the option of using USPS was a mistake. I've now made several orders from other vendors because of the shipping issues. I have never had problems with Priority Mail... but I sure have issues with UPS. I'd rather ship via sled dog than UPS. Hopefully this decision will be revisited and USPS mail option will return. If it does then I will return as a customer, but to pay the higher rates for UPS and get the absolute worst service from UPS is not a choice I can live with. I am a big fan of Adafruit, but its a deal breaker option for me right now.

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oldogtrik
 
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Re: USPS

Post by oldogtrik »

I think the use of only UPS has gotten worse. I put a Power Boost 1000 in my cart and went to calculate shipping. The lowest cost was UPS ground at $13.34. That is almost as much as the $14.95 for the Power Boost. No matter how good a product is or how much I would like it, I can not justify such as high charge knowing that it would cost a third as much from USPS.
Does anybody at Adafruit understand this? I have the highest respect for Lady ADA and all her staff, but I don't think they do.

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michaelmeissner
 
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Re: USPS

Post by michaelmeissner »

Depending on what you are ordering, you might be able to find the Adafruit part at a reseller. For example, I also buy at pololu.com, and in their recent products section, they mentioned having the perma-proto boards, so as an experiment, I put the 3 back of 1/2 size perma-proto boards in my shopping cart on both systems ($12.50). Pololu's shipping first class mail is $3.95, priority mail is $8.45, and ground UPS $9.45. Adafruit UPS ground is $6.68, and 3 day select is $7.68. Given New York city (Adafruit.com) is a lot closer to my work in Littleton, Massachusetts than Los Vegas (Pololu.com), probably explains the UPS ground differences in charges.

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ggilat
 
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Re: USPS

Post by ggilat »

i bought $380.10 parts + $35.30 ups shipping fee to Israel (ups was the only shipping option in the list).
the package arrived to the Israeli UPS office that charge me for $142! (include VAT and extra UPS billing).
for the VAT i have noting to do but the UPS extra is outrages.
i can tell that, this is the last time i'm ordering from adafruit!

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gwlinn
 
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Re: USPS

Post by gwlinn »

I also recently contacted AdaFruit about the lack of USPS shipping. As others have said, it's hard to swallow paying as much for shipping as for the part. I've never had a real problem with USPS and have had very little problems with things being shipped from China! I know we have to support AdaFruit and others in some way else they will go the way Radio Shack is going - out of business.

I recently wanted to order an Arduino Yun. AdaFruit was at about $75 plus shipping. I was almost ready to pay another $15 for shipping until I checked Sparkfun. Their price was $60! And, if you order $70 or more, standard shipping is FREE. So, I did order several more items.

I know AdaFruit is no Amazon, but I would think they could get a better handle on shipping costs. Amazon realized a long time ago that reduced or free shipping (if you have Amazon Prime or order over a certain amount) is an incentive to BUY. I have Prime, at $100/year. I MORE than recoup this while getting two-day shipping on most items. Amazon carries some AdaFruit items but they are marked up too much, presumably to cover shipping and other handling costs. I don't know if the items are drop-shipped from AdaFruit or via a third party seller.

Lastly, AdaFruit needs to move to a lower-cost state like Kansas, or somewhere. I'll bet that NYC's high taxes and salaries are driving their pricing policies so that the higher shipping costs are not actually what they incur. They may apply the difference between what you pay and what they pay to their bottom line. A reason for not using USPS may be that they can't negotiate shipping costs.

AdaFruit has always processed my orders quickly and correctly. Most of us appreciate the variety of products they offer as well as the technical info they provide. However, like all businesses, AdaFruit must continually evaluate their business model to ensure growth or at least sustained business in light of ongoing competition. They need to do a standard business SWOT analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. My company would do this at least once a year.

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