USPS Policy

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rick_kimball
 
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USPS Policy

Post by rick_kimball »

So I have a Post Office Box and in the past I've used USPS as a shipping method from Adafruit. For a long time I've been waiting to get a Raspberry PI Zero. I got the notification they were in stock, I added one to my cart and went to check out. Gone is the option to use USPS. The cheapest option is like $14 UPS. Hardly a $5 computer any more. I'd be better off to just order one from the PI HUT and have it shipped from the UK.

Do you actually allow USPS to any locations in the US?

I'm sad, Why are you banning my zipcode (28516)

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rick_kimball
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by rick_kimball »

BTW: If I could buy 10 of them I would pay the UPS shipping.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Hi Rick. This has been a frequent topic of discussion. We are constantly reviewing our shipping options and trying to arrange the best balance between price and reliable service. Unfortunately, USPS has not done well in the second category and we have had to drop them as an option in some areas of the country. We ship about a thousand packages a day, and the time it takes to track down lost packages in the postal system easily erases any savings in shipping rates.

We do have several large distributors that may be able to offer better rates to your location. Mouser and DigiKey in particular ship hundreds of thousands of packages a day and are able to negotiate better rates with the major carriers.

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rick_kimball
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by rick_kimball »

I have had 3 orders from Adafruit shipped via USPS. Granted it has been a while.

However, what perplexes me is that I've received greater than 50 different orders from China in the past year from a variety of vendors without delays or incidents. Why is it more difficult and more expensive for a US based company than it is for Chinese firms?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I always marveled at how I can get thing shipped from China for less than the cost of sending a post-card to China. This article explains some of the complex reasons behind it:
http://www.BANNED.com/colum ... S-for-free

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rick_kimball
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by rick_kimball »

That explains the low cost. It doesn't however explain why they have a better success rate shipping to my PO BOX than you might. I'm willing to pay USPS shipping. You are choosing not to offer USPS.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Yes. That is our business decision - based on statistics derived from shipping hundreds of thousands of packages.

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rick_kimball
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by rick_kimball »

So where do you actually allow USPS shipping?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I don't have a copy of the list myself, but San Jose is one example I am aware of:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=92474&p=467021

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revwarguy
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by revwarguy »

Not to be overly negative, but I wonder how you were able to factor into your business decision that I ( and how many others?) now look to your competitors first just due to the fact that I often need $10-20 of parts, but have to pay $10 additional to ship them from you to me. I guess its ok to figure that if I am only buying that little amount in the first place my business is not much of a loss, but it drove me to discover things like Aliexpress, Deal Extreme, etc. when I would much rather buy from a US supplier.

In addition, I avoid east coast vendors (mostly NY/NJ) if at all possible because of the poor postal experience I get from there (its not just your store.)

Amazon could have been an answer, except you raise the price there to eliminate any advantage to offset the shipping. I also sell things on Amazon - they don't charge me that much additional - but I understand their horrific inventory policies well!

Don't get me wrong - I like your products, <3 I love what you are doing <3, but shipping is making you the expensive vendor.

Looking forward to a midwest warehouse from you! :)

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by Franklin97355 »

There are seven distributors in BANNED, Illinois and Ohio Check it out here.

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revwarguy
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by revwarguy »

Thanks! Thier shipping prices seem ok to me as well - I will try them out.

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nevar
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by nevar »

The least expensive shipping option is $14 via UPS. I only wanted an $8 part. That. Is. Stupid. I know you have said USPS has been unreliable for you, but maybe you could post a disclaimer at checkout letting people know that, and let them decide if they want to risk it. As for me, I'm going to ebay.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: USPS Policy

Post by Franklin97355 »

Did you check the distributors and online retailers like Mouser and DigiKey? They sometimes have better shiooing rates than we do.

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