All About Pocket Knives

Roland, I think there is something going on with Canada Post's international tracking. I sent a parcel to Wisconsin on December 1. The only entry in tracking is "item accepted at the Saskatoon post office". But it still says expected delivery today?? I sent another one to Wisconsin on December 8 and the same thing. On December 3 I sent a parcel to Creston and one to Calgary. Tracking worked and they both have been delivered. I had a parcel coming in from Illinois that was released by Canada Customs to the Mississauga post office on Nov 17 and I did not receive it until Dec 4 or so, with nothing showing up on the tracking about leaving Mississauga.
I agree, that stupid virtual chat is really trying. I also tried phoning and it is the same, no way to get through to a real human.
Still, from Nov 23 till now, certainly seems something has gone wrong. Doesn't make me too hopeful about my parcels heading to Wisconsin.

I have a package coming from Spyderco in CO via UPS. Took almost no time to get from CO to KS. From KS to VA/WV has been really slow. And, tracking right now is showing that instead of sending it from Charleston, WV to Princeton, WV (where our regional "hub" is) they sent it to Roanoke. I'm hoping they'll drop it off in Princeton on the way back from Roanoke, but I'm doubtful.

This is on the USPS web site this morning in big letters;

ALERT: USPS IS EXPERIENCING UNPRECEDENTED PACKAGE INCREASES AND LIMITED EMPLOYEE AVAILABILITY DUE TO THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND REMAIN COMMITTED TO DELIVERING THE HOLIDAYS TO YOU.

I think the above USPS "Alert" means that many packages will take 1-2 months to get delivered. Canada Post seems to be in the same state.
kj

Our fine USPS mail carrier recently retired. Last week all the mail for five residences along our road was stuffed into one neighbor's mail box. He has health problems so I picked up all the mail and delivered it along the route. Called the local post office and let them know what happened. Don't know what action was taken.

I just bought a new vehicle. The title was delivered to the wrong house. THANKFULLY I have honest neighbors that brought it over to me. We're all at the mercy of an inept system.

Quick Steel wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 3:44 pm Our fine USPS mail carrier recently retired. Last week all the mail for five residences along our road was stuffed into one neighbor's mail box. He has health problems so I picked up all the mail and delivered it along the route. Called the local post office and let them know what happened. Don't know what action was taken.

You're lucky they answered the phone.

As a former employee, I can say I saw the slide starting years ago. When they started saving money by using part time employees to fill in where needed in multiple offices, the customers lost the advantage of their delivery person having "local knowledge."

Someone who has little or no experience with delivering on the mail route you live on (someone who might have never even been to your town before!) may be tasked with delivering your mail. They don't have a a very good chance of doing a perfect job, to say the least. A lot of folks have different people delivering their mail on a regular basis, which sure isn't the same as having a regular mail person who does the same route every day and may eventually even get to know most of the customers personally.

On the other hand, the USPS may be suffering from too much "help" from the government rather being allowed to operate as a profit centered business. When I worked for government contractors the scariest thing we could hear was "We're from the government and we're here to help you.".

I remember a government program labeled "Faster, Better, Cheaper" to which most contractors replied "which two of those do you want?".

just bob wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 4:09 pm I just bought a new vehicle. The title was delivered to the wrong house. THANKFULLY I have honest neighbors that brought it over to me. We're all at the mercy of an inept system.

A couple years ago my new debit card as well as the separate letter with the PIN number were delivered to the address across the street. I too was fortunate that these were neighbors I know as well as being honest.

marinaio61 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 6:43 pm On the other hand, the USPS may be suffering from too much "help" from the government rather being allowed to operate as a profit centered business. When I worked for government contractors the scariest thing we could hear was "We're from the government and we're here to help you.".

I remember a government program labeled "Faster, Better, Cheaper" to which most contractors replied "which two of those do you want?".

If you're thinking the USPS gets tax payer money, that's not necessarily correct (they may have had some assistance recently? I'm not sure). I think that's a popular myth... the Post Office doesn't run on taxpayer money, but on their own revenue. The USPS was legislated to become self-sufficient back in the 1970s. Sort of a break-even, not-for-profit operation. They've managed to do that up until recently when the cost of mandated pre-funding of certain retirement benefits (which most companies don't do) went sky-high.

Government "help" does not necessarily come in the form of funding. While the government may not directly contribute to the USPS monetarily it does plenty of meddling in the operation. The USPS should either be left to function as a business or brought into the Federal system and properly funded.

marinaio61 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:15 pm Government "help" does not necessarily come in the form of funding. While the government may not directly contribute to the USPS monetarily it does plenty of meddling in the operation. The USPS should either be left to function as a business or brought into the Federal system and properly funded.

Got it. I didn't mean to insinuate that you didn't know they weren't tax-payer funded. It's a very popular misconception, so I always bring it up right away.

The USPS' operations are overseen by the postmaster general and postal board of governors, appointed by the POTUS. The system in place makes it impossible for them to adjust rates in a timely manner in response to changes in operating costs, etc.

The USPS claimed that despite the dwindling use of first class (profitable) letter mail, they could still stay in the black if it wasn't for having to pre-fund certain retiree benefits (health care, I think... I don't know much about how that works). They say the parcel part of the business is profitable enough to keep them afloat.

I think I have posted this before, but I have had terrible luck with the USPS this year. They lost one of my shipments, and I spent six months trying to collect on the extra "insurance" that I had paid for. In the end, they only paid for the value I could prove through my purchase receipts. And you have to have photos of the items lost. They do NOT pay based on the amount of extra insurance you paid for, unless you can prove through pictures and purchase receipts every penny. So if you "bought low and sold high" you will not recover your sales price.

As I write this I have three packages stuck at the USPS distribution center that is only two hours drive away. And they have been there for a week.

I no longer ship via USPS. Anything of value ships UPS.

This is the headline story in Indianapolis today. I'm sure this same scenario is being played out across the country.

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/verif ... a9f74858b1

Yep,
I'm glad I stopped ordering things EARLY last week.
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I STILL haven't received the Christmas present I ordered for my wife on DEC. 2nd......
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The news media in their usual "don't tell the whole truth" fashion, covered Amazon, UPS and FedEx last night. The news anchor covered the dates that you need to have your package in the hands of these services, or order by dates. They are telling everyone to keep ordering and you can still HAVE YOUR PACKAGE by the 24th of Dec.....
(no mention of USPS in the story...... yep, par for the course)
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The year 2020 continues to be a challenge......

Ebay is not doing anyone any favors by continuing to list items with guaranteed delivery dates. They know this isn't going to happen. I have a buyer in PA that thinks I should put on my long johns, drive through a snow storm. go into the post office, get his item, and hand deliver it to him. This just isn't going to happen. I wonder how many cases have been opened on ebay for lost or undelivered items? I'll bet it is astonishing. I have 3 against me alone.

just bob wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 12:45 pm Ebay is not doing anyone any favors by continuing to list items with guaranteed delivery dates. They know this isn't going to happen. I have a buyer in PA that thinks I should put on my long johns, drive through a snow storm. go into the post office, get his item, and hand deliver it to him. This just isn't going to happen. I wonder how many cases have been opened on ebay for lost or undelivered items? I'll bet it is astonishing. I have 3 against me alone.

What a total train wreck....
Yep, I am sorry to see the sellers like you get punished for something that is totally beyond your control.
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If fee-bay had ANY cajones, they would remind everyone of the risk they are taking by asking for items to be sent between now and the first of the year...... Something as small as a knife will just get shuffled into a postal workers pocket and taken home. All part of the chaos....
BUT, everyone can just SUFFER.... fee-bay is going to continue to rake in their $$$$$.

Sent the Christmas present for my granddaughter's husband in Bloomington, IL on Tuesday December 8th.
Sunday December 13th it arrived in Des Moines Iowa. Whaaaaat? That's 300 miles southwest of here & 300 miles northwest of Bloomington.
On December 16th it showed "In transit. Arriving late" Well duh, Mr. Obvious.
For those of you who are geographically challenged, Bloomington IL is 120 miles straight south of here. Two hours on I-39.
Eight days on the road and it ain't gonna make it home tonight.

Another trick they are pulling is this..... When you go to check the status of your package, they give you this "your delivery date has been revised" song and dance.
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"Now expected December 16 - December 19"
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"We’re very sorry your delivery is late. Most late packages arrive in a day. If you have not received your package by December 19, you can come back here the next day for a refund or replacement."
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WHAT?
SO, I can come to the USPS for a "refund or replacement"..... REALLY?
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I have been told it is a NON WAKING NIGHTMARE to get them to pay for a lost package EVEN IF YOU DO take out insurance....
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AND the 2020 hits just keep on comin'....

I’ma retired mail carrier and have friends that still carry. Postmaster Dejackass is out to destroy the postal service his cuts to personnel and hours have caused all this. The other day one small station had 800 parcels to be delivered by 4 routes. Mail backed up and delayed for days

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 12:12 am Canada Post is in the same situation of drowning in shipped items. I sent a parcel to a buyer in USA Nov. 23. Nov 25 it gets scanned as entering the Canada Post sort facility in Richmond B.C. and then nothing since. It should have been scanned when leaving the Richmond facility, when arriving at U.S. Postal Customs and when released to USPS, etc.
Canada Post has an on line 'chat box' but you are only communicating with a machine with pre programmed answers. It is not possible to speak with a person.
I am in the process of refunding the buyer the $625 USD he paid me. This is a huge loss for someone with my tight rope finances and it's a loss of 3 beautiful knives, one of which was a gift i put in.
Only time will tell how many of the missing parcels in USPS and Canada Post will eventually be found.
Canada Post has hired a bunch of 'temporary workers' to help with the sorting, so some of the 'missing' might be theft.
kj

If you haven't rufunded the buyer yet, I strongly recommend NOT refunding the buyer at this time of delayed deliveries. I guarantee when the package finally arrives the buyer is NOT going to contact you and offer to pay the $625 again. Wait as long as legally possible.

Over the years we've become so accustomed to our Postal Service being rock solid reliable that it's a shock to our system when it's not.

robertj298 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:09 pm I’ma retired mail carrier and have friends that still carry. Postmaster Dejackass is out to destroy the postal service his cuts to personnel and hours have caused all this. The other day one small station had 800 parcels to be delivered by 4 routes. Mail backed up and delayed for days

YEP....
That is the SAME story I hear from my friends that used to be postal workers....

SAD....

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:15 pm Over the years we've become so accustomed to our Postal Service being rock solid reliable that it's a shock to our system when it's not.

The government ruins ANYTHING it touches with REGULATIONS and political correctness.......
The USPS is no exception to this rule.