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New FedEx Ground and USPS Arrangement

This is a heads up to members involved in a sale where the goods are sent by FedEx Ground. FedEx and the USPS now have an arrangement whereby FedEx Ground delivers the package to the postal facility in the recipient’s zip code and the USPS completes the delivery to the recipient’s door. I’ve encountered this new arrangement twice in the last ten days, once as the shipper and once as the recipient (neither shipment was audio related).

Based on my experience, you can expect two changes from the former service by FedEx Ground. First, total delivery time can take another day because the USPS delivers the package as part of its once-a-day regular mail run. Whenever the package arrives at the postal facility after that day’s mail has already been sorted and given to the mail carriers, the package won't go out until the next day. Second, FedEx’s tracking number system now tracks the delivery of the package only to the postal facility. This can be disconcerting to the recipient who has not yet received his package but reads on FedEx’s tracking site that the package has been delivered.
dougmc
sutts
700 posts
 
is this also for Canada?
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
REALLY wondering about FedX Ground anymore? Used to use them occassionally with no trouble at all...
In late May I ordered an industrial grade water pump (65 pounds) from a northern Chicago suburb; for home delivery to my rural address ~60 miles south of Chicago.
The thing took forever to show up. Note there is a local FedX office 1/2 mile west of here on the outskirts of town; their drivers have been here often enough to recognize me &/or wife on the street (it's a midsize community).
Eventually I received a call from a northwest Indiana FedX office (HUH?) requesting directions to the house for delivery. This has happened before; apparently they don't understand how to route via shortest path, but crossing state lines twice enroute seems insane. No response re: my query "why is my pump in Indiana when your local office is 1/2 mile away?".
I satirically asked if they knew how to search an address on Mapquest (more silence) apparently these Pet Rocks dunno about that either? Following my lengthy delivery instructions they finally got it here a couple of days later. Sheesh!!!
So now it has to go through the post office as well? May as well go through USPS Parcel Post; it'll probably be faster! Or resign myself back to risking the United Package Smashers. And we all know their infamous reputation for blaming the victim when they destroy something. Catch 22 all over again...
driver's avatar
driver
750 posts
 
This comes as no surprise to me. Years ago FedEx & USPS started working together with Priority & Express mail.

I used to work for a postal contractor & would take a trailer full of Priority & Express directly to the airport once a day. This was in 2002/03. I'm pretty sure that particular contract was fairly new but they may have worked together before that too. I understand they move some First Class mail also. A lot of this came to be after 9/11, which restricted a lot of the mail which used to be carried by commercial airliner.

It'll prob. get to the point it's all the same company. Some of you might remember the rumored merger w/FedEx & UPS, which was going to be called FedUp.
entrope
482 posts
 
This is nothing new. Shippers use it to cut costs in shipping to rural and super-rural areas where the post office is going anyway but it is not cost effective to send a Fedex truck 60 miles out of the metro area for a single package. My company used FedEx Smartpost for the last three years which is FedEx delivering packages to the USPS DDU (direct distribution unit - the local postal hub) for final delivery.

UPS does the same thing with UPS basic service which is the brown truck dropping packages at the local PO for final delivery.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
I sure hate to say anything positive about a carrier, as they provide the most concerns in this hobby, BUT the last few times a package has been sent to me, it came inside the Fed ex truch… on time. Today I missed it by not being home at 9.45 A.. saw the tag upon my return an hour later.

Hopefully good luck will bare out.

The contracted carrier has the burden of safe conduct, provided the packaging meets or exceeds the shipping criteria set forth by said carrier.

…and there’s always Pilot, UPS, and others.

so far around here the mailman hasnt delivered me anything Fed Ex shuold have brought.
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