samguan

I have heard very bad things about UPS and Fedex.

Ordered couple RC items on the internet from US, $40 total only! I selected the UPS shipping because it says it's only going to take 3 days.

Ordered on Sunday night, arrived on Wednesday, that's fast!

The UPS guy came to my door, my brother picked it up and they charged my brother $27. My brother told me the UPS guy told him it was the drop off fee or something.

I have never had any bad experience with USPS, I love USPS because I was never charged duties for anything that was shipped with USPS.

Next time, no more UPS for me.

cat samich

wait wait wait..................which is it UPS or USPS? there is a big difference between the two

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

UPS charges an excessive brokerage charge for shipments from the US to Canada. I always make sure I ship USPS to avoid that very problem.

transam388

Tell ya what most of the time even the USPS gets things to many places in three days. Have had very good service with them! I will say though the USPS tracking links are a joke. Basically never seems to update until it shows up to your door.

J4K3SHNEG

UPS are a great service, when i had to send off my Xbox they came the next day after it was arranged and got it to germany in a few days. [8D]

derrick05

USPS is the way to go

Argess

Absolutely true. When Canada Post deals with US Post Office shipments, they are often tax and duty free if under $50. Sometimes they slip and its free if over $50. Max fee I had from Canada Post was $5 plus GST on the item, and that was for something definately over $50. Most couriers charge a minimum brokerage fee of $20 (regardless of the item value). I'm not sure of all the details, but I avoid courier service from the US as much as possible.

Barber420

My Feedback: (1)

USPS is cheaper and usually just as fast as UPS. I always use USPS if I have the option. UPS is ok, but USPS is a way better deal and almost always just as fast. On a couple of occasions the USPS has been faster for me than UPS!

Access

I think the deliveryman was pulling your chain. He might be running a 'side business' collecting extra fees from unknowing customers he delivers packages to. Never heard of anything like that with UPS. You (or the place that took your order, in proxy) already paid UPS a shipping fee in advance.

Never pay a deliveryman until you verify the fee exists in the first place (which it most likely doesn't). I would either just snatch my package and send the guy on his merry way, or I would call up UPS directly (in his presence) and verify the fee existed. I used UPS hundreds of times and I've never heard of a 'drop off fee' or anything like that. Do you live far out in the country or something ususual like that?

Have you heard of the 'COD' scam where a fake delivery man shows up at random doors with fake packages that are only delivered after the addressee pays a fee? Then the packages, which are wrapped extensively, contain something worthless like a free T-shirt?

Sugafree

UPS Charges a Brokerage Fee on ALL Ground Packages to Canada......If you use UPS Air the fee in included (But the Shipping Price is a LOT Higher)

USPS is the way to Go when buying from the US

samguan

The shipping was from MA to Toronto, Canada..I guess UPS charge some kind of fee for all items..

sheograth

It's funny, in all the years I've been in the hobby I've probably gotten well over 1000 packages from UPS (distinct from USPS) and I've NEVER had a problem that wasn't the shippers fault. It is true that most Canadian customers have lots of horror stories to speak of, but that's not really UPS' fault necessarily.

samguan

the thing is that UPS charge a custom broker fee for all the items into Canada.. Where USPS/Canada Post do not do that..I never have any problem with USPS, I think they are great except their tracking service.

Ttam Says Blarg

I don't use usps for one reason. I have a p.o. box because they don't deliver mail in the mountain and some sites that I use don't ship to p.o. boxes. I also find that Ups is faster than usps.

Argess

I find tracking works great (when they give you a tracking number).

For Couriers:

http://www.track-trace.com/

For United States Postal Service:

http://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm

For Canada Post:

http://canadapost.ca/Personal/Tools/Track/ItemSingle.aspx?s_kwcid=canada%20post%20tracking|3 104784529

04DarkShadowGT

When I ship anywhere outside of the USA I always use USPS, its always less than half the shipping cost not to mention the fees on the buyers end.

redfisher1974

Just used that tracking tool to see my tires are in Montreal....yay

mazdaprotege4

My Feedback: (32)

I agree, I always ship USPS for international (as long as it is under the weight/size limit for international first class). It is always at least 1/2 the price that is quoted by UPS or FedEx.

calvino

I agree 100% with that. When I get orders from China (via air mail then ground), the postal service there says more than ours does. Normally it will say the package is somewhere between my doorstep and wherever international mail goes. Real pain when you don't want to run all over to try and get your package [&:]. We have had good service with UPS and "in the US" orders. Just our experence, real shame they charge a "tax" in canada [:@]

Argess

You know......for the past couple of years, I have been ordering through my LHS whenever possible. It's actualy cheaper. I pay a bit more in Candian dollars than say, Towwer's USD price, but that's it. No shipping charges, and even the base price isn't as much as the US price plus exchange.

SAVAGEJIM

I too personally do not like how UPS or FedEx will literally leave thousands of dollars on the door step and simply walk away.
It is to the point that I always ask the sender to require signature on delivery.
At least USPS, I write a note on my door telling them not to just leave the box, and they are good enough to hold it in the post office for my ZIP code.

EDIT: I should have capitalized "IP" in ZIP code, since it is an acronym. Oh well, I guess a little typ-o can be tolerated, but hey, I am sometimes a stickler for correct expressions of acronyms.

DaveG55

It's not only expensive stuff, it's dangerous stuff too.

A few years ago I had to send a handgun in for warranty work. It came back via UPS. They left the package on my front doorstep, in full view of the street, with no one home, even though it was susposed to be signed for.

I try very hard not to use UPS or FedEx as I've had bad experiences with both. Whenever possible I'll use USPS or, on occasion, DHL. DHL has not given me a reason to not use them yet and sometimes the ability to actually track a package is important.

calvino

Yikes, thats prety scary indeed. I would have filed a complaint with the company on that one, I remember getting a little cam for my cars shipped via USPS and the mail guy left it on the corner of our mailbox (where it could fall/get taken [X(]). Thankfully that didnt' happen BUT, it does drive me nuts when they leave packages just sitting there [>:]

SAVAGEJIM

That is absolutely dangerous! And even to the verge of being criminally negligent! I too have to send firearms back to say Colt or Springfield for servicing, but fortunately they have never sent them back where the damn delivery man just left them at the door (they were rifles, so they are conspicuously big). I do keep a record of every serial number so if any go missing, I can immediatly call the police to report them gone.

That is absolutely terrible and I am even more convinced that something should be done about UPS and FedEx doing this crap. I wonder if you can report your incident to law enforcement? What if you sidearm was stolen? The sidearm could have been used in a crime, even if it is empty (many stores were actually robbed at gunpoint of an empty gun).
But since it was not, I personally believe that they should be held accountable for such negligence anyways. Leaving a firearm out on your doorstep, even if it is in a box an no one knows whats in it, should be a criminal offense. And FedEx and UPS need to have their noses put on the grinder for such negligence. Afterall, people pay good money for their services, probably more than what they pay USPS! They should not practice such negligence just because the damn truck driver is in a hurry to complete his rounds.

Sorry, Im on a rant now. Seeing such dangerous items were left on your door step unattended like that pisses me off to no end.

Argess

Years ago, I had a brand new $1800 5-speed tranny dropped at my door and left unatended by a courier. Guess you couldn't shoot anybody with it, but it was valuable.