Is Media Mail Taking Longer Than it Used To?

[V.C. Brunswick]

Sorry, I got to vent but this is bugging the hell out of me. While I realize that Media Mail takes a little longer, between 5-10 days, in the past most things that I've either shipped or received through Media Mail was delivered well within the 5 day window. I've noticed recently that it seems to take Media Mail more than ten days to arrive. I bought a three-volume set of books on eBay and it was shipped out from upstate New York on October 1.

Following the tracking number I see that they arrived in my area on October 5 and I still haven't received them yet. Normally it's delivered within a day or two of arriving at the local hub but I see that my books were sitting in the USPS facility in Bell Gardens for four days and now the last update says it was sent to and processed through another facility in Santa Ana instead of going to my local post office for final delivery. It's taking longer just to get across town than it did to go across the country!

Has anyone noticed anything similar?

 

[LuvMyMan]

I have to agree, there is some fishy things ongoing with media mail...and I think people that ship using it, should just change to using normal means via the USPS......the USPS in general does not charge all that much for standard priority mail, and for the most part they do a fairly good job.

One thing I dislike and have this happen some times, you purchase from a source/seller, they ship using non USPS but some where along the route it turns into USPS.....I also am waiting for a package to arrive from Idaho....been sitting in some place not showing any movement for over 10 days time.....and still not close to Michigan.....if no update is shown later on the tracking, I will contact the seller and ask them to find out if the package is lost...as much a pain in the rear end as it is at times, overall I think USPS does a fairly decent job of it. We have had more rotten things happen right from the Postal Employees that work at our Post Office than any other issue.....theft does happen and due to their Union, it makes it a challenge to have something done to the culprits. However, as far as the theft goes...after having complained and to what almost amounted to World War III with the Post Office here, they are well aware that we will not accept any excuses for their sneaky stealing employee.....Union or no Union.....

 

[Guttersnipe]

I've been buying collectible books and records for years, which are inevitably shipped Media Mail, and in my experience it's always been a mixed bag. I recently bought an issue of Apparel Arts that took just shy of two week to arrive from one state over, which did seem longer than normal. But then, I bought some CDs this week that were shipped media and arrived in five days.

To LuvMyMan's point, a "dirty little secret" of the shipping industry in the U.S. is that vast quantities of items shipped UPS and FedEx are actually transported by the USPS. So even if you pay extra for UPS or FedEx shipping, there's a really good chance that your package was handled by postal employees, sorted on USPS equipment at some point, and transported on a USPS vehicle!

 

[LuvMyMan]

Yes I am more aware of that now. I do however in general find that just plain old Standard Priority mail is about the best deal all around as far as speed and dependability. I think they hired the late Mr. Reeves, to deliver some mail....you know.....faster than a speeding bullet! LOL

More than once I have purchased an item from a seller eBay item being sent from Los Angeles and it is just sent normal standard mail....pay for it on a Tuesday and it is already here the very next day! Go figure, who knew? Then I buy from a seller that lives less than 150 miles away...and I am so 100% positive, the package was sent to the South Cape of Africa by Camel, back to the USA by means of a "message in a bottle" it then floated to Japan on a wild unusual current, was picked up by a Mongolian fisherman that was lost at Sea, dumped into a "Post Box" in Dublin, sent to the curator of King Tutts tomb, forwarded to the estate of Howrd Hughes and then transported to our mail box here by an Amish defector named Bud! It happens I am certain of it!

 

[Guttersnipe]

Hahaha! I know what you mean. Sometime I wonder if my Media Mail package are transported via clipper ship or something! I agree that USPS Priority is the best value in terms of speed, reliability and included services.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Yep. I agree, the standard priority is much better. One thing I can say for "fed Ex"...I purchased a new Lawn Mower from Wally World...and it was a Murray brand and the least expensive gas powered mower they had....got a deal for using Pay Pal to buy it, and for a measley $4.25 extra they sent it fed Ex upgraded delivery...wow that Mower was here the next day...and the man who delivered it was a sweet heart...he carried the big box all the way to where I needed it and was so kind.

 

[AvavanBlythe]

When I worked in a postal service shop (not USPS), I was told that Media Mail didn't actually apply unless it was educational material. As such, you could ship media-related material any way you wanted. Usually we just made sure it was packed properly so that it wouldn't get damaged, and we'd work with customers so that the shipping wasn't higher than it should be given the new dimensions.

LuvMyMan: Your story of your locally-ordered package both made me sad, yet giggle. I've never had any FedEx guy be a sweetheart though. In fact, in the parcel service I worked in, I had more customers complain about FedEx than say good things (if any).