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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 19, 2012 9:25:33 GMT -5
Just gotta love our postal service. Back on the 14'th I won a mineral auction from a dealer in Washington state. On the 15th it passed through a sorting facility, also in Washington. Good you say ? I just checked tracking on my mineral, and the damn thing is sitting in Catano, Puerto Rico. Just another example of how efficiently our government agencies operate. Here's the specimen I bid on. cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320861173337&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160Just did a mileage check. They only missed me by 2630 miles. Not bad for the USPS, I guess.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,690
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 19, 2012 12:58:37 GMT -5
Puerto Rico huh,probably speak spanish when you get them!!!!! I've also had a few run arounds with USPS....Hope you get them soon .......
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
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Post by LarryS on Mar 19, 2012 13:47:33 GMT -5
Now you know why they came up with the term "going postal." Our government hires the mentally handicapped, starting from the top on down!
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Post by helens on Mar 19, 2012 18:02:56 GMT -5
You should use private shipping like UPS and Fed Ex like everyone else:).
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 19, 2012 18:24:48 GMT -5
Helen, I'm the one who was supposed to receive the package. I had no control over how it was shipped. Since the package was shipped from Utah, do you suppose they're using illegal aliens to sort and ship packages ? I've ordered several times from the dealer, and he's reliable.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Mar 19, 2012 18:48:06 GMT -5
Don't ya wish you could travel that far for 10 bucks!!! ;D
Good luck and keep us posted (most of us will be around for years so don't hesitate to post when you receive it :drool: ).
Dr Joe
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 19, 2012 19:46:45 GMT -5
Dr Joe, don't you mean if I receive it ? I trust the mineral dealer. If it doesn't come back from Puerto Rico in decent shape, he'll make good on it. Just to make sure, I'll make the mailman wait while I open the box.
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Post by helens on Mar 19, 2012 21:00:39 GMT -5
LOL! I don't think it's the government... it's the airlines:). I've seen some crazy stuff with tracking!!!
I was joking about Fed Ex... they are WAY worse. I had a time sensitive shipment years ago... and they left it on the Tarmac for 2 days.... for a 24 hour shipment, I lost money on that. Will never ship with them again. For all the complaining we do about the USPS, I like that a first class letter costs $.47 instead of $5.99 like it does with Fed Ex or UPS, and I like SFRB, MFRB, LFRB. Same box of rocks would cost double, triple, or more if you go by weight and ship via the unprofitable private carriers who must compete with the USPS.
You complain about the gov't, but $.47, and still self financed with no gov't money is probably THE single most efficient example of a postal system in the whole world.
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Post by paulshiroma on Mar 19, 2012 21:33:13 GMT -5
That's a beatiful piece, I hope it makes it back to you. That definitely sucks. Paul
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 19, 2012 21:44:39 GMT -5
He has several Paul. Like I said, he'll make good on it.
Helen, UPS is no better. A few years ago I stood on my front porch waving my arms and hollering as the UPS guy delivered a large box with $300.00 worth of greenhouse equipment to a house across the street that was under construction.
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Post by helens on Mar 19, 2012 23:12:44 GMT -5
Ahhh... Jake, did you see the video of a UPS man THROWING, and I mean THROWING a monitor delivery across a fence?! OMG... I'm sure he's NOT representative of most UPS guys, who are generally responsible, but it doesn't improve their reputation. I like our Postal Service a lot. They are Federal Gov't, and they cannot make a profit... and because of that, anyone who competes with them is forced to keep prices low. Yet... despite how tough things are keeping those prices low, they fight to do it. Mistakes happen, but overall, I am very very happy with the US Federal Postal System. You do realize it's the single biggest example of a US government run socialist system right:P? US Airports and FAA system is another. Then I ask myself, why is $30 of every $100 I spend on health care profit for my insurance company, when medical care already costs so much? Can the Government RUN a business? They do it every day. Don't beat me up! I couldn't help sneaking it in there!!
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Post by Woodyrock on Mar 20, 2012 1:30:59 GMT -5
Helen...that was FedX man doing the throwing..
I just sent a box of five obsidian knives to Holland, by air mail ($70.00) it took four weeks to get there, and when it did the address was so torn up...including the customs declaration that it could not be delivered. Now the USPS wants me to pay them $27.00 more dollars to deliver it back to me. Right now, I am not happy. I do however have good luck posting flat raters. Woody
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Post by stoner on Mar 20, 2012 2:18:19 GMT -5
The USPS does have it's moments, like the time I sent a really nice Bruneau Jasper cab to someone in Boston, and it arrived 6 MONTHS later! But in their defense, that was the only one I had problems with and I've shipped all over the world.
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Post by helens on Mar 20, 2012 2:25:33 GMT -5
Oh no Woody:(... International mail is always risky... which is why I tend to try to get tracking and insurance... and it costs a FORTUNE!!! But once it leaves the USA... you don't know who did the breaking. The vast majority of domestic boxes arrive fine, but you have no idea what kinds of postal systems exist in the country you are shipping to.
Some, like South America, steal everything, or open your box and steal some things and forward others along. My post office says ALWAYS insure ANYTHING to Mexico and South America. However bad our postal services are, they do not compare to the mess some other countries have. I think it's a miracle, considering how many boxes they ship a day, that more don't get lost!
As for Fed Ex man... you're probably right... I just remember the video and that it wasn't our Postal service. I'm sure some post offices in some part of the country really stink, but I just love ours!! The guys working at our post office have been there in a LOT of cases for 25 years!!! I love our mailman too, tho I know some people don't love theirs.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2012 7:57:52 GMT -5
I have had no problems shipping in the USA and China has a good system that works both going and coming but I have lost both times that I shipped to Mexico. The only thing that works down there is private shippers and that is not a guarantee. I like going into the post office to ship a MFRB and it is the same price even though it is full of rocks and very heavy. The clerk told me that there has only been one person that shipped something heavier than my boxes and his was full of lead of some kind.
Both FEDX and UPS have been caught on tape tossing boxes. Only one hit the big time news though. Probably because the other guy only tossed it a few feet on the front porch. lol Jim
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Mar 20, 2012 9:12:42 GMT -5
I don.t think the USPS is as bad as some might think if you compare it to other countries I think it is pretty good. I have never had an item lost by the USPS nor have I ever had an item damaged. On the other hand UPS (big brown) has delivered numerous times a damaged package. left things at my door that was supposed to go somewhere else or lost my package. I am speaaking from both sides of the situation as a sender and as a receiver. With the volume that they move the F-up rate is pretty insignificant as long as you are not the one that got F-uo.
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 20, 2012 9:56:57 GMT -5
Update. The seller talked to me by phone last night. He's even more upset about this than I am. He's been dealing in minerals for over 20 years. He's had one or two go astray. But never 2630 miles astray. He's been all over the butts of the P.O. about this, trying to get the box back to me. He's even gone so far as to set a larger and nicer example of the mineral aside to send to me, just in case the original doesn't arrive.
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Mar 20, 2012 11:23:41 GMT -5
Sounds like you haver a class act seller there. Lets see some pics when the specimen arrives Stu
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 25, 2012 16:40:52 GMT -5
My box finally arrived yesterday. What should have been a 300 + mile trip actually amounted to almost 7,000 miles. Surprisingly enough, my mineral specimen was in one piece. Selinite crystal grouping. Guess the Puerto Ricans didn't play soccer with it after all. Not a good pic. Still playing with lighting and background colors. Don
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Mar 25, 2012 16:52:13 GMT -5
Yay!!!!!!!!! That's real purdy!!
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