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I have always used USPS Priority Mail with signature required for delivery and never had a problem. Using the faster service ( vs. parcel post) gets it through the system faster so less likelihood of it getting lost. Plus with requiring signature will prevent it just being left on a porch which could be stolen.
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Originally Posted by cathyvv
(Post 6706961)
Your friend suffered the biggest failure of any reasonably good system - the human failure. Delivery person dropped the package at the wrong house. Unfortunately, it happens.
When I mail a quilt, I use the USPS, and insure them for the cost of materials - usually about $100 when you add in fabric, batting, thread and backing. So far, all of the quilts I've mailed have reached their intended recipient. There are several things that I do to help insure that a package gets to it's intended destination: 1) Write the "TO: address " large on the box label. The easier it is to read, the more likely that it will be delivered to the right person. I always tape over it with clear tape so that rain or snow can't wash it away. 2) Tape another label in a very visible spot inside the box. That way, if the box comes open or the label falls off, there's a second chance - and it's only a chance - that the package will be delivered correctly. 3) Tape every potential weak point of the package liberally. My theory is that the more work it takes to get into the box, the less likely that it will be broken into. It is just a theory and there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to prove it, but I put absolute faith in the theory! |
I mailed ALL 128 quilts for the Barracks Quilt Project done here on QB 3-4 years ago (in 11 different boxes over 5 months) via USPS Priority Mail. Every one got to Farah, Afghanistan on time, without incident. :thumbup:
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I make sure that I say that it is fabric when they ask me. I worry that if I say it's a quilt, that it might not get there.
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Interesting Fed-ex here in southern NV won't leave a package unless I'm home to sign, unless I leave a signed note that says he can leave it. For an extra charge USPS will give you a tracking #-- just did it last week.
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A caution for anyone sending a Priority Box through USPS. Be sure you check that the ZIP code that the postal worker codes in is correct. It will show on your receipt. I didn't realize that this Christmas when sending a box of cookies to my sister in Madison, Wisconsin. The ZIP that was coded on the USPS label differed by one digit; the box went to Bozeman, Montana. Of course, they couldn't deliver it in Bozeman, so it went back to the regional office in Billings. But then it got caught in a loop. Bozeman, Billings, Bozeman, Billings, Madison, Milwaukee, Billings, Bozeman, Billings and finally Madison and delivered. A box of homemade Christmas cookie crumbs was delivered on January 3. In case you are wondering, the address I entered was correct. The other three boxes I sent were delivered properly. I blame myself for not checking my receipt.
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I pay extra for the "must sign" upon delivery.
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I always use the Priority Mail thru the USPS. I will make my own labels at home on the computer and pay for it there. I can safely leave the box on top of my mail basket which is on my porch. Sometimes I will drop it off at the Post Office.
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Sending anything in December is the worst time. All shipping places use temporary employees. It is so important to check their labeling at the counter. I have had packages send TO me instead of FROM me. The worst was when the employee switches the labels on two boxes I was sending out.
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We have never had trouble with anything that is addressed to our PO Box, but we live in a small subdivision, and there are three houses with the same number. And all three streets begin with the word "Briar". When you enter the subdivision, the street loops into a circle. The next street over is the cul-de-sac I live in, which is actually named "Briar Circle". Unfortunately, the FedEx / UPS drivers don't look at the street signs, they just assume that the circle is "Briar Circle." Luckily, when a signature was required for delivery, the neighbor could direct the driver to the correct street, Unfortunately, now that FedEx/UPS don't require a signature, we actually had a box left on the neighbor's front porch while they were on vacation. It sat there for two weeks before they returned. So now, we don't have anything delivered to our house. Everything sent to us is either sent to our PO Box or if they need a physical address, it is sent to my office address. Even my husband's deliveries come to my office address.
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