PCP Airgun Shipping Delays??

[mtnGhost]

My Leshiy purchase is starting to turn into a nightmare situation. I placed an order last week, it shipped out the afternoon of the 14th via USPS Priority. 

The tracking information stated that it would arrive on the 17th. I figured that it would be wise to work from home that day, so I waited around for the mail to show up and nothing came. Checked the tracking info again, no updates.

The next day rolls around - the delivery estimate disappears and the tracking status just says that it's in transit and will be late. 

There hasn't been any status updates since the 18th. The package should stick to the west coast from CA to WA, and I haven't seen any blizzards reported in the news in between A and B. 

Is this typical of the USPS for PCP air gun orders? I get that it's the holidays, but my p-rod didn't have any issues when I got it a couple of years back (albeit via UPS). The second order that I had placed was sent first class mail a few days after the Leshiy order, tracking shows that it's already at my local facility (appearing to take a similar route).

Wondering if anyone else has endured this sort of thing with Priority mail orders.

 

[BlackICE]

The post office's reliability is worse than UPS and FedEx in my opinion. Once I sold a camera on eBay in the tracking showed it was never delivered. This is even months after I shipped it. I had to assume and got there since the buyer never complained in it was over $500. Other times I have sent certified mail with return receipt requested and have also received the same. Unlike what the post office done in the past certified mail in my area is just dumped into your mailbox and it's your option whether to fill out the return receipt or not.

 

[N.U.brewer]

I also had a edgun purchase on the 14th. The tracking seemed to lag, but then started to go again. I believe the volume of packages overwhelms the system. But I did learn how to spell merry Christmas in Russian ----- "Edgun". Mine arrived today, hope your package arrives safe.

 

[mtnGhost]

I also had a edgun purchase on the 14th. The tracking seemed to lag, but then started to go again. I believe the volume of packages overwhelms the system. But I did learn how to spell merry Christmas in Russian ----- "Edgun". Mine arrived today, hope your package arrives safe.

The post office's reliability is worse than UPS and FedEx in my opinion. Once I sold a camera on eBay in the tracking showed it was never delivered. This is even months after I shipped it. I had to assume and got there since the buyer never complained in it was over $500. Other times I have sent certified mail with return receipt requested and have also received the same. Unlike what the post office done in the past certified mail in my area is just dumped into your mailbox and it's your option whether to fill out the return receipt or not.

DEFINITELY! I cringe anytime that I'm forced to use them after having 2 important items vanish in their possession. One of them was an extremely rare Bakelite bezel for a rare vintage Rolex that I owned, the guy I bought it from swore by the USPS, he wound up refunding me - but the loss of it HURT at the time (it still hurts!)

I seriously question any vendor that doesn't provide customers with at least ONE alternative shipping company, given the value of the merchandise and the USPS's archaic system. Call it peace of mind that if something goes wrong, I won't have to waste 2 hours of my very busy life dealing with an understaffed call center to get no answers. It's like flying Southwest with two stops when you can fly Jet Blue non-stop for a little more. Some (likely most) of us are willing to pay more for to minimize the hassle!

I digress from that rant -- The GOOD news for me is that I just got an update finally from the tracking system!!! After 6 days of darkness, there's some PTSD that I need to chill from :/

 

[Dairyboy]

I've had zero issues with USPS losing anything. I prefer them and still use them solely and shipped many things with zero issues. This time of year though things can get delayed with so many packages being delivered. 

I did order a RAW 2 years ago and around this time of year. It did get "delayed" for 10 days but did show up. 

 

[Brislee]

I bought a gun from the classifieds not to long ago and it was supposed to arrive (according to the tracking #) on a Tuesday and then it just sat. Tracking said it would be late but that went on for days. Then without notice it showed up at my door on a Friday. Luckily my Son was there and just signed for it. Normally I prefer the post office for shipping but I think this time of year they get overwhelmed with mail. (UPS and FedEx don't have that in addition to more packages) This time of year the other guys UPS and FedEx hire more employees but I don't think the Postal service does because they are federal employees? I don't know. Patience. You're at their mercy. 

 

[JCD]

I've been lucky I suppose. No real issues with any shipper other than the local FedEx people being a pain. I do have an outgoing USPS Priority shipment (2 boxes, both insured, significant $ amounts) and the tracking hasn't been updated since 12/11. The buyer has confirmed that the boxes have not arrived and USPS hasn't been able to tell me anymore than the tracking lookup provides. I have opened a case but still... There has got to be a problem somewhere. The estimated delivery was for 12/10.... My Xmass present orders have been coming on time!

 

[Acruz]

My Leshiy purchase is starting to turn into a nightmare situation. I placed an order last week, it shipped out the afternoon of the 14th via USPS Priority. 

The tracking information stated that it would arrive on the 17th. I figured that it would be wise to work from home that day, so I waited around for the mail to show up and nothing came. Checked the tracking info again, no updates.

The next day rolls around - the delivery estimate disappears and the tracking status just says that it's in transit and will be late. 

There hasn't been any status updates since the 18th. The package should stick to the west coast from CA to WA, and I haven't seen any blizzards reported in the news in between A and B. 

Is this typical of the USPS for PCP air gun orders? I get that it's the holidays, but my p-rod didn't have any issues when I got it a couple of years back (albeit via UPS). The second order that I had placed was sent first class mail a few days after the Leshiy order, tracking shows that it's already at my local facility (appearing to take a similar route).

Wondering if anyone else has endured this sort of thing with Priority mail orders.

I’m In the same predicament. I sent my S500 to Will Piatt and no updates since the 15th.

Somewhere in the twilight zone.

Angel

 

[mtnGhost]

It came through today finally. The postal worker said they had several trailers stacked up and were still trying to play catch-up from Cyber Monday.

I'm just happy that it didn't fallnof the truck, not much time left now to bore sight it and get all the addons installed - first world problems though 

 

[HiwaKika]

Just made an emergency purchase (Gamo Swarm Maxxim) on Tues, arrived early Thurs many hours before the day's normal mail delivery. USPS via Amazon Prime 2-day. The carrier said there was a mountain of packages at the station. As far as tracking goes, many times a package isn't updated or logged properly until it shows up at your door. Otherwise, not much drama here to report. One time I ordered handmade baskets directly from Africa that got lost in Canada because the sender entered CA in the country line instead of state line. Package eventually showed up weeks later after I received a refund!

 

[edgunleshiy]

The Leshiy is worth it

with that said, I think it’s important to understand how the shipping business works. When someone sells you something... the moment any shipping company scans the package it’s now within their ownership and control. The business and customer have access to the same level of info... BUT the shipping companies will only communicate with the customer.

even amazon doesn’t have access. This is why they are building their own shipping army. Ever get a package delivered by some random dude in his car? That’s exactly why.

For small businesses who don’t have the buying power of an amazon... they are forced to use these shipping software services that essentially bundle a bunch of small biz together to negotiate... almost like a union. I build this kind of software... so I’m well versed.

USPS is hands down the cheapest and outside of peak seasons, pretty reliable. You’re always going to have random issues as there are humans involved... poop happens.

heres my advice... be patient. If it’s shipped USPS... do NOT call the general phone... call your local post office and ask for help. Also, the small business not only doesn’t have info, In many cases... usps being one of them... they cannot get info beyond what is shown with tracking data. 

i recently had a leyla and Leshiy shipped at the same time. The California fires had a ripple effect through the process. One arrived and the other was in a black hole. USPS tracking is useless. I called my main post office in my town, and a woman was able to see within internal systems exactly what was going on. I got it the next day.

 

[mtnGhost]

The Leshiy is worth it

with that said, I think it’s important to understand how the shipping business works. When someone sells you something... the moment any shipping company scans the package it’s now within their ownership and control. The business and customer have access to the same level of info... BUT the shipping companies will only communicate with the customer.

even amazon doesn’t have access. This is why they are building their own shipping army. Ever get a package delivered by some random dude in his car? That’s exactly why.

For small businesses who don’t have the buying power of an amazon... they are forced to use these shipping software services that essentially bundle a bunch of small biz together to negotiate... almost like a union. I build this kind of software... so I’m well versed.

USPS is hands down the cheapest and outside of peak seasons, pretty reliable. You’re always going to have random issues as there are humans involved... poop happens.

heres my advice... be patient. If it’s shipped USPS... do NOT call the general phone... call your local post office and ask for help. Also, the small business not only doesn’t have info, In many cases... usps being one of them... they cannot get info beyond what is shown with tracking data. 

i recently had a leyla and Leshiy shipped at the same time. The California fires had a ripple effect through the process. One arrived and the other was in a black hole. USPS tracking is useless. I called my main post office in my town, and a woman was able to see within internal systems exactly what was going on. I got it the next day.

I appreciate your time for the feedback, there's some incorrect information though in what you said. First, it's undoubtedly the seller's job to get a customer's goods to them. If an items that was purchased by a customer is lost in the system, never arrives, gets stolen or falls of the truck - the customer is entitled to getting their money back, it's then up to the merchant to recover their losses with their insurance.

As a customer, I use AMEX for all of my online purchases for the simple layer of protection in case anything goes wrong (fronted by PayPal if it's an option for a secondary layer of security and purchase protection). I have only had to exercise their support a small handful of times, but they were there for me each of those times which helped soften the blow. Discover Card used to be my go to card, until they scaled back their membership features; now they kind of suck.

At the end of the day, situations like this come down to the merchant / seller. If the seller takes the stance of "I got your money and dropped it off at the post office, screw you - you're on your own" - the customer is then at the mercy of (1) the shipping company (2) his or her card or payment company. The seller has just as much entitlement for inquisitions with the shipping company as the buyer - slightly more of they are using commercial shipping services for their shipping logistics.

That said, I was in the E-com industry for a decade as both a seller and as what we now call solutions architect for the systems, software and infrastructure that drive online commerce businesses. I was also an avid watch collector for several years, having bought, sold and traded a substantial amount of high end time pieces. Front he experienced alone of being an active member of popular watch forums, I quickly learned that using the USPS is like rolling the dice as well as the value (and cost) of using shipping insurance.

Again, I've admittedly not bought or sold many PCP's, so my intent with this post was to see if there was any typical shipping latency, specifically for these types of items.

Cheers