Which Shipping Company is Kindest to Your Packages? | Hacker News Reader

Which Shipping Company is Kindest to Your Packages?

popularmechanics.com

55 pointsbakbak16 comments

Let's see, they had an N of 12. Not statistically viable for logging what carrier performs better where. This is most clearly visible in the express packaging differences between FedEx and USPS which uses FedEx and they even mentioned it in their article. Bet it was fun doing/writing about it though.

There's a school of thought that putting highly visible commercially available accelerometers (more accurately they are shock sensors) on the outside of the shipment will cause it to be treated more gently.

We subscribed to this school of thought - until our valuable scientific instrument arrived (a) shaken not stirred and (b) with all the external sensors having mysteriously "fallen off".

So, if you are going to do this, put sensors both on the inside and the outside of your shipment.

I bet you could just print out a florescent green sticker that reads “THIS PACKAGE CONTAINS A SHOCK SENSOR” in Helvetica Bold and get the same benefit.

An acquaintance of mine years ago worked for Purolator Courier up in Canada and he said that if you wanted your package treated well you would be best off marking it "CONTAINS LIQUIDS".

The last thing the handlers want to do is have to mop up after throwing your shipment.

But what does that actually prove? I can put an already broken laptop in a box, ship it, and blame it on UPS.

How is a shock sensor any different? Even if it's on the outside of the box, the pickup guy isn't exactly trained to confirm it's in good shape, he's not signing anything to certify that the sensor is intact and operating properly.

And as far as I know, none of the major carriers actually declare anything like "packages will not be subjected to more than X G-forces during transit." So even if the sensors did trip, that only indicates that they tripped. It doesn't prove the shipping company did anything 'wrong'.

And seeing as the guy behind the counter or on the phone isn't an expert in accelerometers, any explanation is going to be over their head. And once again, how do you establish you didn't mess with the accelerometers ahead of time?

I can actually understand the human-nature behind trashing something marked fragile, or something with shock sensors stuck all over the exterior. Not that it's justifiable. Basically, you're saying that this person treats all the normal packages like shit and just throws them around for no reason. That they're not even trying to be good at their job by default. Not to mention that you're asking for special treatment without providing additional compensation.

Which explains the best way to keep your package safe. Insure it. You probably don't even need to insure it for the full value. Just spend the 70 cents to get $200 dollars coverage. Everyone handling it knows there will be an internal follow up if the company has to pay out on the claim, because it actually costs them something.

Insurance is a ripoff if you are an ecommerce company. In my last company we shipped $5,000 a day in product and insured all of it for the first couple of years. One day I got a postcard that was trying to get me to insure with an outside company when I shipped UPS. I got wondering how they could do that, did some math on what we were spending and then asked my warehouse manager how much we had lost (in actual costs to us) in the last two years and was stunned at the answer - $600 total out of several thousand shipments. At that point we began self-insuring.

This is a little late...

But yeah in that case I agree 100%. Different case if you're shipping some scientific equipment worth 1500 dollars now and then.

And if that equipment is 50,000 bucks, maybe you start looking at a private courier.

I have a friend who used to work as a registrar for a museum, shipping stuff that was worth millions, or even arguably priceless. She'd ride on the planes and ride in the backs of the trucks that transported this stuff. She'd have to document every scratch, every discoloration, etc, and sign off on it, before shipping began so they could compare at the end of the trip.

But I was suggesting a hedge. Come up with your own numbers, but if item is worth greater than 2000, insure for 200, costing 70 cents for UPS. That way it gets UPS internal stickers saying it's insured, probably beeps or something every time someone scans it, and provokes an entirely different attitude than marking it "FRAGILE", according to antecdotal evidence.

As far as 'FRAGILE' markings making a difference I can assure you, since I ship UPS every day, that they treat every box equally (poorly). There is no preferential treatment for any package, and the heavier the packages are the worse they travel. I watched my driver knock over a flat-screen TV three times one day during a pickup. He had it standing on edge and it wouldn't stay upright, but after three tries at knocking it over he put it flat under a shelf.

The shock meter could be certified and sealed by NIST or an agreed third party. The delivery company could then advertise as "the world leaders in package handling". Insurance companies would have a stake in this as well.

I've seen prominently labeled tilt sensors in use on freight shipments of computer equipment.

They're not electronic. Tiny (<1mm) beads and adhesive are ensconced in an oddly-shaped plastic bubble. If the freight pallet is tilted more than a few degrees, the beads move and get stuck to one of the adhesive patches. Simple, but effective: I never had to call the company about damage.

I think location also matters. Where I currently live my UPS packages arrive in great condition while I've had FedEx packages look like they have really fallen off the back of the truck. Where I used to live it was the opposite.

I don't even include the USPS in this discussion because they are SO bad at delivery. I know it's not packages, but I've sent checks to my bank for deposit that were literally destroyed by the USPS. The bank sent the shredded check back to show me why they couldn't deposit it. I routinely get my neighbors mail and they get mine even though I have put a nice sign on my mailbox with my full name. And yes, I have filed complaints with no response.

USPS has been fast and cheap. The only real complaint I've had is that they leave pickup tags for some of the heaviest packages, packages that other carriers would have delivered. But it's understandable... I feel sorry for what some of the mailmen have to lift. Most are far less muscular than the UPS guys. My area has had problems with mail theft... I think some meth use among employees, but tracked items show up. It's not safe to get mail with handwritten addresses, things like birthday cards with a little cash in the middle always vanish. And the DMV license plate tags vanish in the mail too... California no doubt has a black market for those with so many illegals from Mexico around. Their flat rate boxes are extremely competitive for shipping, especially heavier items and/or to distant zones. Mail service has been reliable since one local thief was caught. Many good people don't deserve a bad rap for the actions of a small number.

UPS gives generally great service, but they throw the packages around. Some electronic gear with glass meters on the side arrived with the glass broken. Taking the unit apart revealed it was more than just a bump to the side of the thick box. The power transformer had the brackets stretched up and it was leaning a great deal. For that to happen the package wasn't just bumped or even dropped. It was clearly thrown horizontally and down with considerable force and crash landed... like onto a dock or truck. UPS seems to have become much more costly than in years past.

Fedex is much more gentle with packages, but it's alarming how many from neighbors blocks away show up. They're not very careful reading addresses, or smart enough interpolating from neighbors addresses when they don't see one.

I wonder why package monitors are not a standard equipment. The monitor would comminucate wirelessly through encrypted channels. Once at the delivery location, the customer may inspect the package logs and he could refuse delivery, or demand compensation.

An accelerometer, a gyroscope, a small battery and microcontroller with bluetooth connectivity. Should be possible to build a contraption for around $100.

All so stuff like this: http://www.gadling.com/2010/02/23/videos-bad-baggage-handler... dosn't happen more often.

I'm not sure there's much of a problem to be solved. The customer can already refuse delivery if the packaging is damaged. If the package is fine, but the contents are damaged, you can still file a claim and (after going through the inspection process) collect on the insurance.

I don't think that having proof of some particular level of shock during shipment would make much of a difference - regardless of shock all that really matters is if there was any damage to the contents and whether they were properly packaged in the first place.

"Our co-workers thought we were a bit odd," says Brettle, "but we assured them it was all in the name of science."

My heroes.

Have you seen the Postal Hacking talk from The Last Hope conference? It's just an hour of people abusing the postal system (legally). For science!

I don't think there's an official server for the video, just a torrent file http://hopetracker.donthax.me/torrents/2600%20-%20The%20Last... but you can find it on YouTube as well.

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