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Comment by vinhboy | Hacker News Reader

This is great news. The USPS is hands down the best shipping provider. Priority Mail, especially the Flat Rate boxes, are often the cheapest and fastest way to ship packages.

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Not for me it isn't. In fact, one of the things I like about Amazon Prime is that--at least in my case--it means that UPS delivers a higher percentage of my packages. The issue is that, while UPS drops off the package at my door (as they have to), USPS tends to leave it hanging off my mailbox out by the road because they don't want to spend the time coming down my driveway. And I've had more than one such package stolen.

Also from my experience with apartments, UPS will leave the package at the front desk while USPS leaves the package at the post office (forcing me to go to the post office to pick it up).

This. USPS for me has also been terrible about updating their tracking information, so I don't find out until late at night when expecting a package to find I need to make this trip. It is like they wait until the end of the day to update every package status.

I think I can echo having a list package from my mailbox vs front door and it has everything to do with FedEx/Ontrac/UPS leaving the box at my front door.
One of my favorites is the recommended carrier of Monoprice, Norcon, that emails you a photo of the delivered package once delivered.

Ontrac is a west coast delivery service, and from what I can tell they keep prices low by using mid-90s beater white minivans with a company logo magnet and issuing their employees a polo T uniform.

USPS doesn't even have a package tracking system. It's a delivery confirmation. The fact that they sometimes update the information when it passes a post office is completely optional, that's not the point. The only requirement is that it gets updated when the package is delivered and the postman is back to the office.

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