Avoid the US Postal Service

A word of warning to those with a ZipX account: don't use the US postal service (USPS) to send goods from the retailer to your ZipX address.

Last week I ordered a video game from Amazon.com. For reasons best known to themselves, Amazon do not ship video games to non-US addresses (maybe it's a national security risk or something), so I had it sent to my ZipX address. Foolishly, I chose super-saver shipping, which means the package gets sent from Amazon's warehouse to my New York ZipX address via USPS.

According to USPS's online tracking service, my package was delivered at 11.17am on Saturday 22 October. As it usually takes only a couple of working days for ZipX to get packages from there to Bermuda, when I still hadn't received the game yesterday, I emailed ZipX to find out where it was.

They told me that they hadn't received it. After asking how this was possible when the USPS tracking system said the package had been delivered, I received an interesting, albeit not very reassuring, response from their vice president of customer service, Shannon Burgess. He told me that ZipX recommends that its customers avoid using USPS, for the following reasons:

When having packages delivered via the USPS Priority Service the package can arrive immediately, or up to one to two weeks after the Proof Of Delivery (POD) has been entered into their system, or in rare cases, not at all.

It is our belief that the POD is entered as soon as the package arrives at the local USPS sorting facility. It is then sorted and delivered to us. “On what timeline?” We have been unable to determine.

We also receive dozens of items from the Post Office daily that are not addressed to us; we therefore naturally assume that there must be goods addressed to us that go to alternate addresses.

We have tried addressing these problems by contacting the Post Office, but have only received Form Letters and other forms of responses from them that do not address the problem.

We have advised our customers, via our literature as well as on-line, to avoid using the USPS service. It is better to use a courier service, such as UPS or FedEx, even if using their less expensive “Ground” services.

Our NY Office does not operate on Saturdays outside of the Christmas Season, therefore no one would have been there on the Saturday, Oct 22nd, to receive this package. We have no record of receiving these items and we do not accept the USPS PODs as proof of delivery. Furthermore USPS generally makes their deliveries after lunch. There is no way that POD can be correct.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my game will turn up. In the meantime, next time I order from Amazon I'll be sure to use a courier to send it to my ZipX account instead.

» It seems that the US postal service wasn't to blame this time, after all. My package arrived in Bermuda over a week ago but for some reason did not end up in the ZipX system, possibly because their New York office inadvertently scanned the wrong barcode. I only discovered it had arrived when I went to the ZipX office yesterday morning to pick up a package for my wife and happened to see an Amazon.com box with my name on it sat on the shelf. Such is life...

Comments

[Somers on 28.10.05 at 13:56]

Yes - so true. Have had that same thing happen to me and Shannon was helpful enough to explain it all to me - first class service.

[JJ on 28.10.05 at 17:06]

On a related topic, if you don't want Zipx delivering and thus charging you for junk mail sent your zipx address you have to authorise them to not receive ANY mail. Last week they chraged me $5.00 to have a junk mail catalogue, which I had never ordered, delivered to me in Bermuda! I guess they can't tell what is junk and what isn't, but I wasn't aware of this fact.

[david on 29.10.05 at 05:52]

FEAR is awesome boy, and I'm getting way ahead of you.........................

[Sue on 31.10.05 at 12:56]

I have seen this ZipX mentioned a couple of times. If someone has the time and patience would you please describe how this service works? I'm simply surious. Thanks in advance.

Sue

[JJ on 31.10.05 at 15:34]

For an annual fee, you can open an account with Zipx (295 2467) which will give you an address in the US (and other countries I believe) to which you can direct mail/packages from companies which only deliver "in country". Zipx will them bring the item(s) to Bermuda, handle all the customs issues and deliver it to your listed address here. They will then charge your credit or debit card for the duty and a fee for their service.

[Phil on 01.11.05 at 13:33]

It seems that the US postal service wasn't to blame this time, after all. My package arrived in Bermuda over a week ago but for some reason did not end up in the ZipX system, possibly because their New York office inadvertently scanned the wrong barcode. I only discovered it had arrived when I went to the ZipX office yesterday morning to pick up a package for my wife and happened to see an Amazon.com box with my name on it sat on the shelf. Such is life...

[busguy on 01.11.05 at 19:51]

Hmmmmmmmm
X-Ray vision Saw your name from the counter......
Mine begins with the letter B and its way out the back of the room. Brings a whole new meaning to 20-20 vision. Guess I better eat some carrots huh. LMAO.

[Combat Banker on 25.11.05 at 07:48]

I hate to tell you I know Shannon Burgess, and he is a 6'2" MAN. I'll let him know you thought he was girl, that is hilarious.

For the record he's a great help whenever I have trouble at ZipX as well.

[Phil on 25.11.05 at 08:00]

Oops! Sorry Shannon! :-)

I've amended the post.

[John Steele on 19.12.05 at 13:21]

I sent a package to Bermuda via FedEx on Dec 6th., and it was finally delivered on Dec 17th, even though it arrived in Bermuda on Dec 8th. While the FedEx people in Bermuda claim that it had an incorrect address this claim is not true.

This thread started as a warning to avoid the USPS when sending packages to Bermuda, when in fact the problem was incompetence on the Bermuda end. My shipping problem stems from a similiar case of incompetence, again on the Bermuda end.

Both anecdotal, but surely reason enough for you to amend the thread's title in some prominent way, if not to pull it entirely.