USPS at its finest ...

[Buckey]

This one doesn't surprise me, but something going astray to PR is a bit farther out of the way than I've experienced.

I always insure everything for full value. Two guns, I'd ship them separately even if it costs more. And I have done.

You don't need to go to the PO to check tracking, you can do it easily online.

You didn't say if you shipped these though an FFL or directly. Re. the revolver, non licensees aren't allowed to ship handguns through the US mail. If it's discovered in transit, they will seize it. If it gets lost, they won't honor insurance claims for contraband.

The only reason I shipped them together the revolver was very small and very light. I know that you can do tracking online, but I was only trying to get answers to no avail. I'm an FFL and package was sent to another FFL. Should have been cut and dry. Another lesson learned.

 

[Ballardguy]

I've had numerous issues with USPS not doing their job correctly. Also several claims for stolen, or damaged shipments. It's always a nightmare to get a claim filed, and paid. They automatically deny your claim the first time simply to discourage you from appealing. Then they don't tell you why they denied it until several weeks later when you get a letter. And the letter is also sketchy and doesn't tell you exactly what you need to send them to get paid. One said they needed proof of payment, but when I sent a copy of the check they denied it again. They wanted both sides of the canceled check, but didn't tell me that. I finally contacted my congressman's office and an aid helped get it straightened out; but they denied it again! You only get 3 appeals and they close the case, but when I contacted the aid she said that wasn't going to happen. 3 days later I got a check.
I had a $550 Wilkinson-Ballard antique powder measure I bought from a guy in Ohio go back and forth from Ohio to Portland 5 times! Every time it landed here it turned around and went back! I finally filed a complaint and got an email from a customer service manager who said he'd re-enter the tracking number and get it headed back. He called it "looping" and I told him it must happen a lot if they've given it a name! Next day it showed as returned to sender's PO Box. I called to tell him and he said he didn't even have a PO Box! Hung up the phone, and 5 minutes later a knock at my door and it was my postman handing me the package. They're really totally clueless where packages are, or how to track them.
Then there's the Ballard action I had color case refinished on and it left Montana and instead of heading West it went south to Cheyenne, Wy. and then Denver, Aurora, and back to Montana. Then south to Denver again, I finally filed a complaint. Customer service called to tell me it was weather delays in Denver, and I asked her why it even went to Denver to get aught up in bad weather? She couldn't answer that question, and just assured me it was headed to me. When I asked where it was she couldn't say, because she didn't know! Three days later it finally arrived. And they wonder why USPS is going broke? You can't spend money shipping parts to the wrong places and expect to have profits.

 

[CountryGent]

Ok I have a story for you. In April I shipped a shotgun and revolver to a member in Tennessee by USPS. It made it to Portland and sat there for about a week and a half. Every few days I would check tracking number with no movement. I started to get concerned went to the Post office and had them run tracking number, they thought maybe the weather back east was holding it up. After a couple more days it finally showed in transit. Several more days go by and I check tracking again and it shows Puerto Rico.

Reminds me of a little Webley revolver I bought last year that went on a European vacation, as in just outside Paris, France. It was stuck there for some time as the dealer and the shipper tried to track it down. Fortunately, the vendor refunded me and dealt with FedEx's incompetence. But everyone had a pucker factor when a handgun ended up in an EU nation with some seriously draconian laws. (Though it, somewhat bizarrely, worked out well. I got a refund and bought a much better specimen from a different dealer.)

 

[Pete F]

My PO in St Helens will not deliver to my door. They give me all sorts of excuses like customer wasn't home, there is no place to turn around without backing up (they are not allowed to backup), no place to secure package, etc.

This started many years ago and only special labelled packages get delivered.

Why does UPS, Amazon and FedEx have no problem leaving a package at my door? Amazon leaves it in the middle of the night without worry.

UPS and FedEx drive big trucks and have no problem turning around.

I try not to order anything that requires USPS delivery, but then they fool me by having UPS and FedEx dropping packages at the PO.

 

[The Heretic]

Got an email early this AM (645 AM) that a package had been delivered to my mailbox on Dec 17, 2025.

Oookaay.

Just in case, I checked anyway - no package.