USPS Ground Advantage

[punikahakaiferret]

I also heard that if that Ground Advantage pkg is small enough (like flat-tish envelope size vs box) it might be lucky enough to be tossed in a big canvas postal bin and sent by air instead, and arrive in just a few days. I have indeed had that happen. It is quite magickal, nigh-Christmas-like, and cause for great celebration and merriment.

Yep...we are easily amused around here. Gotta take what we can get. Huzzah!

[kalakoa]

Certified gets you a tracking number for about $5 + postage.

[MyManao]

I also heard that if that Ground Advantage pkg is small enough..

That's my experience.. small enough it hitches a ride on the jet.. big enough it goes through the SF black hole and only god really knows..

One thing I will add, and this was an eye opener.. it seems Amazon has a rule.. something about if a shipment doesn't reach its intended destination by so many days (30?) the consumer gets their money back.. and when it does arrive they get to keep it too. 

This happened to me.. before I got discouraged with financing Jeff and cut back on my spending his way I bought an office chair. I tried on all sorts in the brick 'n mortars and finally settled on a size/style/brand.. and saw I could get it way cheaper from a third party vendor on the big A.. and when I bought it they dumped it into USPS Ground Advantage right away. Kansas or something like. And of course tracking followed that box across the continent to the SF black hole.. where it vaporized. Poof. And then so many weeks later I get a notice from A that if by a certain date it doesn't arrive I can request a refund.

Now, normally, if I buy something and agree to pay for it I am happy and don't look for ways to get out of doing so. But I was on the phone with A over some other confusion with a purchase and realized that magic number of days on the chair had passed and so when we were pau and the wahine asked if there was anything else she could do for me I volunteered that she should get the word out to vendors that sending items into the black hole could result in.. and she looked at the 'case' and immediately started processing a refund. I said wait a minute, I still want the chair, as if by doing the refund I wouldn't get it, but rather a big hassle having to engineer returning it, and she assured me I could keep the chair and my money too. So I asked her to email me something to that effect.. and that's what happened and I am sitting in that very chair writing this now.

A small thing to note.. if you find yourself in this position, when they process the refund insist on a paper trail.. like get an email.. something tangible. In my case the wahine said, and the refund got processed back to the card, but the computer over at A kept sending me notices that if I don't return by a certain date they were coming after my first born. So I had to call and straighten it out more than once.. and if I had not been able to point at that email.. see on this date you said.. it would have been more of a slough than it was. But ultimately I got to keep my money and the chair too.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

the dreaded San Francisco facility

Packages have a tracking bar code on them, so does the container they’re shipped in.  If the container is scanned in San Francisco you will see that on your tracking.  If it doesn’t move, it’s not scanned again until it arrives at the next USPS facility (Honolulu?).  If the container travels by ship there are no scans or updates between SF and Honolulu.

Then your box is in the hands of United Schrödinger’s Postal Service.  It exists in the system, but also shows no sign of life.

[terracore]

Certified gets you a tracking number for about $5 + postage.

I briefly worked for the USPS.  Granted, it was a long time ago, but the special handling of certified mail could also make it take longer to get to the destination.  It also had a higher risk of getting returned to sender because USPS will only try to make a certified delivery for a limited period of time.

[terracore]

Had to ship a one ounce envelope to the west coast today via ground disadvantage. $9.45. A Priority mail flat rate envelope would have been $12.90, 36.5% more. So if you're deciding on which service to chose, those are the margins if it fits into a flat rate envelope. Commercial rates are about 10% cheaper.

UPS Ground is $12.73 and probably faster than either method above! It does require a commercial account to get that rate, or use a service that gives a commercial rate like pirateship.com

So here we are. UPS is within a few dollars of ground disadvantage and cheaper than not-our-priority mail. Get the word out, the more people we have shipping UPS, the fewer people we have to stand behind in line at the post office.

It is worth noting that historically UPS is a lot cheaper shipping FROM Hawaii than it is TO Hawaii, so don't expect any big shifts on inbound stuff yet.

I couldn't run the fedex numbers because I think my commercial account is inactive.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

It is worth noting that historically UPS is a lot cheaper shipping FROM Hawaii than it is TO Hawaii

Otherwise the planes would fly back to the mainland empty.

[Olohana 1790]

Derailing the thread up the mountain aways on the old Hilo-Glenwood Rail line.
If you want a local perspective of post office disfunction, first visit either the Keaau or Pahoa PO., then Mt View or Volcano Village PO.  The last two operate like a well oiled revolving door.  A visit to the first two can barely be considered functional, except they do unlock the doors in the morning, and lock again in the afternoon.

How can operational standards be so different for representatives of the same agency, only a few miles apart?

most ignorant MAGA-like chit Ive read today .....

duh duh.................. many many thousands of mainland transfer kine 'small lot owning' kooks in HPP etc. all go to Pahoa or Keaau PO....
thus why the line is 10X longer 99% of the time. duh duh duh
more people. same fauken 1 line. duh duh
have you ever NOTICED how many more people live in Orchidland and HPP compared to all the subs up the hill ie HA, FA, Eden Roc, FForest, VVillage etc.
duh
alohahahahaha

ps maybe ask the Dem kid for help...? before posting embarrassing duped maga-kine rubbish

---

and.........
as far as this Ground Advantage USPS chit..
(eBay prices). on July 12th, 2026 all USPS packages 3 OZ to 15 OZ is the same exact price. $8.40 (eBay HI price)

before July 12 it was like $6.40 for package between 3-5 OZ and then it went up from there to over $10 for one in the 12-15 OZ range.. so its not much diff now, unless you live on sending 3-5 OZ packages.....

aroha

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

thus why the line is 10X longer 99% of the time. duh duh duh

I wasn’t talking about quantity (of customers) but quality of the PO functional organization at each post office.  If you get to the counter at Mt View or Volcano your transaction will be completed in a fraction of the time it would take at Keaau or Pahoa.  Watch the workers look for your package in the back room at Keaau.  It could be organized by address or date of arrival, instead it’s disorganized by “where can we stash this box?” after it’s taken from the truck.  You hand them your orange slip and the treasure hunt begins.

[ironyak]

Looks like many USPS items are going to be taking longer to get here - Ground Advantage apparently now really means by ground.

https://postalpro.usps.com/node/15616
"Effective October 1, 2026, the Postal Service is adjusting service expectations for Priority Mail and USPS
Ground Advantage packages for noncontiguous states and territories of the United States. In addition, the
Postal Service is aligning the transportation for USPS Ground Advantage packages under one pound with
the transportation used for over one-pound packages such that noncontiguous USPS Ground Advantage
packages will now primarily utilize surface transportation.
...
Priority Mail packages to or from the following locations will receive a 2 to 4-day service expectation:
Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands. The service expectation
was previously capped at 3 days but has been adjusted due to travel time and time zone considerations.
...
USPS Ground Advantage packages between the contiguous United States and the following locations will
have a 10-day or more service expectation: Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, United States
Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Freely Associated States. Days will vary due to
the range of distances between some locations. Most transit days have been adjusted, and some service
expectations may be significantly longer than 10 days.

USPS Ground Advantage products under one pound to and from noncontiguous locations were
previously transported via both air and surface. Regardless of weight, noncontiguous USPS Ground
Advantage packages will now primarily utilize surface transportation" (a bit more at link)