My post about Comparison of Shipito and BundleBox had an immediate reaction from Nicola M.:
I do recognize that I wasn't able to compare shipping rates of Fedex when sending via BundleBox and Shipito. The reason for that is that the Shipito calculator didn't show me any rates for Fedex.
Another reason for me not to use Fedex is because they don't seem to have a customs broker in Russia at all (!). So unless I want to risk my package to be returned, there is no reason to use it (Note that you will need to pay the return fee in case of return). One can try to send the following package to Russia:
But even Nicola has mentioned that Fedex is for expensive pieces of apparel, shoes, hightech, gear/equipment, so Fedex is clearly not an option for Russia. Now let's leave Russia alone.
As for Fedex in general, Shipito offers "huge discounts negotiated" on behalf of their customers. And it has a warehouses in Portland, Oregon. Any purchase shipped to Oregon is not charged sales tax.
I must admit that USPS is not ideal. But none of my packages arrived damaged and none of them were lost. I really had some problems with the Russian post, and I couldn't get any reply about package I filed a claim about for more than a month. But this has nothing to do with USPS.
During the last 3+ years I received 240+ packages that were sent mainly by USPS and UPS to my Shipito mailbox. And I sent all my consolidated packages to Russia via USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail. Plus I got more than 30 packages from US sellers, who sent them to me directly via USPS and UPS. Nothing was damaged or lost (not my HP Envy laptop, not my Panasonic TM700 Camcorder, not 3 my Kindle book readers, not my pretty expensive clothing from private shopping clubs like Ideeli.
I didn't have any problem with Fedex as well. But I was really disappointed when they left a couple of my packages at the entrance of an apartment house in San Francisco. They didn't even try to call me. This was the time I decided to avoid them, since I didn't see any reason to pay higher fees for such a service.
Even if you don't like USPS, you can try to use UPS instead. There might be more risk to use USPS instead of UPS, Fedex or DHL, and the USPS service might be worse than what alternative companies offer, but at least your USPS packages can be insured and have tracking numbers.
Do you have a different experience with USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL? Do you use any alternative services like Shipito Air Mail? Please share your thoughts.
If you are a user that is likely to ship expensive pieces of apparel, shoes, hightech, gear/equipment - you might want to try BundleBox.
USPS is NOT comparable to FedEx. FedEx is the most cost-efficient. It provides a much better service than USPS. USPS is a lot cheaper but there are a lot of issues with packages being lost, broken, etc - Not to mention the fact that USPS offer a very poor customer service, compared to FedEx.
The level of service is key to explaining the different shipping rates.
...
If I may object to the way you conducted your comparison, I am not sure you are comparing apples with apples.
I do recognize that I wasn't able to compare shipping rates of Fedex when sending via BundleBox and Shipito. The reason for that is that the Shipito calculator didn't show me any rates for Fedex.
Another reason for me not to use Fedex is because they don't seem to have a customs broker in Russia at all (!). So unless I want to risk my package to be returned, there is no reason to use it (Note that you will need to pay the return fee in case of return). One can try to send the following package to Russia:
- Declared value up to 200 EUR
- Weight up to 20 Kg.
- Up to five identical pieces in one parcel. (Can be 5 pieces of "A" and 4 pieces of "B" = 9, but not 6 pieces of "A")
But even Nicola has mentioned that Fedex is for expensive pieces of apparel, shoes, hightech, gear/equipment, so Fedex is clearly not an option for Russia. Now let's leave Russia alone.
As for Fedex in general, Shipito offers "huge discounts negotiated" on behalf of their customers. And it has a warehouses in Portland, Oregon. Any purchase shipped to Oregon is not charged sales tax.
Is Fedex about service and USPS about lost and damaged packages?
I must admit that USPS is not ideal. But none of my packages arrived damaged and none of them were lost. I really had some problems with the Russian post, and I couldn't get any reply about package I filed a claim about for more than a month. But this has nothing to do with USPS.
During the last 3+ years I received 240+ packages that were sent mainly by USPS and UPS to my Shipito mailbox. And I sent all my consolidated packages to Russia via USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail. Plus I got more than 30 packages from US sellers, who sent them to me directly via USPS and UPS. Nothing was damaged or lost (not my HP Envy laptop, not my Panasonic TM700 Camcorder, not 3 my Kindle book readers, not my pretty expensive clothing from private shopping clubs like Ideeli.
Shipito: 244 packages received, 34 packages sent
I didn't have any problem with Fedex as well. But I was really disappointed when they left a couple of my packages at the entrance of an apartment house in San Francisco. They didn't even try to call me. This was the time I decided to avoid them, since I didn't see any reason to pay higher fees for such a service.
Even if you don't like USPS, you can try to use UPS instead. There might be more risk to use USPS instead of UPS, Fedex or DHL, and the USPS service might be worse than what alternative companies offer, but at least your USPS packages can be insured and have tracking numbers.
Share your experience with USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL,...
Do you have a different experience with USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL? Do you use any alternative services like Shipito Air Mail? Please share your thoughts.
