U.S.P.S. at their finest

I just got 4 hosts, heatsinks and custom focus rings today that I ordered from Flamingpyro.

He shipped everything out by U.S.P.S. Express Mail, and it did not arrive the next day! When I tried to track the package online it only showed that it had been processed through Springfield, Or. the day before and nothing further. So, I called the 800 customer service postal number and they couldn't find anything on the package either. They were going to call me back as soon as they could locate the package, but of course they never did.

It reminded me of the time years ago when I sent off a cashiers check for $3,280 by Express Mail and it disappeared off into never never land.

Well, the package did arrive today, and it loooked like it swam here!

The envelope was wrapped inside a clear plastic "WE CARE" bag. Yeah Right!

The writing said something to the effect of: Hey we screwed up, but so what we handle a lot of mail and somebody's going to get screwed, so just deal with it!

When I tore open the plastic bag and pulled out the envelope inside the cardboard pretty much just fell apart, and it looked like they had ripped open the side to pore water out.

There was a priority box inside the Express Mail envelope and I didn't even need to cut it open, it just ripped apart, and eveything inside was damp.

I put together an Ultrafire R5 that was inside and clicked it on. The beam flashed for a fraction of a second, then nothing. Troubleshooting the problem found the clicky switch in the host had fried!

Thanks U.S.P.S.

On another5 note, Flamingpyro's work was perfection! And I'll post pics of the builds in a day nor 2.

Here's a pic of how the package arrived:

Wow, you better call em' up and file a massive complaint :scowl:

Oh, the Irony, you heartless bitch.

"We care" when your package gets soaked in the rain, ran over by a truck, kicked by the mailman into wrong person's window, and you file a massive complaint. Really, we do!

Sure, USPS did screw up major, but I don't think you've done an exeptionally smart thing by thing to turn on a laser that's dropping wet, without taking it apart, leaving it to dry in silica gel for a night, and re-checking everything's well before trying to do what you did.

Though, if it's only the clicky switch, you're lucky, you can get a pack of 5 for like, two bucks on DX.

Eudaimonium said:

I don't think you've done an exeptionally smart thing by thing to turn on a laser that's dropping wet

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I think it was just a flashlight?

Nocturnal said:

I think it was just a flashlight?

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It was, still not the smartest idea to take electronics out of a wet package and try to use them.

That's really shitty service though. Good thing it wasn't brand new lasers though.

Lase

i know some postal services offer compensation up to $100ish for damaged goods on arrival. try asking them for it

When I ordered a bunch of electronic parts from jib77 the box arrived pretty soaked but he did such a good job with the packaging that nothing was even damp. Goodjob!

You should have left them to dry though, My old ps2 that I took completely apart for heatsinks/fans/etc. got soaking wet when I accidentally spilled a cup of water on it so I just let it sit for a week and it worked like new.

Good luck getting compensated by usps anywho

I did take it apart first and it had hours to dry out before I built the laser and turned it on. The flashlights were only damp not soaked, and I did not take apart the clicky switches to see if they were wet internally.

I am glad there were no diodes or drivers in the package though.

If that's the case then yeah, my apologies, I have got a wrong picture based on your description of events.

In any case I'd take the advice to see if you can possibly get some sort of cash back from USPS for trashing your package.

mark-in-dallas said:

It reminded me of the time years ago when I sent off a cashiers check for $3,280 by Express Mail and it disappeared off into never never land.

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You can mail items either fast or safe not both. Always use Registered Mail for money or high value items. If the thought of mailing your item worries you, registered mail is what you want.

Too many horror stories. I seriously dont know WHY you guys still use the U.S.P.S. I've also recieved a horror story from them; a $800 laser module. I was compensated though, but only after I told them I'd have my US counterpart take them to court. They are hopeless, and now, if its over $20, I wont buy unless DHL or FEDEX is an option.

(BTW the seller ended up picking up the costs; and send me a new laser, so on reciept I sent him the replacement cost).

I've read horror stories on all the mail carriers. I really wish there were reliability statistics with independently verified hard numbers.
It just seems like there is nothing more then mere opinion on who is better.

I have also had problems with all carries: Airborne Express delivering a package to the wrong address, UPS demaging insured shipments and not wanting to pay a claim until I threatened a lawsuit, and FedEx tossing packages marked fragile at recepients, not delivering when promised and logging "Delivery attempted, recepient not home", when I'd been at home waiting on them to show up all day long.

As far as I've heard, if your package has 'fragile' or 'do not bend' on it, they throw it around even more.

LaZeRz said:

As far as I've heard, if your package has 'fragile' or 'do not bend' on it, they throw it around even more.

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/Sigh... I had ordered a $1000 canvas print and it was marked "fragile". When it turned up at my door it had footprints on it (On the print itself. The packaging had been ripped open) Ended up only getting partial compensation for it.

I don't get the mentality of these people. If you don't like your job F***ING QUIT. Bastards.

Lase

Reminds me of when I got a package from Canada Post in a shopping bag, wet, and only half the original packaging there. Fortunately it was a scarf and could be washed, so no harm was done.