USPS rates increased equals better service?

[bat_master]

Originally Posted by kmac32

Here we go again,

Just got a T205 in the mail and thankfully the seller knew how to package properly. Card came and envelope was damaged with what appears to be tire marks on th package. Guess to postal workers thought the card must need pressing to remove surface wrinkles from the card. Got lucky that they didn't try to also soak the card as we have had a few soaking threads recently. With the rate increase USPS recently took, you would hope that they would be a little more careful handling parcels marked fragile?

The good news is the card was undamaged. Maybe we could asked for discounted pricing if they are going to handle mail this way? Rant over.

Hi Ken,

As a postal employee and collector myself I hate seeing threads like this. Believe me, I'm not rep for the USPS. I enjoy my job and do take it seriously. As a collector, I'm still prone to poor service just like anyone else. I recently had a bat mailed to me from northern Illinois by Priority Mail 3-Day.

It was sent out January 9th and received 2 scans that day (acceptance, and departed post office). The next scans it received were on January 18th when it arrived at the destination facility 45 minutes from my hometown. It departed that facility on the 18th and arrived at the post office on January 19th....which was day #10. I was glad it arrived safely, but I was frustrated with the lack of movement or scanning for 8 of those 10 days. To me, there's just not explanation or excuse for it. Someone dropped the ball. 10 days travel from Illinois to Wisconsin (with a stop in Minnesota) is embarrassing.

In the case of your package I'm not sure that it had gotten run over. Looks like a padded mailer with bubble wrap on the inside? I think the pattern you are seeing could be sort of a "pencil rubbing" effect from the package being pressed in place in transit next to dirty packages or the sides of equipment and it picked up the pattern of the bubble wrap inside.

[Edited to add:] Many times when the packages travel from the sort facility to the local post office if they aren't in a sack they are just loose in the APCs. They can be mixed in with bundles of newspapers and the newspaper print gets dirty pretty quickly. [End Edit]

Having worked with mail equipment I feel pretty strongly that if that package had been run over by a wheel the case inside would have been cracked or shattered.

I am glad it arrived safely and in once piece. If I can ever be of any assistance with a package in transit feel free to email me or send me a private message and I'll offer what advice or help I can.