What is wrong with USPS parcel tracking??
 

I sent my recent RMA to OWC a couple of weeks ago.

Tracked it through and out of Thailand - Thailand Post are unusually reliable, btw.

OK, it gets to the USA and was "processed through" at NYC facility on 10/10. Since then, nothing.

Is this normal? i.e., will it now only update when "delivered"?

Looking for insight here.

Is it affected by the shutdown?

Good point, not sure.

...and just as I said that, an update! It's made it to Elk Grove Village...

Now they're just waiting for the next Elk.

Or the wagon train..?

FWIW, Monday (14 Oct.) was a US federal and USPS holiday: Columbus Day.

Me too.
My package status hasn't updated since Oct 8.

More likely the gravy train.

Sure you sent it trackable to final destination? Canada Post isn't much different - 'trackable' means it went in here, someone signed for it there. Transdimensional vortices in the system prevented meaningful recording of any location in between in accordance with Schrödinger, Heisenberg et.al.

UPS international is worse than awful (strange because within Canada **OR** the USA they're great), I've usually had good experiences with FedEX.

USPS tracking is known to be horrible. While UPS, FedEx, etc. show you updates decently quickly as they occur, USPS tracking updates once a day. Further, it usually doesn't track every scan. Finally, there are several "tracking" options that don't actually track the package (delivery confirmation looks like tracking, but only updates on delivery).

Well, after that 5 day lag, it suddenly updated and got there, so I guess all's well, especially given OWC sent out my new one the same day. Happy bunny.

When I talk about USPS "tracking", I always put scare quotes around that word. Their version of "tracking" is not accurate, reliable, timely, or in my opinion, useful.

If you need real tracking, it's worth it to spend a bit extra for shipping via FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.

Trevor

Trouble is trev, is that it's not a "bit more" over here. As soon as you put an item in a courier bag (as opposed to an envelope), it becomes a parcel and the price, for instance to the UK from Thailand, goes from (equivalents) $17 to $56! It's a cartel too, so it matters not which bunch of bandits you choose.

That RMA cost me about $6 with "tracking", so I can live with that, otherwise I was up near the territory of buying a new SSD outright.

The USPS is not a federal agency. It's a private company.

Well, it's now five days since owc posted my SSD and the tracker is still not even active yet.

Hopefully some day will be able to Teleport things. In the future you might want to check with OWC if they have the ability to generate a return label with a carrier. They do in the US at least. Companies often get amazing discounts and better service then regular folk.

Apple/Fedex always amazed the Sxxt out of me sending a product from its point of Manufacturer in China to my Home in 48 hours with at least a few updates along the way with its status.

What's a return label and how does it work? I have a tracking number, that is as yet unregistered, but I guess that's not what you mean, is it?

Shipping
 

So Amazon, OWC and most good companies offer to Generate a return Label with one or more shipping carriers. Some companies absorb the return shipping cost as part of their return policy and or warranty. At the very least most can provide the Label and make a small deduction from a return credit, or they merely charge you.

In any case virtually all companies get substantial discounts with shippers and often can offer free or discounted shipping that we can only dream of. Amazon in the US is famous for free 2 day shipping for its Prime members. And as I mentioned even more amazing is Apple/Fedex offering 2 day shipping from Deep in china at a manufacturing facility to an individual home in the US for free.

What macsales is able to offer from Thailand to Macsales or vs. versa I am not aware.

Well, it's a straightforward USPS Small Packet as far as I can see. I just don't understand why the tracking number isn't even registering after five days now.

Back to your topic of the existing parcel path:) What generally happens even with a great carrier is that an invoice/carrier label is generated but not necessarily picked up or put in progress. The other day for example I printed an Amazon UPS Label but was not anywhere near a UPS for drop off for a week. That whole time of course nothing changed with the status of my tracking number for the package, I had not even given them yet.

Something similar is likely going on. OWC could tell you best. I would guess that OWC has arrangements that are not daily for international shipments. Or perhaps the tracking for international shipments is almost non existent after the label is generated and the package is handed off to USPS, before being handed off again in Thailand.

In my considerable experience (having bought hundreds of parts, when I restored my M151A1) it tracks as far as the international portal and will then be picked up by the Thailand Post tracking system upon arrival at Don Meuang airport. It's certainly not in Thailand yet. Maybe a live chat is in order.

Live chat with Macsales sounds more efficient then our guessing:)

Indeed. :-)

I'm in BKK now, so I'll have a go when I get home this afternoon. They operate 24/7 as far as I can see.

What year and manufacturer was your Jeep/Mutt:)

It was a 1963 Kaiser build. That was the year that Kaiser bought Willys Overland and became the Kaiser Jeep Corporation. Fat lot of good that did them, as the US government was busy putting together AM General, who "won" every contract from 1971 onwards. The m151 A2 was built by Ford in 1970 (contract year 1969), but that was the last independent bite of the cherry. You can tell a Ford A2, as the front leading fender edge under the huge turn signal light is flat, whereas the AMGs were contoured with the light body. My A2 was a final contract 1978 build. Utterly off topic. ;-)

At that point we will simply replicate what we want. The theoretical technologies are the same.

Oh dear. Chatted with owc. It seems that number, although alpha-numerically exactly the same format as a tracker, is merely a parcel ID???

15-30 days delivery, they say. Hmmph.

No. They're an "independent agency of the US government"; not even a contractor. Basically, they are run like a private company in that they mostly generate their own profit, can sue and be sued, etc. However, they're established by the Constitution, receive tax dollars, and take direction from Congress.

Closer to the topic at hand, their five-year plan starting this year includes the Intelligent Mail Barcode that is supposed to enable FedEx / UPS style tracking.

Contrary to what OWC live chat told me, that non-"tracker" did eventually show up online, although it's not showing on ThailandPost yet. The wait continues...

There are a couple of low-cost international alternatives to USPS, but they have to be offered by the company you are purchasing from, and I don't know if OWC offers these options. If they don't, you could certainly suggest to them that it would be a good thing for them to offer.

From FedEx, there is FIMS: FedEx International Mail Service. From UPS, there is Mail Innovations International.

Both of these use the same basic idea, where UPS or FedEx ship it to your country, but then (when it's cheaper to do so) insert the package into your local mail service for the 'last mile' delivery. (Sometimes it's cheaper for UPS or FedEx to deliver it the last mile, for example if at the same time they already have something going to your address.)

I've seen this cost one tenth as much as FedEx or UPS Express (think for example $6 to ship something FIMS, $60 to ship it FedEx Express). It's tracked while in UPS or FedEx possession, but then untracked when it's inserted into the local mail service. It also takes much longer to get there than UPS or FedEx Express, about the same length of time as if you shipped USPS. It's big advantage is real tracking up to the last mile, and not that thing that USPS pretends is tracking.

Trevor

OWC offered a replacement already, but I opted to wait the extra 2 weeks also suggested, as I don't want to be flagged as a serial non receiver. Had quite an expensive purchase not show up a while back and they replaced that.