USPS VS, UPS, VS FEDEX.

[Sandblaster]

This morning I had a customer send me the following email:
Hello oem-cycle,
I just wanted to let you know that I received the muffler yesterday - that's 4 weeks from the date it was shipped. The muffler was in excellent shape though. I will post postive feedback for you, but I think you need to use UPS or FedEx in the future. I'm paying for it, why not?

Our response:
4 weeks?
Holy smokes!
I am very sorry for the delay, I wish you had contacted us soon when we might have been able to do something about it.
Anyway, you have raised a valid question.
Why not use UPS or Fedex?
We have used both services in the past and here is our experiences.
1. it's more expensive. When selling on eBay you have to be competitive.
Due to our location on the West Coast we are at a disadvantage to sellers who live in the central part of the USA as they are more often then not closer to their delivery points which makes it cheaper.
2. USPS, Fedex, and UPS use independent contractors for rural deliveries. The difference is, USPS screens their contractors better and have higher standards for them. What that means for us and our customers, we have less of a problem with non deliveries, broken parcels, and claimed deliveries that the customer says were not delivered.
3. When there is a problem with UPS and Fedex and a claim is filed by the sender, their immediate response is to make you wait a month and then deny the claim. they will do this for 3 months and then finally approve the claim and then wait 45 days to send your money back. Since eBay holds the seller responsible for every part of the transaction the money is taken from the sellers account and then eventually given back to the buyer.
4. Since we are a small mom and pop operation, every sale is important to us and we need to have the fewest problems possible. USPS on average has the fewest problems.
Finally, you were offered 2 different shipping methods, one of which has a much faster delivery time.
You took the free shipping option which is understandable. But this does take longer, but not necessarily 4 weeks as this is very unusual.
All I can do is offer you my explanation and my sincerest apologies.
If you need something from us in the future, please call me at 541-603-2993 and I'll give you 25% off your next purchase.
Sincerely,
Joe
Operations Manager.