As a Lucerne resident, I’ve ordered items and there are two ways to get them delivered. Via the post office (USPS) or via shipping services such as FedEx and UPS.
I’ve started putting my street address and my P.O. Box number on the shipping address for the place I’ve ordered from, so I’ll see if that works. So many packages have been returned because the sender can’t figure out where to send my package.
It’s frustrating. Most sellers don’t specify how they will be delivering the goods. Most just specify economy shipping, standard shipping. Which means nothing, except the price.
Recently I ordered peppermint oil spray to spray under my car’s hood to keep rodents from munching on wires like they did in a friend’s car. I put the street and post office box address as to where to send it. It got sent back to the seller and now I have to wait for my refund.
I still want the peppermint oil spray!
I’ve looked at many sellers’ websites and I don’t see how they ship. I had a chat argument about the subject of what delivery carrier is used. My friend said that the information is on the website orders originate from. I say that I can’t find such info and believe me, I’ve tried!
Apparently Amazon has its own shipping carrier, which includes a network of vans, drivers, and contractors. Amazon also has partnerships with other delivery companies and the postal service.
So, still no concrete answer as to how something you order from Amazon gets to you.
Does the weight of a package determine how it will be delivered?
The weight of a package apparently does significantly impact how it will be delivered, as shipping carriers use weight as a key factor in calculating shipping costs and determining the appropriate delivery method, often requiring different services for heavier packages depending on their weight and destination; heavier packages may need specialized handling or a different delivery truck depending on the carrier.
From my research I also found that “carriers for Amazon aren’t determined until the time an item ships. More accurately, carriers aren’t finalized until an item ships, but the planning starts after the order is placed. A number of factors go into carrier selection, including costs and capacity constraints, so logistically, it’s a bad idea to try to nail this down too early. And that’s just for items fulfilled by Amazon; third party sellers doing their own fulfillment can, of course, choose whatever carrier they want.”
My granddaughter, who sells her Lucky Penny Tallow skincare online, told me that “Shipping is a complicated issue from a business perspective, difficult to navigate especially when the customer has a complicated address that the post office says is not deliverable.” She uses USPS to ship out her skincare and even that’s not easy.
A friend told me that she has her mail and packages delivered to Pak N Mail in Lakeport because she got so frustrated with delivery from online purchases not getting delivered due to her physical address being close to a main road; no place for the carriers to park and they just couldn’t toss her packages over the locked gate.
I checked my peppermint oil order from Amazon. The purchase date was Jan. 10, 2025 and it wasn’t delivered because it went via USPS. The post office sent it back because my street address, not my P.O. Box, was on the package. The comment from the seller was I’d receive a refund. It’s been over eight days and still no refund. Still no peppermint oil.
What’s a girl to do?…well, with having four cats, maybe I don’t need Peppermint Oil Rodent Spray. They are my peppermint oil!
Lucy Llewellyn Byard welcomes comments and shares. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
