shipping orchids Priority Mail

[cnycharles]

wow, that box was literally put through the mill! I'm surprised, I've had many boxes sent priority mail that went from coast to coast in two days, very rarely three. I often mark them as fragile or perishable and haven't had any in bad shape. maybe the kicker is that you had mail sent through rochester? I know my brother who lives in brooklyn says it often can take a whole week for a letter or package to go from one part of brooklyn to another, so maybe city service is 'less reliable' than rural?
i was going to send a three pound package via fedex recently next-day, and eeked when I saw that it would cost from $85 to $115 to send it! The box went next week priority mail cost $8 and heard no complaints from the other end.

 

[Ernie]

We use USPS a lot and have had no boxes arrived damaged that I recall (but yeah plants get jumbled sometimes). They are easy to use and usually have the best rates, and, Priority Mail is advertised at 2-3 days. Yeah, we'd hope that an intra-Illinois package would arrive in 1-2 days, but they almost always hit the 2-3 day mark regardless of where they're headed. We give our customers the option of choosing the carrier if they know they get better service from one over another, and always charge shipping at cost. FedEx gives the next best rates usually, but you don't always know what they charge until the box is well on the way. We've had our share of less than desirabele experiences with FedEx. UPS just seem to have a fee for everything, and their prices are usually crazy. We highly recommend using signature confirmation when shipping or buying plants. One would hope that the Post Office/FedEx/UPS/DHL would be less likely to mishandle a box if they know someone will need to see it and sign to claim it. Shoot, with hot temps and blazing sun (or cold temps and snow in winter), not worth leaving a box to bake until you get home from work anyway!

-Ernie

 

[Ross]

I use Priority Mail with delivery confirmation and have had good experience for the most part.