[SunRescue] shipping tales (was Re: ALMS)

[Jonathan Katz]

Hi!

I need to "me too."

I've had issues with most major carriers. I've had jewlery stolen
with FedEx, things stolen and bashed with UPS and things broken 
and bashed with USPS, too. Packing is obaut 60-70% of the problem.
If it isn't packed right, don't hold your breath.

I don't know if any of you saw the last auction I did on ebay for
a U1/140, but I painstakingly had to list all of the 'defects' with
it (essentially the case was whacked so hard that it was bent) just
so I could cover my hind-quarters from dumb bidders. 

Over the next few years most of UPS will move over to automated
sorting of shipments. (netgrep for the 'hub 2000 project' or read
up at UPS' website.) 62 miles of conveyor belts (all electronically
actuated) will determine where your packages go. This will elimate
human error (Expect if the data-entry is done wrong and the wrong
zipcode is associated with what is scanned from the bar-code on the
package.) I actually got to witness the 'go-live' with this
technology at their test facility in Louisville, Kentucky. No, I
didn't get any pictures, but it was quite sexy. Most UPS overnight
shipments for the Southeast (made right up until the holidays) were
sorted by this facility. 

And guess what hardware they use to drive it all? :^)

-Jon
--
Jonathan Katz
e-mail: jon at jonworld.com 
website: http://jonworld.com
proprietor: http://bachelor-cooking.com
Cell: 317-698-4023 * Pager: 800-759-8888 1770869 * FAX: 530-688-5347