Re:Does UPS routinely lie about delivery status?
by dangrossman on Friday June 19, 2015 @04:09PM
(#9747324)
Dimensional weight is the standard measure for large carriers now. The changeover at UPS started way back in 2007. UPS does it, FedEx does it, and USPS does it for certain classes of packages. You can thank large shippers like Amazon that often put a tiny product in to a huge box with a bunch of air bags: weight alone doesn't capture the fact that fewer of these boxes can be shipped per truck/flight than if it were packaged more efficiently.
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Re:Does UPS routinely lie about delivery status?
by kaolinite on Friday June 19, 2015 @04:15PM
(#9747361)
Oh it totally makes sense - the thing that surprised me was how it was called weight on the form, so I just copied the weight across from the parcel I had received. I'm sure it was partially user error, but UPS could certainly have done more to make me aware that there was a difference.
If you're sending parcels regularly, I'm sure this is all well known, but this was the first time I'd sent a parcel myself (instead of just going to the post office and have them handle it).
Re:Does UPS routinely lie about delivery status?
by dangrossman on Friday June 19, 2015 @04:20PM
(#9747397)
They ask for both the weight and the dimensions of your package so that they can calculate the billable weight for you when you purchase a shipping label. You're not asked to calculate it on your own. I don't know what went wrong with your shipment. http://i.imgur.com/32R1nF6.png
Re:Does UPS routinely lie about delivery status?
by kaolinite on Friday June 19, 2015 @04:30PM
(#9747483)
Hm, that form is perfectly fine. I wonder if it changed (the problem I had was about a year ago) or whether it was a different site I used (e.g. a UK site) or something. I was definitely only asked for dimensional weight.
Thanks for looking into it.
Edit: have just checked the UPS site myself and they have a much nicer quote interface than I remember, including dimensions and weight.