Good luck.
I ship hundreds of packages Priority mail insured/tracked(That's a bad joke) domestic and international. I also send large &/or delicate items Fedex/UPS. I cross my fingers and HOPE that they arrive and are still in one piece wehn I give them to USPS. The majority do, but it is still a miracle.
The only service I ever have had any major issues with was USPS, and they are too common.
I create almost all of my shipping and customs forms with online accounts and keep PDF copies of everything as well as packing slips. It is all dropped of at either the local post office or the Fedex/UPS terminals.
The USPS packages routinely do not even show that they were actually shipped when I check the status, even when I force the drones to scan them in. There is almost never any intermediate scan and much of the time it won't even show a delivery scan even tho I have gotten feedback from the recipient that it has arrived. It tends to only show "shipping label created".
I have had the USPS refuse claims on lost/stolen items stating that it was never shipped since it was never scanned-in and only shows "shipping label created" (It is also USPS policy NOT to routinely scan-in items creating a convenient catch-22).
I am currently waiting 4 weeks for an insured/tracked priority mail package to show up after it was returned from NC due to an invalid delivery address. They have NO idea where it is and no idea if/when it will ever show up.
I just got a Intl Parcel post package returned to me from Australia due to recipient problems. That was shipped over 6 months ago and sent back by OZ postal 5 1/2 months ago. The USPS had NO idea where it was and the box was virtually shredded. It had more in common with an abused bean bag than the overpacked heavy duty package that I sent.
Any time that I have tried to get missing items tracked down I get a blank stare and the admission that they have NO WAY to do that outside of looking on their own local shelves. Even when a claim is put in and the Postmaster tries to press the issue it amounts to them calling one or two "likely" distribution centers and getting the manager there to TRY and find the stray package(Never successful).
I have had packages delivered by them that looked like accordians when they arrived and the contents in many pieces. Their routine response to the insurance claims has been to attempt to deny it and say it was improperly packaged!
I pack my stuff very well to protect delicate items from most any abusive gorilla but they manage to crush/destroy packages that I could stand on without denting.
Oh yes; The post office does NOT guaranty delivery time, they only give you an estimate that may/not have anything to do with reality.
As to cost; on Domestic items, and usually into Canada, Fedex regular ground costs me 1/3-1/2 of what USPS does. International is definitley much more expensive than USPS. They also track EVERY step and provide me with emails for every major step/exception and almost always deliver the day that they say they will (usually within 1-3 work days but never more than 5).
just my own experience as well as that of many businesses that I talk with, but your experience may differ.
