The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Regarding FedEx Smartpost and UPS Surepost

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If you have ever bought something on the internet that didn’t ship solely via USPS, then using either FedEx Smartpost or UPS Surepost was likely an option; they are both shipping options that use the United States Postal Service for the final leg. In other words, UPS or FedEx will deliver the packages to your local Post Office, and the Postal Service will handle the actual delivery.  The concept sounds good, but in practice it can be anything but.
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The Good

For the e-tailers, it’s a really good deal.  They setup the contract with UPS or FedEx, and they get shipping rates that are much more economical.  The Post Office gets a steady source of income from UPS and FedEx.  Customers will find that this option is usually is the basic shipping level, and it is usually free or has a very low cost.

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About the Author

Joel McLaughlin
Joel is a consultant in the IT field and is located in Columbus, OH. While he loves Linux and tends to use it more than anything else, he will stoop to running closed source if it is the best tool for the job. His techno passions are Linux, Android, netbooks, GPS, podcasting and Amateur Radio.

12 Comments on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Regarding FedEx Smartpost and UPS Surepost"

  1. Well, you get what you pay for.

  2. Actually, Mitch, we DIDN’T get what we paid for. My wife paid $15 to ship a pair of shoes via FedEx, was told the usual 3-5 days, and then after the purchase was told it was shipping via FedEx SmartPost. The package never arrived, and USPS says they delivered it. Another SmartPost package has also gone missing for us, with tracking info indicating “in Transit” from our local Post Office for nine days. Nine days.

    So vendors are baiting with FedEx shipping, and switching to the budget service. So no, it’s a ripoff, and it makes me wonder if e-commerce is going to really continue to dominate.

  3. The Vegetarian Site | December 25, 2013 at 5:08 pm |

    First Class Mail for $9.70? That would be a serious overpricing. USPS First Class is valid for packages up to 13 ounces, and the maximum price is still less than $4. (Or did you mean Priority Mail?)

  4. I guess my comments are more of a whine than horror story, but I’m someone who believes people should do what they say they will do. I don’t care if I chose free shipping, if you can’t get it to me for 12 days, then tell me upfront. I suppose the reason they don’t is because no one will chose that option anymore. For me it was irritating enough to reduce the number of purchases I make at Amazon.

  5. Yeah, I paid 9 dollars shipping for one t-shirt from Target they didn’t have in store. 3-5 days was shipping time given with no choice in carriers. Then I find it is being shipped Surepost: time estimate 7 days at earliest. Not cool, and that’s not a cheap shipping price imo for one mens medium tee. Pocketing extra bucks at customers expense for cheap service without complete tracking or accountability.

  6. Linda from KY | February 28, 2014 at 12:05 pm |

    We were not given a choice on sure post . What happened to us is this: We live in the country 8 miles to either small town. We get out mail in one of those towns although we live close to UPS outpost pick up only.
    First package . a gift. Never showed up although marked delivered. Second package was left at outpost site. They do not know us and have no way to contact us. Found that out by accident that perhaps they delivered it there. Took the woman time to find it as it was tossed on some unused shelf.
    All this is being said. The UPS drives by our house every day!!! That outpost is just around the corner and they can not deliver to us?????

  7. Everyone needs to write Amazon, FedEx, UPS and any vendor they use that ships them a package and inform them that you will not accept any package that uses the SmartPost or SurePost methods. I’ve done it and told them any package sent by this method will be refused. If enough people do this, those shipping methods would disappear.

  8. dittoheadadt | June 4, 2017 at 7:12 pm |

    I’ve long despised FedEx SmartPost, and always with good reason. I realize your column is 4+ years old but I just had to share my most recent absurdity (May 2017). Ordered something small from FitBit directly. Their website says shipping takes 5 business days, 7 tops. They use FedEx StupidPost.

    The item took 18 calendar days to reach me. It was off the grid for 12 days after departing Georgia. Tracking info was all but useless.

    The FedEx tracking info on their website gave the package’s dimensions and weight. No side was > 12″ and the weight was 5 oz. Had the idiots at FitBit bothered to use JUST the US Postal Service, the package would’ve arrived in 3 days (from Indiana to Puerto Rico) via First-Class mail (not even Priority Mail!), for $2.85. I don’t know how much FedEx StupidPost cost FitBit to ship that package, but even if it was free, saving that $2.85 cost FitBit a customer.

    I never buy from merchants who use FedEx StupidPost. Period. I’ve dropped Keurig, LifeProof, FitBit, and Yeti, among others.

  9. MichaelMac365 | September 20, 2017 at 12:04 pm |

    I have been waiting on a package ordered from GNC for 19 days now. I finally got an update. It is being delivered today to the post office in Phoenix AZ for the post office to deliver it to me. I hope the post man likes a nice long scenic drive since I live in Temple Tx.

  10. I love Fed Ex but I hate USPS involvement. Postal worker is too lazy to climb the stairs and makes me pick up all packages and certified letters at the post office.

  11. joe Gomes | March 7, 2019 at 7:47 pm |

    Fedex smartpost is a horrible service. They say they will deliver one day. The day comes and they convinently change the day. Very very bad service

  12. Tim Wochomurka | December 18, 2019 at 12:58 pm |

    This is the comment section that won’t die. I found your post to be accurate, and seriously do not understand why shippers would use these mashed-together “solutions” instead of literally just the post office/USPS since it offers cheap shipping with (in 2019, at least) excellent tracking solutions.

    In closing, I hate smart post.

Comments are closed.