They call it UPS Basic. What they do is, charge you the UPS rate, UPS ships your package to your local Post Office who delivers it. Great idea huh? Charge double the "if it fits it ships rate" then ship it the cheaper way. Of course, this is done to save you and I money.

Hadn't noticed that till you mentioned it. Ordered few items last minute before leaving for wisconsin, to arrive UPS. They didn't make it to the doorstep and i left without them, oh well. Come to find out on returning - package was sitting in the mailbox all the while, with the mail i forgot to pickup before leaving town. Shipped USPS.

Not only that, but with the UPS Basic service, you can't track your package.

"And thats the way it is."

Even worse when you have a PO box and you give them your physical address for shipping, the post office won't deliver it because they have no record of that address and no mailbox to drop it in if they did.

I had something shipped to me by DSL, who doesn't come here. It went to the USPS the same way. It took it's sweet time getting here, for sure, and there was no way to track it.

I am on the hold at Midway right now. The rep I talked to said that they know that they have a problem with UPS basic where people with a PO box will not get there package. But that the managment says it is a small percentage so they dont worry about it to much.

Here's another one: Asked for UPS and it was shipped UPS, check. Even got the tracking number. After 10 days checked on the tracking number. UPS has it that it was delivered and signed for six days previous to shipping address. But, no package. They, UPS suggests i call post office. Yup, seems it was delivered to post office for further delivery to my house six days previous. Postmaster says that they gave it to another jobber/vendor for delivery that same day. called jobber, yup, they have it and ask when can I pick it up. Huh? After another 30 minutes on the phone with them I convinced them it was in their best interest to deliver to my home.

There are other options besides MidwayUSA, "And that't the way it is."

Graf & Sons (they have one shipping rate with no minimum order amount)
Brownells
Natchez Shooters Supplies
MidSouth
Cabela's

Its a good service option for them, it saves them probably $4 per package because it gets rid of the residential surcharge. It doesn't work the same way as the if it fits it ships because UPS is picking up the package and in a way subcontracting it to the USPS.

The reason its good for the customer is because they get full UPS tracking, they can have delivery to PO boxes and delivery on saturday for no extra fee.

We toyed around with the Fed Ex version for our e-commerece site, we would have used it for our free shipping option but we had trouble getting it to interface with our software,. Its not a scam and I doubt Midway is raking in cash with it, they still have to pay people to pack the orders and pay for the shipping supplies hence where handling fees come from.

Midway has bad customer service IMO. I placed an order online and forgot to add an item, called them right after I placed the order to see if they could add the other item and i was told no I would have to place another order and pay the shipping (item was $5 shipping was $9) That is such BS! I oversee a warehouse and call center and a fullfilment site, I can't believe they can't add an item to an order or wouldn't ship it for free..

I just had them mail it to me....

According the their website you can.

Don't they give you several shipping options at Midway USA, when you check out?

I ordered stuff, and had it shipped via a flat rate box for $11. Not too bad, if you ask me.

Happen to ask if they could cancel the entire order?

They ship the same day, so adding an order probably would screw them up.

According to whose website?

I've had 3 packages shipped to me in the past couple of weeks, all of them were sent UPS Basic, and were from 3 different vendors. In each case, when you entered the tracking number on the UPS website, it would only show you that it was picked up and that it was on route. No expected delivery date was given for any of the packages, neither was a "location by location" tracking of the package as it was in route.

I copied this exactly from Midway USA's website:

"UPS Basic -
Dependable, economical ground service with final delivery made by UPS or USPS. Delivery is typically one day longer than UPS Ground with full tracking capability to final delivery. UPS Basic is available to residential addresses in the lower 48 States."

I just ordered some stuff from Midway last month and pretty sure it came UPS Basic and I could track per relay station and expected delivery date.

I have no problems with Midway USA's shipping.

You can track your item but only until they deliver it to the post office. after that it gets there when it gets there.

Exactly. If they offer an option that is cheaper, use it. Choose the one that is most advantageous, and order your stuff. It's not rocket science to figure out the best bottom line....

Shouldn't somebody be pointing out that anyone who doesn't like it can always start their own company?

I live in KS. MidwayUSA is in MO. If I order AM today, the Big Brown Truck delivers PM tomorrow. It's happened many, many times using UPS Ground.

For your viewing pleasure at home, the ninth and tenth digits/letters in an 18-figure UPS tracking number denote method of shipping. For example, 03 is Ground and PP is Basic.
Also, there are two UPS Basics, Basic 1 and Basic 2. I don't know the difference, and don't care...as long as it works.

Exactly. Midway is far superior to most of the mail order shooting supply houses out there. You will find far more positive feedbacks to the negatives.

I went to the web site and didn't see that option.

Probably should clarify my comment. I get tired of having that response thrown up each and every time someone expresses displeasure over something business related.

me either

I work for UPS. We have no home delivery by the Post Office here. One thing I reccomend is to always include both your P.O. Box and your physical address. This way no matter how it is shipped we always have the proper address. Believe me we get just as frustrated as you do over this.

Its cheaper for UPS to have the Post Office deliver its own packages than to pay their own drivers. UPS and the PO are both making money off of it otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. Fed Ex Ground delivers almost twice as much to the PO than we do. I delivered over 100 pkgs today to the PO of UPS Basic.

Believe it or not its big business. UPS also delivers the USPS' bulk mail to the USPS.

I have an order en route from MidwayUSA. It is the UPS Basic and it is showing tracking information on UPS' website. However, it is not showing an estimated date of arrival as it normally would. I didn't really pick up on the fact that something had changed in the shipping options when I made the purchase, but it did seem a little cheaper than usual. Previously, I've always used UPS ground. Will see how it goes.

As for TexasTBag's issue ... I once called in to Midway after making an online order, and piggybacked some additional items to the online order via the phone. It went off without a hitch and the lady was very nice to deal with. Perhaps it was a case of the order already having been filled in your case? ... whereas mine was not when I called? Who knows. I still like Midway overall, but I've used some of the other online vendors too including Midsouth, Natchez, Grafs and Cabelas. Grafs may charge a flat rate, but when you get the total all added up when said and done, they will be the same or somewhat more expensive than Midway more often than not. They are all fairly close on price with a few exceptions on particular items. Hands down though, I think Midway has the best website, although it has some glitches since they've made some revision to it. I find Midway's competitors' websites are not as friendly to navigate. Doesn't stop me from using them, but Midway gets the lion's share of my purchases.

It's not just Midway,....it's some new deal's been struck, between two competing freight outfits.

The snivelling whiners haven't lived in Africa, S. America, or a coupla', other 3rd World chit-holes where mail and freight can take a month and a half,...and cost $100s in bribes, to get at all.

Buck up, alla' you "Change" types

....it's just beginning.

GTC

croldfort,

Have you ordered lately? I live in KC and also got the next day delivery for the lowball rate, but my last package got routed east to Earth City (their regional hub) first and added a few days to the delivery. Couldn't have saved any money to haul it from Central MO to the east side before delivery to the West edge of the state. Made me reconsider where I want to shop first for sure.

No such thing as low shipping rates to AK. Midway shipping ain't cheap, but it does get here.

I usually go with Midsouth as they generally have better prices on stuff, and better shipping, but Midway typically has more stuff in stock.

I'm generally pretty simple, stuff is in stock, I buy it, and am happy when it shows up 3-5 days later.

carlm,

I just got off the phone with Midway. I left a message that I will not be doing business with them until I hear they have discontinued the UPS Basic.

Tell me I am a reactionary.

I'll go with Grafs, pay a bit more up front and have my entire order shipped for $4.50.
Midway is still taking the low road with their unfair and deceptive practices.

g

You're a reactionary Rich.

When you order on Midway's site,during the checkout,they give you four or five different shipping options.You can choose UPS Basic,USPS Flat Rate,UPS Next Day Air,ect.,whichever fits your pocket book.

Those that choose UPS Basic at checkout only have themselves to blame.You get what you pay for.I always get UPS Ground or USPS Flat Rate and my packages always get here within a week.

Brian.

What gets my sack is that they charge 12 bucks to ship it, in a $4.50 flat-rate box, then tell you the other $7.50 went to "Handling"


WTF??


As a rule, I quit doing business with Midway when they quit giving discounts to FFL holders.

Many other reloading supply houses will honor a C&R FFL. As an extra added bonus, you can buy old beat up Mil-surp rifles without a middleman.

Never quite understood this "Handling" charge myself.

Don't the people that pack and ship the orders work for the company and aren't their salaries and wages part of it's cost base already?

If so, their selling price should be based on their total costs (fixed and variable) plus a margin for profit and these "Handling" charges should already have be included.

Seems like there's some double-dipping going on here......don'tcha think?

Grandpa!(grin)

It probably is a "gratuity" that is automatically charged to all customer groups of one or larger.

I always use priority mail with Midwayusa and have never had a problem and shipping is reasonable, I've oredered alot of stuff through them too.Often get my order in 2-3 days.

No, I don't think it is double-dipping. I've seen where folks have compared shopping carts of Midway, Grafs, Natchez, and Midsouth for the same items. I have also done this myself when comparison shopping. Most of the time, the total cost including shipping is fairly even ... within a few dollars typically. Now there might be a few items where one or the other is significantly cheaper, or having a sale while Midway is not. But generally, they are all about the same. So they can either price in the handling cost on the product, or make it a fee like they do at Midway, or some combination of the two.

It still pays to shop if you have the time and inclination. I use them all and like them all. I don't think it is deceptive, just different than what some folks expect or are used to. For certain, it makes sense to make larger orders from Midway, else that handling charge inflates your per unit cost. I've never had trouble making large orders when purchasing. But if you only need one item and can't find it around town, then it bites. Perhaps the other online vendors are better for that.

Here is a link to a comparison done on the shootersforum. It is the first post of the thread:

Comparison of Online Vendors - shootersforum. Now this is only one comparison. On a different day with a different basket of goods, the order of least to greatest cost vendor might change. But it illustrates the point that they weren't all that far apart.

As my father once told me, "What they don't make on the peanuts, they make up for on the popcorn."

Their shipping charges become a topic of conversation here from time to time. I still say they're quite reasonable and their sale prices are usually quite good, IMO. Does perturbe me slighly that they'll advertise something on sale in their monthly paper that is completely out of stock when they mail them out. Like the .25 cal 100 gr BTs that were out of stock until the last day of Nov.

All things considered I like their site and order from them frequently, though they're not my only source for components.

Well, my order made late in the day on 11/30/09 just arrived delivered by the brown truck. No USPS involved for this UPS Basic shipment FYI. I'm happy with it. S&H charge was $8.85 for $253 worth of merchandise.

I ordered mid day on Saturday, and chose the $11 flat rate USPS shipping to Alaska. It arrived on Tuesday's mail plane. FWIW..