WTF is the 5-0 on UPS SDP, RSVP?
September 8, 2006 12:59 PM   Subscribe

A company was able to send us (domestic U.S.) a board game by something called "UPS Ground S.D.P." Black label, all handwritten, no billing details on the label, and a tracking number like "K58375718" which is absolutely untrackable on the ups.com website. What is this? How come almost everyone else (and myself) uses the large UPS shipping labels and 1Zxxxxx tracking numbers but they don't?
posted by zek to Work & Money (7 answers total)
 
Could be they used a third party provider. I know places that I order from ship all their packages through FedEx only. For USPS orders FedEx batches them to a local PO, who then delivers it like mail.

Could be something like that.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 1:06 PM on September 8, 2006


It sounds like their "same day pick-up" (SDP) service. The tracking number is probably the Pick-up Request Number. See the UPS FAQ here.

It doesn't look like there's a way for someone other than the shipper to track the package.
posted by porlockian at 1:12 PM on September 8, 2006


Are you sure that it's United Parcel Service, and not the US Postal Service who delivered it?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:12 PM on September 8, 2006


No answers here, but FYI, I'm expecting a package from UPS ground that has a tracking number in a similar format to yours: KXXX XXX XXXX. It tracks just fine, so that format is valid...
posted by giantfist at 1:15 PM on September 8, 2006


SDP means same day pickup. You can check out page 112 of this terribly long document to learn a little more about it and see what the labels are supposed to look like. [former UPS package handler here]
posted by jessamyn at 1:17 PM on September 8, 2006


Response by poster: Are you sure that it's United Parcel Service, and not the US Postal Service who delivered it?

I didn't see who delivered it, so I'm not sure. It could have been either.
posted by zek at 1:21 PM on September 8, 2006


If it was USPS, look for something in the upper right hand corner of the mailing label that says "US Postage Paid." Otherwise, look for a postage meter stamp or sticker. Just offhand, though, it doesn't sound like the Postal Service.
posted by faceonmars at 2:34 PM on September 8, 2006


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