When getting packages in the mail here in East Texas, you only have three options. You can use old faithful the United States Postal Service or "USPS."

Second choice is the United Parcel Service or UPS, "What can brown do for you?" Last but not least it's Federal Express or as they like to be called these days "Fed Ex."

All three of them have different uses. If you are going to send a letter or small package and you aren't in a hurry, you use USPS. If you are going to send a huge bulky package or a small package quickly UPS is the way to go. If you want to send small to medium sized packages overnight, you pay up for Fed Ex.

Not that long ago we had a fourth option in our area. DHL or Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn. Sounds like a law firm, but it's a German shipping company, though founded in San Francisco.

DHL is the one if you want something to go back and forth across the pond (The Atlantic Ocean) quickly these days. They started shipping here in the US when they bought Airborne Express in 2003. They had 412 hub stations. They made regular trips right here to the radio station.

In 2008 DHL cut 9,500 jobs and discontinued air and ground operations in the U.S.A. They reduced the number of hub stations to 103, and none are anywhere near here.

If you are working with a company overseas to get an item shipped to you and they say they are using DHL, I would ask them for an alternate carrier. The item will get to you, they will just have to hand it off to a local carrier from one of the few hubs.

The issues for me started when I had to send something back that arrived damaged. It had to be dropped off at the nearest hub this time, and picked up there with an ID when it came back. The closest hubs are in Tyler,Shreveport, Dallas, Houston, and one in Livingston.

That's a long round trip twice to hand pick up one package. They have other hubs in major cities in Texas, just not multiple locations. For us here in Deep East Texas you may want to avoid DHL. They are a great delivery service, they just aren't in our area. 

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If you do have to end up using them like I did, at least now you know what you could possibly be getting into. Happy shipping!

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