Well, the USPS finally lost a package..... or not!!!! Cards were delivered today!!!!

jmbkb4

9101150134711462909075

I sent a small box to Hawaii via Priority Mail on 5/12 and it has been stuck at the 5/14 update (Hazelwood, MO anyone??) ever since then. Does it take ridiculously long to get a package to HI from MO or is the package lost. I've never shipped to HI before this.

The buyer is, justifiably, wanting the $140 refund, but I would hate to eat the costs and then see the cards delivered.

What should I do?

Thanks for coming through again, USPS!! No worries that it took 2 weeks for a Priority package! I'm just glad it arrived safely!

JESSEJAMES

Hold off on the refund... I had a priority mail package stuck at a holding center for nearly a month and it was delvered safely. It was for 2k WORTH OF STUFF AND IT WAS NOT INSURED! I was scared to death.

KyleBicking

Go to your post office and see the postmaster.

Bring your receipts - make copies of them before going.

Tell the buyer/seller to be patient as you iron out the details of the package and that you will make it up to him after meeting with the PO.

Good luck, Hawaii can take some time, but not that long. Did you buy insurance?

goose3

I don't believe you can even file a claim with the USPS until it's been 30 days.

Bosox1976

I actually received a first class bubble mailer yesterday that was mailed April 5, 2005 - ALMOST 14 MONTHS!

Inside were two 1962 topps PSA 7's, both cracked. I was initially mad, but when I saw the date I was mortified. I think I got a refund over a year ago. I'll post a scan on Friday - mondo bizarro!

jmbkb4

<< <i>I don't believe you can even file a claim with the USPS until it's been 30 days. >>


Can you file a claim on a package that wasn't even insured?

magellan

I've had 1 package take roughly 2 months to get to me. It was from a board member & no fault of his, sometimes they get hung up in the system.

blue227

I live in Hawaii and have done a fair amount of buying and selling with the USPS as my primary mode of shipment. I have never had a package lost or misdirected in my life until the 4 bad experiences i have had within the past year. Partially offsetting the 4 bad experiences were 2, i-can't-believe-it-happened positive experiences.

In the first example, it took 6 weeks for a $25 to make it from NJ to Hawaii as it was stuck in a Fresno, CA processing center for about 3 weeks before someone finally decided to get it moving on its journey. Luckily, the seller purchased delivery confirmation (which was working for a change!) so i could see that a package was actually in transit when i started to doubt that he sent the card to me.

In the second example, a card & check i sent to CT using one of those electronic mailing labels you print off of the USPS website never got logged into their delivery confirmation system (i.e. there was no proof that it was received by the PO only that it had been notified that i printed a label) and disappeared for 6+ weeks before reappearing in my mailbox one day without its original mailing box, packed in a large bubble wrap envelope from some USPS Lost Mail processing facility in Georgia. Thank goodness the guy in CT was cool about the delay because i was looking like a flake since the electronic delivery confirm was not registering that the post office ever received the package and there was no way to track it once it i dropped it in a mailbox.

In the third and fourth examples, two packages i sent to two different buyers on the same day (value @ < $60) got lost in transit and again the electronic delivery confirmation was never scanned on pickup so there was no proof the package was ever received by the post office. The buyers started to get impatient after the 3rd week or so (understandably) so i had to refund their money and eat the loss. The buyer's didn't pay extra for insurance but i felt it was the right to do so i made them whole on their purchase.

Just when i'm thinking the USPS sucks, i get a bubble wrap envelope with a couple of graded cards in it delivered OVERNIGHT from Long Island, NY for 63 cents postage. Granted the 6hour time difference between Hawaii and NY helped but to think that regular first class mail can make it 10,000 miles overnight to my mailbox for 63 cents is pretty damn impressive (if only a fluke).

And very recently (within the past 48 hours), i ask my wife to take some boxes and bubble wrap envelopes of stuff i sold on eBay to the local post office for me. My sweet wife doesn't realize that she is supposed to stand in line and pay for the postage on one of the boxes which happens to include a $1500 card with a filled out neon green insurance forms that states the $ value of the box. She goes to the post office and drops them off in their bulk mail drop box without paying for the necessary postage or insurance. When I realize what transpired, i figure there is a good chance that i am SOL if some dishonest postal employee sees the box w/o postage with the insurance forms that state the contents value of $1500 card and decides to keep it for him/herself. I start to wonder how i am going to tell the buyer what happened, whether i might have to refund their $$$, and if the box might end up in Fresno, CA for 3 weeks or end up going to Georgia before being returned to me 6 weeks later! Luckily for me, the box was returned to me as postage due the following day!

There are some definite problems with the online label delivery confirmation system since it fails to work unless the package gets scanned at pickup which tends not to be the case around here. That said, considering the volume of mail in the USPS system, it is still fairly reliable with my only bad experiences in my life being the 4 i mentioned above which averages out to about one screw-up every 10 years or so in my case. Unfortunately, offsetting postal "miracles" only happen once every 20 years or so for me.

ctsoxfan

<< <i>There are some definite problems with the online label delivery confirmation system since it fails to work unless the package gets scanned at pickup which tends not to be the case around here. That said, considering the volume of mail in the USPS system, it is still fairly reliable with my only bad experiences in my life being the 4 i mentioned above which averages out to about one screw-up every 10 years or so in my case. Unfortunately, offsetting postal "miracles" only happen once every 20 years or so for me. >>



Nice post - one question, if anyone has some USPS insight. I use those online (Stamps.com) DC labels also, never had an issue with a package. But, is it true that the package has to be scanned in before it leaves my local PO? I usually just drop the packages in the bulk mail drop - so who scans them in? I hate to wait in line, especially just to hand over pre-paid packages. But, should I be doing this so they will "scan" the packages in? If so, it really defeats one of the main benefits of using online postage.

blue227

<< <i>Nice post - one question, if anyone has some USPS insight. I use those online (Stamps.com) DC labels also, never had an issue with a package. But, is it true that the package has to be scanned in before it leaves my local PO? I usually just drop the packages in the bulk mail drop - so who scans them in? I hate to wait in line, especially just to hand over pre-paid packages. But, should I be doing this so they will "scan" the packages in? If so, it really defeats one of the main benefits of using online postage. >>



When i had to buy some special stamps at the post office, I once asked to have a package with an online printed mailing label scanned at the post office but the woman behind the counter refused to do so since she said i didn't pay for the service at the counter (50 cents in person vs. free or 14 cents online). She kind of implied that i got what i paid for (which wasn't a very reliable service.) I don't know if all postal employees are trained not to scan the online labels at the counter or if this woman was simply having a bad day at work.

If the package is not scanned when its accepted, it never gets logged into the online tracking system. This is the big difference btwn the private sector couriers like Fedex or UPS and the USPS. In the private sector, the package gets scanned each time it gets handed off from one point of delivery to the next. This allows a person to see online when a package arrives at a sorting facility, when it leaves, when it goes on the delivery truck, and so on.

I've had some online sellers stick specially printed big red labels that read "SCAN ME" to the packages that are packaged with an online printed mailing label. Not sure if it ever helped or made a difference though.

jimq112

<< <i>

When i had to buy some special stamps at the post office, I once asked to have a package with an online printed mailing label scanned at the post office but the woman behind the counter refused to do so since she said i didn't pay for the service at the counter (50 cents in person vs. free or 14 cents online). She kind of implied that i got what i paid for (which wasn't a very reliable service.) I don't know if all postal employees are trained not to scan the online labels at the counter or if this woman was simply having a bad day at work.

I've had some online sellers stick specially printed big red labels that read "SCAN ME" to the packages that are packaged with an online printed mailing label. Not sure if it ever helped or made a difference though.

>>



Most of the offices I have worked at do not scan delivery confirmation parcels as the arrive. I've only scanned accountable mail like insured or signature confirmation when received and I also scan parcels that we deliver for ups and dhl when they get dropped off in the afternoon for delivery the next day.


The clerks at the post office have the scan me stickers. It's a reminder for the carriers to scan them so our percentage scanned doesn't go down. Sometimes they have to use them because some idiot put the delivery confirmation bar code on the bottom of the box. Some offices use them and honestly some PMs or supervisors can't see spending the $5 or whatever for a roll of stickers so they don't bother.

For the guys who print your own labels/bar codes - if the labels are smeared or hard for the scanner to read, you usually get 2 shots at a scan. If it doesn't scan twice, we can either type in that long number and hope it works or we might miss that one. If we're in a hurry or it's raining we might miss that one. If we miss it then it never shows up as delivered. We don't sign for delivery confirmation, it's not counted, and we're not accountable for delivering as many as we take out. So please use good ink and labels, and cover the label with good clear not wrinkled tape.

coachh

Hazelwood MO is a suburb of St. Louis and right next to the airport. I don't know if I could do anything, but if it doesn' t move for a few more days I would be happy to stop by and talk to someone for you.
Rob

Editeded to ask, Where did you ship from?

jmbkb4

<< <i>Hazelwood MO is a suburb of St. Louis and right next to the airport. I don't know if I could do anything, but if it doesn' t move for a few more days I would be happy to stop by and talk to someone for you.
Rob

Editeded to ask, Where did you ship from? >>


Hi there, that would be much appreciated! How nice of you! I mailed it on 5/12 from Columbia, MO (65203). I'm about 3h from Hazelwood, I'd guess.

Thanks!

Josh

fur72

From a guy who once worked in a mail inserting center I can tell you one thing for sure. Mail indeed does get lost! I cant tell you how many times I have opend a flat box cover an some piece of mail came sliding out. Sometime up to 6 months old. These flats are used and reused again. If a box were to sit in inventory at some post office to wait until use there is not telling how long something could be lost. So what have we learded from this thread?

1. Insure your shipments.

2. Use delivery confirmation

3. Pay for tracking, it will save you in the long run.

etown99girl

This package will show up.

jmbkb4

<< <i>
2. Use delivery confirmation

3. Pay for tracking, it will save you in the long run. >>


In theory, this is nice, but it would be helpful if they would actually update packages.

MarkJ

In theory, this is nice, but it would be helpful if they would actually update packages.

jmbkb4

Thanks for coming through again, USPS!! No worries that it took 2 weeks for a Priority package! I'm just glad it arrived safely!

DS1991Topps

Thanks for coming through again, USPS!! No worries that it took 2 weeks for a Priority package! I'm just glad it arrived safely!


I think this is why some sellers will not ship to HI.

Bosox1976

Here's the package I got this week - almost 14 months after it shipped - obviously not worth the wait! Better late than never though.