holy crap @ the USPS

pandrews · September 22, 2008 5:25AM

ive read here about how paypal postage doesnt get scanned or something.. i just recently started realizing how true it is..

it seems ive been wasting money purchasing insurance -- since many packages are sent all the way across the country before the USPS even acknowledges possession of the package..

so today i had 4 items to mail, pre-paid with paypal, but i wait in line anyway to get the clerk to scan them.. the lady says "no, i don't do that"..

WHAT?! did you actually just refuse to take 30 seconds to scan these?..

luckily, the guy next to her knows me and says "yeah you can scan those, give them to me" and he does it in just a matter of seconds and i'm on my way..

so if you pay for postage & insurance with Paypal, the post office will send your package across the country before they scan it, and if it gets lost in transit (before it gets scanned) then you are chit out of luck.. the post office can simply say it was never received/accepted..

so the moral of this story is: make sure the clerks scan your package, and if they refuse to do so, kick them in the balls and call them vulgar names.

i know there is some "multi-order" scan form they want us to use, but screw that, you cant always print one out, hell I don't even always use multi-order shipping if I just have a 3 or 4 items to mail.. i might print the labels at different point throughout the day, so it doesn't make sense for me to print one of those damn "multi-order" acceptance forms.

hockeyguy · September 22, 2008 5:27AM

this has been an issue at the post office for a long time now

Allen · September 22, 2008 5:27AM

I recently found out that they will scan them and print you a receipt showing acceptance and all of the DC #s. But yeah they are generally offended when I ask them to do this.

rube26105 · September 22, 2008 5:28AM

in the words of perry
"tru dat"

hockeyguy · September 22, 2008 5:34AM

<< But yeah they are generally offended when I ask them to do this. >>

it's all part of that new customer service banner of theirs ...
"We'll charge you even MORE, while doing our very best to do as little as possible for you in return"

When stamps reach $1
I just wont pay my bills anymore
I'll just have the government bail me out

pandrews · September 22, 2008 5:37AM

for real it pisses me off that ive been paying ~$2.00 per item for move than a year on insured packages, and most of them probably were sent 1000 miles before ever being scanned..

the post office needs to correct this.. they need to send out a letter to all clerks telling them they'll potentially be kicked int he nutes if they dont scan someones mail when they're asked politely.

pandrews · September 22, 2008 5:38AM

ps: i am a fan of the post office though, i hate complaining about them, because i think they're generally a great deal..

hockeyguy · September 22, 2008 5:39AM

<< they need to send out a letter to all clerks telling them they'll potentially be kicked int he nutes if they dont scan someones mail when they're asked politely. >>

Thats going to happen, right after Walmart adds on a little thickness to their shopping bags

Customer service is all but dead, in our country

hockeyguy · September 22, 2008 5:40AM

<< ps: i am a fan of the post office though, i hate complaining about them, because i think they're generally a great deal.. >>

Whatcha been smokin' Willis ???

jrinck · September 22, 2008 5:41AM

A UPS store tried to pull this on me. I was returning a defective camera, and had the box packed up with the return label on it, and when I handed it to the clerk, she just said "Thank you!" and simply walked away with the box. I stopped her and asked for a scan receipt, and she seemed VERY put off by that, but she did it. Getting that scan was the only proof I mailed the dumb thing.

PoppaJ · September 22, 2008 5:49AM

My post office tried to refuse when we first asked them to scan our prepaid PayPal labeled packages.

The manager told us that they would be checked in later. I said "bullsh*t and asked "what if our packages needed postage?"
"Wouldn't it take her clerks a heck of a lot longer to print the labels themselves, than to just scan our already-printed PayPal labeled packages?"

I told her that we would stop using prepaid labels in the future.

She came to her senses rather quickly when I mentioned that we usually ship between 40-60 packages a day.

Somehow the word spread, and no one has tried to turn us away since.

And our packages have all made it to their destinations safe and sound.

PoppaJ

billwaltonsbeard · September 22, 2008 5:55AM

Has anyone else ever noticed that every person working the USPS service counter is either really nice or a total cornhole? Never really any in between.

PoppaJ · September 22, 2008 6:03AM

<< Has anyone else ever noticed that every person working the USPS service counter is either really nice or a total cornhole? Never really any in between. >>

I've noticed that they're all fat and walk like they have burnin' roids ... and I don't mean steroids!

I yelled "fire" one time and the clerk said "what?" ....

PoppaJ

pandrews · September 22, 2008 6:03AM

<< Has anyone else ever noticed that every person working the USPS service counter is either really nice or a total cornhole? Never really any in between. >>

thats what i mean, most of the people at my PO at really cool..

i think the post office provides service at cheap prices, i dont mind paying a few dollars to send something across the country.. i dont even mind if they have to raise prices occasionally,

i just want to know i'm getting what i'm supposed to be getting, if i pay to have something insured BEFORE it travels around the country, thats what i want.

RonBurgundy · September 22, 2008 6:04AM

I love postal inspectors. Those boys pack.

RB

SDavid · September 22, 2008 6:08AM

They'll cover it if it's lost even if it's never scanned and there's no proof you sent it. Been there, done that, and with a $400 item, too.

Eventually, they'll get tired of people scamming them and they'll either tell the clerks to do it or set up a way for us to it when we drop stuff off (that would be cool).

Right now they probably figure the insurance paid by honest customers exceeds the losses to scam artists who abuse the system.

Now they at least scan them while they're in transit. Before, there wasn't anything until the carrier scanned them in upon delivery.

storm888 · September 22, 2008 6:17AM

"the post office needs to correct this.. they need to send out a letter to all clerks ..."

////////////////////////////////

Memos on the subject have been sent; perhaps numerous times.

The problem has been going on for years.

The station I currently use got a memo a few weeks ago. They
were told that ALL items - both from PayPal, and from the USPS
click-ship, and from other postage vendors - were to be scanned
on acceptance. A receipt is also to be issued, on request.

Where I go, there are bins that EBAY sellers drop their stuff in.
I have now repeatedly seen clerks scanning the items in the bins
before they are placed in the out baskets.

EXCEPTION:

If the USPS picks up at your home/office, they want the items
listed on a sheet of paper. The bulk-list is then scanned from
that paper(s).

.................

An item that is not scanned on acceptance is an invite to trouble.

sfmays24 · September 22, 2008 6:21AM

Good solution if they refuse to scan... but, what do you do if they are Female clerks?

packCollector · September 22, 2008 7:13AM

use paypal multi order shipping , print your labels and then before you hit ok, click "print scan sheet" . 1 page prints which accounts for a scan of all your packages and the post office has no choice but to scan the scan sheet as that is their stated policy. it is much quicker and easier as well.

VitoCo1972 · September 22, 2008 7:21AM

ISTHTY

pandrews · September 22, 2008 7:51AM

<< use paypal multi order shipping , print your labels and then before you hit ok, click "print scan sheet" . 1 page prints which accounts for a scan of all your packages and the post office has no choice but to scan the scan sheet as that is their stated policy. it is much quicker and easier as well. >>

i shouldnt have to do that..

if i want to print postage as the orders come in, i should be able to do that..

magellan · September 22, 2008 8:23AM

I talked to my postmaster (who is one of the nice guys) about this same issue today.
He told me that when I do prepaid mailings like today (it had both insurance & sig. confirmation) that the PO is basically trusting that we mail on the date we say we're going to. The package will be scanned when it reaches the destination but until then the tracking # is all you have for assurance.

storm888 · September 22, 2008 8:38AM

"The package will be scanned when it reaches the destination but until then the tracking # is all you have for assurance. "

////////////////////////////////

When you use the PP-postage - or most other online postage vendors - there is ONLY
one number on the label; no matter how many extra services you have bought.

postage + dc + insurance = ONE number.

BUT, that number, when scanned, willl note that additional svcs were paid for.

.............

ANY system that does NOT show my items "accepted," is NOT one that will work
for me. MANY buyers want to know the DC/SC number so they can track the
thing. If I give them a number that has not been scanned on acceptance, they
say "you gave me a bogus tracking number."

...........

On A Related Note:

While I usually furnish a DC number to buyers upon payment, there is some
risk in doing so.

A CROOK will check the USPS site after he has received the item. If it does
not show delivered, he will file an INR at PayPal.

This may be rare, but some carriers DO forget to scan the DC on delivery.
("SCAN ME" labels are hot sellers on EBAY.)

....

Edit to add: Obviously, a CROOK will check ALL of his items to see if they
have been scanned.

magellan · September 22, 2008 8:45AM

I don't do a whole lot on eBay. Most of what I use multi order shipping for consists of trades with guys on here. My level of trust for these types of transactions is a lot higher than if they were eBay sales.

Thanks for all your info Storm.

Don't get thrown in the calaboza for nut kicking a postal employee Perry.

itzagoner · September 22, 2008 10:16AM

my nutes ache. i need to win one for the Zipper.

CDsNuts · September 22, 2008 10:19AM

RZBRYWOFL

PoppaJ · September 22, 2008 10:23AM

<< I talked to my postmaster (who is one of the nice guys) about this same issue today.
He told me that when I do prepaid mailings like today (it had both insurance & sig. confirmation) that the PO is basically trusting that we mail on the date we say we're going to. The package will be scanned when it reaches the destination but until then the tracking # is all you have for assurance. >>

The reason we make them scan our packages at the Post Office is that we have a physical receipt showing that we did indeed drop our packages off and they were indeed received by the Post Office.

Printing a label doesn't guarantee that the package was received by the Post Office.

We have won quite a few disputes, that otherwise may have been lost, by having our packages scanned at the PO.

PoppaJ

MeteoriteGuy · September 22, 2008 10:30AM

<< Has anyone else ever noticed that every person working the USPS service counter is either really nice or a total cornhole? Never really any in between. >>

That is my vast experience. 50% are really nice, 40% don't care or are rude, 10% are paying attention to the guy/gal beside him or work not in front of them....in other words doesn't notice you.

But let's here it for that 50%!

packCollector · September 24, 2008 2:30PM

<< << use paypal multi order shipping , print your labels and then before you hit ok, click "print scan sheet" . 1 page prints which accounts for a scan of all your packages and the post office has no choice but to scan the scan sheet as that is their stated policy. it is much quicker and easier as well. >>

i shouldnt have to do that..

if i want to print postage as the orders come in, i should be able to do that.. >>

you can still do them 1 at a time , jsut print it through the multiorder tool and you will get the sheet and you will never have to argue with another post office employee again. seems like a win-win situation

holy crap @ the USPS

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