You better watch out, you better not cry....USPS

[Mumbleypeg]

December 9th I bought a Christmas present for our son, “free shipping” included. On the 10th I got a notice from the seller providing a USPS tracking number. I checked the number which said the package was “picked up” in Madisonville, KY . As of today it’s still there.

Tuesday December 15th I bought a replacement lamp for our twelve year old DLP television, “free shipping” included. It was shipped later that day from San Diego, CA. Today it’s on the UPS truck “out for delivery” this afternoon.

Ken

[Meridian_Mike]

December 9th I bought a Christmas present for our son. On the 10th I got a notice from the seller providing a USPS tracking number. I checked the number which said the package was “picked up” in Madisonville, KY . As of today it’s still there.

Tuesday December 15th I bought a replacement lamp for our twelve year old DLP television. It shipped later that day from San Diego, CA. Today it’s on the UPS truck “out for delivery” this afternoon.

Ken

Yep, that is what I am seeing too.....
UPS and FedEx is soaring WAY higher than USPS right now.....
SO.... if you decide to order something else from ole Saint Nick..... try to get it on those 2 services for a better result.

[bighomer]

Man am I feeling fortunate. Been getting my stuff in a timely fashion here of late. Got a email from a vendor apologizing, telling me that it looked my package was going to be late arriving because of the post office problems, lo and behold it arrived that afternoon almost beating his apology. Just finished up my Christmas cards and mailed them this morning hope they get to their destination before the big day. Oh well better late than never my momma always said.

[Madmarco]

Canada Post is in the same situation of drowning in shipped items. I sent a parcel to a buyer in USA Nov. 23. Nov 25 it gets scanned as entering the Canada Post sort facility in Richmond B.C. and then nothing since. It should have been scanned when leaving the Richmond facility, when arriving at U.S. Postal Customs and when released to USPS, etc.
Canada Post has an on line 'chat box' but you are only communicating with a machine with pre programmed answers. It is not possible to speak with a person.
I am in the process of refunding the buyer the $625 USD he paid me. This is a huge loss for someone with my tight rope finances and it's a loss of 3 beautiful knives, one of which was a gift i put in.
Only time will tell how many of the missing parcels in USPS and Canada Post will eventually be found.
Canada Post has hired a bunch of 'temporary workers' to help with the sorting, so some of the 'missing' might be theft.
kj

If you haven't rufunded the buyer yet, I strongly recommend NOT refunding the buyer at this time of delayed deliveries. I guarantee when the package finally arrives the buyer is NOT going to contact you and offer to pay the $625 again. Wait as long as legally possible.

I totally agree with ZZ's statement to NOT issue a refund just yet and wait for as long as possible, and, this statement is NOT directed at ZZ or anyone else, BUT, not everyone is a dishonest buyer. I had a package from Russia, and one from Spain, arrive 3 months AFTER a refund had been issued by ebay, in the last 6 months, and although the little devil on my left shoulder said, "screw em', just keep it", the good-guy on my right shoulder said, "they're just small guys trying to make a living, and this situation was beyond their control", and since I like to get a good sleep at night I listened to my right shoulder and sent both sellers their money. It turned out to definitely be the right choice because both sellers told me to contact them before I placed anymore orders with them so that they could issue me a BIG discount! Some of you will say, "what a sucker", and some will say, "that's the right move", but for the sake of US$300. between the 2 of them, I don't have to feel like a crook at the end of the day, and that's priceless! Just my $0.02, for what it's worth!

[kootenay joe]

Regarding giving a refund of $625 to the buyer of items i shipped Nov 23 which has not been tracked since Nov 25, i feel confident that he is a person with integrity. I have not sold to him before and he is someone i do not know but we have been in regular email contact. He offered to split this loss 50:50 and has encouraged me to hold off on refunding him at least until January.
If this package does fail to arrive i will refund him fully. I do not want anyone to loose money because of dealing with me.
The loss of the knives bothers me as much as the loss of the money. He purchased 2 exceptionally fine knives and i included a third top quality knife as a 'thank you' gift. These might be in a pawn shop in the Richmond B.C. area and i doubt whomever ends up with them will be able to appreciate what fine examples of USA cutlery they are.
kj

[kootenay joe]

Are there any rules or generally accepted standards for who is responsible when a shipped item fails to arrive ?
I did not purchase insurance for this package because it is too expensive when shipping Canada Post. It would have added about $40 to the cost of shipping and i have read that trying to collect the insurance takes months and there is no guarantee that it will ever be paid.
What do you do if a knife you sell & ship fails to arrive ?
kj

[Montanaman]

Unfortunately Roland, the USPS will decide the outcome of something like that, once contested. I have private insurance on all my knives which includes shipping, top notch. Otherwise I would spend way too much money shipping to sheath makers, photographers, and others. I think it is like $112 a year, highly recommended. Collectibles Insurance Services, I know people with very high end collections who use it and have filed claims, fast response in favor of the insured.

[Mumbleypeg]

Not aware of any set rules regarding responsibility for shipped items. In the commercial world part of the terms and conditions of sale is typically some statement such as “F.O.B. Sellers Dock” which means the buyer is responsible for cost of shipping and loss or damage, or “F.O.B. Destination”, which means the seller pays for shipping and is responsible for safe arrival. We always specified F.O.B. sellers dock on everything we sold, which means we shipped using whatever method the buyer specified and paid for, but in all my forty years there I don’t know of a single case where we didn’t refund or replace anything the buyer claimed they didn’t receive.

Ken

[just bob]

Lucky me - I got a call from the local postmaster today. This is the way she explained the situation to me. The USPS is 100% capable or keeping up with the postal volume. However they can not keep up with the current holiday volume and also process the backlog that has built up in major postal hubs due to personnel shortages and volume. What you are seeing in hubs like Indianapolis is carrier trucks being loaded with unsorted mail and being transported to other postal hubs where the volume is less. That is why you are seeing Ft. Wayne to Indianapolis to Dayton back to Indianapolis to Muncie postal routings. Once the mail is processed into the system it can be delivered. She told me she was going to the postal hub in Indianapolis and working overtime on the weekends and trucks were backed up for more than a mile waiting to be loaded. She told me that I wouldn't believe the amount of mail sitting in Indianapolis waiting to be transported. Apparently that hub has been hit hard by covid. She also told me that based on the tracking that I had inquired about (Nov. 23rd) that if the ebay seller opened a claim and ebay refunded the purchase price to them then by all means I should also open a claim with the USPS for reimbursement and based on what she could see it would be open and shut. I did nothing wrong and this is the fault of USPS. Also she said that it as extremely important that if ebay refunded that buyer then I should go at once and file for a postal intercept on the item. If I did not do that then the item would be delivered to the original party and most likely I would never get it back. If I filled the form out then it would be returned to me. So keep careful records and an eye on things. That routing information is important. In my case the worst case scenario is I would lose less than $100. I know many would be in far deeper.

[Meridian_Mike]

Hey!
My package has FINALLY made it to Mississippi.... YAY!!
.
It has been a long and tiring journey but there is actually HOPE that I might see this package before Christmas......
.
It left Mission Viejo, CA Dec 5th
Then
went to Anaheim, CA Dec 6th
Then
arrived over in Boston, MA on Dec10th
Then
went on a Massachusetts tour on the 10th.....
It bounced from Boston to Schrewsbury,
Then......
after that tour Of Mass, went up to Nashua, NH on the 10th since it had already visited 2 towns in Massachusetts.
Then, my box went back into Massachusetts to see the town of Springfield on Dec 11th.
It couldn't leave that area without a visit to Springfield!!
Then
From Springfield MA, I guess it was feeling homesick so it came on to Mississippi!!!
It arrived in Jackson (90 miles from me) on Dec 12th.... WHEW, what a trip!
Then, after sitting in Jackson for a couple of days, it went on up to Grenada, MS on Dec 15th.....
SO... I guess after all that travel, it must be TIRED!
It is sitting in Grenada (140 miles from me) taking a break from the hustle and bustle of Christmas travel.
SO.....
There is sits..... MAYBE, JUST MAYBE.... it will come on home to me sometime in the next 8 to 10 days.
.

[desmobob]

As a former USPS letter carrier, I feel for those who are employed today. Normally, this is a challenging time for the employees. Factor in the COVID19 and reduced staffing, and I'm sure it's a nightmare.

And, to make matters worse, we got a monster snowfall here in upstate NY; about 24" at my house on the edge of the Adirondack Park and as much as 36" in some areas just north of Albany. This cause nasty delays in transportation as well as making things miserable for the folks out on the street at the last stage of delivery.

[Meridian_Mike]

Well ......
Guess what just arrived?
Yes, my wife's Christmas present FINALLY arrived after 3 weeks in the USPS black hole.
.
I sure hope everyone else is having better luck.

[jerryd6818]

So there's hope after all.

My buddy says "After 100 years, there's still hope". (Hope North Dakota )

[Mumbleypeg]

December 9th I bought a Christmas present for our son, “free shipping” included. On the 10th I got a notice from the seller providing a USPS tracking number. I checked the number which said the package was “picked up” in Madisonville, KY . As of today it’s still there.

Tuesday December 15th I bought a replacement lamp for our twelve year old DLP television, “free shipping” included. It was shipped later that day from San Diego, CA. Today it’s on the UPS truck “out for delivery” this afternoon.

Ken

Update: As of now the Christmas present bought for my son that was shipped via USPS still shows to be in Madisonville, KY. That’s now eleven days and counting from when it was “picked up” by USPS.
The replacement lamp for our television, shipped via UPS, was delivered on schedule two days after I bought it.

Ken

[jerryd6818]

December 9th I bought a Christmas present for our son, “free shipping” included. On the 10th I got a notice from the seller providing a USPS tracking number. I checked the number which said the package was “picked up” in Madisonville, KY . As of today it’s still there.

Tuesday December 15th I bought a replacement lamp for our twelve year old DLP television, “free shipping” included. It was shipped later that day from San Diego, CA. Today it’s on the UPS truck “out for delivery” this afternoon.

Ken

Update: As of now the Christmas present bought for my son that was shipped via USPS still shows to be in Madisonville, KY. That’s now eleven days and counting from when it was “picked up” by USPS.
The replacement lamp for our television, shipped via UPS, was delivered on schedule two days after I bought it.

Ken

I feel your pain, Ken. They say Misery loves company but I'm not lovin' any of this. Mine has been in the system for two weeks tomorrow and if it hadn't taken a 600 mile detour, it could have been there last week. (destination is only 120 miles due south) Maybe.

[hardman]

I decided that I am no longer buying anything over $50 from a seller using USPS. At least not until well after the Christmas Chaos. And maybe not ever. I find that many eBay sellers inflate their shipping charges. Then they ship via USPS and pocket the difference. I see shipping charges that would easily accomodate shipping via UPS. Having been burned already, I will not buy something of any significant value and then play the Postal Piracy and Routing Roulette games that is today's USPS.

The above was hard for me to write. A year ago I was one of USPS's biggest fans.

[desmobob]

I decided that I am no longer buying anything over $50 from a seller using USPS. At least not until well after the Christmas Chaos. And maybe not ever. I find that many eBay sellers inflate their shipping charges. Then they ship via USPS and pocket the difference. I see shipping charges that would easily accomodate shipping via UPS. Having been burned already, I will not buy something of any significant value and then play the Postal Piracy and Routing Roulette games that is today's USPS.

The above was hard for me to write. A year ago I was one of USPS's biggest fans.

Hard for me to come to grips with it all too, as a retired USPS letter carrier.

This month, I've had one new knife sit in the same Ohio USPS location for 13 days. It took 16 days for that small parcel to get to me. I had another parcel due for delivery today. Instead, tracking shows it was mistakenly sent to a different office, setting back delivery at least two more days. And a Priority Mail parcel with some critical repair parts for my snowblower (it broke after our 24" of snow on Thursday) due today has been sitting for three days at the facility where it was mailed and hasn't even started moving toward me yet.

In the mean time, two orders shipped via UPS arrived on time, as scheduled.

Very sad.

[Lansky1]

I recently had a knife stuck in the Ft. Worth post office for 3-1/2 weeks. I totally gave up hope - it just showed up a week later ... so I guess you never know. I ordered a nice pendant for my wife - stuck in CA for nearly 3 weeks. Finally broke through & showed up on tracking. I'd just like to know how big these USPS warehouses are where a package can be lost for 3+ weeks ... they must be massive.

[cudgee]

I,m going on the opposite tract. I just received something i bought from the U.S of A., the seller told me would not be here before Christmas and i said i knew this and was not an issue. I just received it today, 20 days with all chaos going on, i was impressed. Was sent just normal USPS, not express.

[danno50]

I mailed a parcel to my son and his family in Wisconsin on Dec 1. It sat here in Saskatoon, where I dropped it off, for 14 days, before being sent to Edmonton, 500 km in the wrong direction. It sat in Edmonton for 4 days before going to Richmond BC. It went overnight from BC to San Francisco and is now sitting in customs, waiting for USPS to get it back across the US to Wisconsin.

[kootenay joe]

Dan, that is Progress !
My parcel mailed Nov 23 has been stuck in Richmond B.C. since Nov. 25th. It is supposed to be going to Oregon but my bet is it went home with one of the minimum wage part time employees in the Richmond Postal Sort Center. Turns out there are quite a few parcels that have been scanned as entering Richmond facility and then have never been seen again. (online posts to a CBC.ca article on postal problems).
kj

[just bob]

I'll update my situation and maybe it will help others. I had 4 items that were hung up in Indianapolis. 1 is in route now and went from Indianapolis to Knoxville and then back to South Bend. I assume what the postmaster told me was true and mail was being sent from Indianapolis to other postal hubs to be sorted, but it is on the way now. 2 items are still in Philadelphia and it says awaiting delivery scan. I'm not 100% positive about what is going on here but suspect this person is a new immigrant to the USA and is trying to have these delivered to a pizza parlor where he works. Maybe they are waiting until he is there to deliver them? The last one was and is hung up in Indianapolis since Nov. 23rd. It has not moved. The ebay buyer opened a claim for an undelivered item and ebay refunded them. I understand this and the buyer was very courteous and professional about the entire procedure. So then I try to follow the advise given to me by the post master and fill out an on line form for a postal intercept so the item will be returned to me. You don't get very far in the process until you discover this information from USPS;

If the shipment is intercepted, your credit card will be charged the $14.65 Package Intercept fee plus any applicable postage. If the actual postage is greater than estimated, any additional postage will be charged accordingly.


The bottom line is that if it is less than a $25 item you are spinning your wheels trying to recover it. Just as well to forget about it and move on. In communicating with the buyer there is no doubt in my mind that if it is delivered to them they will make good on the purchase. They seem like that kind of people. If not they will get a late, I should say very late Christmas present courtesy of the USPS. All things considered I still believe you are better off sending things in the $25 ballpark uninsured with tracking. 99% of all packages sent get to the correct destination. On bigger $ items of course you need additional protection.

[jerryd6818]

Well, that's not good news. I have one outbound that will most likely go through Indy and now you have me wondering A.) if it will get hung up in Indy and B.) if it does, how long will it get hung up in Indy.

And here I was, thinking this particular package might be immune to the current postal conflable (I just made up that word )

[Meridian_Mike]

And here I was, thinking this particular package might be immune to the current postal conflable (I just made up that word )

CONFLABLE.......

Hmmmmm......
Well, what ever the meaning of that word is.... I just bet it ain't good.

[hardman]

Kind of hilarious in a very, very sad way.