Am I getting scammed or is USPS really that bad? Ebay related

[smithnframe]

The USPS has lost several of my packages over the years! Join the club!

[charlie b]

FWIW, local PO help depends on the people in the PO. Some are very nice and helpful and others not so much. When we had the business our 'normal' PO had a postmaster that was kind of harsh (small town) and his employees were less than happy working there. It showed in their treatment of customers. We had to go through another town a few miles away daily so went to that post office and it was like night and day. Everyone was cheerful and would do whatever they could for us. We got a PO box there for the business and did all of our shipping through them. They would track down orders for us and even call other postmasters directly when we saw a problem anywhere. Great group of folks.

The PO we have now in a larger town is pretty good. Several of the people there are veterans too. As long as the customer doesn't have a chip on their shoulder the service is great.

So, yes, you may get some answers if you go to the PO, or not. Luck of the draw.

[Rick Hodges]

I had a package sit in an Illinois processing center for almost 3 weeks.
Our local processing center is in a neighboring city and used to get packages to my post office in a matter of hours of its arrival there. Now it is taking 3 or 4 days.

[GhostHawk]

I bought a package of 500 jig hooks and waited a month and a half for them.

Great seller on both ebay and amazon, but covid cleaned out his workers. The ones he was able to get did not have a clue.

Then after 5 weeks it suddenly made it onto a truck and was moving and generating updates.

Not the sellers fault IMO. Yes USPS can be that bad.

[Walter Laich]

from all above I'm sensing a trend here

[William Yanda]

Sorry, but the SENDER buys the insurance and they have to file the claim.

Last time I was involved I checked the PO directions. As I recall, they state that either the sender or the recipient may file, provided insurance was purchased. Insurance included is one benefit of Priority along with precedence. Priority packages are tracked more closely and an office gets dinged if the package lingers around.

[tankgunner59]

I don't know whats going on but I have read several stories in the news about the mail being delayed quite a bit in the last couple months.
I shipped some brass to a guy in Kentucky a while back. It was almost 200 300 BLK, about 100 308's and about 15 243's. After the delivery date I got a message from the buyer that I ripped him off. I ended up sending money back to him to make things right. He received the 300 BLK only. It was my mistake as I did not tape the SFR box and when it arrived it was taped across my return address. Someone employed by USPS had to have opened the box and taken the 308 and 243 brass and taped the box shut and shipped it on.
Now any time I ship anything I tape the crap out of the box. I've also thought of writing on the box before taping as an added security.

[Cherokee]

I did not read all the posts but eBay will show something as shipped as soon as the seller prints a shipping label. Its up to the seller to get it to the PO in a timely manner. OTOH, it took 14 days for a 1st class letter to get from NC to OH last month. Ya never know.

[dragon813gt]

Someone employed by USPS had to have opened the box and taken the 308 and 243 brass and taped the box shut and shipped it on.

What most likely happened was the box opened and those contents were lost. The post office then taped up the box w/ what remained and sent it on its way.

When I was selling brass I had a box break open and all contents were lost. They taped the box up and shipped it empty. This was my fault as the brass was in ziplocks only and I did not tape the box correctly. Lesson learned and after that all brass went in tyvek envelopes and tape was used very liberally. Better to spend a few cents on tape then to lose product in transit and have to issue a refund.

[Burnt Fingers]

What most likely happened was the box opened and those contents were lost. The post office then taped up the box w/ what remained and sent it on its way.

When I was selling brass I had a box break open and all contents were lost. They taped the box up and shipped it empty. This was my fault as the brass was in ziplocks only and I did not tape the box correctly. Lesson learned and after that all brass went in tyvek envelopes and tape was used very liberally. Better to spend a few cents on tape then to lose product in transit and have to issue a refund.

This is it in a nutshell.

[SSGOldfart]

Sorry, but the SENDER buys the insurance and they have to file the claim.

Yep same thing they told me.

[navyvet]

Time to file complaint with e-bay.

[Scrounge]

The USPS has lost several of my packages over the years! Join the club!

yep. Most recent actual loss, never recovered, was also shipped from Ebay. Was scanned diagonally across the street from my place, but wasn't able to get that info until nearly 3 months later. Never showed up, and because it took so long to get someone to actually look for me, I didn't get my gadget. And the seller lost the money I'd paid. Hope the PO paid them, anyway.

Package yesterday was delivered open. End tab on the medium flat rate box was open, looked like stuff might be missing. Photographed it, pulled the stuff out, and cut it open, took photos and sent them to the seller, an internet acquaintance of long standing. I've dealt with him before, and know many other who have also. I also checked the Paypal invoice he sent, and it looked like everything was there so I wasn't too worried. He replied that it was all there, but I did have a few anxious moments there. He offered to refund my money if it was damaged. So far as I can tell, it's fine.

Like everything else in life, sometime things work in your favor, sometimes not. I try not to sweat it, but sometimes it's hard. Even when things are better than they appear!

[onelight]

Glad to hear all is good.
The seller sounds like a good guy . There are still some around.

[salpal48]

Tracking # can Be scammed. Not saying a private person would Know how to But can be. I recently purchased a dehumidifier on line. The on line shipper sent a track # . When I tracked it On line. The post office said it was delivered to my mailbox.. Ok but it was delivered 4 days Prior to my Ordering It. Went to the PO showed them the order with the print Out Of the tracking.
The answer was " Not Our problem". since I paid with paypal, Received my Money back.
Just Be careful
With Ebay , I would say Most seller are Honest. It's Just late

[BK7saum]

Straight from the USPS website.



Either the person who sent the mailpiece OR RECEIVED it may file a claim

[BK7saum]

Yep same thing they told me.

I am sure they told you that. Most of the time they don't know their own rules.

[Nueces]

Only the seller has all the information needed to initiate a claim. A quote from the above posted image of USPS instructions: "The person filing must have the original mailing receipt." Only the sender knows what if any insurance, applies and what class of mail service applies, among other details required by the post office.

The receiver may indeed file a claim, but it ain't going far without the necessary details.

[BK7saum]

As I stated, as receiver of a priority mail package damaged in shipping, I filed for and received the included $50 insurance in just a few days of filing the receipt. Had additional insurance been purchased, I don't know how that would have gone. All the claim process asks is the amount paid for additional insurance. In my case, as receiver, the process was quick and went smoothly, insurance was recieved about as quick as they could print a check and mail it to me. This is a specific and basic case, admittedly, but as receiver, I completed the claims process without any help or information from the shipper. I guess ,because it was the included insurance nothing had to be verified.

[Burnt Fingers]

Tracking # can Be scammed. Not saying a private person would Know how to But can be. I recently purchased a dehumidifier on line. The on line shipper sent a track # . When I tracked it On line. The post office said it was delivered to my mailbox.. Ok but it was delivered 4 days Prior to my Ordering It. Went to the PO showed them the order with the print Out Of the tracking.
The answer was " Not Our problem". since I paid with paypal, Received my Money back.
Just Be careful
With Ebay , I would say Most seller are Honest. It's Just late

I've had this happen before.


What happens is that the sender is assigned a group of tracking numbers. At some point they roll over.

It happens quite often with my medicine shipments from the VA. The package always arrives. I've also had it happen with MidwayUSA packages that are shipped ExpressPost or whatever they call it. Again, the package always arrives.