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

[Patrick L]

I recently won a MEC Grabber press on Ebay. I paid for it, and within a day it was showing as shipped. Here is my problem.

It was shipped on July 20th from Rochester IL. USPS tracking showed it in Pawnee IL on July 21st. That's it. The original estimated delivery date was July 24th. That was later changed to "Arriving Late but In Transit."

Nothing has changed in days. This package is only going from Illinois to Albany, NY. We're at the two week mark.

My first thought was that I'm getting scammed by the seller and the tracking number is bogus. But, USPS shows it as real. And by the way, I'm going to USPS.com and putting the number in myself, I'm not just clicking the link to track. I would think if the number was bogus I would get a "No such number found" or something like that. Plus, I know USPS sometimes really is that bad. Two months ago I had a Brownells order (which we all know is real) go from Iowa to Albany, and USPS tracking showed it AT the Albany post office, then it was delayed there for over a week!

I need some advice. Can my local post office help if I give them the number?

[rancher1913]

packages do go missing, lots of times the employees can figure out what is in the box and it gets removed to a new home.

[William Yanda]

I hope it was shipped Priority.

[square butte]

Can't tell you how many times i've had that happen - Usually it shows back up in tracking after a day or three. Have had em sit at a hub for 6 days just 30 miles from the house and then all of a sudden just show up. Our Post Mistress usually just shake her head in disbelief. Patience and prayer is your friend . . .

[Gone_rabid]

You can now file a claim as the receiver of a Usps shipment. Call them and see what’s going on and if it’s not to your liking file a claim.

[RustyReel]

If shipping was parcel post that could be part of the problem. As it was explained to me by my local USPS staffers, if the truck is full the Parcel Post and Media Mail stuff gets left behind, if there is no room in the next truck then the same thing happens. Lots of people getting home delivery from everywhere these days so lots of extra traffic thru the USPS. I've had a few things that took more time than expected, but I still think for the $$ the USPS does a good job. The absolute worst is when a shipper uses the "cheap" UPS etc service where it gets handed off to USPS.

[Dusty Bannister]

Visit the post office and they can usually get a better idea of what is going on than you can. It will be to your benefit to express concern about the delay and not demand they check it for you. My experience with the online tracking is that there are gaps in the travel when using the public access information, but the PO seems to have better access to the details. They may also be aware of unexpected delays along the way. Good luck.

Added: I have received pretty much the same information about how the mail is handled, PP being "space available" sort of thing. I have also had issues where the address label with the zip code was superimposed with the shipping bar code information. Stuff happens. Talk nicely and it will work out a lot better.

[John McCorkle]

Yes happened to me many times, I was very concerned the first time it happened to me as well....as stated just go to the local post office and ask about it.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[NyFirefighter357]

I bet that press busted through the box and it's laying around on the loading dock. I got one through the post office that wasn't boxed well and the handle busted through. USPS has been hit or miss on several items guys have spoken about here and other forums. I'd contact your local office and see if they can get the ball rolling again. I've watched tracking were the packages went up & down the east coast 2x and never made it to me, 6 or so weeks later it found it's way back to who shipped it in Florida. That same guy in Florida is now waiting 8 weeks for a package of bullets another friend of ours sent him from Ohio which I know was packaged very well. Good Luck

[Idz]

The USPS tracking is awful. FedEx and UPS will tell you every stop but USPS usually just says "shipped" and then "in transit" until it shows up at your door (or not).

[higgins]

I'm betting it wasn't properly packaged. A shotshell press is an odd size and shaped item. I sold one once, partially disassembled to get it in a strong squarish box and took it to the local UPS hub, where they added even more tape to the box. If it wasn't partially disassembled to get it in a reasonable sized strong box and well-padded internally it could have been damaged in shipment. My son worked at a small UPS terminal for several years. I've heard all the horror stories of stuff that wasn't properly packaged.

[Scrounge]

I recently won a MEC Grabber press on Ebay. I paid for it, and within a day it was showing as shipped. Here is my problem.

It was shipped on July 20th from Rochester IL. USPS tracking showed it in Pawnee IL on July 21st. That's it. The original estimated delivery date was July 24th. That was later changed to "Arriving Late but In Transit."

Nothing has changed in days. This package is only going from Illinois to Albany, NY. We're at the two week mark.

My first thought was that I'm getting scammed by the seller and the tracking number is bogus. But, USPS shows it as real. And by the way, I'm going to USPS.com and putting the number in myself, I'm not just clicking the link to track. I would think if the number was bogus I would get a "No such number found" or something like that. Plus, I know USPS sometimes really is that bad. Two months ago I had a Brownells order (which we all know is real) go from Iowa to Albany, and USPS tracking showed it AT the Albany post office, then it was delayed there for over a week!

I need some advice. Can my local post office help if I give them the number?

I bought some reloading books here, and USPS took 4 days to go from the Daytona Beach, Fl, area to Jacksonville, Fl, maybe 100 miles straight up the coast. Once it made it to Jacksonville, another 3 or 4 days here to OKC. It was showing on track for promised delivery until it got to Jacksonville. Then it showed late but still on it's way. If you absolutely have to get something somewhere, take it yourself. If you ship it with ANY of the shipping agencies, you're taking a risk. Since taking it yourself is not practical most of the time, you pretty much have to take a risk. Take two Tums, and don't call me at all. ;)

[Pigboat]

New Postmaster, new policies and the virus.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-postal-service-coronavirus-pandemic-revenue-loss

[TNsailorman]

Depends on where you are and the sections of the country. Right now the post office is being hit with the virus pretty hard. Anything coming into or out of hard hit states is going to be slow. I recently had a package coming from Missouri take 10 days longer than it was projected to be delivered but it did show up. If you sign up to track a USPS package it WILL show you where it is and when it moves from one point to another. You can also get tracking updates sent to your email address but you do have to ask. I have used the USPS for well over 60 years and have only had two packages lost and I received my money back from those two. I have found them to be more reliable than UPS or FedEx. my experience anyway, james

[Billwnr]

I ordered a barrel for my Glock from Lone Wolf. Per Mapquest they are 162 road miles from me. The barrel went from them down thru Oregon to Portland, then back to Spokane, on to Wenatchee and finally to me in Moses Lake. Made a big circle around me before it finally arrived.

Also it seems that my latest orders arrive 2-4 days later than the estimated delivery date. A lot of sitting either for sorting or waiting for space on a transportation vehicle is my take on things.

[Kraschenbirn]

Not so long ago...according to USPS tracking...a parcel of cigars required a day and a half to get from Miami, FL to that same USPS terminal in Pawnee, IL then took another FOUR days to travel the 102 miles from there to my mailbox.

Bill

[Bazoo]

I bought a shotgun barrel. It shipped and showed close to me. Then two weeks of none movement and then it arrived. Box was damaged but barrel was not. Mostly though I've received excellent service from the post.

[Burnt Fingers]

You can now file a claim as the receiver of a Usps shipment. Call them and see what’s going on and if it’s not to your liking file a claim.

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

[Bazoo]

Take two Tums, and don't call me at all. ;). That's pretty good, thanks for the chuckle.

[DougGuy]

You need to go to ebay and look on the item you bought, one of the choices will be "I didn't receive my item" click that and open a claim.

It is likely the box got torn open and/or pieces hanging out or lost etc. I have had usps bring me stuff weeks after it went missing with the packaging materials all torn up, encased in a plastic bag with a "We're sorry" note.

[oneofsix]

This recently happened to me as well- bought a vcr from Ebay. Seller shipped it 2 day priority mail from NJ. Once it got to the Fayetteville main post office/hub, it sat as "in transit" for 5 days. We're not one of the hard hit states, that I know of. I had to ask the clerk at our little PO to check on it twice; second time it was waiting for me the next day at our PO.
She also shakes her head.

[Burnt Fingers]

One thing to keep in mind.

If the package is compromised then the package is sent to a unit where they will repair or repackage. Most of the time these small units of the sick, lame, and lazy are several days behind on getting stuff done.

[bedbugbilly]

Right now, USPS service is terrible - wish someone could explain how it went downhill in what seems like a month.

OP - we mailed a box "ground rate" from here in AZ to NY. Normal delivery is up to 10 days. I talked with the person we sent it to and after almost three weeks, he had not received it. I went on-line to check the tracking (we though he had received it already) and the tracking shows "no information available" - that was on a Sunday night. I checked on Monday morning and it shows "in transit" but that was it. I called local PO where we had mailed it - asked what was going on and I gave him the tracking number - he looked it up and told me it was last scanned in Jersey City, NJ. I then asked him why when I looked it up, all it said was "in transit" yet he could look it up and tell me it was last scanned in Jersey City. (And I used the USPS site to look up the tracking). His answer - "I dunno". He then told me that everything was "slow". Western states were being sent to a sorting center in the Republik of Kalifornia - then sent out from there. 1st class mail and Priority were being pushed out first and then what space there was, was used for Ground Parcel. He said that Priority Mail was sometimes taking up to 10 days to get delivered. HUH????

I had 1st class mail business envelopes (property tax statements) mailed from me in Michigan on July 1 - I did not get there here in Arizona (south of Tucson) until July 23rd!!!!

We recently had absentee ballots mailed to us here in AZ from MI for the primary election - they were addressed to our Arizona address. Last Friday, the Township Clerk called us in the morning in a frenzy - they evidently had made it to our local PO here - were stamped "UNDERLIVERABLE" and returned to MI. We had to have the Clerk send PDFs of the ballots and do it like they do for those in the Military - print off - sign, date and fill out - scan and send back.

Sorry - but it seems like the USPS has suddenly gone off a cliff - it was not this bad during the height of the pandemic - so what has changed? The Socialist Democratic Party wants to do "Mail in ballots" for the November election - REALLY??? Why all of a sudden is there an issue in getting mail delivered in a timely manner?? I know there are a lot of good postal employees who work hard - but like a lot of other professions - there are those that don't. And gee . . . teethe Postal Workers Union endorsed the Socialist Democratic Party many weeks ago . . . so has the USPS become "Politicalized"?

Funny . . . . our Absentee Ballots we're clearly marked on the outside of the envelope as "Absentee Ballot Enclosed". Our postal carrier . . . who has delivered mail to the wrong address . . who has recorded that boxes have been delivered to us (and neighbors) but no boxes show up . . . knows that we are not supporters of the Left . . . nor anyone else who flies an American flag on their house on our street. So . . . it certainly makes a person "wonder" just what the heck is going on . . . but then again . . . the USPS is run by the guvment . . . need anything else be said?

OP - I hope your box shows up - call your PO and ask them what the heck is going on and give them the tracking number - ask them to check it and see where it is. I am still wondering how I could use the USPS site to check the box we sent and have no locations show up but they somehow could find it out when I called the PO and gave them the tracking number . . . .

[Mr Peabody]

I had that happen recently, it kept showing delayed in transit. A 2 day trip took almost a week. I read this morning that the new Postmaster General has stopped all overtime for the postal employees. If they can't do it today it sits till tomorrow, or later.

[Pigboat]

This is the contact information for US postal Service Consumer Affairs. The names might have changed but the numbers should still be good:

https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2008/html/pb22225/html/kit_021.html

[BucketBack]

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

Was going to post that. The buyer can ask Ebay for a refund, and Ebay always believes the buyer.

[gwpercle]

USPS is having problems delivering .
My wife works for a Private Mail Center and every morning , for the last 20 years goes to the post office to pick up the Mail Centers mail ... so the post office doesn't have to deliver it to the mail center .
Things down there are all fouled up because of C-19 and incompetence ... some days they don't have it ready for pick up and one day they sent it out with a mail person to be delivered wife says she's never seen them so fouled up .

I can vote by mail because I'm 70 ...but I'm putting on a mask and going to cast my vote in person...I'm afraid my mail in ballot might not get there !
Gary

[KCSO]

Same here last order sat for 3 days 50 miles from home, a letter sent next day with a 7 dollar fww came in in 6 days, no excuse no refund of the next day fee. Yes USPS is that bad.

[mdi]

FWIW; distance means nothing to the US Postal Service. I live in a small town (actually two towns separated by a river, but both use the same zip and city designation). On my side of the river there was a PO and if one posted anything there to go 3/4 mile across the river, the item had to go to a "hub" 400 miles away. So for a letter mailed in my town to go 3/4 mile north, it took 3 to 4 days traveling 800 miles...

[poppy42]

The USPS tracking is awful. FedEx and UPS will tell you every stop but USPS usually just says "shipped" and then "in transit" until it shows up at your door (or not).
Not true. When track a shipment USPS (either sending or receiving) I get info about Each stop, when it arrives, and when it leaves that stop. But that’s not saying it gets delivered to the right address! Ups, leaves my package at my door. FedEx leaves it wherever they darn well please! My house, the neighbors house, three blocks away! Personally I think they all stink but ups seems to be about the best.

[poppy42]

Op, sounds to me like the only thing that was done was that a label was created your package has not been picked up or actually shipped yet. I recently had the same experience with an item I purchased off of eBay. I would suggest that you contact the seller and explain your concerns. If you don’t get any updates as to movements within a day or so I would contact eBay and request your money back. I’m not sure what the time limit is but there is definitely a time limit as to how long you can wait before you receive a refund. I have heard of scams where are the seller will drag things out past the time limit so that you can no longer receive a refund. Don’t know if that’s the case in your situation I can only tell you what happened to me

[Burnt Fingers]

One thing that's causing havoc is the lack of commercial airline flights. USPS ships a LOT of mail that way. Or at least they used to. The USPS isn't allowed to own their own planes. They are forced to use UPS. FedEx, or commercial flights.

[BK7saum]

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

Sorry, but that is not so anymore. Or not entirely so. Ironically, I purchased a press, which arrived damaged, and as buyer filed for the $50 included insurance for priority mail items.

Now I think shipper or buyer have the option of filing the claim. At least that is how their policy reads to me. I did file and receive the $50 insurance, though.

Brad

[Hanzy4200]

File a missing package claim. You can do so being the buyer, as can the seller. 99% chance it will show. I sold a pressure canner that was almost identical situation. Seller contacted me about two weeks after shipping, said it hadn't moved in over a week. We both filed requests, and the package showed 2 days later. The USPS is one jack wagon operation.


I will add, I do a lot of business on Ebay. Hundreds of purchases. I have never once been screwed over. In the very rare instance the item didn't show, I was refunded.

[charlie b]

We used to run a small business from our home. We ended up sending everything through USPS. Their services were far better than UPS or FedEx and we had much fewer losses.

There are times when a package gets sent to the wrong station. It happens, just not very often. Maybe one in a couple hundred. And out of thousands of packages sent we had less than 30 damaged and only three lost. 6 others were reported as lost but were later found to have been delivered (rural and overseas).

Recently I have noticed that packages are taking longer, UPS, FedEx and USPS. I had one UPS that went ground from CA to TN, then back to NM. USPS sent one from IL to WA state and then finally back to NM. When volume goes up so do the problems. "In the old days" we would see this around the holiday season with the much larger numbers of orders and backlogs in shipping.

[Tom Ruley]

I'm in the same boat with you, I placed an order from Midway USA 3 weeks ago and tracking tells me it has been in Des Moines Iowa for over a week. Pony express would have so much faster!

[Static line]

Took almost two weeks for my package to arrive from MidwayUSA. It was hung up in Ohio someplace for a week and never moved. I'm telling ya, things just ain't right!

[Greg S]

Bought a used Beowulf upper from a reputable BST on a forum. Took 6+ weeks from west TX. Seller didn't ship for three weeks and when he did, he didn't foward tracking info.

[Patrick L]

Well, I think the general consensus is that this is likely a USPS problem and not a scammer, but anything is possible. I have contacted the seller, he insists he did ship it and is working with his local PO on that end. Being the trusting fool I am, plus my own recent USPS adventures as well as those related by others here, I tend to believe him.

I have started an online request for the USPS to investigate, and I will stop into my local PO today to inquire. I notified Ebay I didn't get item, but indicated "I would like to receive the item" just to bring them into the process.

I'll keep the board posted.

[elmacgyver0]

Things are slow these days, I guess it's the new normal.
Hopefully it will show up soon.

[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.

265860

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.

[HATCH]

unless the item was sent priority mail or express mail all other forms of mailing are delayed.
It took four days for a package to go from the main hub to my little post office. 14 miles of road travel and typically depending on arrival to the main hub its the same day.

Arrived at 2 am which is typical and it sat there until I filed a complaint four days later.
Normally my stuff arrives to the main up the evening of the day before its delivered.

[dolfinwriter]

I sell a LOT on ebay and Amazon, so I can say absolutely the PO is having issues right now because of the pandemic. They had a banner on USPS some time back that said they were seeing increased shipping times due to difficulty getting vehicles due to the pandemic. This is to say nothing of riots and violence where anarchy is being allowed to reign in some areas of the country.


You need to go to ebay and look on the item you bought, one of the choices will be "I didn't receive my item" click that and open a claim.

I would not do this without talking to the Post Office. If anything, contact the seller directly because ebay's policies on this are draconian, and if you file a claim prematurely against a good seller, you will be hurting that seller's livelihood due to what is most likely a Post Office issue CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC. The seller has done their part or you would not have a tracking ID, although it is still ultimately seller's responsibility to get the sold item to the buyer. Meanwhile, USPS has custody of the item SOMEWHERE.


It is likely the box got torn open and/or pieces hanging out or lost etc. I have had usps bring me stuff weeks after it went missing with the packaging materials all torn up, encased in a plastic bag with a "We're sorry" note.

My Birthday card from my dad came to me just like that last year, but I still would not make this assumption without more to go on.

I also would not jump to the conclusion that seller did not package it well. Hopefully you checked their feedback before you gave them money for something, but look again and see if they have previous feedback saying the same kind of thing before you make that assumption. If they have a lot of positive feedbacks, they have likely learned some hard lessons about packing, or they have always done it right. In any event, you don't sustain a lot of positive feedbacks by sending expensive items to buyers poorly packed where they get broken or even lost in transit.

I have delivered packages to the Post Office where they scanned them in and then there was no new information for two weeks. The next status that came was that it had arrived at LAX. WTH it took two weeks to get from San Diego to LA is anyone's guess. After that it was halfway across the country in a couple of days.

I've had other items that didn't get scanned somewhere, so they seemed to suddenly disappear until the next status was "Delivered" or at least arrived at a distribution facility and marked as "Out for delivery".

As a seller, if this seller has good feedback, then I would recommend give them the benefit of the doubt at least while you check with the Post Office. I have had a number of people contact me and ask where is their item, or why has there been no status update for several days. There is no possible way I can know why the Post Office has not updated status on an item that I shipped a week ago. The Post Office can tell you a lot more than I can.

[Green Frog]

I'm wondering whether there is something other than the pandemic problem at work here... I sent a money order from my post office here in CenVA to a vendor in mid-Ohio. It left here Monday and finally got to him Saturday... and this was first class mail, of course. :(

Meanwhile, my mail carrier bypassed my mail box at the house today and left 3 bills that I had put in to go out today. Now I'm looking at Monday before they go out, and as slow as some of these things have been going, I wonder whether I'll get a late fee assessed. :???:

Froggie

[Ozark mike]

Defund usps maybe they will bring back the pony express

[Pigboat]

Here's a good, but long, article on some of their other problems besides the virus.
I can say from experience that taking away the craft worker's overtime is the quickest way to delay the mail. I worked in a USPS Distribution center as an ET maintaining and repairing the processing equip. for 26 years. We rotated from unit to unit so we were well versed in the operation of the whole plant.
I might add that in general, the postal unions and management are not conservatives.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/07/postal-service-investigation-dejoy/

[Wayne Smith]

"Subscribe to continue reading". Sorry, but no thank you.

[Patrick L]

I can't believe it, but after being MIA for a month (July 25th was last entry on USPS tracking) I got an email Tuesday (8/25) that my package arrived at my local USPS package facility, and it was delivered yesterday!!!!!!

Package was beat to tar, two holes, and generally just all banged up. To be fair, my Ebay seller did just about the dumbest packing job I've ever seen. The item was a MEC Grabber shotshell press. He wrapped it in some big air pocket wrap and jut put it in a loose box. Most of the air pockets obviously popped due to all those sharp edges, and things just got worse from there. I don't know if that contributed to the diversion to la la land.

So who thinks mail in ballots is a good idea?

[Ozark mike]

Bwahhahahaha i think the carpetbagger that thought of mail in ballots ought to be scalped

My package from powder valley hasnt arrived yet either. Been 3 weeks to go from kansas to montana. Pony express had quicker arrival times than this.

[bigdog454]

Ordered from midway and was shipped July 17, got it today Aug 27. followed the tracking and they sent it every place but to the local PO went from midway to OK then to MI then to a smalltown in OH then back to MI then to another small town in OH then back to MI then to TOledo OH then to somewhere else in OH then finally to my local PO. "very efficient service". And they want to increase the postage rates!
BD

[TexPatriot]

Ordered from midway and was shipped July 17, got it today Aug 27. followed the tracking and they sent it every place but to the local PO went from midway to OK then to MI then to a smalltown in OH then back to MI then to another small town in OH then back to MI then to TOledo OH then to somewhere else in OH then finally to my local PO. "very efficient service". And they want to increase the postage rates!
BD

I live in North Texas. Had a package go from the Hutchins (Major hub just out Dallas) Distribution Center to the Main Dallas Post office and back (about 10 miles each way) TWICE before they shipped to my local hub (about 20 miles) - then it disappeared “in transit” for seven days. Then it took three days to go from the local hub to my local post office (about 10 miles) where I finally got it in my PO Box.

It took four days to cross America and 15 days to travel from Hutchins to my local post office - 35.6 miles.

[charlie b]

Recent weeks I have had two packages from Midway arrive in 3 days, even though they use that horrible UPS/USPS routine. Takes an extra day. Quite a few packages (more than ten) from other places, all in the 2 or 3 day time frame depending on what part of the country they ship from.

And the 5 or 6 packages we have sent across the country have arrived in 3 days, all USPS Priority Mail.

[Slingin'Lead]

I've had some odd deliveries with Midway recently too. My order for ( in-stock items) might arrive in 3 days or 2 weeks.

I have a G19 that needs to go back to Glock but I cringe at shipping it right now.

[Ozark mike]

Ive worked at a few mills where you get paid by how much ya accomplished its called piece work i dont know how many know that term was pretty popular back in the day but that would solve alot of the short comings with this fiasco

[popper]

Kinda like any Gov. job, same ol routine every day, putting up with the public. Unionizing USPS back in the 50's (like all Gov jobs) was big mistake.

[DHDeal]

I haven't read this whole thread, but my experiences with shipping this year have been horrible. Items lost in the system a month (3 separate items), items being sent up and down the eastern seaboard before finding it's way here (a Brownells order), and items the PO just wouldn't deliver (had to go to the PO twice to pick them up). There are more examples, but I'm just referencing specific items I was watching for as they were for my toys.

I don't know what is going on as last year the USPS was on the ball for me. My carriers are known and polite and the ladies at the PO are the same. I'm not a USPS basher as my mother worked there for 27 years retiring as a Postmaster, but I've seen some bad juju!

All that said, when I've ordered MP Molds from Slovenia, they get here within a week! The last mold got here in 3 days! That's DHL and they must use magic.