Up until now I’ve been using the U.S. post office to ship all of my eBay packages. I bought a cheap postal scale from eBay and I’ve been using it in combination with PayPal to ship packages without having to wait in line. So far I’ve shipped about 10 items this way.
But last week I received an email from an eBay buyer who never received the item she purchased. I logged into my PayPal account, typed in the delivery confirmation number, and sure enough found that the item had not arrived. I asked the buyer to wait a couple more days, but when the status didn’t change I called the post office to find out what happened.
USPS Loses Packages
First, I called the 1-800 number and was informed by a very pleasant postal employee that my package had “fallen off the grid.” He asked me all sorts of questions, which lead me to describe what was in the envelope, how much the item was worth, where the package was going, and what the package looked like. Then he informed me that I’d receive a call from my local post office after they spent some time researching the issue.
An hour later I received a call from another very nice postal worker who informed me that the package had left my local post office and was never seen again. By the way, this is essentially what I found when I typed the tracking number into usps.com. She asked me to try to track the package myself by calling the post office corresponding to the buyer’s address. I was a bit surprised that the post office would ask me to call another post office. I assumed that one postal worker would call another to find the package, but when I mentioned this to the postal worker she just laughed. The woman directed me back to the 1-800 number, rather than provide the number to the post office I needed to contact.
So I called the 1-800 number and received the phone number of the post office where the package should have been delivered. The postal worker entered the tracking number I gave him and said “yup it never got here.” I asked if he could look around the post office to see if it had gotten stuck in the wrong bin or something. He laughed and said if the computer says it never got here than it never got here. He then gave me the number of a claims department. I called and the number rang and rang. No one picked up and I couldn’t leave a voice mail. I tried calling for three days.
Today I gave up. Because the item wasn’t insured the post office wouldn’t allow me to file a claim. Even if they won’t give me the value of the item, I assumed they would give me a refund the price of shipping. Nope. No such luck. So I refunded the eBay buyer the full amount and sucked up the loss of the item and the shipping.
Next time. I think I’ll ship UPS.
Reading these posts with interest. Sent a package to China via small priority box. Printed the shipping label at home and delivered the package to the post office. Clerk would not sell insurance for small priority box to China. Party never received the package and trace only revealed that a label was printed. Postal Supervisor later told me there was no record of the package being scanned. Filed theft of mail form with postal inspectors but got no help. Net result charge back of $145 by Pay Pal. Expensive lesson and now I will only purchase insurance at post office when I use them. Its the only way you have proof of delivery to post office. Also reluctant to sell internationally unless you can insure for the total cost of item plus shipping=declared value is sum of item price (what duty is paid on) and total cost of shipping.
Dave
i guess this happens at every USPS location. i bought a package from a seller who lives no more than 2 hours from me. item ships out with tracking #.
it shows that it was delivered but i never received the package. i was in contact w/ the post office immediately and they checked with the carrier who delivered my route that saturday morning and he says himself that he doesnt remember putting a bubble mailer in my mail box which proves my case because i never got my item!
but now the retarded post office ppl just give me the well its not insured they are aren't responsible and that its my fault. wtf?!?! this is the 2nd item lost in 6 months and there might be potentially a 3rd item that says it was delivered yesterday but so far nothing!
i am so freaking pissed…no accountability, no responibility..WTF!!!!
are there not any more honest ppl left in this world???
why must we pay the price for something we had no control over! if we want to throw our money away and donate it to charity we can, but this is just not RIGHT!
I know that this issue is old but wow this just happened to me. I get an order from eBay, print the shipping label from home and guess what I get, an email "I never got my package." C'mon, things just don't disappear people steal them and that is not fair. Why is it against the law to open someone's mail and yet the post office opens yours. I think there should be a law that if they lose your package, you get paid the $300 fine that they place. Oh well just take a loss, things happen right.
I'm dealing with the same situation. The problem with insurance and tracking is most of my listings are for $1 – $5 and I do free shipping..since I'm only making a few cents profit anyway, it is too much to pay for insurance and tracking. It shouldn't be an issue in the first place – there should be a list of every package handed to a worker and that worker should be able to account for each letter and package.
I know this is like years old but I had the same exact thing happen to me! I'm an Ebay seller a very poor single mother @ that. I'm pretty darn ticked off. You are lucky that people had at least called you back. They all just laughed at me and couldn't be bothered. Many hours were spent on the phone trying to locate my package. I paid for the priority shipping online about two weeks ago then took it down to the Post Office to be shipped. Well the tracking number doesn't show any history of it even being received. I refunded my buyer the $40. It's ridiculous. I was trying to find something anything when I came across your blog. I automatically charge insurance on all my items now and no longer do I pay for postage online which makes things more inconvenient and expensive
Okay..the original post is dated 2007..but I just happened to have the SAME EXACT THING happen to me last week (march 2011)..I didn't purchase insurance on my package simply because it was just going to the next city over and would have cost me more than the gas money it took to drive it myself. However, when my package was not received 7 days later of course I became worried. I called the origin post office and the post office at the destination and nobody would do anything. It was my problem, not theirs. I always thought the post office was pretty reliable until TODAY…
I buy and sell on eBay. I recently bought 45 hard cover books from an eBay seller, who says she shipped them by media mail – and I believe her from all of our correspondence – on March 27th. It's April 22 and neither her PO nor mine is able to find the package, even though the PO assigned it a tracking tag.
After reading these posts, I had a thought. When I ship something I sold on eBay, I print out the shipping label from eBay. I tape it to the box and give it to my mail carrier. Much more convenient than standing in line at the PO. But the tracking number only shows that I printed the label, not that I actually mailed it. So no proof that I did. Perhaps that's what's making it so easy for postal workers to "lose" or steal packages. If someone at the PO affixes the postage, they can't say it was never mailed and would hold them more accountable. I think I'll do it that way from now on even if I have to spend a lot more time on shipping.
how about this one: i was waiting for a letter from MEDICAL SCHOOL telling me whether or not I was accepted and the post office lost my mail!! i know they lost it because i was also supposed to get a dvd from netflix 3 days ago. no mail for 3 days and the post office has no idea what happened. now i have to have the school re-send my letter to a different address. UNREAL!
I've had TWO Certified Letters sent to me that the Post Office has lost. BOTH letters contained checks.
So, I stopped using the USPostalService and ONLY use UPS.
Unfortunately (I've only myself to blame), I had an 18k gold ring to return to a Ruby Lane shop owner. I was tired and in a hurry, arrived at UPS minutes before closing, and was told that because the shop owner's ADDRESS WAS A P.O. BOX, UPS could not deliver my return to her, and had to send it via the Postal Service!
Not only that, UPS CANNOT SELL INSURANCE OR DELIVERY CONFIRMATION FOR ITEMS ADDRESSED W/ A P.O. BOX ADDRESS!!!
I wasn't thinking clearly, and had promised the shop owner I'd mail her package that day, and returned a $175 18k gold ring uninsured without delivery confirmation via the US POSTAL SERVICE!!!
WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?! The item never arrived. I am screwed out of $175.00, AND some disgusting evil Postal "Worker" (Thief) is now sporting or has given his gal a lovely 18k gold ring!!!
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER MAIL ANYTHING IMPORTANT VIA THE US POSTAL SERVICE!!! NEVER!!!
If the recipient has only given you a PO Box, either make them give you their street address, or explain via the Ruby Lane or eBay interface that you will take package loss via the USPostal Service to be their responsibility. BEFORE MAILING, make sure Ruby Lane or eBay will be on record for agreeing to this. If they won't, DEMAND a street address.
The USPost Office is filled at best with unprofessional incompetents and, at worst, outright thieves and plunderers.
I have someone's textbooks!
I shipped a 44 lb. box of textbooks, many of them from psychology courses, via USPS in March 2011. When I received the box it had only some of my books in it, and many others that were switched in.
If anyone has had this happen, and/or has found my textbooks, please let me know a few details so we can figure this out. I hope that our textbooks were just switched, but would be happy to simply return the books to their owner, either way.
I will be keeping an eye on this thread. To contact me, simply comment.