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 Replies: 14 / Views: 2,250 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1314 Posts |
Just wanting to share two problems I've encountered in the last week.
One was a notification from a customer that said he hadn't received the coins he ordered 2 weeks ago. (Total value less than $2, so there was no tracking.)
I simply refunded his money. Two days later, he contacted me and told me they just arrived.
Second, I was at my computer and got a mail notification that my package had been delivered. It hadn't. I called the Post Office, and they sent out a carrier to scour the neighbor's mailboxes until they found where it had been delivered.
Strange things can happen without evil intent.
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
Called substitute mail carriers, I was one for may years, just like coin noobs, they are human too. Been recently had stuff sent to me (Midwest) from Portland, took 7 1\2 days. I mailed to SF, got that way in two 1/2. Tracking even showed a rescan somewhere for three days at midnight each time before finally registering in KC. Wasn't Christmas either!
Edited by Crazyb0
01/30/2018 02:31 am
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Valued Member
United States
413 Posts |
That is why more and more sellers on ebay prefer tracking number which made postal deliveries a bit costly than it should be. :( Lately, I notice that the US Post Office is slow with their mail deliveries now. It used to take 4 days or 3 for a mail piece to arrive here from Massachetts. No more...it is 5 or 6 days now. Now our first class postage went up one more cent starting last Monday. Delivering international mail is horrible now. Many of my Christmas cards from Europe are missing. Never happened to me before. Think the Post Office is starting to be untrustworthy now? Years ago, it is different. I am not sure why. Perhaps Crazyb0 could shed some light on this subject? Once I shipped a book to a buyer, it took two weeks and half for the book to reach him from the east coast to the west coast. I had to chase the book in the mail by calling up several post offices until someone was able to help me. For some reasons unclear to me, the book was stuck in a certain post office. My buyer threatened to report me to ebay but I assured him that he will get his book somehow. He would not give me a positive feedback. Thanks to Post Office. One time I ordered a book abroad, I never got it. Forgot all about the book until one day I was surprised to see the packet. It took 7 months! Go figure.... The seller was honest and insisted that he did send the book to me. I took a pity on him by letting him keep the money when I did not have a book until 7 months later.... Edited by Carrigna
01/30/2018 03:44 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
Yeah, it's the USPS. Don't worry too much about tracking/delivered stuff updates and info. They haven't gotten that sorted quite yet.  My only addition is that Amazon Prime has that stuff down to a tee!  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
01/30/2018 03:49 am
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
Quote: Amazon Prime has that stuff down to a tee! I know,right. How dae do dat  John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
A few weeks ago, I was notified I got my package, and there was nothing in the mailbox. Went to the PO, and they GPS'd it. They said that there's a GPS attached to each delivery scan. That was pretty cool, and they found the package.
Last week I dropped a cheap tracked package in the box at the PO, and the tracking hasn't shown up yet. Sometimes they're just slow, but it's frustrating. I always walk up an expensive package to the window to scan it in, but anything less than $20 goes in the box, just not worth standing in line for, and they haven't lost one "yet."
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:That is why more and more sellers on ebay prefer tracking number which made postal deliveries a bit costly than it should be. Delivery issues has nothing to do with why ebay sellers almost always use tracking. ebay doesn't give the sellers a choice but to use tracking. Without tracking sellers are just giving things away for free. Any buyer at any time can just say they never got it and the seller loses 100 percent of the time if there is no tracking Quote:
Years ago, it is different. I am not sure why. Perhaps Crazyb0 could shed some light on this subject? They're just simply over worked. Yes there are bad employees and always have been, but the majority of their problems are that they are just over worked and all of the inefficiencies in their systems have been brutally exposed with the explosion of online commerce which will continue to grow every year. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2917 Posts |
Quote: ebay doesn't give the sellers a choice but to use tracking. Without tracking sellers are just giving things away for free. Any buyer at any time can just say they never got it and the seller loses 100 percent of the time if there is no tracking Tracking proves nothing. It proves ONLY that the package got there, but not the contents. In my opinion it is a scam. ebay though thinks it is the end all. I've shipped around 800 items in two years on ebay, around 700 of them without tracking. Of those, only two were lost. One was an envelope that was slit (same thing happens to tracked packages) and the contents removed. I was going to offer the buyer a refund, but he never contacted me after sending me the original envelope back, slit and all. Which leads me to believe that maybe the buyer was making up a story. In the other case, it was a small value item (around $2), and I shipped a replacement. CRH Nickeloholic. 1,600,000 nickels searched in eight years! Have found FOUR complete Jefferson sets!
Edited by John77
01/30/2018 6:28 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2917 Posts |
Quote:
One time I ordered a book abroad, I never got it. Forgot all about the book until one day I was surprised to see the packet. It took 7 months! Go figure....
The seller was honest and insisted that he did send the book to me. I took a pity on him by letting him keep the money when I did not have a book until 7 months later.... This is exactly why I hate ebay's "absolutismistic" policies... you were honest, and the seller was honest. The item was lost. ebay wants to make sure they pin a guilty verdict on someone - usually the seller. The USPS is effectively absolved of ANY guilt by ebay. Quote:
One was a notification from a customer that said he hadn't received the coins he ordered 2 weeks ago. (Total value less than $2, so there was no tracking.)
I simply refunded his money. Two days later, he contacted me and told me they just arrived. This doesn't happen very often, but every once in a while, weird things do happen with the USPS. My packages typically take no longer than 7 days to get to their destinations (I only ship in the U.S.). In one extreme case though, it took a package of mine 17 days to get its destination! CRH Nickeloholic. 1,600,000 nickels searched in eight years! Have found FOUR complete Jefferson sets!
Edited by John77
01/30/2018 7:21 pm
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Valued Member
United States
413 Posts |
Quote:Tracking proves nothing. It proves ONLY that the package got there, but not the contents. In my opinion it is a scam. ebay though thinks it is the end all. I've shipped around 800 items in two years on ebay, around 700 of them without tracking. Of those, only two were lost. One was an envelope that was slit (same thing happens to tracked packages) and the contents removed. I was going to offer the buyer a refund, but he never contacted me after sending me the original envelope back, slit and all. Which leads me to believe that maybe the buyer was making up a story. In the other case, it was a small value item (around $2), and I shipped a replacement. It did happen to me two times. Last time it happened to me was last year. I ordered coins from Thailand. I explained to the seller it is better to use a small padded envelope, not a paper envelope. She agreed that my purchase should go in a padded envelope. Waiting for about two weeks, I got it but...it was slit opened and no coins. I was upset and I went to the Post Office. The manager there said we could not prove who slit the envelope as I could have done it myself. I was shocked that they would assume that. I insisted that it arrived that way. I would not have bothered with coming in if I did this myself. So, I asked the manager to write up a letter for me to give to ebay to get my money back. The manager was not happy about it. Fortunately, the seller just promptly refunded my money without any issue with a sincere apology. I asked her why she did not use a padded envelope as requested. She apologised by saying she forgot to do it and it costs more to use it and mail it. I am out of the coins but not a complete loss. Post Office believed that it has to be the international mail depot on the western coast that is the culprit. Their words, not mine. Please do not be so quick to assume that the buyer is lying. Edited by Carrigna
01/30/2018 8:02 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5253 Posts |
One of our members sent me a package that had a USPS tracking number. I received it about a month ago, but USPS says it is still in transit as of December 16th. Kind of worthless information, is it not?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2917 Posts |
Quote:
One of our members sent me a package that had a USPS tracking number. I received it about a month ago, but USPS says it is still in transit as of December 16th. Kind of worthless information, is it not? Yup. Quote:It did happen to me two times. Last time it happened to me was last year. I ordered coins from Thailand. I explained to the seller it is better to use a small padded envelope, not a paper envelope. She agreed that my purchase should go in a padded envelope. Waiting for about two weeks, I got it but...it was slit opened and no coins. I was upset and I went to the Post Office. The manager there said we could not prove who slit the envelope as I could have done it myself. I was shocked that they would assume that. I insisted that it arrived that way. I would not have bothered with coming in if I did this myself. So, I asked the manager to write up a letter for me to give to ebay to get my money back. The manager was not happy about it. Fortunately, the seller just promptly refunded my money without any issue with a sincere apology. I asked her why she did not use a padded envelope as requested. She apologised by saying she forgot to do it and it costs more to use it and mail it. I am out of the coins but not a complete loss. Post Office believed that it has to be the international mail depot on the western coast that is the culprit. Their words, not mine. Please do not be so quick to assume that the buyer is lying. Good post.... and I wasn't assuming anyone was lying. My point is that ebay likes to make it black and white. In their eyes, there is always an innocent party and a guilty one between the buyer and seller. When in reality, it is usually the case that neither the buyer or seller is guilty. The USPS is usually the one at fault. CRH Nickeloholic. 1,600,000 nickels searched in eight years! Have found FOUR complete Jefferson sets!
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Valued Member
United States
413 Posts |
Quote:Good post.... and I wasn't assuming anyone was lying. My point is that ebay likes to make it black and white. In their eyes, there is always an innocent party and a guilty one between the buyer and seller. When in reality, it is usually the case that neither the buyer or seller is guilty. The USPS is usually the one at fault. You do have a point here. I would have to agree with you on this point. Sad, isn't it? Quote:
One of our members sent me a package that had a USPS tracking number. I received it about a month ago, but USPS says it is still in transit as of December 16th. Kind of worthless information, is it not? That probably means a postie or mail carrier forgot to scan it. Especially at Christmastime. It did happen to me. A mail carrier rang my doorbell and gave me a package. He forgot to scan it. The tracking number still shows that it has not delivered yet it was delivered to me. Go figure....and it was just one week after New Year's Day! One time I asked ebay customer service about the importance of having a tracking number, he said I must have it to protect myself if I ever sells on their website. If I do not have any means to track my mail pieces, I am open to possible abuses from the buyers and I cannot protect myself from them. Another day I got a package from ebay seller, I wrote to him explaining my concern. He sent me a package with the tracking number which is good BUT he did not secure his package by taping/securing envelope flap. It is easily opened. I explained to him that it would be very difficult for me to prove to him that the coins are not in the package when there is a tracking number. It is better to secure the package completely to make it difficult. (Not wholly secure but it is a bit better than no security.) I assured him that the coins arrived safe and sound. Some years back, I sent a package abroad using Registered Mail service. When my relative got my package, he promptly e-mailed saying that the banknotes are missing but there are only two coins enclosed. Upon inspecting the package closely, someone slitted the package and re-sealed the package with different tape! At this time, the USPS changed the rules on how much they would cover the loss via Registered Mail. I was out of pocket about 50 dollars at the same time they reimbursed me for the half of the contents' value. I suspected it was the post office. I reported the post office to appropriate authorities. Guess what? They did sent someone but this person was idiotic for bringing the postmaster along with her. The postmaster banged on my door. I would not dare to open the door when this postmaster was angry. They simply walked away. Some months later, they caught her and fired her from her position. The postal clerk there tried to warn me about mailing from their facility. My solution? I went to other post office and my troubles were solved. Now this time I think I would have to do the same. Terrible! |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4594 Posts |
Postal Inspector stupidity. I had a package slit open and resealed with brown glue. Stolen was a rare-but-not-valuable early off-brand photo certificate. Only one of that company I had ever seen (five years later one just showed up on ebay - MINE). I took the package to the local post office and spoke with the postmaster. This is about two hours out of a major city so - reluctantly - all the postmaster could do was take a report and forward it to the regional office in the major city. A month goes bye. Crickets. Call - no update. About a month later (2 months after filing the report), I received the original opened envelope back in one of those "sorry your mail was damaged" baggies. Stupid is as stupid does... -----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Valued Member
Taiwan
192 Posts |
Not long ago I traded with a CCF member... His coins came in a paper envelope, slit and re-taped. Fortunately, yet oddly, nothing was lost  |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 2,250 |
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Posted 01/30/2018 03:43 am
