What do you do when USPS loses a package

[Rylo]

Truth is, I knew I'd have to eat this transaction the second I got the PM
C'mon, if someone contacts you a month after you ship something by Priority Mail with delivery confirmation and says, "You ship my package yet?" You know there's trouble.

No big deal. Like I said, it just never happened on an RPF deal before (IN 6 YEARS) but was bound to sooner or later.

I took issue with 2 things. Being contacted a month late and this thread...that's it.

The fact of the matter is, nobody lost a thing here but me. I've refunded a purchase for 2 props that I made and delivered. I've processed 2 other "pending" orders for refunds to avoid this happening again. That was another $350.00 so easy math...I'm out a total of 450.00 plus shipping and transaction fees.

Michael is upset because he was told I wouldn't send anything else his way while this was going on. I further stated he would have to have signature confirmation and insurance in the future. I don't think this request is unreasonable.

There are questions which remain open and I'd simply be a fool to ship to this addy again. Like Rick said, we could have a sneaky neighbor, a problem at this PO or any number of things. This buyer jumped the gun and got a little fragile about being told I was withdrawing future orders while this was being investigated...simple as that.

I still remain perplexed by this thread. Should I risk further loss? Nooooo way.

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

Originally posted by Rylo@Mar 18 2006, 09:40 PM
The fact of the matter is, nobody lost a thing here but me.

But this is not true...

If I read this correctly He says that when he types in the package tracking ID# it says it is Atlanta for waht ever reason, for you it says delieverd. So obviously there is a glitch some place in the system if the buyer is telling the truth.

From my past experiance in losses with USPS packages on both sides it has always been up to the seller to get the process going, NOT the buyer, to file the claim and see what has happened, the buyer is left waiting in the process.

If it is insured it is up to you the seller to file the claim and see where the package is, if it is Atlanta as he said it was.

I have had packages that where delivered by 2-3 day priority mail and have taken over four weeks to get there, I have had to get the USPS lost package process started to find where that package was stuck at and get it going again so it either got back to me or the buyer.

If it is stuck some place it may finially get to the buyer then he can either send the package back to you or he can resend his money back if he still wants it, then you would be out nothing.

Just a thought,

Lynn

 

[Rylo]

Originally posted by Lynn TXP 0369+Mar 18 2006, 10:59 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lynn TXP 0369 @ Mar 18 2006, 10:59 PM)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-Rylo

@Mar 18 2006, 09:40 PM
The fact of the matter is, nobody lost a thing here but me.

But this is not true...

If I read this correctly He says that when he types in the package tracking ID# it says it is Atlanta for waht ever reason, for you it says delieverd. So obviously there is a glitch some place in the system if the buyer is telling the truth.

From my past experiance in losses with USPS packages on both sides it has always been up to the seller to get the process going, NOT the buyer, to file the claim and see what has happened, the buyer is left waiting in the process.

If it is insured it is up to you the seller to file the claim and see where the package is, if it is Atlanta as he said it was.

I have had packages that where delivered by 2-3 day priority mail and have taken over four weeks to get there, I have had to get the USPS lost package process started to find where that package was stuck at and get it going again so it either got back to me or the buyer.

If it is stuck some place it may finially get to the buyer then he can either send the package back to you or he can resend his money back if he still wants it, then you would be out nothing.

Just a thought,

Lynn

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[/b]

Wha? I think you missed the part where reasonable options went out the window around the time this guy posted this thread.

Type the # in yourself at USPS tracking and see what it says. It says nothing about Atlanta in the on-line search. This is how it reads:

Label/Receipt Number: 0305 0830 0003 5143 8694

Your item arrived at 8:56 am on February 16, 2006 in LEESBURG, VA 20175.
..............................................................................................................

I'm not sure how many times I have to say this. I HAVE ALREADY PROCESSED A REFUND FOR THIS BUYER. I WILL HANDLE THIS WITH THE P.O. ON MY OWN.

What are you saying isn't true? Are we reading the same thread?

This buyer has made an issue of this matter by authoring this thread. I've refunded his purchase eventhough I can prove I shipped it. I do not dispute his word...I simply do not care to go back and forth with him after he posted this thread.

I'm done with this, now. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. :thumbsup

 

[SithLord]

IMO, the seller could reply with ok I'm going to check with USPS instead of implying some deceit on the part of the seller (if that was the case). If there was some accusation and if it wasn't resolvable then coming here for advice is not unreasonable. A seller with a good record should be even more interested in a followup with USPS than to accuse a buyer.

That being said, it is the buyer's responsibility when he agrees on the method of shipping to take some of the risk associated with that method. The package was sent with delivery confirmation which the seller can demonstrate and the USPS website still shows the record of that successful delivery. Yes the seller should check with USPS, but until USPS is able to track down what happened to the package, it is premature to expect a refund. If one is willing to wait one month before looking into the delivery, then waiting longer to find out from USPS what happened is showing good faith. If the seller shows that he has evidence he sent it, then coming here won't change anything, except forcing his hand for a refund. There's give and take here. There was responsibility to keep track of the package and that includes asking the buyer when it will be shipped out instead of assuming when it would be shipped.

I've been in this situation myself a couple of times and it's never pretty, but patience on both sides is always helpful.

 

[juno]

What's the purpose of this thread? If it's to figure out how to deal with the post office when a package was lost, couldn't the drama have been left out?

I feel guilty posting this -- since it just bumps this junk up to the top again -- but I just couldn't keep quiet on this one.

 

[angelfire]

I wil add my 2 cents too. I have had problems with both UPS and USPS deliveries in the same manner. I find the same problem in trying to take care of the problem first without getting the sender involved, but it always comes back to having the shipper initiate the tracking investigation.

I just went through the same problem with some supplements that I had ordered. When I was unable to get my package and it was lost in limbo at UPS, I contacted the shipper via email, who told me that I had to take care of it and that they couldn't do anything. He said I should contact UPS. I told him they told me he had to contact them.

I called on the phone before he would do anything about it. I also got the same feeling of being told that I was full of it and that he couldn't be bothered with making sure the package got to where it should.

Even on the phone, until he called UPS to confirm that he had to initiate the tracking, he made me feel lie I was a bother and was lying about him having to follow up.

I am not a sensitive guy, but it annoys me when it is implied that I am not telling the truth when I am, and it is easy to get that impression from someone, even if they don't say you are lying in those words, when it could have been dealt with by him telling me that he would call them and get back to me.

So, I can see where the poster is coming from with this point of view.

As far as the tracking and showing up in Atlanta, the USPS and UPS system can show more info than what is available on their site.

The majority of the friction from this is because USPS screwed up and did not deliver the package to it's correct destination, but a small part is from the shipper if the shipper doesn't just help out, without a fuss, in initiating a tracking investigation.

On one final note, it is hard to read people's moods and intentions via email and written words, instead of over the phone. I too get concerened when I am unable to call and talk to someone about a problem if the resolution can not be handled over emails.

 

[Apollo]

Originally posted by angelfire@Mar 19 2006, 04:09 AM
but a small part is from the shipper if the shipper doesn't just help out, without a fuss, in initiating a tracking investigation.

:confused The shipper refunded his Money IN FULL.

Rylo went above and beyond what he should have done like he ALWAYS does.

 

[Prop Runner]

Rylo, if I may comment:

Originally posted by Rylo+Mar 18 2006, 08:46 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rylo @ Mar 18 2006, 08:46 AM)</div>

As mentioned. I have processed a refund for your lost order and will eat it on my end. I do indeed consider it the price of doing business. Please return the package to me if it should ever make it to you. If you check your PayPal you will see the credit.[/b]

Now this just strikes me as punitive and uncalled for. Why, Rylo? If the package ends up being delivered to the buyer instead of being returned to you, give him the simple courtesy of keeping what he originally ordered and refunding your PayPal refund (that way nothing is deducted). If the buyer no longer wants the replica given the negative association to this unfortunate experience, THEN he's morally obligated to return it to you.

About 2 minutes after you brough this to my attention, I sent you a copy of the stamped delivery confirmation slip clearly marked with your addy and asked you to take it to your PO. (you've suggested I didn't want to help you??? This slip is seen below with the transaction info from USPS)

The buyer posted that his postmaster told him the sender is the party that has to initiate an investigation, since it's the sender who paid for the postage and entered a transactional contract with the USPS, regardless of whether or not delivery (to *somewhere*) took place or not. By merely sending the buyer a copy of your delivery confirmation receipt, I can understand why he'd think you were trying to avoid doing that. If you're aware of Post Office policy on sender's responsibility to initiate investigations, regardless of the elapsed time, I believe you should have just filled out the simple form and inform the buyer that it was out of your hands.

<!--QuoteBegin-Rylo@Mar 18 2006, 06:40 PM
I took issue with 2 things. Being contacted a month late and this thread...that's it.

Did you send the buyer an e-mail indicating the package had been sent? I do even when I'm only the broker (in case of the King Kong gas bombs, which were produced in North Carolina, in fact ). If you did not, I can understand how the buyer could be unsure when his package was sent, and what to you *IS* a month might have seemed to him like 2 weeks. Just a thought... Plus, as I understand it, his postmaster told him to wait for 2 weeks from the expected delivery date before initiating an investigation.

Another question: Did you print out or hand-write the shipping address on the package? The delivery confirmation receipt is in your handwriting, and for the life of me I can't make out some of your letters... If you did hand-write the shipping label, that could have contributed to the failed delivery - did you consider that? I always print out my labels using PayPal or USPS "Ship & Click," and the best part of that is the USPS sends the buyer an e-mail notification, absolving you of the responsibility.

The fact of the matter is, nobody lost a thing here but me. I've refunded a purchase for 2 props that I made and delivered.  I've processed 2 other "pending" orders for refunds to avoid this happening again. That was another $350.00 so easy math...I'm out a total of 450.00 plus shipping and transaction fees.

This is the part that bothers me the most. It sounds 100% punitive and irrational. You have both admitted that you've had successful transactions in the past - I presume to the same buyer's address, so what gives? :confused The buyer didn't *ASK* to have his orders refunded - you took unilateral action, Ry, which to most people would feel like being punished for no reason. I'm further confused by your claims that you'd be willing to resume business with the buyer once the current situation is cleared up, so why issue him refunds? Just hold onto the order a little while longer or simply send them out with insurance at the buyer's expense. Tell me this: by refunding the buyer, you're now freeing his order up for somebody else who may be on a waiting list, am I correct? So once "this situation clears up," the buyer might loose his chance to own what he already paid for, or have to wait for a longer time until you start a new run, so he ends up punished anyway through no fault of his own.

I want to clarify that this is not a slam, Ry - I think you're one of the "model citizens" of this forum and certainly in the top 1% of ethical and reliable artisans I've ever seen. But sometimes I see you react emotionally to objective business problems and feel it's my duty as a fellow "citizen" to call you on it, because other sellers and artisans might do the same and say: "but it's ok for Rylo." I just don't enjoy seeing two good people come to verbal blows and potentially ruin a good artisan-collector relationship over misunderstandings and lacking communications. We all have private lives and being on top of prop transaction 24/7 is not always possible. But for those (like you) who do it for a living, the attitude should be "the customer is always right" unless you have proof to the contrary. And when the customer feels slighted, he has every right to have his opinions and conclusions confirmed or critiqued by his peers, and that's what this thread is about - not a personal attack on you out of anger, even though you took it that way, which makes both of your reactions emotional and counterproductive.

My two cents, and I hope that both this situation gets resolved and that Ry honors his current paid-in-full orders and makes peace with his aggrieved customer.

- Gabe

 

[Tatooine_Todd]

Just an addition in support of Gabe's post, at no time in this thread did the buyer "out" the seller. That only occured whgen Rylo himself entered the thread. To me, it seemed the intent of the buyer was only getting help in a shipping problem.

 

[Prop Runner]

Originally posted by monster_collector@Mar 19 2006, 03:27 PM
Just an addition in support of Gabe's post, at no time in this thread did the buyer "out" the seller.  That only occured whgen Rylo himself entered the thread.  To me, it seemed the intent of the buyer was only getting help in a shipping problem.

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To be fair to Rylo, Mike could have omitted mention of the webshooter replica if his intention was to discuss the issue "on principle," and not out Rylo, becuase everybody knows Rylo produced the webshooters. But since Rylo responded, the point is moot at this time.

Just sayin', is all...

- Gabe

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

Originally posted by Rylo@Mar 18 2006, 11:20 PM

Type the # in yourself at USPS tracking and see what it says. It says nothing about Atlanta in the on-line search. This is how it reads:

Label/Receipt Number: 0305 0830 0003 5143 8694

Your item arrived at 8:56 am on February 16, 2006 in LEESBURG, VA 20175.
..............................................................................................................
What are you saying isn't true? Are we reading the same thread?

Apparently we arn't reading the same thread because what I said WAS true..... If you were reading the same thread you would have noticed the buyer posted this information that I was refering to about Atlanta.

"I guess it got to my local post office. When I went to the post office and asked them to look for it, the postmaster ran an "Intranet Item Inquiry" for me. This shows the same information as the online system, except that there is an additional record:

ARRIVAL AT UNIT 02/28/2006 14:10 ATLANTA, GA 30378 Scanner ID: 00A38T83G"

Hence why I said what I said..

Lynn

 

[SPDOmegaRanger]

my suggestion is hound the PO or go to atlanta and demand they find your package or contact there offices at atlanta

 

[KarlBud420]

How far did you have to go to dig this topic up? :rolleyes It's been over a month and a half...you're late to the party.

Bruce

 

[SPDOmegaRanger]

sorry thought it was recent was looking threw various topics of webshooters forgot to check the date

 

[temponaut]

I thought this thread had been locked a long time ago... :unsure

 

[cayman shen]

Well, stale or not, it's been very illuminating. I'm also trying to track down a purchase, and this thread has helped me understand how to go about it, so something positive has come of all the bickering.