kaskas
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posted on February 4, 2001 09:58:22 PM new
It angers me that the USPS is auctioning off its lost mail on eBay.
Why you ask.... Let me vent!
1) The starting prices... hmmm they didnt PAY for these items, why do they act like they have an investment with a starting bid at retail?
2) Our rates go up. % of Lost packages goes up. Their inventory goes up. They resell our lost packages and make money coming going and everywhere in between.
3)Scenerio A. You sell an item, Pay for shipping. It gets lost, USPS sells an item, buyer pays for shipping. It gets lost again. USPS miraculously finds the items sells again, buyer pays for shipping... This seems to be a way for USPS workers to ensure the longevity of their careers.
4) Why not have a search available for the lost items. If they can list them in Ebays database... why cant they list them in an internal database where the RIGHTFUL owner has a chance of getting it back?
5) USPS has now become EVERYONE AUCTIONERS competition! They compete in every category... amazing how someone we pay to do a service for us is our competitor. This should make everyone outraged!
A simple suggestion: Everyone use UPS or the like... they have a much lower LOST ratio. They actually FIRE people who tamper with packages and tampering with packages does not ensure their job security.
I SAY BUHUMBUG to USPS AUCTIONS!!
Ok I feel better now....
BTW... isnt it curious that shipping is only 4-10 dollars and the auctions are selling for closer to 100.00? seems reasonable to SWIPE packages that are not insured to bring more into the post office. Do they get bonuses to FIND items to sell?
Last but not least... WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?? WHERE are all those dollars going that are being sent in for auctions?
Jeeze and I forgot to mention.. they make money one the money orders too. JUST REDICULOUS!!!!
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misscandle
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:04:34 PM new
The USPS has been invited here to respond to our discussions (see other thread about bubble mailers).
A lot of us are upset. Thank you for starting a new thread on the subject. I for one will be very interested to hear what they have to say. Assuming, of course, that they show up.
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barkrock
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:15:59 PM new
Guess I've been overly sheltered lately. How do you know the USPS is selling on eBay? What user ID do they use?
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misscandle
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:23:23 PM new
barkrock:
They have 2 user IDs:
usps-mrc-collectibles
usps-mrc-everythingelse
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fouberswantedfence
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:23:38 PM new
kaskas I agree!!
wonders how this message will turn out
=^..^=
= ^..^= leaps back to her fence to travel along to...another spot another along the way
kittY
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barkrock
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:25:20 PM new
Well, the USPS still has my violin and hasn't paid me a cent for the insurance.
I can't wait to see it go by on eBay again.
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tuition44years
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:00:06 PM new
A conflict of interest .. to put it mildly?
Does anyone know how long items are held in 'lost and found' before they are released for auction?
_________
I have a memory like a steel trap .. unfortunately it's rusted shut!
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litlnemo
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:01:36 PM new
They have other IDs, too:
usps-mrc-music
usps-mrc-movies
usps-mrc-books
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wbbell
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:28:54 PM new
kaskas - the post office has been conducting lost mail auctions for years and years, but they have been live at their three mail recovery centers. I personally applaud their move to eBay, maybe they can make a little more money than before and defer the next postage increase another few months.
I couldn't find any hard facts on usps.com, but I'd suspect lost mail items number well into the thousands per month. There is likely not enough budget to devote to any type of database of lost items due to sheer volume, plus you would have no way to prove it's yours in most cases.
It seems like I read somewhere that items are held at the MRC for at least 90 days before being auctioned.
The post office isn't the evil empire you are making them out to be.
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bobbysoxer
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:35:12 PM new
Here is a thread that was started on 1/1/01
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=306576
not bobbysoxer on eBay
[email protected]
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musicman1313
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posted on February 5, 2001 12:26:52 AM new
wbbell - I think the thing that is bothering most of us is the fact that sellers deal with both Ebay and the PO everyday! As two separate entities. Now we see them "Married", in a sense. It's the ole "foot in the door" that we've seen many times with Ebay. My new motto is: "It's not so much what's happening now, it's what's going to happen down the road."
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barbarake
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posted on February 5, 2001 04:00:37 AM new
I've never had any problems with the post office. But I must say that this looks like a conflict of interest.
And government or corporate entities should avoid even the appearance of 'conflict of interest'. (Except for the Supreme Court, they can do what they want.)
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Damariscotta
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posted on February 5, 2001 05:15:11 AM new
Have you actually looked at their listings? Mostly stuff bought off late-night info-mercials, and junk that wasn't even worth the postage, much less insurance. My guess is that most of this couldn't be delivered because the recipients moved to different trailer parks and didn't leave forwarding addresses.
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sweil
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posted on February 5, 2001 05:41:53 AM new
I guess you all don't realize that the post office has been auctioning items that are undeliverable for years in public auctions. Now they are just using the internet to do it. Their only alternative to selling these items is the either throw them away or give them away. People seem to think that the USPS is going to start stealing items just so they can make a little money. If you are so worried that your packages are going to get lost then buy insurance for them.
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bootclan
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posted on February 5, 2001 05:53:10 PM new
Sweil
Their are 2 ways to look at that thought. If the USPS would quit throwing and damaging my stuff then maybe I would not have to worry about buying insurance. There rates just took a jump without any added insurance costs. What are we paying for anyway. Take care of the "cause" and not the "effect"
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nannybeth
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posted on February 5, 2001 07:02:28 PM new
I have looked at the auctions for the USPS and not all the stuff is junk. People are bidding on this stuff and a lot of it can be bought at Walmart for less. I replied in the other thread about this so I'll give ya'll the facts here too. On the auction site usps-mrc-everythingelse they have a rating of 1360 with 49 of these neg. On the other site usps-mrc-collectables there are 588 feedbacks with 7 neg. Then have been ebaying since 7/2000 and 8/2000. Not good odds for that short of a time. Also in the neg. feedback that I read they all said basicly the same thing---- bidder did not buy insurance. Sounds fishy to me!!!!! I also want to know where the $$$$$$$$ goes.
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twelvepole
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posted on February 5, 2001 07:25:12 PM new
AWWWW...sounds like jealousy to me... most of their items have bids. I guess you would rather see them throw the stuff out?
Besides most items are "as-is" so you are taking a gamble buying some of those items.
Ain't Life Grand... 
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amy
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posted on February 5, 2001 07:26:24 PM new
The dollars go back into the post office budget.
The post office has been auctioning lost mail off for YEARS...many years. They didn't just start doing it recently so its kind of silly to think they are delibertly losing mail just so they can sell it and make money...if that were true then it has been true for years before they started selling the stuff on ebay.
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waspstar
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posted on February 5, 2001 07:37:54 PM new
90% of the CDs they sell under their music ID are MUSIC CLUB CDs that are obviously either rejected (the person forgot to return their monthly card) or are undeliverable.
When I was a kid, we used to sign people up for these record clubs as a joke... The clubs never verify anything. To my knowledge, they still do not. They just package up the selections and send them out. It appears to me that the post office has an agreement with these music clubs NOT TO return any rejected or undeliverable CDs.
I would guess that up to 10% of the music club mailings are lost, undeliverable, or rejected.
"My possessions are causing me suspicion." - Neil Finn
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auntieb
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posted on February 6, 2001 10:11:00 AM new
I feel like the Post Office should give the monies to charity. That would answer a lot of questions for people. I have had only a couple of problems with the P.O. and they ended up working out fine. Maybe I have better service living in a small town.
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kiki2
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posted on February 6, 2001 10:23:48 AM new
Eh, never mind!
[ edited by kiki2 on Feb 6, 2001 10:24 AM ]
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gravid
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posted on February 6, 2001 11:10:01 AM new
It does strain my brain to understand why they are charging postage to send these items.
My wife worked for a companyt who sold machinery to the post office for years and anytime they had things that needed delivered
for the post offices own use they sent them
as internal business at no charge.
To demand that you pay insurance to protect
them from loss from the agency who is both selling and shipping is like collecting "protection money". If you are buying stamps by mail do you have to insure them?
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auntieb
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posted on February 6, 2001 02:52:45 PM new
gravid---I like tha protection money thing. LOL. If you look at the neg. feedback on their sites (and there is a lot) they most always state that the buyer didn't buy insurance. Therefor they (the P.O.) are in the clear. Doesn't say much about pride in a job well done, does it, since they are the ones selling and delivering the items. If I ran my business like that I would not have a business anymore.
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