posted on February 22, 2002 09:44:39 AM new
Do any of you have problems with small, higher value insured items "disappearing" with the PO? I always offer the option to my buyers to insure packages at their costs. I always use delivery confirmation. (as background) Recently, I started using the e-label system. The difference is that instead of scanning the label upon arrival at the PO, the information is electronically "registered" into their system when I print the label. Also, on a priority package, confirmation cost is 40 cents but free with the e-label... getting what I pay for, right. Most of what little I sell goes for $10-20. I have a few packages that went media mail. There have been subsequent scans on them upon arrival at different mail centers. I have one, however, that sold for $255. It was insured for such and mailed priority. There as been absolutely no tracking on the item since I entered it into the system. No confirmation of delivery. That item went priority on 2/15 from CA to VA. Even with the Federal holiday it should have shown as delivered by now. I'm am fretting over this stupid thing. Not only would I have to refund the money to the buyer, but the item really was one of a kind. I would get the money from the insurance but I know that's a pain in the keester to get, AND I'd still be out all the fees. I am just wondering if certain PO workers might be inclined to lift such small packages, thinking they are jewelry or something. This item is just a little marketing booklet that would only have interest to a very few and specific collectors. Hopefully, now that I've voiced my concerns (like taking the car to the mechanic and it stops making "that" noise), it will show as delivered today.
posted on February 22, 2002 12:30:42 PM new
i assume you have insured the package for the sale amount ,and the insurance slip is the blue one with a tracking number.
this number is trackable within usps ,by their workers.
also this package has to be signed for ,so if delivered,usps has the signature slip.
usps priority mail is 2-4 days but if it is going from a small town to another small town,it could take longer.
are you sure you have the right address?
posted on February 22, 2002 12:48:57 PM new
Someone else on this board said that they checked the USPS auction site whenever their stuff got lost. I'm not suggesting it's intentional, but it can't hurt to look.
posted on February 22, 2002 02:21:37 PM new
It took 29 days for a Priority Mail package to go from Tennessee to Oregon. My customer and I were in constant contact and were planning to file a tracer on day 30. There was no indication of where the package had been. It also had the free DC label but was not insured. Her post office could not explain it but did tell her that I could get the postage refunded if I filed a claim at my post office.
I have had many media mail packages delivered in shorter times to the same area of the country.
As someone else said, I would give it through the weekend before I got too upset.
posted on February 22, 2002 02:47:54 PM new
The possibility of this happening is a good reason to switch to PIC (Packages In Transit) insurance...which used to be known as UPIC.
I've been using them for about two years, and have had nearly instantaneous response and reimbursement for the few packages that have been lost. Best of all, they are cheaper than postal insurance AND they cover the cost of postage.
PIC recommends not marking your packages as insured to guard against the small likelihood that a postal employee will think it's very valuable and snatch it. It probably doesn't happen often, but it's a possibility I'd rather not deal with.
posted on February 22, 2002 04:33:31 PM new
I have 2 packages unaccounted for....one going from Ohio to New Jersey....insured for $100.00 and both were mailed from the same post office on Feb. 13th. I allow my customers to choose their services so this item was insured for $100.00 and I have the insurance reciept with the receipt/tracking number but there was no delivery confirmation requested for it. Is there a way for me to track this package? I looked at the site but doesn't look like tracking is available if there wasn't any delivery conf. added to it? I just thought it odd that 2 packages mailed 2-day Priority on the same day haven't shown up yet!
posted on February 22, 2002 04:57:33 PM new
your post office can track the number on the insurance slip for you..........I also mailed a package on 2-8, going from florida to IL. has not been scaned at all, and who knows what happened to it. ..... Has some of the workers maybe gone on strike, and forgot to tell the post office. seems alot of missing packages of late. hope mine shows soon ??? TL
posted on February 22, 2002 04:59:47 PM new
stopwhining yes, thankfully it's insured for the full sale amount, and yes it's the blue tag for "higher" values. I didn't realize buyer would have to sign for it though. That is a great relief. I do live in podunkvill California (sa-lute! ala that rare and most prized intelluctual jewel HeeHaw), but the package is going to Richmond, VA. It just never seems to be the easy to replace stuff that causes problems/worries.
Lanefamily I so hope you are right. You know, I don't mind priority taking 4-5 days instead of the not guaranteed 3-4, but REALLY, ten days or more is obscene. Mostly because it's so difficult to convince customers that a package was sent as declared. That's one of several reasons I started doing delivery confirmation on everything.
Alwaysbroke I remember reading a thread like that about a year ago. I fear that this little pamphlet would end up in the trash. It really doesn't look like much, and I doubt USPS would see any reason to auction it off. This is one of the reasons I put addresses on the packages inside the outer packaging. They have no reason to not know where the thing is going.
Dixiebee I don't think my old heart could take it. I know $255 isn't a fortune, but it is a nice chunk and I'd hate to have to refund it to him.
Sonsie I remember reading about UPIC on here in the past. Perhaps it's time to look into it.
Thanks everyone, I'm feeling a bit more hopeful. I just wish they'd scan that package someplace so I could rest easy. The fact that the insurance tags for higher values are a different color practically makes packages beg to be stolen. I probably shouldn't be so skeptical of the Postal Service... perhaps I've watched 60 minutes one time too many.
posted on February 23, 2002 10:18:40 PM new
I just wonder if the post office has a bin for suspicious looking stuff. Do they throw packages in there and check them out with dogs or machines every few days or weeks? This could explain long delays in this era of terrorism.
posted on February 23, 2002 10:56:17 PM new
I've had similar experiences regarding Priority mail packages taking up to 10-15 business days to get to their destination.
Hang in there, give USPS a couple more days before you refund $$ to your buyer.
Keep us posted
Slabholder
[ edited by slabholder on Feb 23, 2002 10:57 PM ]
posted on February 24, 2002 09:30:25 AM new
i posted a package was insured for $600. someone openen it up removed the item resealed it and sent it to the end destination. needless to say the hassle involved in sorting this out was unbelievable. since then stopped using USPS and use fedex rates are better and soo far only 2 claims that were dealt with QUICKLY.
