texaseagle
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posted on June 8, 2004 10:54:01 PM new
Today, the USPS, adivsed me that they had on their hands (from the New Jersey overseas mail facility) an empty box bound to the UK with my return address. It cost $32.00 to mail and they lost its contents-- book. It was mailed on April 27th 2004 and reported to me today. I have to fill out paperwork IDing the book by title, author etc and hope that they find the book at the Atlanta lost item facility. If they find it; I will instruct them to send it to the UK. They will refund the postage if they cannont find the book--now to explain that to the UK buyer.
The box was heavy; sealed with duct tape (not likely to break open easy) unless someone along the way opened it for postal inspection and forgot put the book back.
I understand that the USPS is cracking down on media mail by checking the contents and then re-sealing and either sending it to their destinations or returning the offending packages back to the sender.
Maybe, my package got mixed-up in the media search and they lost my customer's book.
--the Texaseagle--
[ edited by texaseagle on Jun 8, 2004 10:55 PM ]
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tabletopitems
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posted on June 8, 2004 11:13:43 PM new
Sorry for your loss!
Here is how I would deal with it.
Write to her exactly what you wrote here, and in addition forward a copy of the paperwork that you got from the post-office to her, in order to show that you are not hiding anything (she might think that you got a better price etc....).
I would also give her a full refund.
To top it off, I would get her contact information and call her, just to show that you care. Overseas rates are cheap these days (a 5 minute call can cost as little as 25 cents).
It is customer service, and will bring you future business.
Luckily, you did not lose too much.
tabletopitems
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Roadsmith
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posted on June 8, 2004 11:19:20 PM new
Yes, that's rather distressing; I'd be upset, too.
Brings up the matter of whether the P.O., when resealing those media mail packages, is doing it as well as they want US to do it. We all know we have to be a bit paranoid about P.O. handling in the dark cave regions of their workings, and we are careful to tape securely. Maybe those folks retaping are being sloppy.
___________________________________
As I've matured, I've learned . .
#2. . . that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the butt are permanent.
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sparkz
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posted on June 8, 2004 11:48:35 PM new
Damn, I'd hate to be in your shoes. The customer is probably going to report you to the local authorities for fraud and the next time you vacation on the Riveria, Interpol is going to arrest you and send you to Devils Island for 20 years at hard labor. The only out I can see for you is to take Tabletopitem's advice and be up front with the customer and let her know what's going on. Keep her informed of every thing that has transpired. The intercontinental phone call sounds like a great plan. A level of customer service like that will knock her socks off and you'll probably be able to dodge a neg. Just be sure you pay close attention to the time difference. You sure don't want to wake up a customer at 3 a.m. to tell her that her book got lost and won't be found until a mailman finishes reading it.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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texaseagle
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posted on June 9, 2004 12:12:22 AM new
Researching this item, I find that we have already exchanged positive feedbacks--I thought that they received the book pretty fast. Maybe they got it in another box!!... I emailed the UK party explaining my USPS mess and offered a complete refund with s/h. Meanwhile, I am requesting the USPS to look for the durn book and if not found to refund the postage. I will only be out $24.00 -- the cost of the book.
Thanks,
--the Texaseagle -- (but not on ebay)...
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mcjane
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posted on June 9, 2004 12:12:38 AM new
sparkz
That is a funny post. It's really late & I was getting sleepy. Not now though, I'm wide awake from laughing.
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glassgrl
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posted on June 9, 2004 01:41:10 AM new
It HAD to of been the duct tape of course!
I've always wanted to ask WHY? when I used to stand in line at the post office. It's always Guys that use Duct tape to seal their packages with. Doesn't that add a lot of weight to the package?
That seems like a lot for a book - what on earth was it?
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stopwhining
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posted on June 9, 2004 05:17:24 AM new
it could be the machines -they have assembly line type of conveyor belt moving the items,sometimes it get jammed and the items get damaged.
I have a book in a jiffy bag once,the bag was returned to me with a sharp cut and the book was gone.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
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amber
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posted on June 9, 2004 08:42:04 AM new
Find out from you buyer first if it has arrived. We are English, and all our relative still live there, so we get packages from there. Several have been opened and re-sealed, but I remember one that had a message saying it was re-boxed. The box can be destroyed when they open it to check the contents. It is possible that someone saw the old empty box and reported it to you.
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max40
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posted on June 9, 2004 08:52:02 AM new
Duct Tape---
The post office that I use will remove duct tape from any incoming boxes, chastise the sender and re-tape with clear tape.
"The only thing more expensive than an education is ignorance" B. Franklin
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OhMsLucy
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posted on June 9, 2004 08:56:43 AM new
Amber and Max have good points.
You've already gotten feedback from your buyer so it's quite possible they did get their book.
Removing duct tape could easily damage a box to the point it couldn't be re-sealed.
Please let us know how it turns out.
Lucy
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Roadsmith
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posted on June 9, 2004 08:57:08 AM new
My impression is that duct tape is more expensive than good strong clear tape. Also harder to unroll and use, as well as cutting through to open the package at the buyer's location. Anyone using it should probably look into the cost differential and consider the clear tape.
Of course, P.O. will provide priority tape free of charge, but I'll bet most of us booksellers don't send books via priority. And priority tape wouldn't take a package overseas.
___________________________________
As I've matured, I've learned . .
#2. . . that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the butt are permanent.
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texaseagle
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posted on June 9, 2004 09:13:43 AM new
The UK buyer has indeed received the book and is happy and advised "not to worry" -
So this is a happy ending--I do have the "customs form" the USPS sent back as a souvenir of this sale.
Thanks for the notes on duct tape. The postal clerks said it is OK to use it on packages.
Thanks again--
--the Texaseagle,
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OhMsLucy
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posted on June 9, 2004 09:15:10 AM new
That's good news, Texaseagle.
Thanks for letting us in on the happy ending!
Lucy
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whatnot3
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posted on June 9, 2004 09:35:08 AM new
If you ship by Global Express mail, you can use the free Express Mail tape. If you don't, you should put some express mail stickers on the package (or have the post office do it) or it could possibly be put in the regular mail.
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