Discogs order from int'l seller stuck in USPS facility for a month...

Over a month ago, I ordered a record on Discogs from a reputable seller in Brazil. They gave a tracking number, and I saw the package go from Brazil to Miami in just two days.

Problem is, it's been stuck in a Miami USPS facility since July 15 now (I live in AZ). It just says "arrived at USPS facility" and that's the only thing on the tracking page.

I called and talked with multiple USPS reps, and all I've been able to find out is that, on their end, the tracking page says "address encoding" which means basically that the address was not decipherable by their machines as usual and so had to be pulled out and thus take longer for humans to attempt to read it, etc.

But the seller told me the address was not handwritten -- it was printed from their computer and glued with a sticker securely and was definitely the address I provided, etc.

Anyway, one of the USPS reps opened an "investigation" or whatever for me, which basically, as I understand it, meant that they informed the people in Miami that the item is in fact still being expected by me and they shouldn't toss it in the trash or something. They gave me the "case number" for it, but there's no place to really plug it in and see what progress has been made so it's kind of pointless.

A different USPS rep more recently told me to go to my post office and fill out a form -- I think it was a "claim" form of some sort but can't recall the exact wording, though I'm sure someone at the post office will. This is really all I have left to do to try and get my package, besides simply wait, but waiting will only increase the odds of never receiving it.

All this has me very worried and irritated. How the hell is it taking over a month for this thing to reach me from Miami if the address was printed correctly? And when exactly do I just give up and try to get my money back? I know that international orders take a while, but this is a different case -- it's not en route from Brazil, it's MIA or last seen in Miami, not all that far from me.

Anybody here ever have something like this happen, or have any thoughts/advice to offer?

 

Really - no one has any thoughts? I went to the post office a couple weeks ago and they said there is no such "claim" form I can fill out, and that basically it's up to the seller as it's an international shipment and it's Registered mail. So I messaged the seller and they told me they were going to file a claim with their postal service, but that was 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard from them since, even after sending a message 3 or 4 days ago. I think I may just go to PayPal and get a refund cause this is absurd. All in all it cost me 44 USD including shipping and while I've spent much more on records it's still a good amount of money I'd prefer to have back if I'm not going to receive this record as it seems (if I did by some miracle get the record after getting my money back I would absolutely pay the seller, though).

 

I've had records stuck somewhere in the chain in the past as well. No one could tell me why it was stuck where it was stuck but I eventually received the record. One seller refunded me after two months. Then a few weeks later the record arrived so I sent the money back to the seller. We couldn't believe it took that long to get to me.

If you messaged him 2 weeks ago and you've not heard from him I think it's time to file a claim with paypal, especially since you sent him another follow up message 3-4 days ago.

Once you file the paypal claim I bet he'll contact you pretty quick.

 

It would be wise for you to get in touch with the postal people in whatever city it is stuck in - normally, when it's registered mail, it either goes to Chicago or NYC, depending where it's coming from. Yes, you will have to make a few phone calls to figure things out, but you will eventually get a live human being who handles registered parcels.

 

Yeah I think I'm gonna go to paypal. The reason why I don't expect the record to arrive is because it's not just stuck somewhere or taking unusually long, it's marked "address encoding" and stuck in the facility where they try to decipher the addresses that are unreadable on machines. It's not a normal stop on the way, it's a place specifically for deciphering unreadable packages... and it's been there for almost 2 months now. No one I've talked to had much hope I'd just receive it one day without pulling some serious strings or getting some serious luck.

 

It's a shame they can't tell you exactly why there's an address issue. The problem could be anything from the label being completely removed to an incorrect or smudged out postal code.

Anyway, I think paypal is the best route. You'll get your cash back and the seller can make a claim with the post office.

 

I went to PayPal and am currently waiting for them to make a decision on the matter. The problem is, suddenly in the past day or two the tracking number is not showing up on USPS anymore. I mean, no info at all, it just says "Not Found" and "The Postal Service could not locate the tracking information for your request. Please verify your tracking number and try again later." It is definitely the right number, I had the page bookmarked. To me this says the package is pretty much gone; I don't know what else it would mean. I also called the USPS number and tracked it there, and they couldn't locate it either. I just hope this doesn't interfere with being able to get the PayPal refund somehow.

 

Are you sure the package made it through Customs? You might want to check there.

 

It seems it did indeed make it through customs. It seems it arrived in Miami, and then was taken to a specific "address encoding" facility in the same city for mail with unreadable addresses.

Also, the tracking number is working again now, with the same info as before. Not sure what happened there but I assume it was just a glitch.

 

Go to the USPS website, there is a link to an online message/complaint page deal. Write your story and tell it loudly.
I've used it twice and it worked. You'll have to dig around for it, I may have even had to sign up for an account, it was over a year ago the last go round, I don't remember 100%.
My deal was registered mail stuck in a customs sorting location for weeks and the people at my Post Office just kept shining me with different stories.
The reason I think it works is because then you have a record of your filing which they cannot deny or say they didn't get. And like phone calls, supervisors monitor them. The few times I have had Post Office issues every person you talk to tells you to do something different.
Talk to the Mother Ship and type in all the numbers you have including those of the Post Offices involved if you've got them
Avoid their generic paper forms, they can languish forever
My package was on my door step one day after I complained in writing

Sorry for your misery, but it'll show up, I promise!
If I may ask, what is the title?

 

Thanks for the advice, but I've just gotten my money back from PayPal. So until/unless it shows up in my mailbox, I'll just assume it got lost or is sitting in some facility forever, with the address unreadable.

It was Acabou Chorare by Os Novos Baianos. Frankly though it was a reissue -- which, though it looks fancy and is 180g and all that, I don't know the details of in terms of actual sound quality (very hard to find reviews about it). So it's not a big deal anyway.

 

That happened to a buyer of mine years ago. It was stuck in Canada (not Dennis!). I refunded his money. He got it a month later and paid me again, an honest man.

 

Enlighten me, I don't use paypal
When they give you your money back does that mean the seller gets screwed?

 

Screwed? Not sure what you mean. They mailed it out, it never got to me, I think I'm entitled to a full refund. When you file a claim with PayPal in a situation like this, they take a little time to decide who to side with, and then act accordingly. Usually though they do side with the buyers who never received the product that they paid for. I think that's fair, especially if the seller might not have correctly or legibly written the address -- which seems very possible here considering it was stuck at the facility for deciphering unreadable addresses. The seller has to take responsibility for that kind of loss IMO, not the buyer.

I guess in these cases the only problem is that the buyer may be dishonest and not pay the seller if the item does eventually arrive... but you can't assume every buyer will be like that, not to mention there's no guarantee that the item will come at all. So it's not perfect, but I think it makes more sense to refund the buyer in this kind of situation than to just tell them 'oh well, wait another two months and if it doesn't come then too bad for you'.

 

I meant what I wrote, does the buyer get screwed as in his record is gone and he gets no compensation for it?
It is not his fault that the Postal Service lost the record.
Did you pay, or ask to pay to insure the parcel?
If the buyer has to eat it, assuming you declined or failed to purchase insurance, then yes, he gets screwed.
Every adult in this world knows to insure anything of value when dealing with the U.S.P.S. and foreign post offices even more so
If they don't offer insurance then use another shipper that does.
The post office received their shipping fees, you have been made whole again but the poor seller is just out of luck?
How is that "fair"
He mailed it to you in good faith and you have a paper trail to demonstrate that he did in fact do just that.
This scenario is why I will never ever ever use paypal and I try my utmost best to avoid ebay as well, same outfit.

 

I didn't say it was perfectly fair -- I said it was the fairest option given the situation.

The package was Registered Mail, which I paid nearly $20 extra for -- and it is, I found out, insured for about the same price as the $45 total I paid for the record.

Now, as I learned today from the most helpful USPS rep thus far, the seller is the only one who can do anything about this, because it's an int'l shipment -- and they could/should get that $45 insurance if they went about it the right way, but from what they told me they just gave up after their postal service supposedly told them there's nothing to do because it's in the US now (the USPS rep told me this is nonsense and that their postal service should be able to refund them quite easily).

So if they're "screwed" it's their fault for not pursuing the right course of action and getting their money back. I've notified them of this in case they don't know; there's not much more I can do, but if they do get that money back as they should be able to then the whole situation will indeed be "fair" for all parties.

 

Maybe that was me?!! lol. Kidding aside I was a buyer in a situation like this. The lp eventually arrived so I sent the money back.

 

What they are saying makes perfect sense.
Your seller's postal system did their job, they got it here to the United States.
Once that hand off occurs it's no longer within their purview.
In other words, the incompetents here lost it.
How are the guys in Brazil supposed to search for a package that's in Miami?
You have tracking proof that it's here, right? Then the U.S.P.S. needs to find your record or pay you or the seller for it. They are the ones who dropped the ball.
I don't pretend to know how the various postal services of the planet handle these matters but I am certain they've got something worked out.
They don't deliver each others mail for free!
The U.S. Postal Servce are the ones passing the buck now.
And that is not fair at all to the seller.
I still suggest you file the complaint in writing.
Your seller's getting screwed.
But now the motive is gone and of course you think it's as fair as it could be because you've gotten your money back so who cares, right?
And once again, the U.S. Post Office gets away with another half bait job of things.
This sort of unreliable service in certain countries is why a few common carriers simply don't ship into those countries but if the U.S. Postal Service is willing to handle hand offs from Brazil it means they're getting paid to do so. And vice versa
So again, the seller is the one that get's screwed.
Everyone got what they contracted for or either got their money back as is the case with you but the seller is just out of luck? Am I understanding this correctly?
Not right
But I will say that if he's just too lazy or whatever to pursue the claim assuming one is available to him, then that's another story.
Still, if you want to talk fair, the onus is on the U.S. Postal Service NOT the seller.
He did what he said he was going to do.

 

I don't think you're understanding me. Regardless of where the package is, the seller is liable to collect a 40-50 USD indemnity fund from their local postal service in Brazil which they mailed the package from. It is not my job to do this for them (I can't, I don't live in Brazil), I told them they should collect their insurance money but that's all I can do. It doesn't matter that the package is currently in the US -- it was an international shipment mailed FROM Brazil, and so that -- the place it was mailed from -- is where the funds will be collected at.

I have tried every possible avenue in getting info on the package from USPS, and the bottom line everyone has told me is that I cannot do anything: it is an international shipment and so the mailer from Brazil must instigate matters at THEIR post office in order to collect their insurance money. It is not a matter of searching for the package from Brazil (I can't do anything to locate the package and I am in the US; it's a lost cause). I cannot file a claim because the package was sent from abroad; I have been told this countless times. It's a matter of the seller simply getting their money back so that they do not eat the loss and the refund I was given is counterbalanced by their insurance money. I am not denying the USPS (likely) messed something major up in getting this package to me (though, again, no one has a clue and it could just as well be that the labeling was damaged in transit accidentally or was unreadable from the start).

No, sorry, you are not understanding this correctly, because as I have repeatedly said, the seller is not screwed so long as they collect the insurance money from their postal service. Simple as that. I am done arguing here, and tired of your unnecessarily snide tone.