USPS Tracking - what are your current experiences?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by George P, Dec 20, 2017.

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  1. Galley

    Galley Forum Resident

    One of the orders from Discogs I told the seller not to ship until after Christmas only took three days.
     
  2. Yeah, it seems the USPS is trying to dig their way through all this stuff at this point. "First-in first out" (FIFO) is slowly getting back to normal, after the insane 2020 Holiday season.

    That's gonna take some time, though, for it to get back to where is was before the one-two punch of the Covid pandemic and the mind-boggling placement of DeJoy (if it ever gets back to "normal").
     
  3. rjh_54

    rjh_54 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    CT, USA
    This happened to me over the summer. The buyer was impatient and had first inquired about the package and messaged me, threatening to file a claim if it didn't show up by eBay's expected arrival date. I asked for his patience and explained that the USPS is overwhelmed and the jerk still went and filed a claim despite tracking being readily available.

    eBay ruled in his favor and I fought back and forth with them explaining that I shipped the item within the timeframe promised (2 business days - I actually shipped out the next day), AND provided tracking (since I bought a shipping label through them). After a few cut-and-paste emails, they did acknowledge that although I am a "reliable" and "reputable seller", the item did not get to the customer in time and that it's my responsibility. I replied, asking them how it seems fair that I should be out both my money and my product, and they basically told me that if the item does get to the seller I could always "ask [them] to send me the payment again". I asked them to explain to me exactly how it makes sense to hold me accountable USPS's delays. They stopped responding because of course they had no answer. I kept up with tracking and filed a claim on the USPS website, and the package miraculously showed up at the buyer's house within a few days. I messaged the seller and said "So, since the package finally got to you, are you going to give me my money?" Luckily he sent me the money, so I'm hoping you'll have the same luck.

    Bottom line - now I ship everything via priority and will continue to do so until the pandemic is over. I should probably pull all my products from eBay just based on principle, but I haven't had any issues since, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
     
    Thesmellofvinyl likes this.
  4. WarEagleRK

    WarEagleRK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chattanooga, TN
    I've found stuff I have shipped this week have moved far quicker, however stuff I mailed out weeks ago is still delayed. So I'm not sure they are fully back to FIFO yet.
     
  5. That why I said slowly. Perhaps I should have said s-l-o-w-l-y. :) The stuff mailed in late November and early December are, more than likely, at the bottom of the pile so-to-speak.

    Yeah, it's gonna take a while to get back to "normal" (whatever that may entail).
     
    George P and WarEagleRK like this.
  6. Just curious : Did this particular transaction alter your Seller status in any negative way (even if you were fortunate enough to have a buyer who sent you the $$ after all the BS)?
     
  7. Thesmellofvinyl

    Thesmellofvinyl Senior Member

    Location:
    Cohoes, NY USA
    Thank you for your story. I decided to pay the $30 interception fee. I don’t trust the buyer to pay once he gets it. If I were in his shoes, I’d have sent a note promising to pay if it ever arrives.
     
  8. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    It's not guaranteed to work. If he did not reply it's a pretty sure sign he will just keep the item you sent so if it was something expensive this is a wise move and better than nothing.

    They will not do anything for you I can confirm 100% for sure - you are held at the mercy of your buyer to be honest after being forced to refund and that's that. You can't open a postal insurance claim either if you paid for one if the package is delivered. This is a loophole which lowlifes use to rob items on there. Another is when a lazy postman decides not to scan a package as delivered.
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2021
    Thesmellofvinyl likes this.
  9. TheSixthBeatle

    TheSixthBeatle Quae nocent, saepe docent

    Won’t read a hundred posts, but I just received an envelope from Germany that took two months to arrive. Keep voting for democrats, Americans!!!
     
  10. MickAvory

    MickAvory Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    My two Amazon packages that were floating around Cincinatti just magically appeared to show an update at the local New Orleans distribution center last night. Its a New Year's Eve miracle. Nothing since about December 12th and then bam. They will be out for delivery maybe tomorrow after the holiday ends.

    I'm wondering if they got so behind, that they either stopped scanning some movement.. or they set up trucks going for certain places and then started to fill the trucks as they worked the backlog. Instead of bouncing the packages around different places, they just waited until they got a full truck for wherever and then just sent the truck on its way. Maybe they broke the trucks down by regions and big cities.
     
  11. In the overall climate of international shipping ... Hekk, that was quik!!
     
  12. ScramMan2

    ScramMan2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    Not FIFO yet. I've had some Media Mail scanned in and sitting locally since last Monday. But they may be moving, who knows?
     
  13. I'm referring to "the act" of FIFO ; The normality of the process.

    Of course, there is a sub-mountain of stuff they're gonna have to get to, eventually.

    Yes, most stuff sent in the time-period of mid-November to mid-December is going to be near the end of the line as far being received.

    Hopefully all (or most) of the parcels of that sub-mountain will be delivered within the next month.
     
  14. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    I have had a package in USPS’ possession for over 3 weeks. It left Plaid Room in Loveland OH on the 10th of December. It went to Cincinnati on the 12th and then went on to Des Moines. Then on the 27th, it FINALLY made it to St Louis, my regional facility. Okay so it took over a week to get to St Louis, no big deal, I should have gotten it a day or 2 after that right? Wrong. It went to Chicago. Okay, a mistake maybe? I’m sure it will make its way back to STL in a couple days and I’ll get it soon. Nope. It just got checked BACK IN to Des Moines. I have had it. I can understand delays due to Christmas, Covid, and DeJoy, but what I can’t understand is my package just bouncing around 4 states for 3 weeks and never getting here. I can’t wait to open it up when it gets here and I’m Sure have seam splits galore...
     
  15. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Um... DeJoy is Republican appointed... not sure if you knew that :rolleyes:
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  16. TheSixthBeatle

    TheSixthBeatle Quae nocent, saepe docent

    Can't blame the PO. I was thinking more of all the fear porn being pumped out about this year's cold virus, paralyzing the world and ushering in ten years of economic hardship for the common folks. "Look! A monster! Burn down the house!" seems to work every time. I mean, our response seems to have been modelled on Dyatlov Pass.

    There’s a scene in the movie Good Fellas, where the mobsters take control of the restaurant they frequent. The owner has been threatened and looks to the mob boss for protection, offering him a partnership in the business in the hope that he and his business will somehow survive the predations.

    The mobsters use the businesses credit, selling the goods bought on credit out the back door. That’s the phase we’ve been in for many years. Once the businesses’ credit is shot, they burn the place down for the insurance money. That’s the phase we are entering.

    In any case it was a cheap shot. I have good friends who are democrats and they give as good as they get. But I was squiffy when I typed it. It sounded funny. These things happen.
     
  17. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    The post office is a disaster and continues to be. I think we are in for some more bumpy months before there is any improvement.
     
  18. ScramMan2

    ScramMan2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    I hope you are wrong. It's been brutal.
     
    George P likes this.
  19. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    I disagree. After the issues during the summer, or thereabouts, things improved immensely to the point where a USPS appreciation thread might have been in order. The perfect storm of the election into the holiday season was a major setback but things are moving again. Once the backlog is cleared, I wouldn't be surprised at all if delivery times normalize in a big way.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  20. rjh_54

    rjh_54 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    CT, USA
    The buyer never left any feedback. I think he knows he was in the wrong, and I'm not sure he was expecting me to stay up to date with tracking and sending him a follow-up message. It's just sad that, because I lost my case, I wasn't able to leave negative feedback.

    Had I known about that option, I probably would've done it too. Glad I got lucky this time and got my money.
     
    Thesmellofvinyl likes this.
  21. Thesmellofvinyl

    Thesmellofvinyl Senior Member

    Location:
    Cohoes, NY USA
    I hadn't heard of it, either; the clerk at the post office suggested it.

    I opened an account at USPS in order to intercept, and paid the fee; however, now my account activity history there doesn't reflect my purchase (it actually states there are no intercepts pending) and my bank account shows a USPS hold in the amount of $0.00. The tracking number shows no movement since December 6. I've filled out the "Where Is My Package" form online. Now I wonder if the item is still on the way to the (now refunded) buyer. Man.
     
  22. jason202

    jason202 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    Probably, but it seems like it might take quite a while for that backlog to be cleared. I’m still waiting on a Christmas gift that I ordered over a month ago. It hasn’t moved in two weeks. And everything I’ve ordered over the past few weeks is already late.
     
  23. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    I totally agree on the backlog. It probably is a first in last out for the stuff buried at around 12/8-ish. New shipments though seem to be moving well of late.
     
    jason202 likes this.
  24. TheSixthBeatle

    TheSixthBeatle Quae nocent, saepe docent

    +1 Those guys are easy to pick on but they have a tough job. Amazon is burying them -- my carrier was coming as late as 8pm, wearing a headlamp, before Christmas. By golly, he still made it every day. Their funding is being throttled and the hiring freeze means no one who retires or quits can be replaced.

    One of the larded "relief" bills included a huge bailout for the PO, but it got shot down. Personally, I'd have been fine with bailing them out--I think the post office is a lifeline for millions of folks, especially older and rural customers.
     
    SJP likes this.
  25. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Christmas presents sent to my parents via Priority Mail from Boston to the Poconos (around 250 miles) on 12/16 sat in Boston until 1/2. The box has moved about 40 miles since.

    Priority boxes sent to my brother in NJ (about 40 miles east of my parents) earlier that day arrived on 12/23. So frustrating...
     
    Thesmellofvinyl likes this.
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