This is absolutely bush league on the part of the buyer given the movement of the package, last showing "in transit" on 12/30, merely days before he requested a refund. I'm glad it was delivered before eBay had to step in (at which time they would have most likely found in the buyer's favor from what I've been reading in these threads).
I think we all know and understand the plight of the USPS. It is embarrassing how they got treated and dismantled and that is without a pandemic on top of it all. I understand media mail is the lowest on the priority scale, what I struggle understanding is why media mail shipped last week is getting priority over media mail shipped 6 weeks ago. They should at least have a FIFO method until the backlog is cleared up.
That makes total sense. The problem is that stuff is literally piled up by the 100s and 1000s in rooms in both distribution centers and post offices all around the country, and it takes far longer to sift through those giant piles than it does to just process the new mail that's coming in. They are working through those huge piles, but it's time-consuming and an item that got added to the pile last week is (literally) on top and easy to get while one that got added at the beginning of this mess 6-7 weeks ago is (again, literally) at the bottom of the pile.
I got all y'all beat. This is a CD from Discogs shipped medial mail, with an estimated delivery date of 10/31/2020. Houston is 6 hours away from me, 5 hours if you speed a little on I-10. It's a straight shot. I just copied this a second ago: October 30, 2020 In Transit, Arriving Late Your package will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way. It is currently in transit to the next facility. October 26, 2020, 10:28 am USPS in possession of item HOUSTON, TX 77077 The CD was brought to a post office by hand. I called the post office, they told me it wasn't there and hung up. I filed a missing mail search request a month and a half ago - nothing. The seller has been cool and seems to give a @#$% so I haven't asked for a refund yet. At this point, I honestly don't know what to do.
Has the seller gone to his post office and spoken to the Postmaster? I have done that in the past for a buyer and it seemed to expedite a response.
As a buyer how long past the expected delivery date is reasonable to ask for a refund for something shipped USPS media mail these days? Everyone says to allow extra time but how much time?
As a buyer, would you just chalk up the loss if an item was clearly in the system and went undelivered? I have asked myself that question several times but the package has always shown up. I think my line would be based on item value though I'm not sure where that would be. $20 or less, I'd probably eat it. It isn't the seller's fault that USPS is having issues.
As a seller, I would refund the buyer and ask them in good faith to pay again if the item was eventually delivered.
As a seller I always refunded the buyer if the package didn't show up after a reasonable amount of time. I quit selling last year partly because I was worried about how the pandemic would impact the postal system and it's clear it's caused a lot of trouble especially this last holiday season.
I just shipped a vinyl record mailer USPS Media Mail that was delivered in three days. I believe some post offices are better at dealing with Media Mail than others based on their employees and location.
The WaPo had an article on this. The distribution centers are NOT storage facilities. Therefore the last packages to get out will be those that were there when it first started piling up, the opposite of FIFO. I made several orders from one eBay seller and it appears I'm not going to receive them in the order they were shipped. Package #1 was significantly delayed but made it on Christmas Eve, while Package #3 has passed Package #2 on the way to my house.
I bought 2 LPs that were shipped about 2 weeks ago from AZ and they have been stuck in DC for the last 10 days.
With all respect, I would say this was almost certainly a coincidence. These handling facilities have 1000s of packages overflowing everywhere. I can't envision a call from a postmaster in another state, would get a team out there on the floor digging for a specific package.
As a seller I had a Media Mail shipment go missing with some contradictory information on the tracking updates. The buyer brought it to my attention. So I went to the postmaster of the office of origin, where I mailed it and spoke with her. She was able to access the tracking information and provided some explanation and advice. I requested online assistance in finding the package and received a call back from a representative of USPS who tracked the package for me, provided an up to date location and followed up to make sure it was finally delivered. The shipment made an extraordinary trip through three states but did finally arrive. I have no complaints about their service, especially for $3.33 and no insurance.
So requesting online assistance is what ::may have:: sped up the process. Not an intervention from the local postmaster.
Here is a big sale I had on here that I shipped out on December 3rd that has a very frustrating tracking history. It is going from the Chattanooga, TN area to West Virginia, so heading northeast. So it starts off by heading straight west across the state. It circumnavigated Tennessee from Chattanooga, to Memphis where it sat for 20+ days, then back to Knoxville. After stops in Maryland and DC it has now been in Greensboro for 10 days. You would think once it moves to another post office it would move to the top of the stack if what others are posting is accurate. Maybe Greensboro is a place that is actually using a FIFO method? Either way 6 weeks is a long time. I'm just glad the buyer has been super understanding through the delays. January 9, 2021 In Transit, Arriving Late Your package will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way. It is currently in transit to the next facility. January 5, 2021, 2:44 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER January 5, 2021, 2:00 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER January 4, 2021, 12:32 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility WASHINGTON DC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER December 30, 2020, 4:06 pm Arrived at USPS Facility HYATTSVILLE, MD 20785 December 30, 2020, 5:44 am Arrived at USPS Regional Facility KNOXVILLE TN DISTRIBUTION CENTER December 29, 2020, 8:16 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility MEMPHIS TN NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER December 28, 2020, 10:12 am Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility MEMPHIS TN NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER December 3, 2020, 7:01 pm Departed Post Office HIXSON, TN 37343 December 3, 2020, 10:24 am USPS picked up item HIXSON, TN 37343 December 2, 2020, 11:25 pm Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item HIXSON, TN 37343
This past year has been crazy, I've tracked packages shipped from NJ go to Seattle then back here to the mid-west. But considering that e-commerce 'has grown 5 years in 10 months', C-19 has caused a shortage in postal employees and the President and Atty Gen were removing sorting machines last summer I give the US Postal Service an A++. I only had one Christmas gift arrive late.
and that really sums it all up. they're wildly inconsistent, especially now. there are tons of factors, all of which have been discussed ad nauseam here but it may be a while before the broken usps is fixed. keeping my fingers crossed though.
For the first time since before the pandemic, I just got a Media Mail package earlier than the original estimated delivery date. Six days from California to the East Coast. Impressive!
I don't know what "In Transit Arriving Late" means, nothing is my guess and it either hasn't left Houston or nobody knows where it is. I would suggest you request a refund if you still haven't received it, you have been patient enough.
My post office has been too crowded to stand in line during a pandemic the last week so I have been dropping off packages without waiting. Scanning has taken three or four days and the package leaves, a big improvement, maybe things are better.
Our local PO made another Sunday delivery. Trying to either catch up or make up to us Media Mail users. The abuse still continues though.