My first package issue

[KC13]

Sent an item out Monday mid morning. Item to be delivered Wednesday. USPS tracking states the package was delivered Wednesday at 5:37pm PT "In/At Mailbox".

 

Received a message this morning stating it was either stolen or delivered to the wrong home. Asked for my address to see if the $50 insurance claim will cover it. I for one always try to see the benefit of the doubt but a) Very quick conclusion to ask to file a claim without asking neighbors or your mail guy the following day and b) The $50 dollar insurance is for the sender, not the receiver.

 

With this said, the item was $50. This is my first experience with this sort of issue. In others experience, what should I do? Contact post office? Ask buyer to check with neighbors? Mail man?

 

In all honesty, the buyer is new with 6 posts and its felt like the buyer jumped the gun asking for $50 insurance claim in less than 24 hours.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

- KC

[GoIrish17]

Insurance is for the benefit of the shipper, buyer can’t (and shouldn’t have to) do much with it. I would certainly ask him to ask the neighbors if they’ve had a package delivered with his name on it, I know I could shoot a quick text to all of my neighbors and get a fast reply. As the shipper, you should be handling the inquiries to USPS, since you shipped and presumably have all the shipping info.

 

Don’t be too quick to hurry and refund the buyer until you get some information and he has done a little legwork and confirmed with neighbors that it wasn’t delivered to wrong address. But, once if it looks like the package was actually lost, refund the buyer immediately and deal with recouping the insurance from USPS yourself.

 

I can understand why the buyer being quick to demand a refund may make you nervous, especially with them being a new member. But, you decided to take a chance on this new member, so you’re going to have to deal with this situation as you would with the most tenured BST member here. Your fears may be well-founded, but put yourself in the buyer’s shoes - if he is on the up-and-up, it’s probably a “worst fear” situation for him, sending his money and seeing a package go missing. I can’t say I don’t empathize with his reaction to want to fix it as soon as possible, if he is in fact new to BST. If it were me, I’d politely ask him to hang tight for a day or two until you have a little more info, and assure him that you will refund him post haste as soon as you are certain it is missing and you’ve moved on to the claim stage. Maybe tell him that you’ll have an answer for him, or a refund, by Monday.

[Krt22]

Seems scammy to me, especially from a 6 post member immediately trying to start an insurance claim. USPS is also known for showing a package as delivered one day, and actually dropping it off the next as well.

[GoIrish17]

> @Krt22 said:

> Seems scammy to me, especially from a 6 post member immediately trying to start an insurance claim. USPS is also known for showing a package as delivered one day, and actually dropping it off the next as well.

 

You are 100% right on your points, but I personally think the OP has to treat this like he would any other transaction with any other member. When he decided that his sale was worth taking a chance on this buyer with no reputation, he shouldn’t do so with a caveat. He should at least treat him with the benefit of the doubt he’d give any other member. I mean, he purchased insurance and has the buyer’s money, and had every opportunity to say “thanks but no thanks” before taking his money. It’s a little late now to have second thoughts or give the buyer some second-rate attention because he is new here.

 

Assure the buyer that you are looking in to it, and will do anything within your power to make it right as quickly as possible. But, also explain to him that you are not able to just immediately refund money without some diligence. I mean, this isn’t retail, he has to understand that buying on the BST is a different experience than buying from an online retailer. Give him a timeframe to resolution, and communicate with him during the process.

 

And I agree there is a chance it could show up in the next day or two. The USPS tracking isn’t the most reliable system, because it relies on employees who are generally lazy and inefficient, and seem to have no consequences for half-assing their job.

 

 

[KC13]

> @GoIrish17 said:

> > @Krt22 said:

> > Seems scammy to me, especially from a 6 post member immediately trying to start an insurance claim. USPS is also known for showing a package as delivered one day, and actually dropping it off the next as well.

>

> You are 100% right on your points, but I personally think the OP has to treat this like he would any other transaction with any other member. When he decided that his sale was worth taking a chance on this buyer with no reputation, he shouldn’t do so with a caveat. He should at least treat him with the benefit of the doubt he’d give any other member. I mean, he purchased insurance and has the buyer’s money, and had every opportunity to say “thanks but no thanks” before taking his money. It’s a little late now to have second thoughts or give the buyer some second-rate attention because he is new here.

>

> Assure the buyer that you are looking in to it, and will do anything within your power to make it right as quickly as possible. But, also explain to him that you are not able to just immediately refund money without some diligence. I mean, this isn’t retail, he has to understand that buying on the BST is a different experience than buying from an online retailer. Give him a timeframe to resolution, and communicate with him during the process.

>

> And I agree there is a chance it could show up in the next day or two. The USPS tracking isn’t the most reliable system, because it relies on employees who are generally lazy and inefficient, and seem to have no consequences for half-assing their job.

>

>

 

I 100% agree.

 

I've asked him to check with his neighbors and also ask the mail man. He states he was home when it was delivered but nothing arrived. I was just thrown off by the request to file a claim so fast (again, never happened to me. I've done A LOT of BST, haha). I told him I am in the process of contacting USPS and the insurance would need to be filed by myself once I find out more detail. Thanks for the advice and feedback.

 

- KC

[GoIrish17]

Just one more thing to add - if it does end up being missing and you do file an insurance claim, refund the buyer immediately. It shouldn’t be on the buyer to wait for the USPS’s glacial pace of dealing with things. If you cover all your bases and the USPS has exhausted all their options for finding the item, then you’ll be made whole via insurance - it just may take some time, and is not the buyer’s problem to wait for it to play out.

[PutterFingers]

Paypal will side with you if the tracking shows as delivered to the address he provided with payment.

USPS will be able to get a GPS coordinate on last scan location for "delivered", and be able to know if it was at the address you shipped to.

Do not refund him, you literally sent the package and it shows delivered.

From here, (my opinion is that) your role is to provide him the information necessary, open a claim with USPS if necessary (which they'll deny if tracking shows delivered to right location), and answer any questions the postal employees have after trying to trace the package. Items stolen off his porch or from his mailbox aren't your responsibility, you paid for a delivery service which (according to them) successfully delivered his item.

[KC13]

> @kaycalkai said:

> Paypal will side with you if the tracking shows as delivered to the address he provided with payment.

> USPS will be able to get a GPS coordinate on last scan location for "delivered", and be able to know if it was at the address you shipped to.

> Do not refund him, you literally sent the package and it shows delivered.

> From here, (my opinion is that) your role is to provide him the information necessary, open a claim with USPS if necessary (which they'll deny if tracking shows delivered to right location), and answer any questions the postal employees have after trying to trace the package. Items stolen off his porch or from his mailbox aren't your responsibility, you paid for a delivery service which (according to them) successfully delivered his item.

 

He sent friends and family (not by my request) but will still get a refund if necessary.

 

I reached out to USPS (after over an hour on hold) and they stated the buyer already opened a claim and USPS will investigate the matter. Might take up to 48 hours and will advise if I need to do anything on my end. Like you said, they have ways of checking if delivered to the right address and I assume the mail man has a normal route. Given the short time frame, they should be familiar with delivering a box to a certain address.

 

Hoping for a positive outcome.

 

- KC

[KC13]

> @GoIrish17 said:

> Just one more thing to add - if it does end up being missing and you do file an insurance claim, refund the buyer immediately. It shouldn’t be on the buyer to wait for the USPS’s glacial pace of dealing with things. If you cover all your bases and the USPS has exhausted all their options for finding the item, then you’ll be made whole via insurance - it just may take some time, and is not the buyer’s problem to wait for it to play out.

 

Yes, of course.

[thevaporz]

You can submit a query regarding a missing package on USPS website too. I did it once and a nice lady called back me within a few hours, same day, and everything got sorted out. It's amazing, the things a human interaction can solve. https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm

 

Double check the address you sent it to. It's possible you transposed some numbers. Or, the buyer gave you the incorrect address.

[KC13]

Update: Package was marked as delivered but in-fact was not delivered. USPS said the package will be delivered today.

 

Grateful for the false alarm.

 

- KC

[Krt22]

> @KC13 said:

> Update: Package was marked as delivered but in-fact was not delivered. USPS said the package will be delivered today.

>

> Grateful for the false alarm.

>

> - KC

 

Not surprised, has happened to me multiple times. I think they must have some performance metrics they fudge by showing it's delivered "on time"

[GoIrish17]

> @KC13 said:

> Update: Package was marked as delivered but in-fact was not delivered. USPS said the package will be delivered today.

>

> Grateful for the false alarm.

>

> - KC

 

I’ve seen so many strange situations arise when watching USPS tracking, that I’ve learned to only go check it when the timeframe I would expect an item to arrive in has come and gone. So many strange situations, that it makes me question the usefulness of USPS tracking. Scanning items as “delivered” when they arrive at the post office, only to take two days to get to my house. Items miraculously traveling halfway across the country in less than 4 hours. Checking tracking and seeing that an item I was waiting at home for’s status change to “delivered”... as I watch the mailman’s truck drive away without a visit to my house. The most infuriating is mail holds when I travel. I’d guess they’ve gotten that one right maybe 1/10 times - I see items marked as delivered when I’m halfway across the country for an extended period, and have to call the post office to go get a stack of boxes off my front porch. You think it’s hard to get ahold of a person at the post office? Try it from California calling Ohio, with the time difference giving you the tiniest of windows to actually speak to someone, and those someone’s having zero desire to be troubled to help you.

 

Glad it’s probably going to work out for you. Tell your buyer if he’s going to continue buying here, he may want to take a chill pill on stalking the tracking.

 

[kdog25]

I remember my first package issue. Thankfully it was cleared up with a cycle of penicillin.

[KC13]

> @kdog25 said:

> I remember my first package issue. Thankfully it was cleared up with a cycle of penicillin.

 

Yikes..... haha

[Pace of Play]

at least the issue is solved but I was of the understanding that insurance wont cover anything after its marked "delivered". Meaning they wont pay out for a stolen item after delivery (i.e stolen from the porch), so its strange he wanted to file a claim for it.

[KC13]

> @"Pace of Play" said:

> at least the issue is solved but I was of the understanding that insurance wont cover anything after its marked "delivered". Meaning they wont pay out for a stolen item after delivery (i.e stolen from the porch), so its strange he wanted to file a claim for it.

 

Correct. That was part of the investigation.

 

Let's say it was delivered to correct address and then stolen. I am not able to collect the insurance I paid for as the shipper because USPS did there job and delivered the package to the destination. Would it be ones opinion I am still responsible or no longer my problem? (This is not the case here but speaking for future reference)

[GoIrish17]

> @"Pace of Play" said:

> at least the issue is solved but I was of the understanding that insurance wont cover anything after its marked "delivered". Meaning they wont pay out for a stolen item after delivery (i.e stolen from the porch), so its strange he wanted to file a claim for it.

 

> @"Pace of Play" said:

> at least the issue is solved but I was of the understanding that insurance wont cover anything after its marked "delivered". Meaning they wont pay out for a stolen item after delivery (i.e stolen from the porch), so its strange he wanted to file a claim for it.

 

Signature confirmation is a solution to the problem, but it’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. There’s not a lot of folks who have the luxury of sitting at home waiting for a golf club to arrive during the week, or can make it to a post office during open hours to pick it up when they aren’t home. I used to use signature on every shipment, and while it covered my butt it seemed to be a hassle and inconvenient to almost everyone I was shipping to. I had more than a few upset folks when I told them I’d be shipping with signature, and had to refund a couple because of it. Understandably so, I know there aren’t many weekdays my wife or I are home to sign for something.

 

I really don’t know what a good solution is to packages showing as delivered and the buyer saying they didn’t get it. I’ve been thinking about telling buyers that if they can’t be home to sign for their package or make arrangements to pick it up from the post office, that I would only refund half (or some percentage) of their payment if their package goes missing. But I’m not sure how that would go

 

[KC13]

Buyer received package and all is well!

 

Close post please.

 

- KC

[typhoonoid]

USPS faking those delivery times. Mail carriers under a lot of pressure. I've seen it a couple times myself.

[CrushSticks]

I work for a retailer who uses USPS for some deliveries and almost every time I get a call with the same situation as OP’s buyer, I check the tracking and it says “delivered at 4:59 PM”, which just tells me they marked everything left in their truck as delivered and the customer should look for their package in a day or two. It is absolutely ridiculous that they can even legally do this, but it will never stop.