USPS shipping issues? 4 4

[The Lions Den]

On 4/22/2020 at 6:54 PM, Aweandlorder said:

And here’s a new one 

I have a buyer that wanted a refund for an item which was “not as described” (high end book nonetheless) WITHOUT returning the book! 
He said that it endangers him to go to the post office and he is demanding a full refund.

for what it’s worth, I offer a 30 day return full refund policy and the buyer has 0 feedback. Not that it matters, but just thought I’d mention it

  WOW

[oldbsturgeon]

On 4/22/2020 at 3:46 PM, oldbsturgeon said:

the package that was in limbo for 5 days, has finally had an update, yay!

Oh so when it did arrive I think I know what was going on with it. It appeared to have gotten stuck under a belt or something. Book was fine thankfully 

[mrwoogieman]

I mailed out 11 parcels on April 18th (here on Long Island NY) and 6 of them were routed through Des Moines, Iowa, including one meant for my own town(!), Baltimore, PA and other non-Iowa destinations.

[Aweandlorder]

On 4/28/2020 at 12:37 PM, mrwoogieman said:

I mailed out 11 parcels on April 18th (here on Long Island NY) and 6 of them were routed through Des Moines, Iowa, including one meant for my own town(!), Baltimore, PA and other non-Iowa destinations.

Yup, thats exactly whats happening now. Some facilities are closed/shut down and in order to keep the shipment going they re being re-routed to other facilities that are active. Kinda like re-routing your GPS to a longer route when you hit traffic. 

[Aweandlorder]

Sellers- you MUST explain this to your buyers. If you do not they will assume the worst. 

Heres a template that I am using (fill in the blank with your case date)

The post office is being very slow this month due to the current crisis and many packages are being pulled off route and shipped to other facilities because some are sadly closed. I am in touch with the USPS daily to get new tracking information and guideline updates and am very familiar with whats going on. Your books were shipped on _______, a ____ after your purchase date so we know there were no delays there. Sorry it takes so long but it’s really out of our control. Im certain you will receive this, just like many other orders I fulfilled which sadly arrived later than usual (some arrived unexpectedly quick even). But so far everyone has received their orders with no errors/lost package cases, but in the event that anything like that will happen, you will absolutely get FULLY compensated.
Stay safe
Dan

[Aweandlorder]

Last note - I found out that insuring your packages (even those for less than $10) gets the item to ship faster. This makes sense to me from the post office stand point, they probably prioritize insured mail, so its probably worth the buck or 2 to do that during these times

[silverweb]

I send almost all my books Priority Mail and they usually get there in the expected time. I do not add insurance since I have Collectibles Insurance. They do require a signature for the insurance coverage to be in effect. I might use Media Mail if I have a bunch of lower value raws to ship 

Edited April 30, 2020 by silverweb

[Aweandlorder]

34 minutes ago, silverweb said:

I send almost all my books Priority Mail and they usually get there in the expected time. I do not add insurance since I have Collectibles Insurance. They do require a signature for the insurance coverage to be in effect. I might use Media Mail if I have a bunch of lower value raws to ship 

My point was that insuring WITH THE POST OFFICE proves to be faster to me as of late. Of course it’s good to have insurance on your books through an agency, but that unfortunately won’t expedite your shipment during this current crisis

[Aweandlorder]

And of course if you ship priority you already get your package insured up to $50

[JollyComics]

On 4/22/2020 at 8:31 PM, JollyComics said:

That Chicago Distribution Center was where my comic books were reportedly stolen twice (last time was 2016). Most of my books were recovered in different hands via eBay (the sellers returned my books). I hope the book goes back to the seller.

The book finally arrived yesterday. No additional fees. 25 days of delay without an explanation.

[Brother J]

Package took 25 days to reach it's destination. Luckily, the customer was very understanding, gave positive feedback and asked which comics to read next (It was a set of the Tundra Crow volumes), so I gave her a nice list of the later Crow minis.

 

[jsilverjanet]

On 4/30/2020 at 10:56 AM, Aweandlorder said:

Sellers- you MUST explain this to your buyers. If you do not they will assume the worst. 

Heres a template that I am using (fill in the blank with your case date)

The post office is being very slow this month due to the current crisis and many packages are being pulled off route and shipped to other facilities because some are sadly closed. I am in touch with the USPS daily to get new tracking information and guideline updates and am very familiar with whats going on. Your books were shipped on _______, a ____ after your purchase date so we know there were no delays there. Sorry it takes so long but it’s really out of our control. Im certain you will receive this, just like many other orders I fulfilled which sadly arrived later than usual (some arrived unexpectedly quick even). But so far everyone has received their orders with no errors/lost package cases, but in the event that anything like that will happen, you will absolutely get FULLY compensated.
Stay safe
Dan

but my name isn't Dan

[Kevin.J]

On 4/21/2020 at 6:36 PM, Kevin.J said:

Yeah, patience is the key, its usually 3 to 10 days from the US to UK, last few packages have been 3 weeks or more but still arrived without problems.

A lot of the tracking doesnt make a lot of sense at the moment, I have one flying from SF to LA and back again for some reason  

I still have every confidence it will be here soon, just gotta trust the system  

 

 

My parcel is having a world tour I think

San Fran to LA and back a couple of times, then off to Tokyo Japan, then a trip to London, its getting a better holiday than me  

 

 

[JollyComics]

22 minutes ago, Kevin.J said:

My parcel is having a world tour I think

San Fran to LA and back a couple of times, then off to Tokyo Japan, then a trip to London, its getting a better holiday than me  

 

 

It's UZPZ - United Zip Post Zap.

[mec3437]

International packages to me have been fairly normal.  Comes into Chicago or New York, then comes pretty direct.  Canada is the exception.  Two packages from Doug S. went to Chicago.  One went to TX from Chicago before making its way to OH, while the other somehow ended up in Louisville for a few day after Chicago.

Domestic has been different, but not terrible.  Some stuff (first & priority) was behind by about a day but seems normalish now.  Media mail seemed to be operating at its usual pace.  I sent two cheap lots out via media mail this past week.  I just dropped them off due to not wanting to wait in line with all the 'rona going around.  They still have not been scanned in.  I'll have to reach out to the buyers to let them know that there is a delay.  What's odd is that the first class packages I dropped off with the media rate packages are already delivered or will be within another day.  Kinda frustrating, but not a big deal for now.  

[WolverineX]

So I sold and shipped out a comic 3 weeks ago and I just realized USPS never delievered it... it just stuck in Limbo. This is the first time it's happened to me... should I just refund the buyer and take the loss?

[GM8]

Since the crisis I've had a letter and a comic package disappear, working on a second one that hasn't updated status. Not surprising...chaos and confusion can bring out the shiftyness in people. Now I have to get everything scanned and tracked. No more dropping things off unscanned!

[theCapraAegagrus]

My Absolute Dark Knight was shipped on 4/15 and didn't arrive until yesterday.

It was in limbo for 2 weeks.

Patience is a virtue.

[MGsimba77]

Last three (including the current one) have been problematic. All priority mail. 

Currently waiting on a high value slab from a boardie in the 4 figures requiring signature that's in limbo at the moment. Opened a case through the website on Monday when it says it was "delivered" and "signed for by CC". Forget trying to reach my local post office! That's a non starter. Getting someone on the phone calling the 1-800 number takes an hour IF I'm lucky!

Anyway this particular thing of it being signed for by the carriers has happened before which I don't mind. They usually leave it in my parcel locker and that's fine but this time it's not there. These types of mishaps have been going on here for years so its not the current situation causing it. Sigh... I've gotten to the point of being surprised when things go smoothly with these incompetent clowns. I remember being upset when all they did was simply send my package to the wrong post office delaying it by a day. Lol I would love if that's all I had to worry about these days. They are unreliable, inefficient, unreachable and a giant headache! I would happily pay extra to avoid them! Imo they represent the downside of this hobby 

Edited May 6, 2020 by MGsimba77

[ADAMANTIUM]

I've had the mail go from

MA to CO then back to TX

Now I have one go from

FL to MI, and hopefully it makes it to TX idk who has wires crossed