GROUND ADVANTAGE MAIL...

[trbl13]

I thought Reduced Prices for USPS Ground Advantage  Mail was

going to be a good thing...but it may have a Downside...I shipped a Package to a town

in Illinois on January 29..via Ground Advantage Mail...It has Not Yet Arrived at its Destination...as of today.. February 7... Ten Days after shipping..

It bounced around for 1 Day in Memphis TN to 2 Days in Nashville TN..and then spent 5 Days in St Louis MO..going from one USPS facility to another...back and forth...and is now in Peoria Illinois after 10 days in transit...Not yet in the town where the Buyer lives.

Very disappointing for me and for her...She does not understand the delay...

I hope this was a One Time issue and will not be the way things are...going forward...with Ground Advantage Mail...

[ebooksdiva]

You're not alone.

I shipped a package using Ground Advantage on January 26th. Tracking shows the item being picked up on January 26th by my local PO, no scans until today. It was just processed at a Baton Rouge post office today, the package hasn't left the state of Louisiana yet for its destination in Wisconsin.

I'm not entirely sure it's a ground advantage issue but mostly human error.  Why my item sat at my local Post office for 12 days remains a mystery. I no longer use my local post office because they sit on packages or don't scan them at all. Which would cause defects to my seller account.

I actually drive to the next town over to the post office there. They scan and ship the items in an efficient timely manner, buyers get their items on time if not earlier than estimated dates eBay gives.  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

USPS has an uneven quality of workers.

Many of their workers do not pay attention to changes which have occurred others have not been trained.

The more professional the system gets, the more some inadequate workers can cause long delays. And some are doing it deliberately because the resent the changes.

It hard to fix a system where the culture is that of a government agency, and the reality and goals are closer to a private company.

[coastaltechsolution]

Been having same issues 

I think Dejoy is making changes and closing certain hubs and trying to make USPS financially stable by end of 2024. 

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/facilities-construction/2022/05/dejoy-outlines-usps-plans-to-close-co...   

[inhawaii]

Even before GA once in a while a package would take a crazy trip across the US before reaching its destination.  I haven't noticed any difference.

[a_c_green]

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@trbl13 wrote:

It bounced around for 1 Day in Memphis TN to 2 Days in Nashville TN... and then spent 5 Days in St Louis MO... going from one USPS facility to another...back and forth...and is now in Peoria Illinois after 10 days in transit...Not yet in the town where the Buyer lives.

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Those are probably container scans, following the container on its rounds. When your package is scanned as going into a container to the next facility, tracking will follow that container until the package is directly scanned again, usually when the container is emptied. If that scan gets missed, tracking will assume that the package is still in the container, so that's what will continue to be followed. 

I think your package is going to pop up anytime, as soon as it gets a direct scan someplace. Tell your buyer that you're continuing to follow it (which you are) and you expect it to resurface soon (which it probably will).

One labor-saving strategy you could do is go to the tracking history of your package on USPS.com and sign up for either email or text alerts whenever there is a new scan. This does not get your package "un-stuck" or have any other effect on its movement, but does relieve you of having to manually check on its status. It will notify you when it's moving.

[toysaver]

I've had Priority take 11 days.  The real issue is the PO is hiring, every single PO has a poster on display but nobody wants to work for them.  

[bashort]

I have a package that mailed on 1/24, last scan 1/28 , I had to refund the buyer, went to file a claim today and it said that the package was not yet eligible to report but if tracking did not update by 1/29/24 I would then be able to report it, evidently they are also using AI (absent intelligence)

[meme6253]

I have had some trouble, But I all ways get it resolved by calling the USPS customer service line

[yuzuha]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Even before GA once in a while a package would take a crazy trip across the US before reaching its destination.  I haven't noticed any difference.

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I had one take a vacation to Hawaii once! That buyer had a very well-traveled teddy bear by the time it finally arrived. 😂

[stainlessenginecovers]

I've had Priority take 10 days to go to Texas (from West Coast) yet a GA package goes twice as far, to New York in 2 days. 

I just say: go figure.

[tsme35]

St. Louis is slow, I have to ship my items out of that hub. I've had a few packages in limbo the last couple weeks, tired of customer complains.

 I've had 2 this last week and the best thing to do is "complete a help request form" on the USPS site, both items popped up within 12 hrs

[todiko]

you can bet your bottom dollar it will happen again. USPS is not reliable! We need a new Postmaster.

[gamersbaystore]

It wouldn't be such a big deal if ebay didnt force us to refund buyers because a package was a few days late. The lousy 3 day grace period ebay gives us is clearly not long enough. It should be more like 7 days, make them wait.

[lakefor94]

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@tsme35 wrote:

St. Louis is slow, I have to ship my items out of that hub. I've had a few packages in limbo the last couple weeks, tired of customer complains.

 I've had 2 this last week and the best thing to do is "complete a help request form" on the USPS site, both items popped up within 12 hrs

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Saw the same from @onefootflipper  about St. Louis recently.