eBay

mozartbach1971 · ‎08-28-2020

I've been using USPS pickup for a short time, and my usual mail carrier said he was going to change locations. I'm not sure how reliable this new one will be. If this person misses my pickup or does not show up by a certain time, would I be allowed to drive to the post office and drop the package off there? I heard the shipping labels are only good for 24 hours so I want to make sure they get mailed out as soon as possible if there is a problem with the pickup.

redlmc · ‎08-31-2020

My carrier complained about having to get out of her vehicle to pick up my packages. She asked me to put up a BIGGER mailbox. Thus I put up the biggest allowed. I have had some problems when a sub is on and the sub arrives earlier than expected. The porch to leave or pickup my packages was maybe 10' from the driveway, and 15' from the road on a circle drive. The issue was she did not want to get out of her vehicle. I mail maybe 8 packages TOTAL per week and do not get many packages via USPS. Oh she even complained about having to leave the boxes I order from USPS and said I should get them from the PO. I checked and they do not keep any Regional Rate boxes in stock; I usually use Regional Rate A boxes.

The issue with these missed pickups is this can cause a ding to your seller status for items not being mail/scanned within the allotted days. I too drive to the local post office which is only open until 4:00 pm. Sometimes I miss that day; I did Saturday for I did not know until after the PO was closed (closes at 11:30 on Saturday mornings) that the sub came early.

I have never called or complained. If I do, I figure the grumpy carrier will throw my mail on the ground.

mozartbach1971 · ‎08-31-2020

There should be no trouble. Just once did I have the carrier come by after I had taken all the packages to the PO myself. I told him I could not risk it since the PO closed at 5. He said technically they could come until 5.30 (or 6, I forget which). I told him I just could not risk it. But obviously, if they did attempt to pick up, then don't file a complaint.

Right now it's 3:12 PM and they still have not showed up. If I leave for the post office should I leave some note on my door telling the carrier I took the packages to the post office?

mcdougle4248 · ‎08-31-2020

@mozartbach1971

Go ahead and leave a note, sounds like the courteous thing to do.

mozartbach1971 · ‎09-01-2020

I did put the sign on my door and I did go down and dropped the packages off at the post office. I have no idea whether the mail carrier ever showed up at my apartment or not. I want to schedule another pickup however I'm concerned this might happen again.

georgestobbard · ‎09-01-2020

You did the right thing, putting a note on the door to explain you were going to take the package to the post office yourself. That way, you've communicated the situation so nobody was left in the dark.

I understand your reluctance to schedule another pickup since this one didn't go so well, but if I were you, I'd give them another chance. You can always talk to the supervisor if the second pickup is also a problem.

The quality of the postal service you receive has so much to do with the individual employees assigned to your local branch and to your route, so it's good to feel out the situation and get a sense for whether mistakes are frequent or rare. I've had only one pickup missed, and when it happened, the supervisor kindly sent someone over late in the afternoon to pick up the package. Since then, there have been no problems whatsoever. It also helped that there have been several changes in carriers on my route. The one I have right now is the nicest, most responsible one I've ever had, so I consider myself very lucky. I have total faith in her.

Best wishes to you. I know how stressful it is to be waiting for pickup, especially during the pandemic when nobody particularly wants to leave home if they can avoid it.

georgestobbard · ‎09-01-2020

I just remembered that the postal service recently suspended overtime pay. I, too, have occasionally seen postal carriers delivering or picking up mail slightly after 5 o'clock, but now that they're not allowed to work overtime, I think it's less likely that they still do this. So if a carrier normally comes by your home or business around 11 a.m., for example, and they still haven't come by 4:30, I'd drive over there myself rather than risk asking them to come back and having them say no, they're not allowed to come back until tomorrow.

mozartbach1971 · ‎09-01-2020

You did the right thing, putting a note on the door to explain you were going to take the package to the post office yourself. That way, you've communicated the situation so nobody was left in the dark.

I understand your reluctance to schedule another pickup since this one didn't go so well, but if I were you, I'd give them another chance. You can always talk to the supervisor if the second pickup is also a problem.

The quality of the postal service you receive has so much to do with the individual employees assigned to your local branch and to your route, so it's good to feel out the situation and get a sense for whether mistakes are frequent or rare. I've had only one pickup missed, and when it happened, the supervisor kindly sent someone over late in the afternoon to pick up the package. Since then, there have been no problems whatsoever. It also helped that there have been several changes in carriers on my route. The one I have right now is the nicest, most responsible one I've ever had, so I consider myself very lucky. I have total faith in her.

Best wishes to you. I know how stressful it is to be waiting for pickup, especially during the pandemic when nobody particularly wants to leave home if they can avoid it.

I do plan to try it again this Wednesday, I'm actually concerned that if I have to leave again, that they won't count this as a mark against me.

mozartbach1971 · ‎09-02-2020

Today the carrier showed up on time, I asked him if he was the new carrier for this route and he said no, and that it would be around 3 weeks for them to find a new carrier and because of this the times could vary a lot. He recommended that if no person shows up by 1:00 PM I should drive the packages to my post office.

mozartbach1971 · ‎09-04-2020

Something that I forgot to mention is that I live in California, and when I go to the post office they have a rule that says you can't hand in prepaid packages over the counter, they say you need to leave them in a basket out in the open. They do have slots where I can put the smaller packages into, however for the larger packages I have to leave them out in the open, which could allow them to be stolen.

monster-deals · ‎09-04-2020

@mozartbach1971 wrote:
I heard the shipping labels are only good for 24 hours

I print my labels sometimes days in advance and haven't had a problem...in about 6-7 years.

mozartbach1971 · ‎09-04-2020

I print my labels sometimes days in advance and haven't had a problem...in about 6-7 years.

I'm not sure this will help me. Like if I have a shipping label where the label says the 27th and on the 27th the driver misses the pickup, I don't believe on the 28th I can drop it off at the post office and they will accept it. Do you know otherwise?

simply-the-best-for-you · ‎09-04-2020

@mozartbach1971 wrote:
I print my labels sometimes days in advance and haven't had a problem...in about 6-7 years.

I'm not sure this will help me. Like if I have a shipping label where the label says the 27th and on the 27th the driver misses the pickup, I don't believe on the 28th I can drop it off at the post office and they will accept it. Do you know otherwise?

It totally depends on your PO. Mine & all the others around me have no issue & tell me I can ship up to a YEAR later. I know many other sellers are told it MUST be sent that day. You'll have to ask your PO.

If you are going to have subs for the next 3 weeks, I would highly recommend NOT doing pick ups, as you're at the mercy of the quality of the sub. Some are good, others are horrendous. Once you get a permanent carrier, establish rapport with them & discuss your pick ups with them.

Like someone posted above, it all depends on your carriers & your location. I tried to do pickups at my old house 1 mile from where I am now & they were missed easily 50% of the time. At my new house, it's all fine until my regular carrier goes on vacation, then ANYTHING can & does happen. So now I have a system where he lets me know when he's going on vaca, so I can take them myself. Subs can really, really mess things up tho & my carrier has been through 4 subs in the 1 1/2 years. I've had extensive discussions with the local PO about it, but bottom line is that they tell me subs don't get benefits & they often leave shortly after being trained. For every 10 subs they hire, only 3 are still there 6 months later. It is what it is. For me, if I know a sub is going to be on the route (& I make sure to know), then I take it somewhere myself.

This one goes to Eleven - Nigel Tufnel

Simply-the-best-for-you Volunteer Community Mentor
eBay Seller since 1996

monster-deals · ‎09-08-2020

@mozartbach1971 wrote:
Do you know otherwise?

Only from my years and years of experience.

mountainmommie · ‎02-12-2024

I got home today and packages were sitting not picked up. Guess my postman is one of the 16 million people who don't show up to work after Super Bowl Sunday.

Unfortunately the PO is closed. Will eBay ding my stats for this?

kh-stanley1 · ‎02-13-2024

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.