Are you encountering problems/delays with US Postal Service deliveries?

[jlmunger]

I live in southern Maine, and ever since covid, we have experienced chronic problems with mail delivery. Personally, I have had at least ten instances during that period where I did not receive an item, or the person I was shipping an item to did not receive it. Not all of these problems involve eBay purchases so it is not isolated to eBay-related shipments. Three of these have been eBay purchases I made but did not receive. Two of those had tracking but the packages were shown as delivered but they were not. It is unlikely that the packages were stolen - on one occasion, I was looking through the window at my mailbox when I receive the delivery notification as I work at home and my office looks out toward the mailbox. I immediately went out to get the mail and the package that was marked as delivered wasn't there, so there was no way it was stolen. The packages never arrived and I went through a dispute/complaint process and was fortunately, refunded by eBay. 

My concern is that at some point, if this continues to occur, eBay will no longer believe that my packages were not delivered and refuse to process further refunds. I buy a lot of items on eBay and don't like the thought that I would have to discontinue to make eBay purchases. 

I also sell an occasional item but thankfully, have not had problems with items I have sold on eBay being delivered. 

This is a known problem in southern Maine, in fact, our senators have been notified and have taken steps to try to get the problems resolved. The problems have been publicized by local news providers and are widespread. I have had a variety of mail items lost or damaged, including cards, letters and legal notifications. One woman in my small town of 9,000+ recently had a postal worker hand-deliver a big stack of a year's worth of mail as one bulk delivery. He rang her doorbell and when she spoke with him, he said he had no idea what happened to delay that much mail - he just found it somewhere in the mail facility. 

It is bad. 

Is anyone else experiencing this level of problems with USPS mail delivery in southern Maine or any other areas? If you have, do you have recommendations how it might be addressed? 

[sama-754899]

Address chronic mail delivery issues in southern Maine by reporting problems to the local post office, using tracking and insurance, ensuring accurate delivery details, communicating with eBay sellers, exploring alternative shipping services, seeking community feedback, and contacting eBay customer support. Documentation and vigilance are crucial for effective resolution.

[kensgiftshop]

Wouldn't do much good contacting Ebay, they can't do anything about USPS.

[lakefor94]

Google "southern maine usps problems".

Seems they are well aware of the problems in your neck of the woods.

[jameshen1]

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@sama-754899 wrote:

Address chronic mail delivery issues in southern Maine by reporting problems to the local post office, using tracking and insurance, ensuring accurate delivery details, communicating with eBay sellers, exploring alternative shipping services, seeking community feedback, and contacting eBay customer support. Documentation and vigilance are crucial for effective resolution.

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This sounds like an AI response if I ever heard one.

[rustyrelics-az]

 The Houston area is having issues and congress has gotten involved. And I'm personally having a problem with a package I sent to Georgia. It arrived in the state Feb. 25 and since then has been going around in circles -- from facility to facility then back to the first facility--- and never seems to make it the right place so it can be delivered. 

I put in a missing mail request in hopes that may help. Any other suggestions on how to get this package delivered?

@jlmunger If possible try using UPS or FEDEX for deliveries. Most online sellers are accommodating, especially if you let them know about the issues that are happening in your area. The downside, of course, is that it may be more expensive depending on the size/weight of the item.  I don't think there's a workaround with USPS, unfortunately, and UPS/FEDEX would be your only option for more reliable delivery service.

[yuzuha]

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@rustyrelics-az wrote:

 The Houston area is having issues and congress has gotten involved. And I'm personally having a problem with a package I sent to Georgia. It arrived in the state Feb. 25 and since then has been going around in circles -- from facility to facility then back to the first facility--- and never seems to make it the right place so it can be delivered. 

I put in a missing mail request in hopes that may help. Any other suggestions on how to get this package delivered?

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When this happens, it is typically because the label has been damaged in some fashion and the machinery is unable to read it properly. A Missing Mail request might help simply because it forces them to go and manually check for the package to see what is up.

[greatmidwestcoin]

You have several options.

- Recall the package via USPS.Com.

- Contact your local Postmaster. They should be able to track your package on their internal system right down to the pallet. Ask them to send a message to the Mail Processing Plant to see what's up with your package.

- Contact your USPS District Consumer Affairs Office or the DCAO where your package is getting hung up. Your local PM will be able to get you the phone numbers or you can try Googling it.

- ALWAYS open a case online at the USPS.COM website. It creates a record of the problem for future reference.

- Write your Congressperson. They normally reach out to the USPS in DC and it trickles down from their. Worth a shot.

Good luck!

[ezvj0dv]

There are major issues all across the US with USPS. Google search it. I send around 2200 - 2500 orders out in the US and Puerto Rico only every 90 days. In my 10 years of selling goods online, I have NEVER seen the USPS have this much latency, incorrect delivery locations, items sitting for 7 - 14 days without movement, paying for ground advantage and paying 5 dollars for the shipping label and it shows "Shipped" on 3/1 and the next scan shows "Arrived at NJ Post Office 11111" on 3/11..... normally these get 10 - 15 scans between my state and the area it lands. It's been absolutely awful and I'm experiencing it randomly all over the country with no good answer as to why. I use ESE and Ground Priority or Flat Rate shipping and this happens with every service, yes including the 22 dollar Large Flat Rate Shipping Box.... it's unacceptable.

[soh.maryl]

Not in Maine, but NE Ohio and endless issues with the USPS, not the least of which is the fact that all our outgoing mail from our homes goes 35miles north to Cleveland first, even if it's a birthday card for a child who lives across town.  If you pay bills by check, you have to mail them at least 10 days before the actual birthday, and even then, they are not always on time.  Also I mail my bills the day after I receive them and still some manage to turn up late at their destination. 

[deserdog]

I recently have seen several packages take longer than normal going to Georgia. Just recently though. Most areas are going fairly rapidly.

[angelheart2796]

I am a small seller and had to file lost package after 18 days sat in Philly never moved again. Tracking showed it arrived at destination in West Virginia Post Office. But not so. Main post office said last scan was Philly. Did the refund for my customer of course. Now I am worried another sent from Ca to Alabama was scanned 2 days later in Hawaii.  Now says on way to next facility for 2 days. Praying. 

[yunger3816]

We have 3 hung up in transit going to different parts of the US, and of course eBay allows the buyers to open cases when we the sellers have NO CONTROL over how fast the shippers do their job. EBay really needs to stop these cases from being opened, they are ridiculous and yet another slap in the sellers' face. Fortunately, our local post master is very helpful helping to track within their system, but I'm sure in a big city the cooperation isn't so great. Stop holding us responsible for the shipping delays eBay , despite what your little memos say.