Package lost with US post office going on 12 days cannot get local PO to move or district or nat.

[alabamajoes1959joe]

i have 3 packages that i shipped 8/15. The have not moved. I cannot get local PO to act. i have contact supposed hub 1.5 hrs away and left a detailed message no returned call. i have searched tracking numbers on national site it states i have assigned the tracking number (purchased through eBay) but the package is not registered at local PO.

 i am certain i either put these in my box or dropped them off on a Saturday Morn/Sunday evening at the box at the PO.

What can i do at this point?? Can eBay corp. lean in and help????

[wallets-purses-jewelry-more]

I have been having multiple USPS late delivery issues.  That's both First Class Mail and Priority Mail (some of my Priority Mail packages have taken as much as 12 days to be delivered).  And each time I have filed both a HELP REQUEST and a MISSING MAIL SEARCH on line through the Post Office website.  Supposedly they are two different requests, BUT I have had several Postal workers tell me they are the same exact thing.  Several times the missing packages have shown up within a day or two of my filings, but mostly the packages have taken about another 7-10 days to be delivered.  All packages which I made filings on have eventually been delivered correctly; I will say the Post Office has been good about that.  But it's the recent USPS delivery delays which are weighing very heavily on me.  I have had a Maryland Postal worker tell the buyer it's not their problem - and to have me as seller contact my local distribution center (in case you wonder - there's no way to do such a thing!).  I have had a Maryland Postal Worker call me 2 days after I filed a HELP REQUEST  and tell me they did not know where the package was - and that they were closing my case since they had a deadline to respond to a HELP REQUEST and they had just called me to report they didn't know where the package was.  So in their minds they were responding AND abiding by their deadline obligation.  (You can imagine how angry I was at that!).  My local Post Office (who is always very helpful) told me that in all likelihood that particular package (but there have been many more in the last 3-4 months)  was probably still sitting in a truck at the airport awaiting a commercial flight out.  I was told that if there is a long wait between the last scan and the update saying that your package is going to be late, but is in transit - that probably the package is still sitting in a truck at the airport awaiting a commercial flight.  I was told that the Post Office does NOT have any way of knowing what truck on the way to the airport - or what airplane a package is placed on.  And frankly, that surprised me.  For it seems to me that any successful, huge business should have more awareness / control than that.  But apparently that is not the case with the Post Office.  And I have always been one of the biggest backers of the Post Office!!!  I still stand behind them, but man, this has been very time consuming trying to sooth upset / concerned buyers, and do constant follow-ups with the Post Office.  Thus far, none of the buyers have blamed me personally, because I deliberately make a point of having my amazing wonderful postwoman scan every package every day.  She and her sub have been absolute gems.  So my buyers can see that I always mail packages very quickly.   But yes, that is time consuming in and of itself.   I'm somewhat able to be  home for the Postwoman's package pickup each day around my part time outside job; but many people do not have that capability.  But I would definitely suggest developing a good relationship with your local postal worker; they can be amazingly helpful, and very understanding.  

[barbara1774]

Similar situation here - package was mailed on July 27, 2020 and scanned at our local post office. Went missing somewhere on its way to Virginia.  I refunded the Buyer's money on August 23, 2020 and it was delivered to the Buyer yesterday - August 29, 2020. Item was a pitcher and matching bowl and the bowl arrived broken. It was packed super well too. Was heavy so shipped Parcel Select instead of Priority so not insured.

[vintagecraze50]

This has got to stop here. If these customers are receiving their items these refunds need to be reversed with you sending prooof of delivery directly from the USPS. I have switched to FED EX becuase of this disaster here, and I am praying THEY are not going to start getting overloaded and LATE as well. If this keeps up and gets even worse I am going to shut down my store for at least a month. The way things are going things have been really good and EBAY will loose up to 12.000.00 dollars in sales from me in that month. If I can afford to do this I will becuase I will not tolerate giving away expensive items to these customers who are receiving them.

[vintagecraze50]

I have been extremely vocal about this issue on this board. The people with the least ability to handle the brunt of this problem with the fewest resources to deal with it are getting creamed over this financially with refunds for items that are eventually delivered. USPS , should be paying out insurance claims if their packages are technically lost. You cannot even file an insurance claim properly with them becuase these packages are awol waiting to be delivered, and then they are delivered, long before you have any way to get an insurance claim done right. Ebay, you should not be awarding refunds for items that sellers can show were delivered during this pandemic where it is well know that these packages are going to be late..

[crowrivermarket]

Me too. Sent the 5th. It was last scanned on the 9th. I believe it is just sitting and waiting. This is nuts, my buyer is really **bleep** off and getting impatient.

[vintagecraze50]

Just a note on my last post. Two of these packages that were awol for about 2 weeks magically got delivered to my customers today, after trace reports and phone calls to the PO’s were they were suppose to go. Now, if I had not kept messaging my customers and assuring them my involvement in finding these for them these would have turned into INR cases and a possible premature refund giving by Ebay. That being said, am I going to keep using USPS with all of these headaches because I cannot stand this stress, and especially since when these customers pull the INR trigger, Ebay is going to refund them, or possibly refuse to reverse the refund if I have PROOF official from USPS that these were delivered. I am going to monitor what is happening to USPS closely and then switch back to them if thing improve becuase FED EX can get really expensive depending on where these packages are sent. Good luck everyone and here’s to everyone feeling less stress here over this. 

[gadgetmans_attic]

I read a seller who was a buyer waiting on a package that was late wanting to get a refund it wasn't on time the package was delivered which he wants to return it to get the refund, a seller should know what we are all going through because of this virus.

After looking at his listings he has a 11 days handling time so that just might be the answer so what if you lose your top rated seller it's better than having to refund the purchase price.

I just sold an item(s) looked at my estimated time is 4 to 14 business days which is cross country so maybe ebay is making these adjustments or maybe is was because I picked free Economy Shipping.

I do remember the mail order days when it took 4 to 6 weeks to be delivered.

Good luck all and remember we are all going through a lot more than just the virus fire, floods, protesting etc.

[margoj01]

Report all your delays to your Senators and Congressmen, and ask them to continue investigating whether the new policies enacted by the Postmaster General are hurting small businesses and damaging people who rely on the Post Office as a lifeline. Last month I had two packages destined for CO sit for a week in Newark and then another week in Denver. "2-Day Priority Mail" took more than two weeks to be delivered.

[flapperfox1921]

The USPS has been averaging around 17% of their employees down with Covid each day so there is a reason mail is taking longer.  Also, the massive unending overtime also resulted in many employees becoming ill.  Humans cannot work 12 hrs a day, 6 days a week for months.  Add to that the drastic cut in air travel which meant mail wasn't getting on flights so most everything was travelling by truck.  Add to that the massive social discontent that has been rocking the northern part of the country which delayed mail getting to their hubs.    It's not the PM who is to blame for the slowing of the mail since this has been going on BEFORE he took control.  He's just trying to get the service back up and running during this horrible year.

[themastershands-nm]

I too often drop off packages in my local PO drop box. Occasionally I've had one (and once three) get delayed there for a few days, but usually it is at the local distribution center (Portland, OR) where they get stopped. I wait the required week and if they still haven't moved, I put in a "Missing Mail Search" online. I have a 100% success rate with that. Usually within a couple of days. I think one took 4 days to show up on tracking. The good thing is the "Missing Mail Search" stays active until the item is delivered or 365 days, whichever is first. I actually decided to wait one (a book sent Media Mail) out and see if it would move on it's own. Nope, 3 weeks later it still had not moved. I put in the "Missing Mail Search" and, like magic, it was on the move in two days. I haven't had any stall for about three weeks, until today. I have just had my first package in three weeks get stuck at a distribution center. If it isn't on the move by tomorrow, I'll put in the "Missing Mail Search" and I bet it will be delivered either the end of this week or early next week.

[north40sales]

Its not all the fault the new Policies....its a long standing method of operating at a multi-billion dollar loss every year for decades coupled with management and staff that are resisting internal change that are driving the delays.   The USPS has gotten away with it and now, a new administration that would like to see them straiten their operation out coupled with COVID have caused massive problems.   

[north40sales]

eBay has no pull with the USPS.   Asking them to intercede is pointless.  

For even more entertainment value, call the USPS Customer Care center at 1-800-275-8777 when you have opened a missing mail complaint and its been a week with no movement.  That is awesome fun.  

[monalisa18]

I find all of what this person said to fall in line with our nearest distribution center. I will add that if they get flooded with in coming mail, truck loads, those trailers have set in their trailer yards for 3 weeks, then sent 600 miles to a larger distribution center to finally be processed. Yes, I had 9 packages on that trailer load. A weeks worth of sells for me. I was blessed, only cost me $25 refund, they were gifted the item. Plus I had 2 weeks of anxiety so bad I didn't get any work done at all. I called every help line number USPS has, nothing can be done!!! Good luck! 

[*perky*clo]

I have gone to that link they sent me, to OPEN A CASE for a package of mine that has sat in Jacksonville warehouse since Jan 3. No matter HOW many times I go thru ALL the steps, I just get an error message at the end "There was a *non-specific* problem submitting your service request. Please try again later *at an unspecified time*"
I am the Seller. Super annoying & frustrating. They're gonna get their item for FREE, since it WILL start moving again, eventually.......

[kh-leslie]

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.