I have been a seller on eBay for over 20 years and a recently retired high level Mgr/Postmaster of 33 yrs with the USPS. I do have 2 eBay selling ID's. I would like to share some of knowledge on the USPS delivery process so if others experience problems, they can better understand what may have happened and have the tools to contact someone that can help them other than the contractor 800 number.
Recently I had a gold coin sold through eBay that was lost(?) clearly within the delivering Post Office. It was even handled/scanned by a supervisor at that office. The customer stated they did not receive it even though it shows delivered. I was able to determine the last scan made which shows delivered was actually made at 7:20PM and manually input or as the USPS calls it a "stop-the-clock" scan. When the supervisor or PM closes at night they have to CLEAR all office scans - ie. attempted, delivered, etc. In my District the Supv or PM could not go home until the office was cleared. If they did go home and not cleared, they would be called at home and forced to return to make the scans on anything showing open. In this case, the Supv admitted to making this manual scan and is in violation of USPS regs and is cause for removal. All USPS employees know this is falsification of USPS documentation.
Secondly, all scans have GPS locations associated with them which you can then google map right down to the mailbox, etc. In this case, the in-office scanner was not setup for GPS tracking, another violation or maybe on purpose. Each scan also shows the employee ID who made the scan.
Thirdly, every PO reports to a District Office which reports to an Area Office which reports to Washington DC HQ. All three levels have a Consumer Affairs Dept. If you have issues at your local PO and they do not respond to your satisfaction, request contact info at these 3 higher level offices. Record all dates, times and names of people you speak to. Go up the food chain but follow the food chain in order. Above all, with any Postal issue, go online and open a missing mail case/delivery issue and create an electronic paper trail. Don't allow your local PO to simply close the case ticket without resolution or at least them contacting you.
This is business and nothing personal. USPS employees get paid to do a job. Hold them accountable or the problem could repeat itself. If they fail, THEY cause you to fail.
I hope this helps with any lost, damaged or other delivery problems that your local PO does not handle properly.
Thanks for listening and have a good day.
