USPS Drop off bin
I dropped off 6 boxes at the post 0ffice using their bin labeled for that purpuse. That was 3 days ago and 2 boxes were never scaned by the post office and are now missing. Going back to that office did nothing. I will wait the 7 days to fill missing mail but is there anything else i can do?
12 comments
roccotacodad54
·5 months agoI don't sell on eBay but do send packages fairly often. I always go inside and get a receipt. I go out of my way to go to a smaller PO so I don't have to wait long in line.
Peace of mind................................
powell-collectibles
·5 months agoProbably 20% of my items get no scan at origin PO. About half of those get no tracking updates until they hit the PO closest to the buyer.
a_c_green
·5 months agoI should mention that USPS had a situation over the past 24 hours or so where none of their on-line tracking was updating at all, anywhere. (There was a thread about that over in the Selling group.) When the outage started, I have no idea, although it seems to be caught up now.
I would say that if 4 packages are reporting in, the other 2 will turn up eventually. If you deposited all 6 in the same bin (and especially if it was a drop chute through the lobby wall and not just some unattended bin), it seems unlikely that someone would pick just 2 and leave the others.
Unfortunately you are not going to be successful with a Missing Mail claim if there is no in-network scan of any kind to prove that USPS ever had it. That's a key reason why getting the Acceptance scan is so important.
fm2000
·5 months agoDon't panic. Your packages will probably be scanned at your regional hub, the buyer's regional hub and/or on delivery. Unlikely they will never be scanned, and even then they are almost certainly safely in USPS possession and will be delivered even if there is never a scan. I wouldn't poke the bear by mentioning it to your customers, odds are they will arrive on time without issues. If they check the tracking and ask you about it, just explain the initial scan was missed by USPS they are on the way and will be scanned at some point.
The issue is that clerks/workers need to follow USPS policies and procedures and scan the packages as they are supposed to, and those policies need to be enforced. Just like clerks should not be allowed to make up their own rules as discussed in another thread. Back in the old days the USPS used to be run with military precision (and discipline), it is time for leadership return to that and start clearly articulating and enforcing policy.
darn_yankee
·5 months agoThank you.
darn_yankee
·5 months agoThere's not much you can do but wait it out. Chances are that it will eventually appear in tracking.
I used to drop off parcels in the bin. I thought it was an OK thing to do. Until I started encountering the same issue you are now encountering. Since then, I will stand in line and hand the package over to a postal worker behind the counter and get a printed scanned receipt. On lower priced sales I will use the kiosk to scan the package before dropping it off in the bin.
There might be something to this idea of privatizing the post office.
ryry-jj
·5 months agoI dont have answers, but privatizing the post office means they would then charge us for providing that scan receipt service.
Personally, my mail carriers scan everything in my office lobby, they have never missed once, so i really cant speak to the issues people have about not getting scans
soh.maryl
·5 months agoHow can it "eventually appear in tracking" if no tracking was obtained, or at least it appears that there is no record of tracking?
But, yes, let's hope that those two boxes will eventually show up.
a_c_green
·5 months agoBecause packages are scanned automatically at numerous points along the way, in every sort facility. You don't "obtain" tracking; it just happens during shipment.
The origin post office is supposed to do an Acceptance scan regardless of whether you're standing there or dropping it off, but if they don't bother, the next scan along the way (most likely at the origin sort facility) will trigger an "Accepted at Origin Sort" entry in the tracking history, and from there on it will get tracking as usual the rest of the way.
kibble-net
·5 months agoI'm not sure how you arrived at this conclusion. Sure USPS isn't perfect. But either is UPS or Fedex. Some branches are more reliable than others about scanning dropped off packages.
USPS is a public service, they are not permitted to make a profit. If you think costs are going up a lot now, what do you think would happen when they have to make numbers go up every quarter to boost the P/E ratio for investors?
1786davycrockett
·5 months ago@rlon-20
If there is a 24-hour kiosk in your post office lobby, you can scan each of your packages before placing your packages inside the shipping bin.
While not a foolproof, 100% USPS scan, it is acknowledged by eBay as a pre-acceptance scan before being officially accepted by USPS.
This is safer than just dropping packages inside the bin without a scan.
The alternative is to leave the packages at the interior USPS counter, or to wait in line to get scans from the USPS counter employee.
ryry-jj
·5 months agoCommunicate to your buyers they were dropped off but not scanned apparently, but you do expect them to still be moving along in the system.
However, not a lot you can do in eBay's eyes as far as having tracking uploaded in a timely fadhion