Advice or recourse for taking a hit for "late shipment" when USPS didn't scan package for a week?

[chris-s-g]

Hi there, hoping you experienced sellers can offer some advice.  

I have 1-day handling time and TRS status but I'm a small time seller.  I put an item in my curbside mailbox with the flag up for pickup (I know, I know, first mistake right there).  I placed it there within an hour of the buyer paying, a couple of hours later my mail was delivered and the package was gone.  That was on a Friday.  On Wednesday, I heard from the seller asking when I was going to send the item and so I looked saw no tracking activity after printing the label.  Finally, on Thursday night the item was scanned in Georgia, then delivered on Saturday to the buyer.  Clearly, the USPS misplaced the package for a few days and managed to get it all the way from my Philadelphia suburb to Georgia without any scans.  The buyer was great about the situation and he left me positive feedback, but the delivery was late and I have no proof that I had it in the hands of the USPS in time.  

I almost ALWAYS go the the post office and stand in line to get a paper receipt.  It takes hours out of our lives to do this to satisfy ebay's rediculous requirements.  Yes, the lesson has been learned that I have to do that if I want to keep my TRS status.  I am a small-time seller so just a few of these snafus is significanly weighted and could cost me that rating through no action or error of my own.  This is total **bleep**, making us responsible for the actions of government workers who clearly do not have to answer to the level of accountability that eBay's Top Rated Sellers do!  I don't like behing held accountable for things over which I have no authority, but that's a rant for another day.

This is now in my seller dashboard as a late shipment.  Does anyone have any advice for if or how I can get that removed?  If I'm going to take a "late" hit I want it to be because I was actually late!

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Chris in Philly

[vintage_sterling_spoon_rings]

sorry, duplicate post

[vintage_sterling_spoon_rings]

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so-much-out-there wrote:  Print your shipping labels either on ebay or PayPal sites... You will automaticaly and free of charge have a USPS tracking number for any kind of shipping options, even first class mail...

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Absolutely! Why would anyone ship 13 oz or less any other way? Free tracking... Discounted postage... And no more trips to the post office. My longest commute now is 45 feet to the mailbox.

Thanks for posting this... I thought everybody knew

[a_c_green]

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@so-much-out-there wrote:

When my mail was delivered and the package by the front door was not picked, I called the local USPS facility in Spring, TX 77379, and when I finally reached someone, after several unsusscefull attemps, I was told that I shouldn't have left the two small boxes in the mailbox??? 

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Well, no... Once the carrier found the packages in the mailbox, why would he continue to search the premises for more? Although he may have been expecting to see 3 in the box, he'll find 2 and reasonably conclude that that's all you had ready for that day.

If you have this situation again, you might consider putting a sticky note in the box with the smaller packages, to point out wherever it is that you've placed a larger one.

[so-much-out-there]

The once liable and resourceful USPS is not working anymore... They are just relying on the Union that;s what always there for them upon a regular charge, and franly, my dear, they don't give a **bleep**...

[so-much-out-there]

What about the usual form that the postal carrier was supposed to leave in my mailbox acknowledging that he had picked the packages??? The carrier was not suposed to "conclude" anything... He was supposed to follow the instructions in the form to pick up three items by the front door, period. Why did he assume that the two little boxes in the mail box were part of the free pickup in the form anyways? They could be just some extra mailing...

The botton line... Your opinion is not "reasonable" at all, and it seems that you siding with the USPS for whatever reason! Do you work for the USPS? I don't. I'm just a repeat customer... And as a customer, should I go to extra measures to make the USPS to follow the tracking number like you suggested???  

[a_c_green]

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@so-much-out-there wrote:

What about the usual form that the postal carrier was supposed to leave in my mailbox acknowledging that he had picked the packages??? The carrier was not suposed to "conclude" anything... He was supposed to follow the instructions in the form to pick up three items by the front door, period. Why did he assume that the two little boxes in the mail box were part of the free pickup in the form anyways? They could be just some extra mailing...  

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You're putting way more thought into this than he obviously did. He had a pickup notice for 3 packages. He looks in your mailbox and finds 2 outbound packages sitting there. That's his pickup from that address. He might not have even noticed the discrepancy of 2 in the mailbox vs. 3 on the form.

@lja440 is a USPS carrier who's on the boards frequently, so maybe we can get a second opinion on this.

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@so-much-out-there wrote:

The botton line... Your opinion is not "reasonable" at all, and it seems that you siding with the USPS for whatever reason! Do you work for the USPS? I don't. I'm just a repeat customer... And as a customer, should I go to extra measures to make the USPS to follow the tracking number like you suggested???  

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What I suggested was a reasonable (there's that word again) explanation for why 2 of your packages got picked up and a third, in another location, did not. Ask your carrier and I suspect he'll tell you something similar.

[sg51]

 Finally, on Thursday night the item was scanned in Georgia, then delivered on Saturday to the buyer.  Clearly, the USPS misplaced the package for a few days and managed to get it all the way from my Philadelphia suburb to Georgia without any scans.  The buyer was great about the situation and he left me positive feedback, but the delivery was late and I have no proof that I had it in the hands of the USPS in time.  

It's worth wondering if there was something unusual about the package.

1. Hard to scan.

2. Questionable postage label.

3. Illegal package.

4. Legal, but unpleasant package.

Any of these can get your package into the "give the dude a clue" cart.  I've had a few experiences which would best be explained that way.

[myboardid]

Every single one of you should be using a SCAN SHEET for every outgoing group of packages.  You can print one through Paypal, through eBay, through USPS, through stamps.com, through every other shipping company there is.  That will solve all your shipping time problems. 

[lja440]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@so-much-out-there wrote:

What about the usual form that the postal carrier was supposed to leave in my mailbox acknowledging that he had picked the packages??? The carrier was not suposed to "conclude" anything... He was supposed to follow the instructions in the form to pick up three items by the front door, period. Why did he assume that the two little boxes in the mail box were part of the free pickup in the form anyways? They could be just some extra mailing...  

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You're putting way more thought into this than he obviously did. He had a pickup notice for 3 packages. He looks in your mailbox and finds 2 outbound packages sitting there. That's his pickup from that address. He might not have even noticed the discrepancy of 2 in the mailbox vs. 3 on the form.

@lja440 is a USPS carrier who's on the boards frequently, so maybe we can get a second opinion on this.

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@so-much-out-there wrote:

The botton line... Your opinion is not "reasonable" at all, and it seems that you siding with the USPS for whatever reason! Do you work for the USPS? I don't. I'm just a repeat customer... And as a customer, should I go to extra measures to make the USPS to follow the tracking number like you suggested???  

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What I suggested was a reasonable (there's that word again) explanation for why 2 of your packages got picked up and a third, in another location, did not. Ask your carrier and I suspect he'll tell you something similar.

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First, for so-much, The scan form is what I assume you are referring to as "What about the usual form that the postal carrier was supposed to leave in my mailbox acknowledging that he had picked the packages??? "  No, we take that back to the Post Office and turn it in with a notation of how many packages were picked up.  It is not uncommon for the number to be different than what was entered by the customer on the scan form. It probably would have worked out for you if on the form you added a note. " These were small so I put them in the mailbox, there is a larger package on the porch ready for pickup."

We have had to crack down on a couple customers over scan forms. One sends out very large packages.  If he has a pick-u order for 2 and has more than that I have traveled up his long and VERY steep drive for nothing as I at most can fit 3 and the Postmaster doesn't have a heads up to arrange for an LLV to do the pickup.

Another lady realized that I would bring the days mail to her door when I collected packages. So started to schedule package pickups when she didn't have any so she wouldn't have to walk out to the mailbox. 

[keziak]

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@myboardid wrote:

Every single one of you should be using a SCAN SHEET for every outgoing group of packages.  You can print one through Paypal, through eBay, through USPS, through stamps.com, through every other shipping company there is.  That will solve all your shipping time problems. 

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Last I checked Endicia has it but only with a more expensive plan which so far I"m not ready to pay.

[chris-s-g]

I will do as you suggest with the sign on the mailbox, that's a great idea.  I'm happy to do anything I can on my side to facilitate the process!  Unfortunately, we've had rotating temporary carriers for several months, so whoever is picking up packages today isn't likely to be the one who receives the card and cookies at xmas.