Delayed Shipment

[makoan-37]

Hi, so I have a dilemma I could use some help with:  I made a sale ($18) to a buyer in Hawaii.  The buyer chose USPS ground, she paid on 3/13, and I  shipped the item the same  day.  The buyer opened a case yesterday (4/1) stating that the item has not moved on the tracking since 3/22, and she requested a refund.  I responded to her and told her I would open a case with USPS, which I did on 4/2.  USPS informed that ground shipments go by boat to Hawaii, and that the package is on the boat but it won’t sail until the boat is full and the weather is clear, so the buyer likely won’t get the item for 4-6 weeks.  I am now questioning whether I should refund the buyer.  I am a fairly new seller, and really don’t want a bad review or a negative case against me, and $18 really is not all that much money.  However, the buyer will be eventually getting her skirt, and the delay is through no fault of mine.  I have gone back and forth and can’t decide what to do!

[stainlessenginecovers]

Ground Advantage flies all the time. Unless the item has stickers stating it's a 'battery' (which it's not) then it would NOT go by 'boat'. That USPS clerk was wrong. If item hasn't 'updated' for over 2 weeks, I would just apologize to the buyer and refund them. 

[simba6]

I would wait and see if a case is opened.  eBay will at times delay a case if the item is in transit. 

[buyselljack2016]

With rumors of "boat travel" I updated any of my listings that I would ship by GA to block sales to Alaska, Hawaii, and protectorates.

[kensgiftshop]

It flies if there's room, if not, it goes by boat.

Last time I shipped  to Hawaii, I made the mistake and shipped ground and it went by boat and it took awhile to get there.

[kensgiftshop]

If the buyer has filed an INR, not much you can do but refund, since there has been no tracking updates lately.

Ground to Hawaii does take awhile, I think they put them on a row boat.

[makoan-37]

It wasn’t just a clerk, and it was the post office in the destination town in Hawaii who responded.  Here is the response from USPS:

,

This is in response to your inquiry regarding the delivery of a package.

According to the tracking of your package, it was last processed at our distribution facility located in Tampa, FL on 3/15/24 and is estimated to arrive within 4-6 weeks.  Your package is traveling to Hawaii by way of our USPS Ground Advantage service.  Ground Advantage travels to Hawaii in a container on a boat.  Although we can confirm that your package is on its way and is not lost, we are unable to give an accurate arrival of your package due to the container not being released to sail until it is full and/or weather conditions out at sea as the boat is traveling that will cause a delay.

We apologize if this time frame was not made apparent to you at the time of your order or transaction.  We recommend using our Priority Mail service if timeliness is a concern.  Unfortunately, the estimated delivery date is simply an estimated date and not a guaranteed delivery date associated only with our Express Mail service.

Please accept our sincerest apology for any trouble this may have caused you. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again in the future.  If you require additional assistance, please feel free to contact the Wailuku Post Office directly at (808) 244-1653.

Sincerely,

Management Team
Wailuku Post Office
Phone: (808) 244-1653

[slippinjimmy]

@makoan-37 

In your OP you said the most recent scan you saw was on 03/22, the boiler plate response from USPS in HI says the last scan was 03/15 in Tampa. Is the 03/22 scan a real one or just a "In-Transit" placeholder scan? If real what is the location? Was the 03/15 an outbound or arrival scan at Tampa?

[12345jamesstamps]

Do not refund unless eBay tells you to refund on a certain time frame. Then you have to. The item may never show as "delivered".

And re-enter tracking on the claim.

I hardly think item would take 4-6 weeks to arrive.

There is sometimes when item scanned is not scanned "delivered" but got delivered.

I have items not scanned "delivered' since March 2023 but the buyers were honest and gave positive feedback.

I would block the buyer from future purchases of course.

And not to be a prune...as a merchant marine....please use the word "ship" and not "boat"in the future...I think of a boat as a canoe or something that size. 

[slippinjimmy]

Thank you for this diversion.......

https://www.dictionary.com/e/boat-vs-ship/

[dolcetreasures]

Do not refund until the last possible moment you have to. Never ever refund. Open a case with usps online and it will push a new scan message which will bide your time. Absolutely do not listen to anyone who tells you to refund. 

[buyselljack2016]

@makoan-37 

If it were me, I would consider NOT blocking the buyer ID. Blocking will also block communication. 

Odds are that you will have to refund.  Leaving a line of communication allows for the possibility that the buyer might want to pay you when the item arrives after they have been refunded.

[makoan-37]

The boat/ship discussion is cracking me up - I am a high school English teacher and it bugged me too, but it was the terminology that USPS used in their response, so I used it too.  Lol

[12345jamesstamps]

Thank you for looking it up.......

[1786davycrockett]

@makoan-37 

As others have told you, do NOT refund UNTIL the buyer opens up an "item not received" case, since eBay may intercede on your behalf and allow your package some extended delivery time.

The latest Postmaster General (not appointed by Biden, by the way) has made quite a few questionable negative changes regarding mail delivery, and we should not be surprised if air shipments have also been whittled down.

Other major USPS problems have recently been reported in Houston, Memphis, Atlanta, and so on -- even my local post office in New Brighton, MN has been the subject of a postal investigation.

So we shouldn't be surprised to hear about yet another increase in postage soon, either.