mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
That second tracking scan could have been the seller simply reprinting the label and sending you a replacement. There are sellers who will do that.
I work for a local liquidations firm - we sell on most of the active platforms. We have had escalating issues with USPS since Jan 2024 -- and it's not getting much better. Kind of a 'whack-a-mole' situation -- USPS focuses on one area or facility that it having issues, gets them fixed, and moves on to the next... only to have to return again and again due to the 'fixes' not working long term.
We've had a LOT of trouble this year getting our packages scanned at pickup. We could always take are packages to the Post Office, which we do when they simply don't stop in to deliver or pick up, but that adds to our overhead and is becoming increasingly difficult with hours being shortened.
To your situation: March 10th, we shipped 15+ identical items to buyers across the country. Our carrier did not scan those packages when they were picked up, later claiming that the postmaster told them not to bother if they were running behind on their route. Running behind was commonplace as the route count had been reduced, routes had been extended to maintain coverage, and some carriers were being asked to cover TWO routes because of employee call-ins.
We ended up having to refund nearly all of those customers due to no tracking and no delivery. It has been our documented experience that when the package is not scanned at pickup, it seldom will show any further scan activity until/if it reaches the destination sort facility. Then, suddenly, all the previous scan data will show up, with the notable exceptions of pickup, local po in/out, and local sort in. The package goes from label printed to in-transit to destination...
On a brighter note, the vast majority (I can only recall one buyer) of the buyers agreed to reimburse us for the refund if the package showed up. Which they all did... anywhere from 4-7 weeks late. But the product had a years-long shelf life and was generally replaced every 3-6 months depending on use. So having an extra one on hand was not a problem... and could easily be used to avoid a similar situation in the future, ie the customer could order ahead or keep ours as a backup in case of another delayed delivery.
That one buyer unwilling to reimburse -did- receive their purchase, per that extremely late tracking, but we knew it would be a long shot as they did not respond to any of our contacts after the opened the INR case. The other customers all did and most left very acceptable feedback as well, noting the issue, how we (professionally) handled it, and how it was clearly a USPS problem out of our control.
I would happily sell to those customers again and again - they are the ones eBay needs to focus on, not the serial "I have an issue" buyers. But I digress...
Your delayed initial delivery could quite easily be a USPS problem. The second shipment tracking could very honestly be a simple replacement shipment. You won't truly know for weeks past that initial shipping date - when USPS delivers one or both of the shipments. Check the label - most USPS labels will have a printed-on date somewhere on the label. Much like the postmark on a stamped letter, only it shows when the label was printed, not when it was first handled by USPS.
I personally do not blame the carrier - the folks who work on the streets tend to be decent folks stuck in a no-win situation. They are being asked to do more, but without more time or resources, and sometimes for rather obnoxious customers. I do believe that a LOT of the current USPS issues relate to the massive "overhaul" of the system by the last postmaster general. Too much at once is never a good policy, and cutting workforce at a time of record, sustained volumes is just stupid. USPS was never meant to be a profit center for the federal government - it was a service of the government provided to the people of the nation. If Congress could control their 'discretionary' spending, perhaps the shortages at USPS could have been corrected in less drastic, draconian ways. But we may never know.
I know from personal experience that delayed deliveries bite. I don't like them regardless of which end of the transaction I'm on. But I always try to give the seller the benefit of the doubt - and when the purchase does finally show up, I know to review the tracking and find out what the -real- issue was. It's usually NOT the seller.
Be watching for multiple deliveries -- there are a great number of reasons for packages to get lost, most being well out of the seller's control. So stay calm, work with the seller, and imagine how you would feel is something you sent to someone were to end up in the same situation. As the shipper, how would you handle the delay of delivery?
eBay is well aware of the issue plaguing USPS - hence the waiting period before proceeding further. I personally would appreciate it if they would remove the "late shipment/late delivery" defects charged to my employer's account for problems outside of our control. We were not the party to mishandle the order - that would be the overloaded and understaffed USPS.
Just my 2cents...
-Bob.
Was there some tracking on the label that was created on the 10th? Acceptance scan and/or some other ones?
I don't see where you get that it was sent twice. It just appears, like way too many packages, it got stuck for one reason or another.
When a buyer opens an INR, if there is any movement on the tracking in the past 7 days, Ebay will extend the length of time the INR will be open.
I honestly don't know how a seller would accomplish "Apparently seller then actually sent it on the 21st according to revised tracking (same tracking number). " And still just having one string of tracking on the one tracking number. If they did that, there would be two acceptance scans, which I don't think USPS would even do, or at least I've never seen it.
It is likely when you filed your INR and notified your seller there was an issue with delivery, they filed a Trace on the package. That would be the normal thing for a seller to do. Filing that often gets the package moving within a couple of days.
Duplicate emails happen all the time, so I don't think that is indicative of the seller misbehaving.
If you want to private message me the tracking number, I'd be happy to look at it and see if I spot anything that looks like the seller is not dealing with your honestly. Because if that is the case, you should really report the seller.
@gurlcat wrote:To me the most important difference between you and the OP's seller is that you not only responded with action, you also reached out to all those buyers to personally explain what was going on, so they weren't left wondering and trying to make sense of data that isn't nearly as routine to most people as it is to us. No wonder almost all of them were willing to cooperate fairly and give good feedback.
Anyway, didn't mean to get so deep in the weeds on that, ha. My point is that a little personal touch goes a long way. So many eBay sellers don't realize what a huge advantage this (could) give them over, say, Amazon or Walmart, where every aspect is handled by software.
Well, the buyers on the tail end of the event heard from us first, but the ones at the front were the ones that alerted me to the fact that something was mucked up. I invested the time to do a wee bit of digging (much easier due to using SixBit as our database) - pulled USPS tracking for everything we shipped from/including the day before to/including the day after. Those three days were quite enlightening - day before and day after had tracking for everyone. Day of had tracking for some but far from all. And one particular item was almost completely without tracking on every shipment that day.
That's when it clicked -- no pickup scan, no tracking details until the end. So we started with our regular carrier, who was most interested in helping us (the boss 'bribes' all package services with free water or sodas - the cooler isn't cold, but it is cool enough to refresh), and the pattern continued. No scan - no tracking. Just the 'label created' message.
Since then we have been good about asking any USPS carrier who shows up (even got someone who claimed to be our local postmaster) to be sure to scan everything. They nearly all do - the few who didn't want to but grudgingly did never came back, even if they are given our route. Those were the non-pickup days.
We actually had better service from 2019 thru Jan 2024. We had a lot of products that were in demand, products we normally would only have sold in our retail store due to the brand names (made by the same labs as the big brands, just with brand names (and scents!) geared to certain populations. EVERYTHING sold very well. Hygiene products also did very very well.
I think our service was better for a few reasons:
- we were getting special pickups due to our volume - they would actually send an empty vehicle, a really big van on Mondays, somewhat smaller the rest of the week, and even on Saturdays.
- we had functional SCAN sheets. We were using ShipWorks for our online sales and generating these SCAN sheets was rather simple. Click-Click-Click and the form printed.
- we had a regular carrier who was one of the happiest postal workers I've ever met. If every carrier had his attitude, his big smile and "Hello!" to everyone, I think a lot of the problems would never have been problems. We worked together to get a routine and process that worked for both of us -- he had an easier time getting packages scanned and into his truck, and we had major confidence that everything was getting scanned and properly processed into the USPS system. That's when the boss started opening the cooler to the carrier drivers. 🙂
I've always wondered why DeJoy decided to reduce staff during the every increasing volumes of the pandemic, especially as those volumes increased once the lockdown ended and even as the Return To Work period began. All our other carriers were adding staff (which had it's own drawbacks as volumes slowed) to ensure customers received as close to model service as realistically possible. That was part of the reason we were willing to pay the higher transport fees for our pricier sales.
If the current administration doesn't 'wash' all the records at all the various agencies and departments of our government (it is still our's, the people's, right?), maybe some day someone smarter than me will put all the moving pieces together and remove the mystery and 'folklore' surrounding this period of our country. Hopefully I'll still be around to read/view/experience it (books, digital magazines, VR-enhanced immersive education).
-Bob.
@roccotacodad54 wrote:Not a small item nor a large one. A carving knife (like for turkeys or roast beef) with a carved stag handle made between 1880 and 1920. It is a very unusual one carved with an alligator carving on it with glass eyes.
Wow kinda got long winded there......sorry.
I collect antique cutlery among other things and get wound up sometimes......
My other says my study reminds her of the Adams Family...............LOL
That was far from long-winded (I think I hold the board title for that... but please don't research it, I get enough "don't build the clock Dad" from family and close friends), but very interesting. I helped a gentleman a couple decades back, when eBay was still young and easy, who bought, reconditioned, and resold folding knives of all sizes. Some of the few he showed me were stunning... and way way out of my price range. 🙂 I may not be able to afford it, but I could still appreciate it. Certain types of artistic expression fascinate me, mostly because I have zero talent in that way. My wife says I must have circuitry in my brain! 🙂
-Bob.
-Bob.
@roccotacodad54 wrote:Yes there was an acceptance scam the 10th and an "Arrived" at the same facility the 21st. I believe that explains>>> "The seller provided tracking that shows the item is currently on its way to you. You should receive it soon.The seller provided tracking that shows the item is currently on its way to you. You should receive it soon." (Same message twice).
I'm not thinking I am being scammed but being an item I believe I was lucky to find it does concern me more than it probably should. I spent my working life in stressful and/or dangerous occupations and now enjoy retirement ALMOST stress free........LOL.
That "Arrived" scan - your city or somewhere mid-route? Any USPS facility scan on a long-delayed track means it was definitely a USPS issue.
For what it's worth - USPS packages that don't get a pickup or acceptance scan are NOT eligible for USPS-included insurance. And likely most 3rd party insurers would balk as well. Those scans are your proof the package was actually given to USPS and was there responsibility. That 'Arrived' scan simply increases the odds of delivery -- USPS -hates- paying out on insurance claims for 'lost' packages, especially since it seems they always get delivered (and scanned into tracking) just a few days after USPS cuts that check. 🙂
-Bob.
