Responsible for USPS Delays?

[abeamcollectibles]

A buyer reached out to me today requesting a refund due to a package that is running late. The item was purchased on a Sunday and tracking shows it picked up by USPS the following morning. I refunded the buyer right away but just feel that it was completely out of my control and this person is still going to receive the item. Am I totally responsible for USPS delays? What about in cases where I'm using the eBay Standard Envelope for Trading Cards program and am required to use USPS?

[myescape]

You are not at fault but you are responsible since you are the carriers customer

[Anonymous]

The USPS has and still is delaying about 10% of my packages. I now pay extra for insurance and signature confirmation for more expensive packages. Some of my customers are growning impatient and I cannot blame them. So I do my best to work with the customer and encourage them to wait. I do not believe we are required to refund immediately and ebay may support us if trackin is showing. Package research case inquiries have helped move packages in the past but now the cases I recently filed have not been effective. USPS asking us to be patient is not helping.   I did hand a package to a USPS truck driver 2 weeks and no tracking is showing - what a mistake. 

[yunger3816]

Nope, I did this whole process before and ebay did not take into consideration and refunded the customer anyway, ever though USPS was at fault.

[pricecraft]

Couple years ago on New Years Eve, my local post office closed at noon, although the website gave no prior notice.  I saw a post office truck pulled up and gave the mail lady the packages, since she sometimes worked my neighborhood.  The packages ended up missing for almost two week, and since she didn't scan it, I didn't know where they were or even knew her name. Around two weeks later, tracking showed up and had them leaving a post office from one of the suburbs of my city. I vowed not to make that mistake again. I continue to get a receipt for every package I give to the USPS, even if it means spending 30 minutes in line at the post office, which I frequently do.

As far as the late deliveries, I had to refund a buyer recently who bought something as a gift and got it almost a month later.  The order was placed and ship way ahead of the time the seller needed it, but we didn't expect it would take almost a month to arrive.  I never got reimbursed, but didn't press it.

I now have several packages that were scheduled for delivery last Friday and still showing that they're in transit.  I worry that they may end up taking weeks to get to their destination.

I never get feedback when the items arrive late, although tracking always show I ship everything the next day, so it's not my fault.  Also feedback wants to know if item arrived on time, and there's really no way to answer that without checking "no."