Sent a $250 air fryer oven which I didn't intend to ship to Alaska and costing over $80 but I didn't see any option to exclude on the mobile app, apparently you have to do on a computer with advanced options set. Anyways, I shipped it out Dec. 21 parcel select with it stating an expected delivery on Jan 5-8 or something. January 10 rolls around and the customer contacted me telling me it hadn't arrived. I looked into it, and it hadn't been scanned since leaving northern Nevada the next day. I contacted USPS and they told me that is perfectly normal and that the packages are expected to arrive there in 4-6 weeks because they have to get to Federal Way, Washington, then go to a barge to Anchorage where they wait to be flown into the smaller towns and villages of inner Alaska. I let the buyer know this and we have been waiting some more.
Buyer just contacted me again on 1/28 now a month and a week since I shipped it that there was still no sign of it. I checked again and still no scan anywhere since leaving here. I called USPS to reopen the "investigation" and I got a call back from the same lady saying once again that this is perfectly normal and within the timeline of the delivery. Then she said that I can reach out to the shipper and contact them about where the package is or contact them about a refund. The shipper is them (USPS) who I am reaching out to already so I am a little confused about that statement. She once again said that the item had not even made it to Federal Way Washinton yet from 2 states away, after a month and 10 days, so I don't see how if it isn't even there yet how it will make it onto a barge and then wait to get onto an airplane within the next week which would already be the 6 weeks since shipping.
Also I don't know why if 4-6 weeks is the standard time to get up there, why doesn't it state that estimate when buying the label rather than the 15 days or whatever? I have a feeling I am just getting the run around from them right now, and I am surprised the buyer has been as patient as they have been, but I don't think I can hold them off too much longer with no information except "this is normal" because it doesn't seem normal to me. I have shipped items to Puerto Rico that only took half of this time to get there, and it apparently hasn't even made it 2 states to the north yet. Just wondering how I should go about this from here?
