An observation on the current shipping crisis

[gurlcat]

What is so irksome to me about this worst-sliggishness-ever USPS Christmas season is how facilities don't appear to be moving packages in the order they were received. Now, I can't assess that on items I've ORDERED, but items that people have ordered FROM me, I can compare with a huge sample number, because they all go through the same 2 first steps: acceptance from me, and then acceptance at the main distribution hub in my city. I'm seeing many packages getting stuck there, while others that I shipped LATER moving right along. It's like once a bin gets a huge dump of packages, they only grab from the top, and keep doing it that way regardless of more dumps on top, to hell with the packages that have been at the bottom for days. Oh, and for some reason lots of packages aren't even getting their first acceptance scan, even ones that I HEARD my mailman scan on my porch when he picked them up!

[simba6]

I too have noticed the USPS slowing a lot.  I sent an item and it too is stalled early on and has not moved.  Expecting a yippy buyer soon.

[gurlcat]

Ha, I WISH I had only one item doing that.  I have dozens, items I sold and items I bought, and not just via Ebay but other sites including web-direct companies.  One general pattern I see is, the earlier a packages stops getting scans, the longer before anything happens again, like packages stuck in their origin cities STAY there, and ones that don't even show any scans after "pre-shipment, awaiting item" STAY that way, even longer!  
For those ones that appear never sent at all....ha, never mind the buyers; how is Ebay going to handle decisions about whether to count those against the sellers' Top Rated status?  If they count all of them against me, I'll lose it for just the month of November alone, never mind December.  

[buyselljack2016]

Yup, strange stuff.

Some items shipped the on same day have departed, scanned someplace else, some delivered East, West, South, while others just get another scan at the same facility days later.

I have one going to a freight forwarder. Although after 4 days it did finally depart the regional facility it is now past the EDD, and is at the point where it has started the Florida shuffle.  It will likely hit 3-4 spots there before hitting Miami, and then may even say Doral.

No INR so far (knock on wood), but our accounts have about $300 worth of sales just not where they should be at this point. Not a lot of money to some, but a tough pill to swallow as a "cost of doing business" for us.

Accounts are all on "time away" until Dec 31st.  Will evaluate at that time, but expect to continue my Winter vacay.  Nice not having to get up to package/ship anything, but dread turning on the computer to look for a "red bell", and "red" message notification/action required #'s.

[gurlcat]

Ugh, I wish I could afford to put my store on vacay too, in fact the thought has crossed my mind many times.  But your point about $300 not being a lot to some.....yeah that would be plenty enough of a loss to start a chain reaction of financial trouble for me.  Ebay is at least 80% of my income, so if I start getting a bunch of refund demands from buyers, I'm totally screwed until at least late February when I'll get my tax refund for my part time jobby-job.  

[pooh333piglet]

I agree with you. Packages at bottom seem to stay there. USPS cant seem to catch up. Those Thanksgiving week shipments are stuck for lots of us while other packages after that are slowly moving.  The no scans are ridiculous too. I also know there's not a thing I can do about it. Except patiently wait. 

[midnight_run]

My current trouble.  

• USPS accepted my package and scanned it as received.  Item shows shipped.
• Package shipped from local PO to state distribution center waiting to be scanned in for 2 weeks.
• Seller filed a claim for not receiving item.  I responded to claim with tracking and image of notice of delays from USPS website banner.
• Ebay sided with buyer and refunded them fully $149 purchase and shipping.  
• Ebay extracted  the funds from me.
• USPS has closed the lost package search siting delays and they dont consider package lost.
• Cant file appeal with EBay because to do so you must show that package was delivered or that USPS considers it lost.
• So im out the $ and packing is still in transit.  Can believe ebay would pay claims for unresolved packages.

I now have several other buyers seeking the same direction where I stand to lose $x,xxxx.  Seems like a heck of a buyer scam, and Ebay refuses to acknowledge shipping delays and and sides with buyers leaving sellers out cold.  I can't get a usps claim, or appeal, buyers get refunded, and will likely get the package ultimately all because of USPS.  I can afford free shipping and absorb it with UPS or fedex.  22 years as a seller on ebay with perfect 100% feedback and im ready to walk.  Thank god 80% of my sales shifted to another "E" platform.

[pooh333piglet]

You should file a USPS package intercept on that $149 package immediately

I believe it's about $15. It should get stopped and returned to you. I wouldn't take any chances with that amount.

[buyselljack2016]

I did the "time away" initially for a temp internet issue, as I did not know what the problem was, or how long it would last.  Went to the nearby library to do it. Just caught them on their last day before once again closing down access due to the latest Covid surge. Needed access as my, "claiming 2 hr battery life, when I left my house, laptop", shut itself down for "low battery" just after doing 1 account.

Got internet back up, but when looking over our current "shipped" vs "moving scans" vs "delivered" I chose to leave the accounts down. We were closer to $1000 in product floating around/delayed/late at that time.

Also have a "refused" returning that got a "missent" scan close to me 15 days ago, and is now among the missing. That $31 may be gone forever. Hoping that it rears its ugly (smashed, and trashed for thousands of miles) self in the future, but not really expecting it to happen. 

By the time it gets out of the bottom of a, "we don't care about these packages right now" cage, it may be something that ends up in the landfill anyway. (if it didn't go there already)

The thing that added insult to injury was that after a while the "missing mail search" was closed saying it was "delivered" even though the latest scan was "missent".  Someone at the USPS must have looked at the eBay "out of date sequence" event showing delivered 9 days before the latest "missent" scan😊

I was able to kick start the search again, but expect the results to be along the same lines. In a few day they will say "sorry, we could not locate the item". (1st Class uninsured) (Yes, I know, the virtual cookie jar of non- existent $$ will cover it) 😏

We don't depend on eBay sales for day to day living, but I do realize that some do.

All eBay has to do is wave the IT magic wand changing INR filing from 1 day after EDD to 10-15-29 days after EDD.   The things that they have done so far are basically smoke 'n mirrors, providing limited relief for either side.

[airsheep]

From the other side of the fence...

Just this morning I had two sellers cancel my purchases.  One was because they couldn't ship it to me (hand sanitizer has to go ground, and FedEx won't take it), the other was because the seller ran out of the item and claimed there was a problem with my address (I had already bought and received the same flashlights previously, and wanted more).  Half a dozen things in shipping limbo for a month or longer: somewhere enroute from Europe, in a shipping container coming slow boat, or simply no scan after the initial acceptance.  Good sellers don't deserve headaches from me, but if they don't get here after 5 months on the way, PayPal and my credit card may be my only recourse.

[tmjer]

I am starting to get buyers filing claims of not received. You can clearly see the USPS cant get the job done. When a priority box takes 2 weeks, there is a big problem! EBAY better step up soon and back some sellers for this postal failure or risk loosing even more people from EBAY.

AT LEAST EBAY should put it out there that there is a major shipping problem to the buyers either by email or on the wesite. 

[buyselljack2016]

yup, other side of the fence is there as well.

I don't expect buyers to take a beating anymore than I expect a seller to suffer..

We all have to understand the delays.

My last purchase was a Priority shipment. It was late. Not a problem. Just like you, I understand the delays.

Problem is we have a small %age of buyers out there that just don't understand. Some refuse to accept facts.

Then there is the, hopefully smaller %age that is taking advantage of the situation.

eBay could do better.  If the MP seller handles the INR eBay only gets $0.30.  If not MP I think eBay gets nothing.  Better for eBay to be able to keep the entire FVF, which could happen, if they just delayed the INR.

[angwjea]

ebay really dropped the  ball they should of increased those shipping dates out longer . who running this site ?  this and that stupid manage payments **bleep** no one wanted .

[magsmg101]

@pooh333piglet

I have to ask if that even works now?
Why would USPS expend any effort to return the item if they can not find and/or deliver it to the buyer?

[thestaravenue]

What an awful story and I can’t believe EBay sticking it to you like this. I potentially may have the same issue. Just started “time away” today and focusing sales on another platform. Can you give a hint to which other one you’re using?