Can i receive refund for postage paid for USPS Ground Advantage if the USPS lost my package?

[topbestsavings]

Can we receive a refund for Ground Advantage postage purchased through eBay if no acceptance scan in tracking and order was refunded to customer for INR? So we can cut our financial losses due to the post office's incompetence.

Since the USPS retired First-Class Package and replaced it with Ground Advantage, my post office has lost a total of 62 out of the 744 (1 in ~12) packages we've sent. In the last 5 years i've been selling on multiple platforms before Ground Advantage, never once has the post office lost a single package I've sold and quite frankly i'm already sick of this. Not to mention having to take the beating from my customers.

I've already confirmed my thermal printer is not blurring and the barcodes are scannable and legible. We haven't changed how we pack our orders in flat bubble mailers since Ground Advantage was introduced, neither should that matter. I've already spoke to the supervisor at my local post office and they clearly have no interest in solving any issues, just the same old **bleep**. We can't afford to switch to another shipping provider because otherwise, we would be out of business as the USPS is our only cost-effective shipping provider.

If the USPS is going to persist in losing our packages, can we at least get reimbursed for the shipping costs we paid?

[buyselljack2016]

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@caldreamer wrote:

When I filed claim on USPS.com for lost package (I just attached EBAY invoice with shipping costs).   I got refund check mailed to me for (purchase price + shipping costs).

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So, are you saying that you were refunded for a lost  item that never had an acceptance scan?

[mementomoria]

If packages are lost and not delivered you are covered with Ground Advantage insurance. Go to USPS site and open an account and make out a claim. Takes a whole 10 minutes to do. My friend is a top seller of posters on ebay and amazon. Since December 1st the post office has lost over 270 packages and he has recovered over $3500 in lost package claims. The Oak Creek/Milwaukee process center is HORRIBLE and no one seems to care. You would think that the post office would say to themselves "what the heck is going on" but it doesn't seem to matter. It is so bad that one of his daily activities is filing new claims. He files claims every single day and once a week we process all of the refund checks he receives. Last week he received $450 for one week of checks. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     If you never obtained the initial scan then USPS is not going to refund you for either the item or the shipping cost since you have no proof they ever took possession of the item. This is the reason I always stand in line and have the post office worker scan and weigh the packages and hand me a receipt. 

     I just finished up my third claim with USPS for a lost package in the last six months. In all three cases they refunded me for the value of the item as well as for the postage. I received a check for each claim in about 2-3 weeks after filing the claim. 

[topbestsavings]

**bleep**, well looks like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe if sellers keep filing claims because of the post office's incompetence, they will finally do something about it IMAO.

[dbfolks166mt]

USPS insurance does not cover shipping costs, only the price of the item you sold, so the answer is no, you cannot get a refund for shipping costs.  Actually it does for lost packages. Damaged is a different story and you generally have to file a separate claim to recover the shipping cost. 

As for lost packages, as long as there's an acceptance scan, you are covered. 

If your packages aren't getting proper acceptance scans, the best thing to do is to find a USPS location that has a self-service kiosk where you can scan the items in yourself upon being dropped off.

[dbfolks166mt]

We always have the USPS mail carrier pickup outgoing mail at our office. This isn't my problem, this is post office's problem. I shouldn't have to stand in line for 30 minutes to an hour each day to ensure they do their job properly. It's not that i'm lazy, i work two jobs, have kids, and i'm very time constrained that i can't fit this into my schedule. Regardless, this was never an issue before Ground Advantage was initiated. And if this crap from the USPS is going to continue, then i'm drawing ever closer to just quitting Ecommerce altogether.

     The biggest difference between first class packages and ground advantage is there was no insurance coverage on a first class package unless you purchased it separate so there was no way to file a claim for a lost first class package. 

[1786davycrockett]

@topbestsavings 

"We always have the USPS mail carrier pickup outgoing mail at our office. This isn't my problem, this is post office's problem.'

Have you given any thought that your problem may be the USPS mail carrier doing the pickup at your office?

As any experiment, you might consider dropping off some of your Ground Advantage packages in the USPS kiosk inside the post office lobby (which is available 24 hours a day -- 7 days a week), just to see if all of those items receive their "Accepted" scans, and wind up being delivered to your buyers.  (You might have to do a "pre-acceptance" scan before dropping your packages in the mail chute -- but that takes only a few minutes.)

It is not entirely impossible that the individual who is picking up your packages where you work may have realized that you are shipping out some items with possible value, and keeping those packages for themselves, rather than scanning them for delivery to the post office hub.

Not all USPS employees are honest (sad to say), and several of the more recent new hireds during the past several years have been caught stealing multiple bundles of packages -- and possibly yours, as well.

Worth an experiment, right?

[topbestsavings]

I strongly doubt that theft is the issue as our items are very small. I'm thinking the problem is since the items are predominantly flats, they're getting combined with machinable mail sorting equipment, then eventually getting jammed. Then the clerk is just tossing them. More of gross negligence instead of mere theft. As i've stated, the USPS is clearly not doing their job in properly sorting mail and packages. They're just destroying mail deliberately instead of resolving their own issue.

[broto_64]

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@topbestsavings wrote:

We always have the USPS mail carrier pickup outgoing mail at our office. This isn't my problem, this is post office's problem. I shouldn't have to stand in line for 30 minutes to an hour each day to ensure they do their job properly. It's not that i'm lazy, i work two jobs, have kids, and i'm very time constrained that i can't fit this into my schedule. Regardless, this was never an issue before Ground Advantage was initiated. And if this crap from the USPS is going to continue, then i'm drawing ever closer to just quitting Ecommerce altogether.

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You're not alone in this, I've been self-employed for over two decades and thus value my time in terms of labor hours. Specifically and I will be blunt, there simply isn't enough profit in our sales to justify Post Office boondoggles. With small exception all our outgoing parcels go in the mailbox.

The only thing I have learned to do is make sure to print a SCAN sheet and stick that in the mailbox with the outgoing mail, and have occasional but regular small talk with our mail carrier, that does seem to help. The SCAN sheet certainly, it helps the carrier because they scan one bar code and done.

[topbestsavings]

Anyway to print a scan sheet on eBay?

[m60driver]

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@topbestsavings wrote:

Since the USPS retired First-Class Package and replaced it with Ground Advantage, my post office has lost a total of 62 out of the 744 (1 in ~12) packages we've sent.

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You need to find a new post office.  I have never had any issues with the post offices near me and I never wait in line to have an item scanned in front of my eyes, I just drop off on the counter or in the drop box.

[wastingtime101]

Hi @topbestsavings . I wanted to provide more info on a few things that were mentioned here:

1. Using a SCAN sheet and/or using the self-service kiosk (SSK) at the post office to scan:

These are both excellent options to ensure your eBay on time shipping rating is not impacted, however these are both what's known as a provisional scan. It does not count as a formal acceptance scan for USPS insurance purposes. Also - if you do these provisional scans it will prevent you from voiding the label at a later date even if there is no formal acceptance scan.

2. Cost of label:

If USPS pays out on a lost package claim, they will reimburse for postage. If USPS pays out on a damaged item claim, they will not reimburse for postage because technically they fulfilled the delivery aspect.

3. Voiding labels:

eBay gives a pitiful 5 day window to void a label. My suggestion: buy your shipping elsewhere! Everywhere else gives you the USPS standard 28 days to void an unused (or unscanned) label. Check out pirateship.com - you can synch with your eBay account to automatically upload orders to pirate and tracking will auto-populate to those orders on eBay. If the packages never get scanned, you can void the labels for up to 28 days to minimize your losses.

[butterflykissescat]

I am having a similar problem, but as a buyer.  I’ve sold and purchased quite a bit, periodically on EBay.  I also use Poshmark.  I am aware of how long it takes for a package to arrive from various parts of the country.  It seems that our St. Louis, MO processing is having major difficulties, especially since Ground  Adv started.  I have several packages that have arrived there, over 10 days ago, still in limbo somewhere close by.  It is quite frustrating.  For now, all Poshmark packages are arriving on time, but who knows?  USPS should be reimbursing sellers.  I’ve made a couple claims, but that process is like sticking a fork in your eye

[epdepot]

Self service kiosk is NOT the same as a scan by a USPS employee. Kiosk scans do not show "Accepted" or "in possession of".