Dropped my package at USPS 5 days back and no update! Should I be worried?

[dealsbystu]

Hello everyone,

Before anyone says it, I should say myself: I was stupid enough to drop boxes containing $900 worth of item.

Now, that I have said it, I am losing hope that it will ever show up and that I have lost my money. I reached post office a little late, they were already closed by then. But, then my stupid mind thought of dropping it in those big drop metal thingy. My reasoning at that time was that if I drop it now, it will get scanned the first thing in the morning and save me my driving time to the PO. Well, it seems like this is the worst decision of my life. And, I made all the wrong choices that day. Moving forward, I reached them on Saturday to see why it is not scanned. They said wait till Monday and if it is not scanned till then, come back. Nothing till yesterday. I went there to encounter the most rude employee. She asked me the tracking number and then checked online as I would have done it and said it shows nothing here. And, when I said that I dropped it on Thursday, she just said it is your fault that you dropped it there and now bear with it. If you cannot stand in line, we cannot help. After a mild heated exchange, she gave me address of the processing center and said to go there and ask them. It was 10 miles away and I drove there. I was not surprised when the lady there said the same thing that she cannot find anything with the given number and there is no way I can access the processing center. So, just wait till something pops up.

First of all the lady at the PO where I dropped it was rude and then sent me on a goose chase knowing that there were no goose in the first place. Today is the 5th day and I am losing hope unless someone here faced similar situation. And that it was updated even after a week or so of delay is when I will have some hope left for the package.

Any insight on this issue from experienced sellers will be appreciated. I am really new to this and still trying to learn from my mistakes.

[angwjea]

it can take 5 days to be scanned   and shown on tracking 

[lindyslucky]

We are hearing this all over.
We had a package scanned in last Wednesday. No scans or movement since. 

A friend sent a package to needy kids... not showing.

another friend sent a lot of Xmas cards(!!) & many haven’t arrived.

Hang in could still be ok.

Wonder how eBay will handle this. 
Could be really bad for small sellers.

[dealsbystu]

No luck till now for me. Even though I am hopeful that something similar to what others experienced, getting delivered without any scan, happens to me. But, now I think the chances are bleak. It has not been scanned till now. Have no clue what I should do other than wait.

[pooh333piglet]

Your good. That's the norm right now. Your not stupid in any way whatsoever.  Your learning patience. USPS has decided we all need that lesson. 

[dealsbystu]

Thanks for your kind words. USPS is taking a test of patience but now I am pretty sure that someone stole it at the PostOffice. Its been 11 days since my drop and all of you who did experience something similar in the past have mentioned that it was scanned at least once. In my case, it is still waiting to receive the package. And, if I start insurance claim, what proof do I have will be the first question asked. The only proof right now I have is a photo of my packages taken inside the post office before the drop. And, maybe I booked Lyft to go there that day so that can also be used as a proof. But, all these are proof of me being there but not that I did drop it. So, I don't know. There was a CCTV camera above the place where people were dropping packages and that only can provide a proof that I did drop it. But, then you cannot get access to it and also, its been 11 days so maybe its all deleted by now.

All of this is stressing me out. I did make a mistake but if I am getting punished for this, then it is a very very costly punishment.

[pooh333piglet]

Your good. Package is still going to get delivered. Stop your imagination. Think positive. I'm telling you it will be fine. Late but fine 

[dbfolks166mt]

     As others have stated you will probably be fine but it may take awhile. One thing you may want to do is to reach out to your buyers and explain the situation in hopes of staving off any INR cases. I am not sure what the EDD's are for your packages but buyers can open a case 24 hours after the EDD. Most of the buyers are being pretty understanding but some are not and of course the scammers are leveraging the situation. Unfortunately since the PO has not record of the item ever being received there is not much you can do with regards to getting assistance or filing a claim with USPS. 

     There is a lot of seller risk at the moment because of the shipping delays and some sellers are taking a brief intermission while this shipping situation clears up or until eBay does something to offer the sellers some decent protection without burdening them with additional work. 

[dealsbystu]

Thanks a lot guys for all your suggestions. Thanks dbfolks166mt for mentioning yours. I have explained to the buyer the situation and he has been accommodating enough to wait. I opened a case with USPS as well "Find my Missing Mail" case. The "Find My Missing Mail" case was not helpful as the reply was similar to what I got from the post office that we have not received the package and only when it gets scanned is we can tell you anything. But, the case which was opened by the USPS support had a positive outcome. I got a reply from someone at the destination Post Office, "Both the packages are in the system but the updates are being done manually and that is why on the website it says that we have not received it. But, we have received it and rest assured we will deliver the package as soon as possible." I am not sure what she meant by manual update but the reply seems a positive sign that I have not lost the package. Its been 2 weeks without any update but the reply from USPS postal office representative seems assuring. Fingers still crossed. As you all have mentioned in your posts earlier, hoping for the best.

Also, one of my friend updated me yesterday that his 2-day priority mail shipped on 16th of November was delivered yesterday on 16th of December. That's one month for a priority mail and so I am hopeful that it is going to take a lot of time but will reach ultimately.