Glitch in USPS Tracking. Delivered Instantly!

[dreambooks]

I just dropped my packages today before 5pm, and it was marked Delivered 5:17pm in the same city. I just received from two customers complaining about the same problem.

Should I do something with the Post Office? Will the system correct itself and update the tracking as it goes?

I am worried that the mails may get stranded due to the glitch.

[mkaczorsee]

Tracking will update at the next scan. 

Someone hit the the wrong button.  It happens. 

[dreambooks]

Thanks

[ed8108]

In the past once a mail article has been scanned delivered, no further scan updates will be forthcoming.

Perhaps this may have changed ?

[a_c_green]

---

@dreambooks wrote:

I am worried that the mails may get stranded due to the glitch.

---

No. Tracking follows the packages; it does not guide them. Someone using a handheld scanner accidentally scanned them as Delivered instead of Accepted when taking possession of them, but that will have absolutely no effect on their travel, and their status will update on usps.com as soon as they're scanned anywhere else.

As for the problem with eBay listing them as Delivered in the wrong city (the seller's), it's true that that used to be a problem with the eBay tracking report parsing software (it would simply stop reading the tracking updates as soon as it found a "Delivered" anywhere), but I don't know if that's still an issue.

Assure your buyers that the packages are on the way as usual, and see if eBay's incorrect Delivered tracking status corrects itself after the USPS does. (Give it a day or so to catch up to the current USPS status.)

[thehonorabletrader]

I've had this happen and it's ANNOYING.

When the initial scan happens, if your USPS had their scanner set to "deliver" instead of "accept" it messes everything up. The Acceptance scan will never happen. This is the specific scan eBay uses for the metrics. Also, once a "Delivery" event has been done it can't be undone. Sure the tracking can show further movement, but it's considered "Delivered" in USPS.

I've also seen this where it never updates ever again after the "Delivery" scan. I would call USPS and see if they have a way to fix it for you. It was their mistake. If you see any defects on your seller level report (not your "awaiting shipment"...but on your actual Seller level under "If we evaluated you today") then contact eBay CS and see what options they have. It's typically easy to see the mistake. It's not often an item is sold and delivered in the zip code of the seller but not the zip code of the buyer.

Speaking of which, another reason you'll want to try and get it fixed or call eBay is because it may never show delivered to the buyers zip code, which could cause you to lose protection. I would reach out to USPS since you selected them to be your shipping partner and see what they can do to assist.

[a_c_green]

---

@thehonorabletrader wrote:

Speaking of which, another reason you'll want to try and get it fixed or call eBay is because it may never show delivered to the buyers zip code, which could cause you to lose protection. I would reach out to USPS since you selected them to be your shipping partner and see what they can do to assist.

---

...and @dreambooks, please let us know how it works out, because I'm interested to know if the eBay interpretation of the USPS tracking report will correct itself later on, and/or if USPS needs a push to get the tracking corrected, as well as whether later scans will supersede the erroneous Delivered scan at the beginning.

[thehonorabletrader]

I too would be interested in knowing the outcome...

[dreambooks]

So far, there is no update on tracking.

[dreambooks]

Actually it was updated a little bit. On Ebay it says that the last scan date is today and its location is in Memphis, although the status is the same. On USPS.com tracking I do not see this information.

[ste-9405]

---

@a_c_green wrote:

I'm interested to know if the eBay interpretation of the USPS tracking report will correct itself later on, and/or if USPS needs a push to get the tracking corrected, as well as whether later scans will supersede the erroneous Delivered scan at the beginning.

---

USPS tracking will have no further updates: After Delivered, it's done*.

OTOH eBay will walk back its lie, and continue*** tracking all the way to the assumed** delivery.

*USPS tracking will resume upon Return to sender, Address unknown, No such number, No such zone, etc.

**eBay will show Delivered even if tracking ends at Arrival at unit, for example.

***eBay has an internal, direct feed from the USPS

[dreambooks]

Right. I can see that it was scanned one more time in Memphis but no update on tracking. Only one entry saying delivered.

[johnrj1226]

It  happens I call it the "human factor" not a  glitch but rather someone  simply screwed up & hit the wrong  scan button - they  can  correct it  if they paid attention but don't.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

That’s what I was going to say. This wasn’t a glitch, it was human error. 

[a_c_green]

---

@dreambooks wrote:

Right. I can see that it was scanned one more time in Memphis but no update on tracking. Only one entry saying delivered.

---

Agreed. Actually, it's kind of interesting because as @ste-9405 said above, if an exception occurs, that does serve to restore all tracking updates up to that point, but if no exception occurs, it does not show anything further.

In the case of one of your packages, that's continuing to show nothing but Delivered at the originating post office, but when a second package you sent that same day reached its original destination this morning, there was a forwarding order in effect, and that "Alert" seems to have served to unleash all the routine prior scans leading up to that point.

I'm writing up all this for a contact at USPS, and will see if I get any interesting response to report back here.