Shipping Nightmare! FedEx SmartPost Is The Worst Shipping Company An Ebay Seller Can Use

[futurespast1113]

A little over 2 weeks ago I ordered an antique glass item. My seller accepted an offer I sent her. I almost always look at the shipping method being offered but for some strange reason I didn't notice until after I bought the item that she was using FedEx SmartPost. As soon as I saw that I internally groaned because FedEx SmartPost is the world's slowest shipping method. The Pony Express would have been a better shipping method.

I'm in New York and my seller is in Oregon. It has been exactly 13 days since my item shipped and my item still has not arrived and the tracking shows it is bouncing from state to state. My expected date of arrival according to Ebay, was the 15th and today is the 18th. It was not a free shipping listing, and I paid $9 for the shipping. So far my package has been to Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio.

The messed up part was 3 days ago when it was supposedly in New Jersey, it was at a distribution center that was only about an hour away from my house. Then there was no tracking info or movement for 2 days. Then it ended up in Michigan!! Why would they send it all the way to Michigan when it was only an hour away from me in nearby New Jersey?

I checked the tracking on my Informed Delivery account that the USPS has which tells you what day your packages are going to arrive, and next to this tracking number it says Delivery Date Unknown. Every other package that is on it's way to me has an estimated delivery date. FedEx SmartPost is a trash service. It says it was already handed over to USPS days ago. It is now in Ohio, so this means it might take at least another 3-7 business days for it to arrive.

I contacted the seller and she apologized and said she is never going to use FedEx SmartPost again. She said several other buyers have recently contacted her to complain about late shipments because she used FedEx SmartPost for other recent orders too. She admitted that she tried to save money by offering it. I would have paid more if there was a better shipping method. Some sellers think that by offering cheaper, slower shipping methods, that is what most buyers want. This is not the type of experience or service that is going to get sellers 5 star feedback. 

Does it look like my package may be missing? It should have been here in NY by now. Should I file an item not received yet claim against my seller or should I try to be a little more patient? I don't want to be mean to the seller because she made this mistake not on purpose, but as a buyer I am perturbed by having to wait so long for my package to arrive. Since it has been handled so much and is hopping from state to state I bet a million dollars that this very fragile antique piece of glass will be arriving broken if it even arrives at all.

If you are a seller and thinking of using FedEx SmartPost, think again because you will have very unhappy buyers on your hands. FedEx SmartPost should rename their service to FedEx SnailPost.

[a_c_green]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

Personally I've rarely had any issues with SmartPost.  I don't know why your package went on a "walkabout", but in my experience that's not the norm.

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That's usually what you see when a package is scanned going into a container (moving from one sort facility to another), but is not scanned when it comes out of the container at the other end. Tracking will continue to follow the container (which is assumed to still be carrying the package) unless or until the package itself resurfaces somewhere else.

[lightlily_arts]

Fedex isn't the only carrier that does these stupid routes.  Last month I sold a small package that I shipped USPS First Class Mail. My customer was in the Greater Los Angeles area 60 miles from me.  That package went to Louisville Kentucky before coming back to California and wouldn't you know it was to a customer that wanted it quickly and was mad because I didn't ship it via Priority Mail.  I explained to them that this was a postal error but more to the point would have cost double to ship Priority Mail and if all had gone well still would arrived in the same amount of time as we are in the same postal zone.

[futurespast1113]

I have no clue why they send it bouncing from state to state. It's not just FedEx that has been doing that. The same goes for my USPS 1st class and Parcel Select/Retail Ground packages. Sometimes my tracking shows my package is in the neighboring state and like only 50-100 miles away. Then it ends up taking a hiatus to several states further away. After two days in Ohio, my packages is now in Pittsburgh, PA which is one state away from me. It finally has movement again. Hopefully I will get it this week and it won't be damaged. This package has taken a tour through 7 states already and I am afraid that my antique glass will be pulverized on arrival. 

[Anonymous]

I had a fed ex package last week or so, was shipped and said delivered, I called fed ex and they said it was shipped to a different address then mine, I was told it was a missed label, they had added a extra number to my street address, They have no idea where it went, The lady i bought it from put in a tag to locate it and reship it to my address, For 3 days Fed ex kept coming to my house to pick up the missing package so they could redeliver it to the right address( mine) I never received the missing package and the seller refunded me, Who knows where it was delivered...

[futurespast1113]

I'll give you a way crazier FedEx story. Last year I won an a rare $695 mineral specimen on ebay. The seller was only 25 miles away from my house. It was shipped Via FedEx Home Delivery. The day it was supposed to be delivered, the tracking said "On Truck For Delivery". At around 7pm it still did not arrive and when I checked the tracking it changed to "no expected delivery date". I was panicking and called customer service. The rep on the phone said wait 7 days and file a lost package claim. I was **bleep**. When she was trying to document my case, she hung up on me. I called back and got a recording that said "Sorry FedEx Customer service is now closed, please call back during regular business hours".

I called back the next day and got a very rude rep who said, tracking shows this package was delivered to you yesterday. I was like no it wasn't. She acted like I was lying. Apparently she spoke to the driver who claimed I was lying and said he remembered delivering it to me personally. I was filled with rage. The rep on the phone said there was nothing I could do, but wait 7 business days to file a claim. My seller did not fully insure my item and it was a $695 item! I got so angry that I went to the my local FedEx hub which was 3/4 a mile away from my home and stormed into the place and demanded a station manager. I told her what happened. She did a little investigation and told me that she found out my package was misdelivered to a Bridal Shop several towns away from me.

The bridal shop was supposed to receive over $10,000 worth of wedding gowns and got my mineral specimen instead.  The bridal shop refused to hand my package back over to the FedEx driver and was holding it hostage for the misdelivered wedding gowns that never arrived. They had to a security officer go over there with the police to force the bridal shop to hand over my package. The next day I had it in my hands. I gave the station manager and employees that gave a **bleep** and cared, Visa gift certificates and Dunkin Donuts. I found out the Bridal Shop never received those wedding gowns and they were misdelivered and FedEx could not recover them. If I didn't flip out like a maniac and make a huge issue over this, my ebay seller would have had to give a me a $695 dollar refund and lose out because he had no insurance. The rep on the phone said since there was no insurance the only payout would have been the $25 shipping costs.

FedEx s$#@%!

[futurespast1113]

Here is the latest tracking according to ebay. My USPS Informed Delivery tracking is different and says it's in Pittsburgh. 14 days later and still no package...

[futurespast1113]

Oh and the tracking on the USPS website says it was shipped out and received by Fedex on the 5th. Don't know why USPS and the ebay tracking info is different and says it was shipped out on the 6th. Estimated delivery dates mean nothing, but at least it seems like it is on it's way. I hope it doesn't arrive broken as it has taken a trip through 7 states already...

[lightlily_arts]

I'm shipping from California and the only times I've see these crazy routes is when the package is shipped to a New England State.  Fortunately that hasn't occurred but a couple of times and I try to avoid  using SmartPost. If the price isn't much different I upgrade the buyers shipping to a faster method.

[toooldtorock]

"Last month I sold a small package that I shipped USPS First Class Mail. My customer was in the

Greater Los Angeles area 60 miles from me."

Beat this:

I shipped a USPS First Class International package to South Korea and it ended up in Austria.

The package was shipped back to the U.S. then off to South Korea.

Happened twice.

I am trying to phase out products that usually ship via the USPS as their service is slowly

going down hill. Higher priced items customers seem more willing to pay for UPS, even

though it is a service that is getting pretty expensive to use.

[futurespast1113]

"I am trying to phase out products that usually ship via the USPS as their service is slowly

going down hill". 

I used to think the USPS was the best shipper out there and never had a problem with them. They were the quickest to get my packages to me too. Lately something's changed. It is taking longer and longer for me to get my Priority and 1st Class mail and they have been fudging the scans. Also a couple of times last month my whole block didn't even get the mail because they were short staffed. For example, last week 3 of my packages were scanned as delivered at my mailbox. I have Informed Delivery so whenever the tracking updates on my packages, I get a text on my phone. As soon as my notifications went off I went outside to retrieve my packages. Nothing was outside.

I found the phone number of my local post office and called up and asked for the postmaster. She got on the phone and checked the tracking. She called the mail carrier on speaker phone and I heard her yelling at him. I heard her say "I told you not to scan the packages if they weren't delivered yet". Then she came on the phone and apologized to me and said he wasn't supposed to do that, but you will be getting your packages within one business day because he's too busy. She admitted they have to meet the metrics and by doing that they are stopping the clock because they get into trouble for not meeting the delivery estimates. 

I was pretty angry and told her that was not acceptable. Although apologetic, she said the USPS is very short handed and don't have enough delivery people to handle the package volume anymore. She said there are so many packages to deliver and not enough manpower or room in their tiny trucks. She said "my guys have to make multiple trips back and forth to the local post office every day just to keep filling our tiny trucks up and we just don't have enough time in a day to get it done anymore". She said the package volume is killing them and they don't want to pay the long time carriers overtime so they hire subs to fill in to cover and they just don't know the routes as well as the regular mailman. 

We are paying through the nose to ship our packages out and to receive them and I think what is going on is ludicrous!!

[toooldtorock]

"I found the phone number of my local post office and called up and asked for the postmaster.

She got on the phone and checked the tracking."

They do not even answer the phone where I am. For close to two years the phone's mailbox

has been full. Yet the Post Office keeps giving out the number. Last time I mentioned this

the C.S. woman responded with she knows but it is the only number I have. How can

management get away with this?

They changed the routes a couple of years ago plus had a 50% retirement rate. So

you had new carriers that don't know the routes and once they learned the route I am on

they transfer off it because it is one of the longest in the city. I used to get pick up

at 10.30-11.30 am now on a good day they get to me at 6.30 pm. If I have to leave I have

to lock the door which then doesn't allow the carrier access to my packages. I have to

go on a hunt to find another carrier on a parallel route and give the packages to them.

A few are getting nasty about it.

The local post office is out of the question because the staff there is over loaded and

waits running up to 40 minutes to reach the counter are not unheard of. For delivery

they do the same here and skip our neighborhood if they run behind. They have pulled

carriers off to make sure Amazon packages are delivered on time so the regular mailer

gets shafted.

Once in a while I get a call from the Post Office for surveys and I'll tell them the problems

I experience.  I have little doubt the regional office doesn't bother with the surveys and probably

just tosses them. If the Post Office wants to know what is going on, the surveys should be

conducted from the national office so the locals can't run cover for their service failures.

I have been told if you write to the national office they will take any concern more seriously.

Anyway I ship less via USPS. I wasn't a huge shipper but did ship steadily and provided some

of the larger revenue on the route. As I cut back the Post Office now gets to run the same

route and make less money on it.

[futurespast1113]

Everything you have described is the same exact shenanigans that goes on here on Long Island. My long time mail carrier is fantastic and we love him. There is never a problem when he is working and we get our mail usually by 3:30. The only problem is he gets a lot of vacation time and days off (well deserved), and when he's gone the $#@% hits the fan in my neighborhood.  When he's off there are days we don't get any mail or packages and the subs fudge the scans and mark things as delivered when they aren't or misdeliver our packages to the wrong addresses. Some days the mail doesn't show up until 7:30 at night too.

When my mailman retires I fear what will happen to the mail route as nobody does a wonderful job like him. The subs all have bad attitudes and I catch them throwing packages and mishandling them. I try to be nice to them and leave them cold bottled water on hot days, but no amount of being nice to them changes their sour attitudes and moods. It must be a horrible job to have to do especially since they have hundreds of Amazon packages to deliver daily. I see them struggling with giant bags of dog food and 25 pound boxes of cat litter. If I were a mail carrier, I would hate delivering heavy pet supplies in this lousy, hot weather. Nobody seems to go to the store to buy heavier things anymore as most people have free Amazon prime. I don't envy the delivery people once bit and wouldn't want that job.

Basically I think we will all see a decline in not just USPS, but with all other delivery companies since everyone is ordering things online and not going to brick and mortar stores as much.

[lightlily_arts]

I understand how you feel.  Although I don't live in a huge city they are short handed as well due to the volume.  My mailman comes down my street twice daily;  Up my side in the morning and down the other side in the afternoon.  He always scans my packages as he knows I buy and sell on eBay.   There is another mailman that covers our route on weekends and he's not as diligent about scanning so I stand there and make sure he does it.  The main office is close by so if I have larger packages and missed giving them to the mailman I can take them there and drop off at the self service bin.  That bin is always full and sometimes  I have seen that they don't scan my package until it hits the sorting station in the next city.  I know that many of the people here don't believe in purchasing insurance, but I do because I can't afford losses.  USPS does have to pony up and pay for mis-delivered packages  that they can't or won't retrieve and for valuable items I pay for signature confirmation.

[futurespast1113]

Oh yes, I totally agree with you and always purchase insurance for anything I sell over $50. Sometimes when I sell more expensive items it costs me $5 or $6 out of my own pocket and I rather cover my butt than have sleepless nights worrying. I also buy signature confirmation for anything over $100. I don't trust anyone anymore because there are so many porch pirates out there. I purchase my insurance from a third party insurance company because the claims system is easier to deal with and they are more likely to pay out than the conventional shipping companies who love to deny claims.

When I print out labels online, I don't bother with pick-ups because 8 times out of 10 the subs don't bother to scan my packages and it doesn't usually get a scanned until a day or two later. I drive all the way to the post office, wait on line and ask them to scan them in front of me and will not leave unless they give me a receipt. I don't trust anyone so I never leave them for pickup. All it takes is one lazy or incompetent employee and then there could be a claim against me from a buyer. I rather waste a little of my personal time to make sure things are done right. 

One day a postal clerk told me they don't give out receipts for dropping off packages anymore and to leave them on the counter. I refused to leave the post office until she scanned my drop off and gave me a receipt. 

[futurespast1113]

It has finally arrived today. When I was handed over the box, it was pretty beat up and when I opened the package, my antique glass hinged box was broken. The seller packed it nicely, but the outer box was pretty smashed up. The glass panels were busted off the metal mounting and hinges. 

I contacted my seller and she offered to give me all my money back or was willing to send me another item for free which was nice of her. After I got her message my husband looked at the box and went to the store and bought Gorilla Glue and was able to repair it. I told my seller not to give me a refund or free item and gave her 5 star positive feedback. I think both us learned a lesson never to use FedEx SmartPost ever again. Here are pictures of the damage. FedEx's slogan should be "slow as a snail and we smash your packages".