eBay

zzydny · ‎08-03-2017

USPS shows the one of my items has arrived at a regional facility near the buyer's city.....and there it dead-ends. Nearly a month has gone by and there's no sign of delivery and nothing heard from the buyer. First time this has happened with one of my sales.

Now, as a seller, I do try to have more sense than to poke a sleeping bear but I am worried whether the item got there. It's really tempting to message the buyer but I know that could end badly so I haven't.

I've pestered my local PO but the clerk (really a helpful person) finds no record either and is as mystified as I am. Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

a_c_green · ‎08-07-2017

@zzydny wrote:
@tripper101

Since you asked, I'm updating. I'm still following through with this but I suspect that I ticked the wrong box when I first made my request of USPS Track & Confirm because I heard nothing back, although I waited a day and a half. So, today, I again made a request but ticking a different box requesting information up until now. Within less than 5 minutes, USPS sent me an automated email with the information that I have already seen on both my Orders page and on the USPS site. Nothing new. Will be interesting to see if they update. Really hope the package has gotten to its destination!

Okay, you didn't tick a "wrong" box, but you have a choice of three, two of which can be chosen simultaneously:

[ ] Send only delivery or delivery attempt activity
[ ] Send all activity until this point
[ ] Send all future activity for this item

Option 1 is exclusive; Options 2 & 3 can be chosen either separately or together.

On your first go-round, you apparently selected either Option 1 or Option 3, but since there was no delivery (yet) and nothing new occurred after that, you got dead silence in response (although if something had occurred, you would have been alerted about it). You then selected Option 2, and that got you a dump of all logged activity (both scans and transfers) up to that moment. I always use Options 2 and 3 together, so that my packages are reporting to me; I don't have to go looking for them.

Note that none of this will find a missing package or get anything "un-stuck"; all you're doing is putting a notification flag on the package tracking record in the USPS database, but it does mean that as soon as the package resurfaces anywhere, you'll get an email right away.

zzydny · ‎08-07-2017

Thanks! It's helpful to know that. All of my previous shipments have arrived (well, except three that got sent back due to the buyers' error), so this is the first time I've had something simply disappear.

rixstuff · ‎08-07-2017

rixstuff · ‎08-07-2017

What you say makes sense, but I would rather track it down and get it delivered before the buyer files a dispute. And as it is, I have no proof of delivery right now, just a "unknown status".

a_c_green · ‎08-07-2017

@zzydny wrote:
Thanks! It's helpful to know that. All of my previous shipments have arrived (well, except three that got sent back due to the buyers' error), so this is the first time I've had something simply disappear.

You're welcome! Yes, for all the agony that we read about here, the overwhelming majority of stuff does eventually get delivered. We only hear about what goes wrong (obviously).

I work in Tech Support, so we pretty much hear nothing but problem reports, to the point where you start to wonder how anyone can ever get anything done with our software , so we do have to keep in mind that there's a whole lotta users out there who are finding nothing to complain about.

In my 13 years of selling here, the only package I can recall ever losing completely was one that went to Canada, and that one was lost in Canada; there were a couple of sightings to show that it had made it over the border before it vanished.

a_c_green · ‎08-07-2017

@rixstuff wrote:
What you say makes sense, but I would rather track it down and get it delivered before the buyer files a dispute. And as it is, I have no proof of delivery right now, just a "unknown status".

Understandable, but leave the buyer out of it; your issue right now is with the USPS only. You don't want to give the buyer the impression that you don't know where it is. Some more nefarious buyers (and I'm not suggesting that yours is one) will promptly file an Item Not Received dispute if they become aware that for whatever reason, they actually received their package but without a Delivered scan.

If you do hear from the buyer, then you can update him on what you know so far, assure him that you're watching things, and ask him to be patient for, say, one more week, after which you'll refund if there is no further sign of activity. The USPS' own rule is that a package won't be considered lost until 21 days of silence have elapsed.

zzydny · ‎08-07-2017

@a_c_green wrote:

.....I work in Tech Support, so we pretty much hear nothing but problem reports, to the point where you start to wonder how anyone can ever get anything done with our software , so we do have to keep in mind that there's a whole lotta users out there who are finding nothing to complain about.....

It's good to remember that the very best news is when there's no news at all.

rixstuff · ‎08-07-2017

@a_c_green wrote:
@rixstuff wrote:
What you say makes sense, but I would rather track it down and get it delivered before the buyer files a dispute. And as it is, I have no proof of delivery right now, just a "unknown status".
Understandable, but leave the buyer out of it; your issue right now is with the USPS only. You don't want to give the buyer the impression that you don't know where it is. Some more nefarious buyers (and I'm not suggesting that yours is one) will promptly file an Item Not Received dispute if they become aware that for whatever reason, they actually received their package but without a Delivered scan.

If you do hear from the buyer, then you can update him on what you know so far, assure him that you're watching things, and ask him to be patient for, say, one more week, after which you'll refund if there is no further sign of activity. The USPS' own rule is that a package won't be considered lost until 21 days of silence have elapsed.

That is also what I was thinking so why I wanted to keep quiet until I had a definite from the PO. I am NOT gonna ask and open the door to a dispute. I would prefer the PO just give the correct tracking info as they are suppoesd to.

berserkerplanet · ‎08-08-2017

>>Note that none of this will find a missing package or
>>get anything "un-stuck"; all you're doing is putting a
>>notification flag on the package tracking record in
>>the USPS database, but it does mean that as soon as
>>the package resurfaces
anywhere, you'll get an
>>email right away

^^^^^^This!

Dumped a media mail pkg in bluebox with 3 other FCP pkgs on 7/1. FCP got their usual scan at 7pm that night but nothing for the media mail one.

Couple days later initiated the USPS email notification. Nothing resulted other than "label created. awaiting pkg"

Around 7/6 got notification it had finally goten a scan at a sorting center across the country. Out for delivery today.

1. The email notification thing did nothing to "get the pkg moving"

2.Gonna take a TRS "scan uploaded and validated" hit on this one, and maybe a late shipment ding depending on original est last del date and what buyer clicks if asked.

Stupid USPS. Media mail was passable in the olden times, thousands of years ago, before the dawn of time, but recent changes may make it a no go for me as an eBay seller if it is going to be treated as 7th class mail around here.

awesomesmom · ‎08-08-2017

Just an FYI, had a Priority Mail package go AWOL, stuck somewhere for a week or two. There was a USPS form on line for missing packages, which I completed.
Buyer informed me that package was received a few days later-tracking never updated.
Imagine my surprise when about 2 months later I got a message from USPS saying "sorry, we couldn't find your package"-gee thanks. Good thing my buyer was honest.

a_c_green · ‎08-08-2017

@awesomesmom wrote:
Just an FYI, had a Priority Mail package go AWOL, stuck somewhere for a week or two. There was a USPS form on line for missing packages, which I completed.
Buyer informed me that package was received a few days later-tracking never updated.
Imagine my surprise when about 2 months later I got a message from USPS saying "sorry, we couldn't find your package"-gee thanks. Good thing my buyer was honest.

I know what you mean. Within the past few months, I had one package go AWOL long enough that I filed the same missing-package report, as it had been somewhere approaching 3 weeks since its last sighting, plus I wanted it recovered if possible as I had just refunded the buyer (and it wasn't cheap). A few days after that, it popped up on the tracking radar, continuing on its journey. "Great, fine..." I thought, but then I got an apologetic note from the USPS to say that they were still looking for it. Um, really? Guys, have you checked the tracking? A few days later, tracking showed that it was delivered. (Fortunately the buyer re-paid; very good of him.)

About a month later, I got another apologetic note from the USPS to say that they were still looking for it.