USPS attempts delivery then "available for pick up" Buyer wont pick up

[idianc]

I sold a $300 item with free shipping and I stated in details that it would be insured and a signature required.  Its too big for a standard mail box.  Shipped on a Friday and delivery attempted the following Monday.  Nobody there to sign for it -PO leaves a note to either reschedule delivery or come pick it up.

I emailed the buyer with a link to reschedule delivery and he tells me he gets all sorts of packages left at his door and he cant sign for it.  He asked me to get the PO to remove the signature requirement which they will not do.  He has to pick it up by the 15th day or it will be on its way back to me.

eBay says they will protect my feedback and that they consider "available for pick up" to have been delivered.  They also add that PayPal (the buyers funding for this) also sees it this way.  They add that if I wish the buyer can send me the postage and I can reship with no further responsibility or refund him minus fees & postage - or just keep it.  His PO is about 5 miles from his house.  eBay also added that I can just keep it and block the buyer and sell it again.

Any thoughts ?

[a_c_green]

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@idianc wrote:

My point is that USPS scanning and tracking is far from a fool proof system with packages not being where they were supposed to be.  Given this and even with the relative low value of this item ($300) I opted to pay for a signature.  This buyer has had almost three weeks to get to the PO or arrange for re-delivery.  My other option was FEDEX or UPS and those stations are even further away than his PO.

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Your concern for a correct delivery is admirable, but tracking does not specify the exact street address where delivery occurred; an Item Not Received dispute is decided only by whether the package was delivered to the City and ZIP of the Ship-To: address received with the payment. 

Furthermore, Signature Confirmation simply requires a signature from any adult at that address; it does not need to be the addressee named on the package (for that you would need to pay even more for Restricted Delivery Signature Confirmation), and in the pandemic era, carriers were allowed to do their own signatures at delivery anyway, to avoid having their scanners handled by others. While it would be great for the recipient to verify that the package is at the correct address before signing for it, the reality is that people don't always do that. The carrier thrusts a signature tablet at whoever answered the door, they scribble a fingernail signature on it and that's that.

The burden that an unnecessary Signature Confirmation places on the recipient can be significant, and we can only guess at which problem it might be, starting with the fact that many people simply aren't home in the daytime when the carrier comes by. There is a process available to waive the signature, redirect the package to another address or hold it for pickup at the post office, but not every recipient has the time or inclination (or, um, the brainpower) to go through that, and again, eBay only requires the SC on sales of $750 or more, presumably because those can result in big disputes if a little extra care isn't taken (and paid for) to better ensure a correct delivery.

In this case, the burden of requiring an unnecessary signature is far outweighing your understandable desire to get it to the right person.

[idianc]

At the very least the signature requirement would have alerted the carrier to be at the correct address.  My goal was to prevent the carrier form leaving it at another address which happens with Amazon and USPS in my neighborhood.  Yes it would show delivered but I don't want to have to rely on the honesty of his neighbors (or his gardeners).

From the item details section of the listing:

Ships insured w/ signature requirement. 

If a signature was such an insurmountable problem he didn't have to buy the item.  So far he's tied up three weeks with the item and its getting annoying.

[ms.rodriguez*]

Can you recall the package? Then just refund whatever the difference is after deducting the shipping fees.

[wastingtime101]

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@ms.rodriguez* wrote:

Can you recall the package? Then just refund whatever the difference is after deducting the shipping fees.

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If they recall the package, they'll be on the hook for a full refund. Better to let the PO send back RTS when it's left unclaimed by the buyer. Then the seller technically doesn't have to refund anything, but should refund item cost less shipping/fees once it's back in their possession.

[a_c_green]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@ms.rodriguez* wrote:

Can you recall the package? Then just refund whatever the difference is after deducting the shipping fees.

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If they recall the package, they'll be on the hook for a full refund.

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...not to mention a Package Intercept fee of [$13.something] in return Priority shipping charges if the intercept is successful. (I would have been more specific with the intercept fee except that the USPS.com website seems to be having some digestive problems at this immediate moment.)

[idianc]

$17.00 intercept fee + $11.00 return Priority shipping to be exact.  As it stands now if I chose to give him a refund (which I wont) it would cost him about $60 in my shipping and eBay fees.    He may have scheduled  re-delivery for a date pretty far out in the future because both the eBay tracking info and the USPS tracking has been frozen since 5/9.  I have to believe that if is going to be returned to me it would retain the same tracking number.   Either this buyer is messed up beyond all reason or he changed his mind and is playing some game to get a free refund.

[wastingtime101]

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@idianc wrote:

$17.00 intercept fee + $11.00 return Priority shipping to be exact. 

He may have scheduled  re-delivery for a date pretty far out in the future because both the eBay tracking info and the USPS tracking has been frozen since 5/9.

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$17 intercept fee + $0 for return shipping. USPS doesn't charge the sender return shipping on Priority or First Class (or the upcoming Ground Advantage). They do charge return shipping on Parcel Select, Retail Ground, Media Mail.

Generally the PO holds on to a package for 15 days before returning.

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-are-the-Second-and-Final-Notice-and-Return-Dates-for-Redelivery

You can sign up for tracking updates on USPS.com so you don't have to check it. An alert will come to your email (or phone) each time the package is scanned.

[wastingtime101]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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...not to mention a Package Intercept fee of [$13.something] in return Priority shipping charges if the intercept is successful. (I would have been more specific with the intercept fee except that the USPS.com website seems to be having some digestive problems at this immediate moment.)

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https://www.usps.com/manage/package-intercept.htm

[a_c_green]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:
...not to mention a Package Intercept fee of [$13.something] in return Priority shipping charges if the intercept is successful. (I would have been more specific with the intercept fee except that the USPS.com website seems to be having some digestive problems at this immediate moment.)

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https://www.usps.com/manage/package-intercept.htm

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Yes, thanks... I got that page to work briefly (again), then it croaked on me (again)...
 

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.

But in any case, thanks for the update on pricing. For what we're discussing here, it doesn't seem necessary to file an Intercept anyway, as the package looks likely to make its own way back home again.

My own experience with Package Intercept has not been good. I've had to file a Package Intercept twice over the years, and both times the USPS delivered it anyway.

[idianc]

Update of sorts - 

Tracking info has not changed.  Says (on eBay)

May 9, 2023  3:10am  PACKAGE RETURN NOTICE GENERATED

And on USPS:

Reminder to Schedule Redelivery of your item    April 29, 2023

The initial delivery attempt was April 24.  I'm wondering if its possible the USPS is holding the package forever for him or did he pick it up and they just didn't scan it as being delivered.  I haven't received anything at all form eBay or USPS..

Your thoughts ?

[sincju-0]

You should try Upsers com they are really helpful in this regard.