USPS destroyed my package: what else is new?

[ub452]

You've read posts like this a hundred times before:  I bought a vinyl record album (50 years old and still sealed in mint condition).  The seller shipped it quickly (media mail), and it started its journey to South Florida.  Nine days later (yes, I know media mail is slow, no problem), the package arrives.  Its packed in the usual 12" x 12" x 1" heavy cardboard box.  Upon first sight, the box appeared to have bent in half and bent back into shape.  Upon opening the box, the outer cardboard jacket was bent the same way, and the record inside (indeed, still sealed in its plastic covering) was broken completely in half!  This was no accident...some joker at USPS purposely folded the box completely in half to break the record.  There was no postal insurance on the album (a $9.00 purchase).  The seller refunded my money immediately (thank you sir!)  This once again shows the risk you take sending anything by USPS.  But sending stuff VIA UPS or FEDEX is extremely expensive.  I don't know whether to ever order a vinyl record again thanks to USPS.  Thanks for letting me vent.

[partial*eclipse]

Or maybe it went down a chute with other Media Mail packages into a big pile and a 30-pound box of books landed on  it. Like at about 0:20 on this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYFtalTNzKk

[centrepawn]

That's exactly what happened. I have never and will never subject a buyer to media mail (even if they are books).

[lex-talon]

Media can be extremely slow. The seller needs to offer Priority mail shipping. The USPS does damage packages once in a while. 

[ub452]

Thanks for that info. I HOPE that's what happened. But the fact the package took nine days from acceptance to delivery shows that it went all the way by truck from Kansas to Florida (loaded & unloaded repeatedly), one leg at a time (no tracking for most of the nine days). Also, wouldn't all smaller packages of any shape go through the same chute when first processed? The speed of delivery is not my concern, BUT THE HANDLING OF A FRAGILE ITEM IS. (BTW, there was a big red & white "Fragile, handle with care" sticker on the back). Thanks for the input!

[annadryl]

"Fragile" stickers etc. mean litterally nothing.

Officially.

[partial*eclipse]

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@ub452 wrote:

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 ....  there was a big red & white "Fragile, handle with care" sticker on the back ... 

Fragile means nothing.  Since you didn't like the video I posted above, try watching just the first 20 seconds of this one.  Even when a package is being processed by human hands rather than by machines, nobody is reading any Fragile labels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNY312f5LSU

[muttlymob]

BUT THE HANDLING OF A FRAGILE ITEM IS. (BTW, there was a big red & white "Fragile, handle with care" sticker on the back).

Fragile stickers don't protect packages that aren't packed sufficiently to survive the machinery and other parcels it will meet on the way.  If a box could be bent/broken in half just by another box falling on it, it is not packed adequately.

As for the 9 days for Kansas to Florida, were there weekends, holidays, bad weather in there?

[ebbyisme]

I have absolutely no problems with USPS, I can't say the same for Fedex or UPS.... as a seller I won't use media mail and I would never consider sending something fragile by Media mail. As a buyer - I have never gotten something via media mail that didn't look like it went through a war zone by donkey cart. I try to avoid buying anything where condition is important that is being shipped by media mail. You can request (and pay) for higher class mail if it is something important or fragile or you can take a chance.

[lja440]

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@centrepawn wrote:
That's exactly what happened. I have never and will never subject a buyer to media mail (even if they are books).

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Media Mail is handled no rougher than Priority. The only difference between the two is that MM can get bumped off the line or out of transports to make room for higher classed mail. Same sorting machines handle packages at UPS and FedEx. 

When I sell single LP's I put several pieces of corrugated cardboard oriented both ways on each side. If the correlations are all the same direction bending can easily happen. 

[annadryl · Accepted solution]

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@lja440 wrote:

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@centrepawn wrote:
That's exactly what happened. I have never and will never subject a buyer to media mail (even if they are books).

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Media Mail is handled no rougher than Priority. The only difference between the two is that MM can get bumped off the line or out of transports to make room for higher classed mail. Same sorting machines handle packages at UPS and FedEx. 

When I sell single LP's I put several pieces of corrugated cardboard oriented both ways on each side. If the correlations are all the same direction bending can easily happen. 

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Yes. MM is thrown into the matrix with the rest of it... it's just not a priority and is out there longer, hence the extra bashing. This seller refunded right away (which is good) and has probably learned to ship (and offer, and charge, and build-in) better shipping methods.

Sorry this disc didn't make it.

[johnrj1226]

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@lex-talon wrote:

Media can be extremely slow. The seller needs to offer Priority mail shipping. The USPS does damage packages once in a while. 

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So do other shippers like UPS, FedEx.  No shipper is free from  damaging shipments even well packed items.

[vanman1029]

I sold a bunch of old desk staplers, (all were made of metal) I managed to squeeze them into a small flat rate box (the video tape sized box) A few days later, I recieved back the top of the box with the address label still attached, with an explanation that "my box and all of it's contents were totally destroyed". Now, the portion of the box I received back was in absolute pristine condition as was my address label still attached. So, USPS is telling me the box and contents were destroyed but, magically, the top part made it thru unharmed, go figure. I ran this past the local po clerk and he told me they may have thought there were firearms in the box and once they opened it they didn't feel like putting it into a plastic bag sending it on it's way and instead just returned to me the top part back again.

[ub452]

Thank you for your reply.  Again, its not the speed of delivery, but the quality of handling. The other posters were correct that a "Fragile" sticker has no meaning to USPS, but the record was boxed/insulated correctly for shipping.  May I pose one more question to everybody:  Is there a actual difference between what Ebay calls "Economy Shipping", and "Media Mail" shipping?  Would the handling of small packages be treated differently in "Economy Shipping" (speed does not matter).  Thanks again, everybody.  (p.s. I've tried asking USPS this question, but wait times over the telephone are "one hour to one hour thirty minutes").

[partial*eclipse]

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@ub452 wrote:

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 ... Is there a actual difference between what Ebay calls "Economy Shipping", and "Media Mail" shipping?  ....

"Economy" shipping is just a category that ebay made up to organize the slower shipping options, including Media Mail.  Here's the eBay Help page with a chart showing which shipping methods eBay considers to be "economy," "expedited," etc.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/prompt-shipping.html