When need to have a USPS revolt!

[coin3rdgen]

I dropped off a big box last Friday (December 2024) at the counter at USPS for prepaid label items because there was a line out the door and only two people working (as usual). It is now Tuesday and it has not even been checked in by USPS. The worker said it could be several more days before it is checked in. My customer is not happy. When I lived in Italy in the 1970s, Italy was known for having the worst postal system in Europe. Everyone in Rome used the Vatican City post office. Italians had just accepted this sad fact of life. Is America doing the same? Our postal system is inefficient, slow, packages are routinely mis-delivered, training is deficient, and it has terrible customer service and it has been this way for years. I've written my senators and representatives more than once. All I get are reassurances that go nowhere. Do we need to take to the streets and protest for a better funded more efficient national postal service? Is anyone else as sick of this as I am? eBay, can't you do do something? You are a major USPS customer, after all.

[kalyoth]

Rule#1 - If you leave without a receipt of acceptance, it's 100% ur fault. Always wait for receipt.

[kensgiftshop]

Since Ebay doesn't ship anything, don't know what you think they can do.

I always stand in line if I have to and get it scanned and get that receipt.

[monroe67]

"I always stand in line if I have to and get it scanned and get that receipt."

Me, too.  Always.  
And if I had an eBay sale, with buyer's payment, on December 19 of any year, I would expect a long line at the post office on the next business day because of people mailing packages that they also hope will arrive in time for Christmas.  

[buyselljack2016]

Last one I mailed got my carrier acceptance scan (my carrier is great), but not another scan showed until at a regional facility in the buyer's state.

Seems that would be virtually impossible, as the package had to be scanned in order for it to be routed from the regional facility in my state. 

I just had a package take 89 days to get delivered. Buyer had been refunded.  An attempt to refuse and return to sender was rejected by USPS apparently because it was 91 days (deliver Saturday/attempt return Monday) when the return was attempted.

[ryry-jj]

I still think USPS is the most reliable and fair with their pricing.   Your package will get there, and during the holidays everything is stressed, so your customer service skills with the buyer now becomes important

[coin3rdgen]

USPS should not have a counter designated for pre-paid labeled items if they do not intend to check them in within a reasonable amount of time and 5 days (with no check-in yet on Tuesday evening) is not reasonable. If we expect and put up with bad service, we will continue to get the same. Other businesses shine during the holiday rush. We should expect USPS to do so too!

[coin3rdgen]

ebay is a major customer for all delivery services because of the sales we sellers make. They negotiate with shipping services for discounts so they can also negotiate for better service- if they want to.

[coin3rdgen]

I couldn't disagree more. It is 100% true fault of a poorly run postal system. And some of us don't have healthy enough backs and joints to wait in line for an hour. USPS should not have a counter designated for pre-paid labeled items if they do not intend to check them in within a reasonable amount of time and 5 days (with no check-in yet on Tuesday evening) is not reasonable. If we expect and put up with bad service, we will continue to get the same. Other businesses shine during the holiday rush. We should expect USPS to do so too!

[tobaccocardyahoo]

There are post offices that I would not drop anything off at, and post offices which are absolutely great.

There are letter carriers who never scan anything and letter carriers who scan everything.

We learn who we can trust and  find ways not to deal with organizations and people who we cannot trust.

If we don't take control of the things that we can control, we deserve the results we get.

I use a 5 day handling time to protect because I am sometimes too lazy to protect in other ways.

[12345jamesstamps]

'prepaid label'...'line out the door'...yes, it's busy and the holidays so expect a wait to check an item at the counter.

I never used a 'prepaid label'...I know better...especially during the holidays.

I haven't had any problems with the USPS for years.

I hate waiting in line...but I wait in line for everything these days.

Should I complain and revolt at the supermarkets I shop because the lines are long and sometimes the supermarkets overcharge me...I bought a wine a few weeks ago and got charged for 110 of them...it's a mistake and I got over it...with the overdraft fees and everything...

It's a problem with eBay...not the local post office.

Been to Naples several times and normally to get anything done you have to pay someone to do it as an extra fee. Any people in Italy are not accustomed to waiting in an organized lines. Heck, people pay people to just pay their bills in Italy...LOL

[kensgiftshop]

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@coin3rdgen wrote:

ebay is a major customer for all delivery services because of the sales we sellers make. They negotiate with shipping services for discounts so they can also negotiate for better service- if they want to.

---

We get the same shipping rates on other sites, so no, they don't negotiate discounts for us.

They might be a major customer for UPS and FedEx since it's their accounts, but not USPS.

[1786davycrockett]

@coin3rdgen 

"ebay is a major customer for all delivery services because of the sales we sellers make. They negotiate with shipping services for discounts so they can also negotiate for better service- if they want to."

The shipping contract is between eBay and Pitney-Bowes -- not USPS.

USPS has NO "special deal" with eBay -- and Amazon is a bigger customer, and actually DOES have a "special deal" with USPS.

It has been reported by several news outlets that USPS employees have been instructed to give priority to delivering Amazon packages rather than USPS packages.

And, as others have pointed, out this is the holiday rush season for USPS -- nothing is normal, and this is the way the pre-Christmas USPS rush has been for years.

If your boxes are too heavy to comfortably lift, I suggest using a two-wheeler -- like me.

And I'll be 78 in June, and don't mind waiting in line for the USPS scan.

[deserdog]

I also use 5 days handling on all lisitngs. That being said, I usually get things out the next day, or if ordered early in the morning the same day.

[jerseyboymusic]

@coin3rdgen 

This is an issue with your local post office.  The one in my town is outstanding and I have never had an issue like this. 

You might want to speak with your local postmaster. Ebay can't do anything about this. Each post office is run by its own postmaster