late deliveries via usps

[familytreasure-trove]

I rarely come into the ebay community with any comments or messages but I felt it was time to say something about receiving claims for non shipment of items and the late shipping ratings for sellers. First, on the claims filed by buyers. I do not understand how buyers do not know through endless articles on the internet, tv news reports, local news reports that usps is experiencing tremendous volumes of mail due to covid and on line shopping this year. Once the item is mailed and in the hands of the post office we no longer have control over how long that item sits in post office bins waiting to get scanned and sorted. I talked in person to my local post office supervisor, I called the supervisor and am told repeatedly that they are short staffed due to covid and overwhelmed with packages more so this year than last because of the stay at home orders. I understand when buyers order they want their item immediately. It is not the sellers fault. I mail out within the same day or the next. Maybe ebay should stop these claims from being processed since the notifications of extreme mail delays are coming directly from usps itself. And on top of the constant buyer emails and claims ebay is rating the seller on these late shipping's very high to a point where one can lose their top seller status. While I enjoy as any seller would the high volume of sales this year, the frustration over shipping delays over shadows the business aspect of selling. All I can do is follow up with the buyer and reassure them that their will eventually be delivered. Thank you for the time you spent reading my comments.

[housekat99]

Thank you!  I'm down to 4 undelivered packages, slowly getting there.

[nuclearomen]

yeah, I file about 4-7 a week since December started. All those have been found/delivered except the 2 I filed this morning and 1 yesterday... the remaining that haven't been delivered either are media mail which requires a longer time length to file a search (obviously) and packages that were shipped out recently. 

If a package is a few days late no need to file a search, nothing (for most part) will be delivered by the ebay/USPS expected date (unless it's overnight mail...that's the only service USPS will guarantee delivery) but it's a week or more or no scans on the transit for sometime, search usually helps to get the package moving, or missing mail report. In the least, it shows your customers your at least trying and that alone usually is appreciated. 

[password9019]

Traditionally it's 14 days and on the 15th day a buyer can open a claim. I know for a fact that International sellers are also entitled to get their money back in addition to the buyer... After a 60-day. Or something like that. It shouldn't be more than three or four weeks in the United States and eBay should be getting to their coffers and coming up with the money to refund both parties. On top of that, it's eBay's job to get their money back from the post office for **bleep** service. That's how it should work and that's how it sometimes does work when you buy something overseas and it takes three or four months to arrive. You've already gotten your refund and your seller has two so long as they knew the proper channels. This is really something between eBay and the post office, seller shouldn't have to pay out INR out of their own pocket without being refunded

[blacktop-55]

Merry Christmas Happy Holidays and Happy New year.  USPS knew months in advance about the potential for this scenario- poor planning / no up staffing in advance etc.  They knew about the potential for online shopping mega increases coming. We can all wait a few extra days due to the season, most of us are reasonable... but a month????.. or more?   All sellers and buyers who lost fees for priority shipping and other related need a class action suit filed against USPS this year to recoup all monies if possible. I'm waiting since Dec 4th 2020 for a priority package shipped to me - not here yet as of 1-2-2021. I shipped to a buyer priority on 12-23 - he is receiving item today 1-2-21 ...wow.. that's fast by recent standards..... I advised him in advance to not buy my item if he can't wait for the item due to the lousy shipping delays - not my issue.  Let's see where all this is at by February...USPS functions pretty well under normal circumstances............

Peace 

[adrianmariano]

I have an item I shipped priority on dec 11 and last scan was dec 17.  The buyer opened an INR a while ago.  I explained that the USPS was overloaded and he agreed to wait.  I opened a case yesterday with USPS.  But now the buyer is demanding a refund or he says he's going to open a claim with ebay.  What should I do at this point?   Should I just wait, let him open a case?  Should I refund?  It's not clear to me what the best course of action is. 

[blacktop-55]

Ask if he will repay you for item if you issue him a refund now if /when he receives it - if it's just one of your items / one buyer and no other buyers w / same issue maybe it's worth it to refund and settle up quickly and it's over, Just my opinion... 

[adrianmariano]

I assume that if I refund and then the item arrives he would have to pay me outside of ebay---there's no mechanism in ebay for him to repay me at that point, is there?   It's not "over" if I have to still track the item, and bug the guy to pay me if it gets delivered.   I don't sell much, so I've never had anybody open a case or even give me negative feedback.  I don't really understand what it means.  Would having one bad review be bad news? 

[paulibeverlyhills]

I agree, I rarely post, but only when my dander is up & I need a catharsis.

. I have had my first experience with this same issue ( in l6 years of selling on eBay). My shipments are like clockwork. I have NEVER once in all the years had more than one LATE (USPS shipped a Colorado bound package to Hawaii, a faillure) plus-one missing item last year, but it showed delivered and was scanned, so I never really knew the story and I wasn't 'dinged' for it. And I never knew if the buyer was telling the truth or not, no way to really know.

Now,  yesterday, a buyer filed a case, for a $6.99 credit card case purchase, saying she never received it. Would have been nice if she asked us about it first, but that's her choice. I shipped on the l3th, today is the 20th. The tracking USPS acknowledges it in their system & says it is IN TRANSIT & WILL BE LATE. eBay says if not resolved by the 23rd they are stepping in. If I am going to lose my product AND  pay the person AND once she receives it in the mail (whenever USPS gets around to delivering it), I will be LIVID. I can't afford to give away product, no matter the cost,, If as a buyer,  I received a late shipment, & the seller had REFUNDED me for it, I would return the item OR refund the money to them.. I AM NOT A THIEF & understand the seller's side of it all.

So now it remains to be seen what will happen. I checked today online with USPS-24 minute wait on the phone-rep said "keep watching the updates, that's all I can say", both items you reference are in the system but may not be scanned at each spot. She also gave me a url to report a lost item, if they are not delivered. I have a 2nd shipment, same story, same week & oddly enough, a 3rd buyer we  shipped same day received her package in 3 days as usual. The two missing saying LATE were re-routed to Los Angeles, rather than our local clearing house (USPS could not explain a reason for that move), so that's where the glitch is with USPS.

i  wrote to the 2ND buyer explaining there IS A DELAY. Have either of the buyers had the courtesy to respond to us? i HAVE SENT several specific emails apprising them of the DELAYS by USPS as I would like someone to do that for me.. Neither have responded...inconsiderate. I have read that eBay may make you refund if the item doesn't show up in the l0 days after you shipped. So I sell, lose $$$, & the buyers KEEP my products?  If that isn't outright THEFT, I don't know what is. If eBay knows there are postal delays happening with USPS, could they not extend the delivery time to make sure the packages are delivered? eBay vendors cannot afford FED EX AND UPS tracking on small items, so saying we picked USPS & we are responsible for our shipping choice, isn't logical, either.. What costs us  $4.30 with USPS costs $8.00 to ship with Fed Ex, im practical. WHY are WE, the honest, proactive sellers, being made to feel like the VICTIMS when it is USPS' PROBLEM? I Realize THAT USPS is overburdened with an archaic system & heavier volume, but shouldn't EVERYONE know all this? I've seen tons of articles about it. Unless you are asleep at the wheel, anyone would know that's happening across the nation.And shouldn't everyone pitch in and make it easy rather than scheming to defraud an honest seller?

Perhaps I live in UTOPIA, but I find this distasteful. And don't buyers realize if this drama continues, sellers will have to astronomically raise the price of their goods just to stay in the marketplace? Who needs INFLATION now? None of us!

Sorry for the length of this diatribe, I am just venting because I am appalled at the situation on many levels. Yes, it's the cost of doing business, but no one goes into a business intending to shoulder losses unless it is based on their own failure to describe accurately, or a product is defective, or just a normal return with buyer's remorse, which we all expect from time to time.

Certainly we should not be held responsible for USPS' ineptitude or overburdened state. So what is the answer? 

[powell-memorabilia]

@paulibeverlyhills 

Sellers that sell based on delivered terms are ALWAYS responsible for the performance of their chosen carrier.  Always.

[cbmay]

USPS, YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID !!

[jd197094]

 There are MASSIVE delays with the USPS and it has more to do with the Postmaster General issuing changes to the mail system than it does about Covid-19. Covid has little to nothing to do with the delays. The mail system is made to be reliable during times of hardship. I'm not playing political sides here but the Postmaster General is responsible for the delays with the USPS.

I ordered an item from NY to Pennsylvania, it was sent 2 day priority mail on the 11th of April, and it just arrived today (April 20th)

If that doesn't tell you there is a problem, I don't know what does.

Everything I have ordered on Ebay is sent out very quickly by the sellers, but each and every item get's stuck somewhere in the mail process for 5-9 days ...EVERY ITEM!

You have to message your buyers before the item is sent, and just inform them there are delays with USPS that are out of your control, and to please allow extra time for delivery.

[threshold.sales.group]

Yes, +1. 

Been sounding the alarm on these new USPS delivery issues for a month now.  I'd estimate on average current USPS small package transit times have slowed down by 2 or 3 days to most locations from what was typical in 2019 / 2020 (excluding the Christmas 2020 disaster).  The new longer shipping times appear to be related to USPS policy changes around how quickly packages are processed at distribution centers.  Looks like going forward it will be rare to get a non-Express USPS package delivered in under five days.