wet package

[4money2012]

a package got left in the rain by postman who is responsible?

[mam98031]

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@retronerdz wrote:

It may be the buyer's responsibility to provide a safe place for packages to be left.

It might be the carrier's responsibility to place it out of the rain if an easily accessible place is available. (Good luck with that claim)

But in the end, I always think it's my responsibility as the seller to protect the item from the very real possibility of water damage if left in the rain. That's why I use poly mailers.

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@retronerdz 

We have no information that the buyer did a thing wrong.  The buyer very well may have a safe place for packages to be delivered but the carrier decided to ignore that.  We have no idea because the OP has never participated with any additional information in this long thread.  Not a single post.

And we don't know how the seller packaged the item as they never shared that either.  For that matter we don't even know if the content of the package was actually damaged.  The ONLY thing we know is this  "a package got left in the rain by postman who is responsible?"  Everything else is simply a guess or assumption because that is ALL the info the OP ever gave us.

[slpentico]

It is certainly not the seller. This would be almost completely the postman’s fault but could also be your fault in you were not home and no secure and dry place was available. If the item was severely damaged and not terribly expensive check with the seller, man will work with you and might replace if possible. If it was shipped priority Mail than it is insured for upwards of $50, $100 if the seller is top rated. In such case talk to the post office and file a claim.

[mam98031]

This sure is a LONG thread that is full of assumptions and guesses since we have been given NO details at ALL beyond the original post.  I find it kind of funny why we all took up so much interest in this with NO facts and NO details.  

[smile_main_storeoo09]

If you are the seller you have responsible for the buyer.

[retronerdz]

That's why I mentioned the various possibilities. But in the end, I package to avoid this problem.

[mam98031]

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@smile_main_storeoo09 wrote:

If you are the seller you have responsible for the buyer.

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That is not necessarily true.  But we will never know as we don't have no where near enough information on this to make such a leap to a conclusion like this.

[retronerdz]

I don't see any problem, in discussing the various possibilities and possible solutions. Discussing, being the key word here. We don't need the OP to participate and we don't need facts. We've gone far beyond playing judge and jury and we are simply sharing thoughts on the subject.

[mam98031]

OK.  I guess facts are rather overrated the last few years.  😁

[lja440]

I have been delivering mail since 2000. Who is responsible is the postal customer. It is up to every postal customer to maintain their mailbox and mailbox approach and provide a safe place for packages. 

That said most carriers will try to put them in a protected spot if there is one available. 

Your example doesn't really fly. LOL I was just at a Rural Carrier convention for 3 days. We had a huge storm come through the state and UPS delivered a package. Now I do have a large plastic tote at the end of the driveway (I'm in a very rural safe place) for packages because my drive fish hooks and is steep. It's hard for those large vans.  Well, they left the package instead IN the garage on the steps going into the house, these are in the back wall of the large 2-car garage. IT WAS SOAKED, the rain came in so hard that the entire garage floor got washed and it even blew open my mini-fridge where I have water bottles to grab when I am leaving for work. 

Am I upset that the carrier didn't use the tote, no? Seeing how the neighbor's large big Rubbermaid storage locker that they have for packages was fished out of the creek by the neighbor downstream from them it was probably a good call even if mine didn't get blown away. 

[deserdog]

Is it in the DMM that customers must supply a safe secure packages?  Once I had my delivery person leave a $500.00 package of prospecting equipment on my front porch. We did not have a fence, and the porch is not a covered porch. Luckily it did not get stolen. I went to the post office and complained about it, and I learned that for a mail delivery person to leave packages too big to fit in your mail box, the post office is supposed to have a release on file, giving the mail delivery person permission to leave packages. Absent the release on file, the mail delivery person is supposed to leave a notice in your mail box. Has this changed? 

[monster-deals]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

Seller chooses the "shipper", not the Buyer.

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I have several options a buyer can choose.

[lja440]

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@deserdog wrote:

Is it in the DMM that customers must supply a safe secure packages?  Once I had my delivery person leave a $500.00 package of prospecting equipment on my front porch. We did not have a fence, and the porch is not a covered porch. Luckily it did not get stolen. I went to the post office and complained about it, and I learned that for a mail delivery person to leave packages too big to fit in your mail box, the post office is supposed to have a release on file, giving the mail delivery person permission to leave packages. Absent the release on file, the mail delivery person is supposed to leave a notice in your mail box. Has this changed? 

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Wrong. UNLESS the package is designated with the necessity of getting a signature, Hold For Pickup or Restricted Delivery, Or if there is a standing hold packages order all packages are to be delivered.  (I do have a handful of these due to reactive dogs and such).

Whoever told you that has it backward.  I deliver roughly 100 to 200 packages a day on my route. Around half do not fit in mailboxes. There are many days when I can not fit all the packages in my Jeep. We are a small office with all our routes being long. I usually have a half dozen packages waiting for pick up and it may take a week or so for the customer to pick up or request that we bring them whenever I have room.  This can be a pain as each day there are more packages arriving for delivery. Even the largest offices would never have room to store these pacakges  if we couldn't deliver those that didn't fit in a mailbox. I would estimate that within only a few days we no longer would have the room to work at all. 

[deserdog]

From USPS:

The Carrier Release Program allows senders of parcels to authorize carriers to leave parcels in a safe location protected from weather if no one is available at the location to receive it or when the addressee has filed a written order to allow a carrier to leave the parcel. This request can also be made for flats too large for mail receptacles.

A parcel may be left only when it bears the ”CARRIER─LEAVE IF NO RESPONSE“ (written clearly and legibly on the mail piece) endorsement. It must appear directly to the left of the postage area (preferred) or directly below the return address. A minimum 1/4 inch clear space must appear between any other printing and the carrier release endorsement.

If an ancillary service endorsement is used, the carrier release endorsement must be separated from the ancillary service endorsement by the equivalent of one blank line.

A carrier release endorsement may be used on only:

• Uninsured parcels
• Parcels which do not require a signature
• Expedited Packaging Supplies Parcels that are uninsured and do not require a signature

Unless I am misreading this, it says a parcel is only to b left in a safe location if  the endorsement is on the parcel OR the addressee has filed a written order to allow a carrier to leave the parcel. 

[deserdog]

So am I misreading the Carrier Release program? 

[deserdog]

Here is the full article from USPS:

How senders authorize a carrier to leave parcels if no one is available to receive it at time of delivery.

May 28, 2021•FAQ

Article Number

000003418

Customer Information

The Carrier Release Program allows senders of parcels to authorize carriers to leave parcels in a safe location protected from weather if no one is available at the location to receive it or when the addressee has filed a written order to allow a carrier to leave the parcel. This request can also be made for flats too large for mail receptacles.

A parcel may be left only when it bears the ”CARRIER─LEAVE IF NO RESPONSE“ (written clearly and legibly on the mail piece) endorsement. It must appear directly to the left of the postage area (preferred) or directly below the return address. A minimum 1/4 inch clear space must appear between any other printing and the carrier release endorsement.

If an ancillary service endorsement is used, the carrier release endorsement must be separated from the ancillary service endorsement by the equivalent of one blank line.

A carrier release endorsement may be used on only:

• Uninsured parcels
• Parcels which do not require a signature
• Expedited Packaging Supplies Parcels that are uninsured and do not require a signature