[[I will never use the USPS system]]
Except if you apply that criterion to any current commercial shipping system you will be relegated to hand carrying you stuff.
They all lost or destroy your stuff. All of them...
Package Has Disappeared in USPS System
I recently purchased a modestly expensive audio product over the Internet, paid for by credit card, to be shipped to me via the USPS Priority Mail system, with tracking and insurance. The vendor, who will go unnamed at the moment out of respect for past good service, emailed me that the package shipped on 20 December, although the package did not show up in the USPS system until about 27 December. Being a patient guy, I figured that the USPS is slow in keeping up with demand over Christmas. On about 28 December, the USPS tracking system said the package had been received, had been sent to a regional distribution center, and had been shipped on from there. However, and now it gets "interesting," on 31 December, the USPS tracking system said that the label had been created but that the package was not in the system. In other words, the package had "disappeared" from the USPS system. At several points in this saga, I contacted the vendor to express my concern, especially after the package disappeared from the USPS system; their response was that I should be patient and await further developments..
On 2 January,I contact the vendor, suggesting they initiate a missing package complaint, file an insurance claim, and requested that they send me a replacement product, assuring them that I would promptly return the first item if it ever showed up. (Coincidentally, on the same date I read a reputably-sourced news item about rampant theft by employees in the USPS system--hardly reassuring.)
The vendor's response again was that I should be patient--in spite of my pointing out that the USPS had obviously lost the package--and await further developments.
However, in spite of normally being a very patient guy, I think, with two weeks having passed and the USPS tracking system now saying they haven't received the package that they previously acknowledged having, it is time for the vendor to send me a replacement item.
I will never use the USPS system for product shipment if there is any other viable alternative.
Several questions come to mind:
1) How long is reasonable to wait for a package that should have been delivered in one to three days?
2) At what point should a vendor realize that good customer service means providing the customer with a product they shipped with tracking and insurance?
3) Would it unreasonable for me to tell the vendor that if they cannot provide a replacement product within a few days, I would like my money refunded? (I am prepared to contest the charge on my credit card for non-performance.
4) Am I being unreasonable?
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I once had a $7K check stolen by someone in the USPS chain of custody. The issuing bank’s fraud department was able to provide me a photo copy of the check that the thieves “washed” and cashed at a local BofA branch. I subsequently filed a report with both local police and the Postal Inspection Service. As far as I’m aware, neither agency made any attempt to investigate the matter. Following months of threatening litigation I was finally made whole, either by the brokerage firm who issued the check or the bank they use. Before that, they told me I was basically up $#!+ creek and would have to rely on law enforcement to recover the money. I was never told what resolution ultimately occurred, only that my account was credited for the amount stolen. Lesson learned: do not ever send a personal check by mail unless it’s Certified mail. And try to avoid accepting payment by mail if possible. I’ve had similar experiences when filing damage claims with UPS and Fed Ex. They always deny liability from the outset, as standard policy it seems. I would imagine that USPS insurance operates similarly. That’s probably why the vendor was reluctant to file a claim that early on.
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Wait a second. You had the seller ship a fairly expensive item via USPS?! I’m sorry, but that’s on you. In all of my years I’ve never shipped items via USPS. Reason being, never, ever, skimp on shipping. Go big or stay home. USPS is NOT reliable, and everyone knows how unreliable they are. Why anyone would ship anything via USPS is beyond me!
Second thing. I’ve shipped items via FedEx, via my personal account with them, almost exclusively for 34 years. To date, in this hobby, I’ve sold and shipped over 450 items. Not once have I ever had an item that wasn’t delivered. I’ve also shipped some 115 delicate Archtop Guitars, all via FedEx. If some of you don’t know what a jazz archtop guitar is, it’s made of wood, and hollow in the interior. They typically weigh from 6 to 8 pounds. With it’s hard case the total weight is 25 pounds. The value of an Archtop is typically between $4000 and $15,000. So what is my system that I can ship and yet not once experience a damaged shipment? It’s all in proper packaging, double and triple boxing at times. When you ship anything consider yourself going to WAR. You have to package as if your life depends on it. So I’m very curious how so many of you here have had very bad luck with items getting lost and or damaged. Very curious. 450 shipments and counting, although my days of buying and selling are very limited these days. |
@tony1954 Why the hate for UPS? I continually have had trouble with getting things delivered in undamaged condition. The boxes look like they were given to a gorilla with a baseball bat hellbent on destroying the item inside. This is an over the top problem with them. I get hundreds of items a year sent to me via UPS due to frequent amazon purchases, fully 25% if not more have shipping carton damage. Sometimes the product inside is ok and sometimes it isn't but if the stuff inside the box is ok its not because it was handled reasonably. Then there is always a hassle with getting the damaged thing picked up, the call to customer service that takes my time because they cannot do an effective job of handling items with care. I'm so fed up with those clowns I don't know where to start. That said, FedEx has never messed up a shipment to me yet....granted there have been fewer shipments to screw up because everybody ships thru stinky brown boys I think mostly because of cost, certainly not because of their handling methods. |
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