Any Suggestions on USPS Lost Package?

meonlybetter · ‎03-09-2010

I mailed a pkg (Ebay) out on 9/19. The buyer not got the package. I sent it first class (no insurance) and had a tracking number. My PO is the worst and difficult to deal with. I never ship with them but did this one time. And regretting it!
I reimbursed the buyer and filed a lost package claim.
Is there anything else I should/can do? Am I out of luck on being reimbursed by the PO?

Is it recommended to put insurance on anything that leaves the PO?

Thanks for any input!!!

Just Bling · ‎03-10-2010

The only people that can help you are the post office, I would seriously try them first.....good luck.

I don't know of any post office that is difficult to deal with.

To my knowledge, first class doesn't have tracking numbers so I believe you are confused as to how you mailed it.

First class is when you put a stamp on it and throw it in the mailbox...priority mail has tracking numbers and has a min of $50 insurance on the item unless you pay for more.

So there's a lot of confusion here and I would talk to your post office and ask them how you should be sending things and when should you issue refunds. If you are selling on E-Bay I would assume you would know how to ship packages.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@meonlybetter

First, got to usps.com and type in the Tracking # and see what comes up. You can also request email notifications to track your package. I recently shipped a package that was going to the Boston area. For whatever reason, it went there by way of Seattle .... I have no idea why.

shoekitty · ‎03-10-2010

If your post office is bad, call the main post office. They ought to at least be able to track package. They have more info than we ever get online.m. Another time I had a package show up at more door over 4months later. No kidding, true story. The poor vender had replaced my order after we waited 4 weeks. Then boom 4 months after I ordered it, there it was at my door. Weirdest deliver I have ever had. I put the box in another box and mailed it to her, because it was unbelievable. The postmark was June 4, and here it was October 31!!!!

it pays to insure. Sometimes if it is smaller I mail ups, because they insure everything under 100 free.

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

I was told by a USPS worker after having a package lost that anything that is valuable to you, you should put insurance on it.

I had 2 lost packages that I had sent and the recipients never received. I hadn't gotten insurance.

But I wasn't going to give up. I called both my post office and the recipients post office; described the package/one was a letter with something in it and they put in a track of them.

Months later, and I mean maybe 4-6 months later!, the packages were found and delivered. I don't know where in the world they had been but one USPS employee told me sometimes a package was found sitting around in the warehouse or wherever they load them and found much later.

So don't give up and they should have given you a lost package number or something you can reference. Don't be afraid to follow up on it if you haven't heard anything.

I just never accept the "lost in the mail." excuse.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

Yes to @shoekitty's suggestion to call the main post office # (as well as your own PO)I remember that they were the ones who put a track on it. They were very helpful. Also calling the recipients post office is again another step that can't hurt.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

libbyannE · ‎10-27-2010

@Just Bling wrote:
The only people that can help you are the post office, I would seriously try them first.....good luck.

I don't know of any post office that is difficult to deal with.

To my knowledge, first class doesn't have tracking numbers so I believe you are confused as to how you mailed it.

First class is when you put a stamp on it and throw it in the mailbox...priority mail has tracking numbers and has a min of $50 insurance on the item unless you pay for more.

So there's a lot of confusion here and I would talk to your post office and ask them how you should be sending things and when should you issue refunds. If you are selling on E-Bay I would assume you would know how to ship packages.

@Just Bling

Wrong. I mail things First Class with tracking all the time.

Sister Golden Hair · ‎03-09-2010

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@meonlybetter

First, got to usps.com and type in the Tracking # and see what comes up. You can also request email notifications to track your package. I recently shipped a package that was going to the Boston area. For whatever reason, it went there by way of Seattle .... I have no idea why.

@Tinkrbl44 @meonlybetter I send to Sweden because our son and daughter-in-law live there. With tracking number, it will come up to send texts to your phone. This is better than checking online all the time. And it updates faster than online.

It is always best to insure a package. Also, it is a good idea to take a picture of what you are sending.

Most of our packages go through Chicago from Missouri but when we sent a bigger box than normal, it went to Montana then to California. It took almost a month, where most of the time is takes two weeks.

libbyannE · ‎10-27-2010

I am not sure I understand, but if you paid for tracking and if tracking shows it was delivered, you were off the hook. There was horrible info out on Internet years ago about how to "get things free on eBay." One tip was to say you didn't receive the item. I was just starting to use eBay to help me manage my collecting of dooney bags and vintage jewelry, so I started to use tracking. I have had a couple of buyers say they didn't receive something, but with tracking proving that it was delivered, I did not have to refund the buyer. eBay backed me up.

Allegheny · ‎03-19-2010

This is off topic. While a tracking number can indicate that a package was delivered, it doesn't mean that the post office delivered it to the correct address. DH had that occur years ago before online tracking was available to consumers. After waiting many weeks for an order he contacted the company that he didn't receive it. They provided the tracking data that it was delivered and as far as the post office was concerned, they delivered it. When DH persisted the issue with the company they replaced the order out of good will and also because they may have sent it insured. A year later a neighbor renting down the street saw my DH outside and said "Hey I got something of yours". Package was delivered to his house and he put it in the trunk of his car and supposedly forgot about it. (Neighbor also had opened it.)