Had a $ 40 package sent by UPS Express (the seller chose the shipping method, not me ) where they transfer the package from UPS to the USPS

Tracking says UPS gave it to the local USPS on Nov 27. USPS says they never got it. UPS says yes they did. USPS refuses to investigate, says UPS still has my package, which UPS denies as tracking says otherwise.

Seller tells me he's not getting involved

Said this before, tracking numbers are great when it's not lost, but guarantees nothing when it goes missing. Most every carrier that businesses are using now are delivering to the local Post Office to save the money on home delivery. That's how retailers can give free holiday shipping, they don't pay for the whole trip. As long as the scanner is clicked, it has reached that stage of the destination, but it can stay there forever or even be returned to sender without notification. That's what happened to one of my gifts last year.

The seller will have to get involved because he will have to file the claim if it doesn't show up. It probably will or it will be returned to the seller. The worst thing is if the mailman has clinked that he delivered, so be thankful that has not happened here. Once they say they delivered, even if they just threw the package at the door and left, you are out of luck as long as it didn't require a signature.

There were actually 2 tracking numbers involved

UPS tracking number says delivered to post office Nov 27

USPS then issued a number which says "awaiting receipt of package from UPS on Nov 26" when you type it in on the USPS website

USPS tells me there is no record of receiving it on Nov 27, and all packages received by UPS are processed by them within 24 hrs, so there is no way it's been sitting at the post office for two weeks now (so they claim)

Looks like my package is coming today

So it took 22 days from NY to NJ !

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
So it took 22 days from NY to NJ !

Perhaps the mailman walked it over.

No, it still would have made it there faster.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
So it took 22 days from NY to NJ !

Perhaps the mailman walked it over.

No, it still would have made it there faster.

or maybe a real snail!

regards

John

I could literally have driven to the seller's store in less than an hour, instead of waiting 3 weeks plus. Unbelievable !

Several years ago I sent a package to Japan by Global Priority Mail and it took over two months to arrive. The buyer kept sending me emails accusing me of ripping him off. It turned out that for some reason it got rerouted to Malaysia and was finally delivered to Japan. He apologized after it arrived with the Malaysian postmarks.

To keep things balanced, I have to mention that not all shipping is slow. Case in point, I ordered three boxes of Topps Dr Who Widevision cards on Thursday 15th December from Topps in the States. They were shipped the same day using International Economy, the cheapest option. They arrived here in the UK just before midday today Monday 19th December. I would have been more than happy with that shipping time pretty much any time of the year, but this close to Christmas I am absolutely astounded It sort of makes up for the birthday cards I sent to my brother by First Class post earlier this year that took three months to travel just 20 miles.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
To keep things balanced, I have to mention that not all shipping is slow. Case in point, I ordered three boxes of Topps Dr Who Widevision cards on Thursday 15th December from Topps in the States. They were shipped the same day using International Economy, the cheapest option. They arrived here in the UK just before midday today Monday 19th December. I would have been more than happy with that shipping time pretty much any time of the year, but this close to Christmas I am absolutely astounded It sort of makes up for the birthday cards I sent to my brother by First Class post earlier this year that took three months to travel just 20 miles.

And I assume they beat the Customs Gestapo as well . If everyone else's also got through without charge I think I will order some .

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
To keep things balanced, I have to mention that not all shipping is slow. Case in point, I ordered three boxes of Topps Dr Who Widevision cards on Thursday 15th December from Topps in the States. They were shipped the same day using International Economy, the cheapest option. They arrived here in the UK just before midday today Monday 19th December. I would have been more than happy with that shipping time pretty much any time of the year, but this close to Christmas I am absolutely astounded It sort of makes up for the birthday cards I sent to my brother by First Class post earlier this year that took three months to travel just 20 miles.

And I assume they beat the Customs Gestapo as well . If everyone else's also got through without charge I think I will order some .

I'm not 100% certain about the Customs. The package was delivered by FedEx who have a habit of sending out the Customs charges at a later date. So for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Had it been delivered by regular Royal Mail, I could happily forget about any customs charges

Also, I only bought when the price per box dropped to $50 for 24 hours. I would not have bought them at $99.99

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
To keep things balanced, I have to mention that not all shipping is slow. Case in point, I ordered three boxes of Topps Dr Who Widevision cards on Thursday 15th December from Topps in the States. They were shipped the same day using International Economy, the cheapest option. They arrived here in the UK just before midday today Monday 19th December. I would have been more than happy with that shipping time pretty much any time of the year, but this close to Christmas I am absolutely astounded It sort of makes up for the birthday cards I sent to my brother by First Class post earlier this year that took three months to travel just 20 miles.

And I assume they beat the Customs Gestapo as well . If everyone else's also got through without charge I think I will order some .

I'm not 100% certain about the Customs. The package was delivered by FedEx who have a habit of sending out the Customs charges at a later date. So for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Had it been delivered by regular Royal Mail, I could happily forget about any customs charges

Also, I only bought when the price per box dropped to $50 for 24 hours. I would not have bought them at $99.99

Same here, mine arrived today. I'm hoping I won't get a FedEx customs letter later too. Looking at the parcel label, I can't see any contents value or regular Customs label...so fingers crossed. Maybe it's bypassed because it's listed as this "International Economy" delivery and that negates having to put a customs form or value on it.

When Topps sent out the last series of Mars Attacks cards to International customers I believe they were collected by FedEx who then shipped them to Sweden and from there they entered the European mail system. No customs labels were affixed on that occasion either.

regards

John

I need to vent. Just left my small PO where my mailbox rent keeps going up.

Today I took two card trades to the counter. The trades were ready to go - I print postage at stamps.com.

Now keep in mind that I haven't been in there in over a month and usually its just to check my mail box. After the holidays there were several small pkgs and envelopes that had accumulated over about a week but that volume is not the norm. Sometimes theres only 1-2 pieces of mail waiting for me for weeks at a time.

So the clerk looks & looks at my trades and theres nothing he can say about them - they have totally sufficient postage and a professional look to them.

Then he says that theres all these mail pieces that I'm getting in my box with inadequate postage and hes going to have to start charging me postage due.
He looks at me and keeps staring at my little trade packet with $2.60 on it like he wants to x-ray it.

So I guess hes making a big stink because a couple of traders sent a few cards using a first class stamp on an envelope. One of them (who also makes the cards) sent me 5-6 cards in a semi-rigid thin holder. The other envelope I got contained a small wispy tobacco card with the volume of a feather. The seller used a pliable manila folder section to protect it a little.

In conclusion, I am annoyed. I think how small, petty, & pathetic my USPS has become...

This jerk was acting like hes being ripped off personally to the tune of big $$$. In actuality, maybe each sender should have paid the 21 cent surcharge.

Now I'm thinking of letting my current PO Box expire and find another Post Office. Apparently these long-time clerks have way too much time on their hands to study my mail as they do their cushy repetitive duties.

Is anyone else card trading less these days due to similar experiences?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BILLZEE,

You may have just gotten a bad clerk. At my local USPS there are theee clerks total. When I go I am always hoping it Dara or Sharen and not a man I only refer to a Dudley (something special). He always asks questions beside the is there anything fragile, liquid, perishable. "Why do you mail things out all the time. What is it? Why are you mailing something to Idaho?" He can never get the postal scale to work and if you bring in a package with postage prepaid he cannot figure it out. I guess I keep going to that station because it is the closest to my house and two out of three good clerks ain't bad.

Our city has a large, main post office and 2 small branches, 1 of which is a few blocks from my home

Never, ever go there at lunchtime during the week, between 12 and 2 PM. They have a counter which is set up to have 3 staff members assisting, but inevitably there is never more than 1 person working. The 2nd person is always "out to lunch" even if 20 people are on line. Frustrating. When are you supposed to go and send your mail if you have to go M to F, other than when you have your own lunch break ? I guess you have to go at 6 or 7 PM to avoid this problem

Thanks for those responses. Sometimes its just good to have someone listen - LOL

I guess this clerk dispenses the mail to the PO boxes too and he "feels up" the mail.
Seems like he has been there forever. He has zero people skills & never smiles. I'm guessing in his mid-50s...

Always thought that the sender would be responsible for insufficient postage - not the mail recipient.

Besides a single trading card is not a rigid object so there shouldn't be a surcharge anyway.

Just seems like such a petty loser tactic that has ticked me off

quote:

Originally posted by BILLZEE:
Always thought that the sender would be responsible for insufficient postage - not the mail recipient.

Actually, you'd have to refuse it to get them to pay up. Then they will never send it again. Catch 22.

quote:

Besides a single trading card is not a rigid object so there shouldn't be a surcharge anyway.

It has to go 180 degrees on a 2 inch roller in the sorting machine. Toploads definitely don't qualify for regular. Soft sleeved cards would probably be OK, but I'm not sure I want my card taking that trip.

Ed

More bad luck with the post office for me.

Package sent Priority Mail with tracking. $25 worth of cards inside. Tracking says it was left on the porch at 1 PM on May 28

Not sure why it was left, as people were home at the time. Mailman could have rang the bell

No sign of the package. I called the post office, and all they can say is that the tracking shows it was delivered. No help at all.

That sucks. . .

A number of homes in my area have gotten video doorbells in the past couple of years. It is surprising how many people are stealing packages and checking for unlocked cars.

Porch pirates could be the issue here. . .