USPS troubles - PP claim question...

Caseywan · #1 10-22-2009

So I sell an item on eBay on August 14th, buyer pays for USPS Priority International and I ship it August 18th. 3 weeks later there's no tracking info whatsoever, so I re-ship his order again via USPS Priority International on September 15th. It is now over a month later and he still has neither packages and no tracking info for either.

The idiots at USPS say they can do nothing, so now I am out $260 worth of product, $22 in shipping, plus the buyer got his $130 back via Paypal dispute and my PP account is on hold!

If I ship him a 3rd package and it gets delivered, will I be able to give the info to PP to get my money back and my account off hold?

Here We Go Again · #2 10-22-2009

Do you have the tracking number?
What country does the buyer live in?

Caseywan · #3 10-22-2009

Yes, I have both tracking numbers.

The buyer lives in Canada.

Burning · #4 10-22-2009

Yes, usps priority mail really sucks and it is very slow. If you are shipping to canada I suggest to use ups or Fedex. The only problem with ups or fedex is that they charge huge amount of customs if the item value exceeds 20 CAD. Last time I purchased an item for $18.70 usd. But when the customs converted the amount it was $20.01 CAD. I got charged $20 in customs since the item was 1 penny off. But, anway's ups and fedex tracking is awesome. It is waaay better than usps.

yaw1800 · #5 10-22-2009

Why didnt you insure the packages??

Caseywan · #6 10-22-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by yozalo

Yes, usps priority mail really sucks and it is very slow. If you are shipping to canada I suggest to use ups or Fedex. The only problem with ups or fedex is that they charge huge amount of customs if the item value exceeds 20 CAD. Last time I purchased an item for $18.70 usd. But when the customs converted the amount it was $20.01 CAD. I got charged $20 in customs since the item was 1 penny off. But, anway's ups and fedex tracking is awesome. It is waaay better than usps.

I use 100% Fedex for shipping within the US. This particular item I'm selling now, most of the buyers are in Canada and shipping alone (not including customs) to Canada via Fedex is about $20 for a 1lb box. At that price, my buyers are just going to buy from the other guy on ebay who is selling this product.

Caseywan · #7 10-22-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by yaw1800

Why didnt you insure the packages??

Yes, they are insured for $100 each, but USPS takes ages to resolve problems and have to wait 60 days after the packages "disappeared" and then another 30 days to get my money back.

**TGMT²** · #8 10-22-2009

These are reasons I exclude shipping to Canada or anywhere international.

The headaches don't outweigh the increased sales IMO.

yaw1800 · #9 10-22-2009

the buyer could be a scam artist, i had a package recently sent international but it never updated after saying it was accepted at the local post office... you should be careful

Caseywan · #10 10-22-2009

Question is - If I send him a 3rd package tomorrow, and use Fedex and then submit the tracking number to PP, will they give me my money back and take my account off hold?

Hercules · #11 10-22-2009

This is true that beyond USA shipping sucks and or the customers suck. I've been reading negs on sellers for years and most of them are from overseas chumps. Mine included! Caseyman, screw that! Just ship an empty box or envelope to his neighbor with tracking. PayPal can only see the town with the tracking! te he.

SimplyComplex · #12 10-22-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hercules

This is true that beyond USA shipping sucks and or the customers suck. I've been reading negs on sellers for years and most of them are from overseas chumps. Mine included! Caseyman, screw that! Just ship an empty box or envelope to his neighbor with tracking. PayPal can only see the town with the tracking! te he.

Overseas, yes. Not Canada.
I don't think anyone has particular problems with Canadian scams.

Though this particualr case certainly sounds like a scam. The odds of two failed deliveries, is probably one in thousands.

I agree with the sentiment of using UPS or FedEx.
USPS is nice for sending cheap crap, like an old video card or a t-shirt or something. But anything over $30 or so, I'd use UPS or FedEx(I personally prefer UPS, but either is valid).

Caseywan · #13 10-24-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimplyComplex

Overseas, yes. Not Canada.
I don't think anyone has particular problems with Canadian scams.

Though this particualr case certainly sounds like a scam. The odds of two failed deliveries, is probably one in thousands.

If I told you all the troubles I'd had with USPS just in the past couple years, it would not seem like bad odds... USPS sucks, really bad, and if they weren't a government organization they would have been out of business decades ago and replaced by something better.

They can run a "rough" trace on the packages and can tell they never made across the border, so that is what they are telling me anyway.

Burning · #14 10-24-2009

I want to tell you guys, that usps priroity mail is slow as hell. It's the same speed as airmail but it comes with tracking. There is no point of choosing priority mail since they are very slow at updating. Caseywan, you should check ups, canpar, or Fedex. I ship 5lbs packages to ups but I only pay $14 -$18 depending where the item is going to.

#15 10-24-2009

The only method of fully tracking USPS deliveries to Canada or other countries is to purchase the addition service of Registered Mail. Regular tracking stops being accurate and complete once the item leaves U.S. boundaries.

Commercial carriers are much better with keeping tabs on your swag.

The only positive experience I have had shipping items to Canada has been for transactions with members of this forum. Never ebay or Amazon buyers. Those always fail. <scratching head and raising eyebrow>

Thumbs up to the Canadians here for behaving more honorable than their 'average' neighbors.

Lyda · #16 10-24-2009

Yes, I shipped to Australia one time and paid extra $10 for the Registered mail which has buyer to sign for the package and you get decent tracking number with it. However, not all countries you can send Registered. I had a package recently going to Spain and could not do Registered mail.
In my experience it is more cost effective to mail internationally by USPS and add Registered mail if you can - than UPS. Very expensive where I am.

Burning · #17 10-24-2009

Yes, ups or fedex is very overprices. But, there tracking is very accurate and exact. The only problem is the cost involved into shipping it. But, if you apply for the fedex master card and an organization which has fedex discounts then you can save about 20%.

#18 10-24-2009

I don't think they're overpriced. It would cost me way more than 20 bucks to take a package up to Saskatoon with my own two hands. I don't consider USPS to be economically priced when you adjust for the fact that they only do 1/2 the job and with a quality of service which leaves much to be desired. 18 bucks for a pschit job vs 20 bucks to make me happy vs 500 bucks or more if I did it myself plus I don't have to tape a copy of my passport to the package or give up 6 days of my life to do all the driving.

I can't even buy a decent Pizza for 20 bucks.

Burning · #19 10-24-2009

Ummm....you can buy a pizza at little cesars for $5. Lol...

But, consider that ups and fedex make most of these money on there so called "handling charge" when you get charged customs/duties for an item.

The fedex and ups handling charge is $20, while usps is only $5. Also fedex and ups charge some other hidden fees!

Lyda · #20 10-24-2009

Well, regarding the package to Australia I sent few months ago, UPS quoted me around $85 and USPS with Registered mail was all togther less than $35. My buyer received the package in 10 days and was happy. I don't ship often out of country, so 10 days to Australia sounds good to me.
Could this depend somewhat on the service you receive at certain USPS locations? I have been happy with my local USPS so far, but I understand many are not and I see some packages never see destination. Is this something new? or, it was a problem with certain offices/clarks forever?

Burning · #21 10-24-2009

People are not happy of usps due to the fact that the tracking information is not accurate and it is updated very slowly.

#22 10-24-2009

You can buy a round piece of bread with cheese and tomato sauce, but not a pizza.

Pizza is 24" extra large bread, 3x cheese, 2x sauce, 2x pepperoni, 2x mushroom, bacon, sausage, green pepper, green olive, black olive, and pineapple. And it's worthless without a 12 pack of imported beer.

Usually sets me back about $40 with the driver's tip. If I got guests visiting, double that. The first one for me, the second one for everybody else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yozalo

Ummm....you can buy a pizza at little cesars for $5. Lol...

But, consider that ups and fedex make most of these money on there so called "handling charge" when you get charged customs/duties for an item.

The fedex and ups handling charge is $20, while usps is only $5. Also fedex and ups charge some other hidden fees!