the.golden.ax Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Same song and dance, different day. An aspect of selling online that I've become increasingly sick of, especially since moving to this area is delivery confirmation. As many as half the numbers generated each week do not scan until the point of delivery, not even at a P&DC hub. It is after all delivery confirmation, just like it sounds. When you explain this to people who are complaining the number is not working, that insist you must not have sent the parcel, it becomes increasingly delicate with each passing message. Until the delivery takes place, it's like walking on egg shells. I've got a guy in Florida, sent his game Monday by Priority, still isn't scanned up. I'm in a debate with the fellow and he is getting unfriendly. We are talking about the fourth day (yeah, that is slow, yet I've sent it, not much more I could do) but he claims the number isn't valid (it's the first concatenated online D/C he has seen, 420 signifies the type, the next five digits are his zip code, the next 16 are the embedded D/C #) The local drug store is the post office where I live now. If it gets to that post office after the postal truck picks up for the day, the package sits until the next day. The scheduled time for that pick up is 3:45pm. I've already observed it as early as 1:30pm once (because I was there dropping off). I dropped 7 items off on Monday at around 2pm. Don't know if it was early enough, suspect not. This means that Tuesday afternoon it would truck to Nashville Postal Distribution Center, then late night Tuesday/Wednesday early morning get sorted and sent to Florida. If it was unloaded and set to the local office in time his carrier should have had it today, if not tomorrow. The local post office/drug store does not have any scanning ability. Even if they wanted to they could not scan incoming mail. Even if you sent it from their counter. I've been kind, explaining everything as I have here, in great detail. What more can I do? Four communications since shipment was made. I can't exactly ignore him, but I'm out of things to say. It will come, he needs to give the post office time. I feel like it's one of my kids not being patient. There isn't anything more I can do. Perhaps I'd be less frustrated if this wasn't a common occurrence. It is illogical to harass someone to make an item get there faster. AX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagitekAngel Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Well really, it's clearly your fault for not having the pre-cognitive insight to know what your customers want before they do, and mailing it out weeks in advance. Also, your guy in Florida is a whiny bitch who has clearly never had to order anything in Canada before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leach Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Canada posts don't take long if shipped from Michigan......unless those evil rat bastards in customs handles it for too long....My grandpa always used to say..."Son if you handle it too long, you might as well be playin' with it!" Good luck Ax, I will let you know when my items arrive from your new location....see if that helps confirm your delivery times..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I would say "Sorry fella, but this is normal for the post office. There's nothing I can do. It'll be there soon assuming they haven't lost it." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leach Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Looks like the right thread.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Looks like the right thread.... You caught me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari2atari Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Feel your pain, AX. Misunderstandings by customers with the exact service provided by the USPS' "Delivery Confirmation" have led many sellers on eBay, my father included, to switch to FedEx. Removing the pain of dealing with the explanation, or just not being able to pinpoint a package at any moment seems worth the added expense, as my dad likes to point out. He deals in high-end, vintage instruments for a major musical retailer on eBay, and can't really afford missteps. You think video game purchasers are hard? Try these vintage guitar guys! It won't likely help, but you can try pointing your customer the the FAQs on the USPS' web site, that explicitly state that the particular service they purchased only provides Delivery Confirmation, not "Tracking," which is a separate USPS service and costs extra: USPS - Tracking vs. Confirmation of Delivery Good luck, mate . . . -a2a 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edintv Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 You should add in your listings that situation, so on every complaint, you can say: is writed on the listing, If you buy it, you agree to those conditions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesusc Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I've been through the same thing, even sending the buyer a pic of the postal receipt showing that I sent an item to podunksville on the day I told him I sent it. Guy was still a dick. There's nothing you can do but ignore what is written in his messages because it's probably a bunch of threatening garbage and keep responding with the time, date, and DC#. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kheffington Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Yes delivery confirmation only guarantees what it is called delivery confirmation. There is no way to change peoples concept of it being tracking information, especially since eBay lists it as a tracking number on the item information. Most of them seem to show up as processed and in the hands of the post office within 24 hours when printed on line and dumped in the post office package bin. Too much waiting in line but if paid for at the counter or handed to the postal clerk and requesting that it be scanned, it shows up within a few hours as accepted. UPS or FedEx are the only real time tracking options other than express mail. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmdof Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 ignore his messages. once he gets the package he'll see the date on the package that you dropped it off, and he'll fell like an ass. oh and A2A, I'll NEVER use fed ex as long as im alive. They leave packages un signed for out front of your apartment, AND i've had shit dropped off to me being held together by the truck driver himself. Moment he set it down, box fell apart. oh and this pic is from a package i got last year from a guy on the neo-geo forums. I've never had 1 problem from UPS. And yeah, canada post sucks too. took over a month last year to get 2 neo geo games. I could have driven to the guys home and back in less than a day to get the games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Not only do they quite often not scan until delivery... sometimes they don't scan at delivery at all! I've had that happen several times. Fortunately, each time with honest buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[d2f]Iggy*SJB Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 If he gives you any more static, tell him you paid the post office extra to delay delivery by a month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaac98 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I went to the PO to send out a money order. Purchased the MO, placed it in the envelope and put it in the mail slot without leaving the PO. 3 week later and the MO did not arrive at it's destination. Went to the PO and filled out their form to find the MO and they charged me 5.40 for loosing my MO. I am pissed more about the 5.40 then them loosing the envelope...plus I have to wait 60 days for them to refund it. Back to paypal I guess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 DC numbers are supposed to show where the packages have been. However, I've noticed the Post Office system in general has been wonky lately. For instance, I shipped a package out a couple of weeks ago and their web site said it sat the same drop off location for nearly a week. Then magically, the package made it to my customer's doorstep the next day. I've had similar issues recently as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 C'mon... you're having to sit there and break down all these scenarios of how the post office works now as a seller? Screw that. Dude needs to get a life. And you guys talking about Canadian shipments... plan on that taking too long unless you spring for the faster shipping options. @Fmdof: How that package of yours looks is exactly how every_single_box looks delivered by UPS. They are a total crap shoot around here. FedEx has a much better track record and their drivers are a lot more professional/careful. You just must have some gorillas working at your FedEx. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 &varset(source)=sourceType:embedded"]USPS.COM LINK The customer will be provided the following information about items mailed with Delivery Confirmation: * If item was delivered: the date and time of delivery * If delivery was attempted but not successful: the date and time of the attempt TRACKING ISN'T PART OF THIS SERVICE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 TRACKING ISN'T PART OF THIS SERVICE. If it's not part of the service then USPS needs to set up their system so it never shows where a package has been. Until then, despite whatever their official site says, your customers are going to expect it to deliver proper tracking information, because half the time it does. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wood_jl Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Sometimes they leave packages outside by your door. I don't know if it's up to them - if the house sits a long way off the road in a good neighborhood, etc??? What's the criteria? However, when they do that, they always scan the delivery confirmation - so if someone steals it and you never see it, it's still delivery-confirmed. Also, sometimes the mailman scans everything at the post office NOT when it is delivered. So it'll say the option "arrived at post office" 8:20AM and then "delivered" 8:22AM and then I don't see it until 12:30pm or 1:00pm, etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I realize that it's probably a hassle for you, but it's worth it, especially if you're shipping high-value items, to take them to a PO that can do an acceptance scan. Misunderstandings like this are almost a certainty otherwise. And without an acceptance scan, you have no evidence that you actually sent the item should you be dragged into a Paypal dispute. You can add all caveats and qualifications you like to your auctions, but unfortunately, it's not going to change people's expectations with regards to DC=Tracking. The fact of the matter is that if you don't take steps to ensure that your packages receive acceptance scans, you can expect to find yourself in this situation again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 TRACKING ISN'T PART OF THIS SERVICE. If it's not part of the service then USPS needs to set up their system so it never shows where a package has been. Until then, despite whatever their official site says, your customers are going to expect it to deliver proper tracking information, because half the time it does. That's right! And I swear, at my post office, I've asked specifically for tracking before and they slapped a delivery confirmation sticker on it. Same thing when I buy insurance without tracking OR confirmation. The postal clerks have said that long assed insurance number can be used similarly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raskar42 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 i'm in charge of shipping for my company and we got a complaint today about a non received package - customer was provided with a USPS delivery confirmation number and he was mad at me because he didn't know how to use the number. so i checked it for him and shows package delivered. turns out it's been in his mailbox for the past 2 days, so customer says 'oh, well I never check that mailbox.' and hangs up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greencoman Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Ouch. I guess you cant believe some people. I have been having problems with a couple items myself. One guy claims the dc code he gave me is real but the post office says its a fake. The other guy sent me something without a dc code and I never got the item. He wants to send me half a refund. I care more about the stuff but even more that is usps is having problems something has to be done about it. I am kinda glad that I am not the only one with problems related to usps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leach Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Nothing sucks more than delivery time from Venezuela to Michigan.....over two months for the last package...going on two months for these two packages...prob be 2 months for the next package and so on...but I will still buy from the seller as they are GreeeeaaaaT! Just like Tony used to say! Ax, i got my package today....nice package..thanks again! (I dont have to drive down to Tennessee after all? LOL! Cant wait to buy more from ya actually...but Im sure you already knew that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 C'mon Ax, it's time to fess up. All of the excellent service over the past three years was a setup. Eleven pages of positive feedback must have been a hoax. You were just biding your time to rip off this one person, weren't you? Seriously, if you can't trust the Ax to deliver the goods, you can't trust anyone online and should stick to buying in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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