I just had a package of 4 coins, worth around $130, go missing. It was paid for via PayPal, and I used eBay's domestic shipping service to print the label. On April 10, I brought the package to the school where I teach and placed it in the white USPS basket with the rest of the school's outgoing mail, which is my usual practice. When I check the USPS web site I get the following status: "April 9, 2019 at 9:13 pm Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" This suggests that whoever picked up our school's mail that day never scanned in the package. Did they steal it? Misplace it? Just send it on without scanning it? I have no idea, but according to USPS, the local post office claims they never received it. But the package should have been delivered by Monday, and it still hasn't turned up anywhere despite my filing a missing package claim on Tuesday. Both eBay and PayPal say they offer seller protection services when you use eBay's mail service and provide a tracking number. I will probably have to offer the customer a refund. In theory, either eBay or PayPal (I forget which; I'll have to read the fine print) should cover my loss. Since anything in a white USPS mail basket is considered USPS property, technically the package was in their possession. But with the USPS claiming that they are still "awaiting" the item, my guess is that the tracking number is not the same as "proof of mailing" when it comes time for me to claim a loss. So now my question. Has anyone experienced a situation like this before? If so, any recommendation of the best way to proceed? I should mention that this has happened to me once before, except that the last time I went to the post office during a 3-day weekend and physically placed the packed in the after-hours mail slot. It never got scanned in, no one in the post office claimed to have seen it, and I ended up having to refund the customer's money and absorb the loss. Grrrrr. Not again!
I had one or two incidents where I left a package in a basket or put it in a slot, and it never showed up in the tracking system -- but it did get delivered. All the same, I decided it was worth my time to hand packages to a postal employee, watch them get scanned, and get a receipt. (I've never had occasion to use the receipt, because once the items are scanned, they always show up in tracking.) I seem to recall that the USPS also doesn't honor insurance if you don't hand your package to an employee. (Specifically, I can use "schedule a pickup" to have them grab the package from my mailbox, but not if I want it to be insured.) Sorry for your (apparent) loss. I'm also offended that eBay and PayPal claim to offer Seller Protection for tracked packages, but gloss over the fact that they'll deny it if it never gets scanned. They can't really do anything else -- otherwise, it's dead easy to print a shipping label, toss it in the trash, and say "they lost my package, pay up" -- but they should make this very clear and obvious in their terms.
I had a return to Amazon which I personally handed to the mail carrier. When I checked a couple of days later I got the same message about the label creation and awaiting the item. I checked with Amazon, but of course they had no clue. About 3 days later I was notified by Amazon that they received the package. Again, checking USPS on line, I got the same message awaiting on item. Perhaps, and hopefully, it will show up.
I'm paranoid and always drop off at the post office for that very reason, but have to echo the others that it may arrive. Sometimes tracking shows nothing for days and then poof.. ARRIVED. Hope that's the case here.
All you can really do is be patient and hope it shows up. eBay and PayPal are going to side against you and say they have no proof you ever shipped it, which to be fair they don't. Until the initial scan is in the system it's considered not mailed. It's possible it just won't get scanned till the end or maybe even managed to get all the way there without a scan (though that would be very unusual) but if their system is saying it was never received you're going to run into brick walls with any recourse you try and take.
That stinks! I've always had a fear of such things happening, so I've always taken my mailings to the post office and had a real person behind the counter scan them in.
Sorry for your situation. This will be your responsibility to refund. I always pay for the packages in person with a receipt from a counter. At that point it's not my responsibility what happens.
I have a good mailman who picks up my packages. I can't rely on the pick-up option via the website as the mailman never get it, so he has me put a post-it note with "Pick-Up" and he will do so. Have a community mailbox, so he has to come to my porch for it.
I've had that happen before, too. But when the scheduled delivery date came and went without a trace, that's when I realized that it's probably lost. What bothers me most is that one of the coins was a really nice Diocletian follis with lots of silvering: The buyer is someone who has bought a lot of coins off me in the past, and I knew he'd be real happy to receive this one. I also threw in a extra freebie for him since he's been such a great customer: a Licinius with a Jupiter reverse with an unrecorded inscription break. Since I hadn't listed it yet, I didn't take a photograph of it before sending it off. Now that's gone, too. There was also a nice Trajan denarius: and an LRB of Valentinian I:
We all have horror stories, I am sure covering all potential circumstances. But I would not give up just yet. I once shipped a dozen parcels from a small satellite post office, six weeks later none showed in the system. Ultimately they were all delivered (several of which I gave refunds on but the buyers scammed me and did not pay), but it appears that they were sitting somewhere in that small office, neglected, certainly in a pile of several months mail....postal employees are not the best or brightest. I know, we have several ex or current postal workers here and I apologize to them, but the truth is sometimes brutal. I have watched many postal carriers over the years. Some scan, the vast majority do not. Often an item wont be scanned until it has nearly been delivered (seemingly randomly). I would wait. In extreme circumstances it can take a couple months. But the best solution (and not one for everyone) is to hand it to a clerk physically at a local office and make sure they scan it. Otherwise you will never know. And of course, you cant get insurance on anything that never shows in the 'system'.
I've had situations when it never shows up in tracking but is delivered in a timely manner. I always take them directly to the Post Office but just drop them in the box there.
it happens in the USPS...i've received coins that had tracking #'s and never showed up on tracking, but the coins did get delivered..i hope yours do too and the buyer is honest about it..
4/19 Update: I just received word from the USPS that the coins in question, which were supposed to be delivered to South Carolina on Monday, have been discovered in Howell, NJ. Howell, NJ? I remember Howell, NJ. Back in the 1970s, they had a really strong high school soccer team, one of the very few that could give the Point Pleasant Boro team (go, Panthers!) a run for their money. So knowing that the coins in question are visiting Howell elicits a certain degree of nostalgia. Until I remember how much I hated high school. Now I just want the darned things to be delivered. But I'm glad they've turned up. One takeaway from all this is to fill out a "Find Missing Mail" request as soon as possible, which is one week after mailing. That's twice now I've been able to scare up a missing package that was languishing in some obscure frontier outpost like Howell, NJ, by initiating such a request.
I'm happy to hear you found them. I've been on the other end of the equation: a package of 4 coins disappeared after mailing in Georgia. It took both myself, and the seller leaning on USPS to get them to find my coins and still took well over a month. Mine were sitting in the sort facility in Atlanta the whole time I believe. The seller had actually offered to refund my money at the two week mark but I wanted the coins far more than the refund so he kept working with me until they were found.
I have a package from Israel that was "handed to U.S." april 13, still no updates. Getting frustrated & concerned day by day since it's a fairly rare & special coin.
It may be in their customs still. I often get packages that are held as much as a month before they get released to continue on to the US. Often a delay in our customs too.
I feel kind of responsible for @Mat's postal issue. He had asked me about the coin and the seller prior to purchase. It just so happened I recently had a positive experience with the same seller. My coin flew through and got to me in about a week from Israel. It just goes to show how unpredictable the mail can be. Fingers crossed.
