Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

silverangler4 said:Ladies, is anyone else dealing with delayed shipments right now? 😢My customers have been reaching out because their orders haven't arrived yet, even though I sent one package on Monday and another on Tuesday...

I’ve been waiting on my check since January 14th.😢
I absolutely despise our postal service; honestly, I’ve had mail arrive from the New York Times faster than it arrives from Washington, D.C.🙂

Olivia Nelson37 said:I've been sitting here waiting for mine since mid-January.😢
I swear, I can't stand our postal service—it actually took longer for my package to arrive from the New York Times than it did from Washington, D.C.🙂

Just give it about ten days—any longer than that and you're just wasting your breath—but if the shipment doesn't show up directly at the local post office by then, they really ought to file a formal inquiry...😉

Brenda Wells59 said:I’ve been wondering about something—has anyone here ever bought or shipped a microwave through an online marketplace? I found one listed for $50, but now I’m stuck thinking about what the shipping might actually run me. Since microwaves aren't exactly light, I'm worried the postage is going to be a total killer. The seller is down in Miami, and I'm not sure if the distance from where it's being sent affects the price all that much. If anyone has any insight, I'd really appreciate the help.

Personally, if I were in that situation, I’d probably just use FedEx... you can actually go to their site and plug in the details to calculate the exact shipping cost, so you can decide if the whole thing is even worth it before you pull the trigger.
http://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/rate-calculator.html

Linda Williams28, thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely check that out.

Linda Williams28, I appreciate it.

Reading through everyone's experiences here, I think I’m starting to piece together the answer, but I’m genuinely baffled by one thing: how on earth can an uninsured package just vanish? We’re talking about something as trivial as nail lacquer—I highly doubt anyone working at a FedEx counter would even give a second glance to a tiny bottle like that. It feels like sending anything without tracking is essentially playing a game of "if it makes it, it makes it."
Maybe I'm being premature since the package has only been in transit for seven days, but logically, if it ends up in the wrong place for any reason, shouldn't it at least be returned to the sender? If there’s no tracking number attached, is there even a specific office where lost mail gets held that I could actually go visit to inquire? I recall someone mentioning a while back that liquids aren't supposed to be shipped unless they meet certain packaging standards, so I wonder if the package might have been intercepted due to its contents.😕
Honestly, I’m curious what someone working at the post office would do if this happened to them. I realize that if I walk up to a clerk at a branch, they’ll probably just brush me off, but perhaps I could charm a local mail carrier into helping me figure out what my options are.

Brenda Wells59 said:Linda Williams28, thanks for getting back to me. I'll definitely check that out.

Honestly, it’s probably safer to just call their toll-free line—I won't drop the number here because I'm not sure what the rules are for this thread—just find it on their website and ask them directly how much shipping would actually run you.😉

Donna Grant68—not too long ago, I was mailing out a little devotional book (standard letter size) in a bubble mailer, but the customer insisted on standard envelope shipping... and wouldn't you know it? It actually made it there. I mean, whatever, I guess it was just pure luck.

I don't really have much experience dealing with shipping services, so I was wondering;

what is actually the fastest way to get a letter delivered to a specific address?
(it's a document that needs to get from Miami to Washington, D.C. within three days)

FedEx.
The second letter is a priority shipment. However, I typically find that all my packages traveling from New York City to Miami arrive within three days.

As of now, I am still sitting here waiting on a certified package that was supposedly sent out back on January 14th.

Olivia Nelson37 said:I'm still waiting on a certified package from January 14th.

From what I understand, the USPS has specific delivery windows for certified mail. If they miss those deadlines, you're definitely entitled to some kind of compensation, and they've certainly gone past the limit here. Maybe try calling the post office to see where things got stuck?

The kids over at FedEx just contacted me to claim my package was nowhere to be found... blah, blah, blah... compensation for damages... what a joke. I honestly find it impossible to believe such incompetence can exist within a service of this stature.

Hey, hey..
Ugh, I seriously need to vent about my nightmare experience with the USPS. Not only did two packages from the United States fail to show up—even though the seller sent me all the tracking confirmations, so clearly they got stuck in our mail system—but one package actually got sent right back to the US! And get this: the label said the mail carrier couldn't find the address???? Like, hello?? They know exactly who we are and where we live! 🙂

And now this crap is starting to happen with domestic shipping too. Some girl bought some kids' clothes from me here on the forum, and at her request, I sent them via priority mail. (Total rookie mistake on my part since I don't have any proof of postage now). She wanted it that way so she wouldn't have to trek down to the post office to pick up a box. It was mailed on December 5th and it either vanished into thin air or just never made it to her—it didn't even come back to me!? 🤷🤷
The thing is, when it’s not registered mail, you can't exactly file a claim or get reimbursed... it's a total joke. So, fine, I tried asking at our local post office twice to see what went wrong and how we could track it down. After getting verbally attacked by the clerk there, I decided to call their customer service line. The guy told me to just go down to the branch and file a "missing item report" by describing the packaging and the contents—so that's exactly what I did... I head to the post office with all that info, and the woman there literally looks at me and goes: "And what am I supposed to do with that? 🙂 🙂" Like, seriously?! So I told her I'd just head over to the main facility on Broadway to check with the undelivered mail department.
MM and I have been there twice now, and nobody knows a single damn thing about it. This lady wouldn't even let us up to the second floor where the warehouse is so we could describe the items to the guy working there—she was so incredibly indifferent it actually made me feel sick.

She actually had the nerve to tell me that if a package isn't delivered or returned to the sender, they open it up, and if it's clothing, they try to find the owner somehow. But if they can't? Then it gets destroyed by a committee (which is basically code for: "we're keeping it for ourselves!")
That guy on the second floor at the Broadway location—who, according to that clerk, apparently knows every single package that passes through his hands—said he's never seen our package. It has such specific packaging that I'm positive it would have caught his eye.

Does anyone have any other ideas on how I can hunt these things down? I was even thinking about bringing photos of the clothes to show them; luckily I have them because apparently, they're supposed to hold onto stuff like that for six months.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention—the package was being sent from New York City to New York City. 🙂

Can someone please weigh in on this?
So, I'm buying a phone, and the seller wants to send it via certified mail as soon as they see the funds hit their checking account.
I’ve never done a transaction like this before, so I'm wondering—do I actually go to the Post Office or my bank to make the transfer before they ship the package?
Also, is this even remotely safe? What happens if I wire the money to their account and then the seller just ghosts me or never sends the damn thing?😕

Ashley Thompson93 said:Can someone please help me out here?
So, I'm buying a phone, and the seller wants to send it via certified mail immediately after they see the funds hit their checking account.
I've never paid this way before, so I'm wondering if I should make the deposit at the bank or at the post office before they ship the package?
Also, is this actually 100% safe? What happens if I wire him the money and then he just ghosts me or never sends the damn thing?😕

Look, if you aren't completely sure about this guy, tell him to send it COD—Cash on Delivery. That way, you hand the cash directly to the mail carrier when they drop off the box, and his courier handles getting him the money a few days later...
I've sold stuff using that method myself, and usually, it’s smooth sailing, until it isn't. I had two buyers refuse their packages once, and they just ended up being sent back to me. Since then, I always demand enough upfront to cover the shipping costs, and the rest is handled via COD upon arrival...
If the guy trusts you enough to go with your first option, then you're fine.
But honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he pushes for that second option too...
Personally, I would never, ever pay for something upfront before I actually have the goods in my hands...
But if you do it this way, $17 you're taking a massive risk if he insists...
I have no idea how much this phone is even worth...
Don't want this to turn into:
http://www.nytimes.com/news/scams-and-fraud-alerts-article-364481

So, the phone is worth $133 and this guy refuses to take cash on delivery—he basically insists I pay upfront because he claims that’s just not how he does business. He wouldn't even give me a phone number to talk things through; he just sent an email address that he ended up changing twice in a single day. Honestly, it feels shady as hell since I have no idea who I'm actually dealing with. What I want to know is: does anyone here guarantee I'll actually get my money back if I wire $133 directly to his checking account? And how would I even prove the payment was specifically for this phone? I'm asking because I've never done anything like this before. Any advice? Is it worth the risk to pay upfront, or should I walk away? I've always paid COD, and this guy just won't budge.

Ashley Thompson93 said:So the phone is worth $133 and he won't agree to cash on delivery—basically, he doesn't want me paying when it arrives because he claims that's not how he does business. He wouldn't even give me his cell number to talk things through; he just gave me an email address that he already changed twice during the day. (It feels kind of shady to me since I have no idea who I'm actually dealing with.) What I need to know is if anyone can guarantee I'll get my money back if I wire $133 to his checking account, and how I'd prove the payment was specifically for this phone. I'm asking because I've never done anything like this before. Please, any advice? Is it worth paying upfront, or should I pass? I usually always pay COD, but he won't do it.

Once you send the money, you'll get a confirmation from the bank showing the account number and the amount, but nobody is going to guarantee you'll get your money back. If the guy is constantly switching emails and refusing to provide a real way to contact him, I'd honestly suggest staying away from him. It might not be a scam; maybe he just doesn't want to deal with the risk of someone refusing a COD package, like what Vance mentioned happened to him once. But then again, maybe it is a scam. Either way, you don't want to wire $133 only to find out later you never got the package, right?

Fair enough. Thanks for the input—I’ll take your advice and just pick up a phone somewhere else.🙂

I am increasingly convinced that FedEx is far more reliable than UPS!

Olivia Nelson37 said:I’m honestly starting to think FedEx is way more reliable than UPS!

That is just plain stupid, you are completely wrong here...