Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

Elizabeth Baker38 said:Look, if you had actually read through this thread, you would have known this already. We’ve been discussing this here for a while.😁
I learned this the hard way myself. I ended up paying full shipping fees multiple times because I kept sending things to the same zip code, 21***, until one clerk finally charged me $3.25 and sat me down to explain how it works.
We all need to do our own homework before heading to the USPS. This whole thread has helped us figure out stuff that the clerks at the post office would never bother telling you.

Yeah, tell me about it... they always give me grief over the packaging requirements for parcels, and every single branch seems to run their own little empire—different rules for paperwork, different ways of packing, different pricing... honestly, they're just rude.👎

Kimberly Wood72 said:I ordered a few things off eBay, and now they're scheduled to arrive right when I'm leaving town for the holidays. They're being shipped to my address at the university. I'll only be home for 14 days. Will the post office hold the package, or will it sit in customs, or are they just going to ship everything back? I honestly don't know what to do. Dammit, I can't miss my trip just because of some stupid packages... ugh.

I think your best bet is to call the specific post office where you pick them up. Better yet, just swing by there in person and beg them not to return to sender. But honestly? Yeah, once the holding period is up, they'll probably just send it back.🤷

I'm going to go ahead and ask them today, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. thanks 🙂

Hey there! I don't want to get bogged down reading through this entire thread right now... but quick question: what’s the move when someone takes your money, then claims they "forgot to send it," and then insists they *did* actually send it, yet nothing ever shows up on my end? It’s been nearly three months at this point. She won't even bother heading down to the local Post Office to check if it got lost in the mail or anything. 🤷

If she just sends you a photo of the receipt showing it actually went out ☕
then she should just head over to the local USPS office—I mean, if she truly sent it, there really shouldn't be any issue at all
. Personally, I always hang onto my tracking receipts until the package actually lands in the recipient's hands
.

amberheron64 said:She needs to send over a photo of the receipt proving she actually shipped it ☕
and just head down to the local USPS office. Honestly, if she really sent it, she shouldn't have any issues at all.
Personally, I always hang onto my tracking receipts until I'm 100% sure the package landed safely in the recipient's hands.

Do we really think someone who forgot to ship the item in the first place is going to be sitting on a receipt from three months ago? It just doesn't add up.😁

Unfortunately, unless the sender formally waives their rights in favor of the buyer—which you still can't do without proof—only the person who actually sent the package can file an official missing mail search with the postal service. Without that receipt, you're stuck.
If the package is truly lost, it’s high time to file that claim immediately, because after a certain point, the window for filing closes and you'll be out of luck due to the statute of limitations.

Write them a letter... you can just leave a bad review here, but it’s honestly pathetic that she won't even return the money or go look for the package.

I’ve told her multiple times, like, seriously, just head down to the local Chase branch, but she keeps giving me this line about how she “doesn't have time to make it to the bank.” I don't know... honestly, it's just a total disaster.
It’s awful. And get this—she’s offering to let me pick something out from her photo album, but when I actually look, there isn't even anything worth choosing. :/

Maria Thompson4 said:Hey there! I don't have the energy to read through everything right now... but what happens if I already sent the money, and then she "forgets" to send it back first, and then claims she "sent" it but nothing ever shows up on my end? It’s been almost three months now. And she won't even bother going down to the local Post Office to see if it got lost or anything. 🤷

Man, this is definitely enough to make anyone turn bright red. Three whole months?? That's just nasty.

Maria Thompson4 said:I’ve told her multiple times to just head down to the post office, but she keeps giving me this excuse about how she “doesn't have time to get to the bank”... honestly, I don't know what to tell you. It's a total mess.
It's ridiculous. She’s offering to let me pick something out from her collection, but there isn't even anything worth looking at. :/

Red alert! Now I'm actually curious who we're talking about here. 😬

Megan Ward98 said:This is definitely ripe for one massive, glorious temper tantrum. Three months?? That is just straight-up ridiculous.

Laura Booth6 said:Red alert! Now I’m actually curious—who exactly are we talking about here? 😬

I don't know... I’m just not really feeling that shade of red. It’s a bit much for me. 😢
Because they keep insisting that everyone else in the group already got their packages and that I’m somehow the very first one to deal with this mess. Uhh... seriously? 😢 Absolutely terrible.

Maria Thompson4 said:I'm just not feeling this whole red-tape thing... 😢
since she keeps insisting everyone else got their packages and I'm somehow the only one left out. ugh 😢 so annoying.

Look, honey, why won't she just swing by the USPS and ask what went down?
Only the person with the actual shipping receipt can really dig into that. Or, you know, have someone snap a photo of the receipt—takes like ten seconds.🤷
Though, honestly, after three months, the statute of limitations might've already kicked in. They probably can't even file a claim anymore.
Red tape for sure, if not just straight-up negligence.

Alright, so I’m starting to see some spotting... I just went to check the calendar to see how long it's been, and it's actually been two months, not three. But honestly? It doesn't matter—it's still way too long. Thanks for the help, ladies!

Maria Thompson4 said:Hey there! I don't have the energy to wade through all these comments right now... but what happens if she "forgets" to send the money after I've already paid her, then claims she "sent it" but nothing ever shows up? It’s been nearly three months. She won't even bother going down to the local USPS branch to check if it was lost in the mail or anything. 🤷

The sheer audacity! That is immediately unacceptable! Why should anyone care if other people received their funds when you're still left empty-handed? You aren't "other people." ☕

So, I sent off a COD package headed toward the Chicago area about eight days ago.
It hit its destination after maybe four or five days.
Here’s the catch: I have zero clue if the recipient actually picked it up yet. He told me he’d grab it the very next day, but who knows? And honestly, what even happens if he just leaves it sitting there?
If the package was actually collected four days ago, how long does it usually take for the cash to actually land back in my account?

John Miller50 said:I sent out a C.O.D. package headed toward the Chicago area about eight days ago.
It made it to its destination in about four or five days.
Now here’s the thing—I have no clue if the recipient actually picked it up (he said he’d grab it the very next day), and I’m kind of spiraling wondering what happens if it just sits there unclaimed.
If they did pick it up four days ago, how long does it usually take for the cash to hit my account?

Look, if nobody picks up the package after it’s been sitting at the local Post Office for five days past the notification, it just gets sent back to you. You’ll end up paying roughly what you spent to ship it originally.

But if the delivery goes through smoothly, you should see that money show up in about three to five business days.

I’m not entirely certain if this is the right forum to turn to for advice, but I feel compelled to try because I’m feeling a bit lost on how to handle this situation...
Two weeks ago, I sold a shirt to a young woman, and she was absolutely wonderful—paid immediately and followed our agreement perfectly. I shipped her item the very next day, along with two other small packages, but while those two arrived almost instantly, this first one still hasn't shown up. I actually went down to the local USPS office after five days had passed, and the clerk there assured me that things are just moving slower than usual due to the holiday rush, telling me not to worry because it would eventually arrive. I didn't receive any formal tracking paperwork, though. Meanwhile, the girl keeps letting me know that the package still hasn't reached her. She mentioned something about being in the middle of moving houses, and I can't help but wonder if that might be complicating the delivery process...
Now I find myself wondering what the best course of action is? 😕She really is a lovely person and was so prompt with the payment, and I made sure to ship everything right away, yet those new shirts are still nowhere to be found. 😢

redorca16 said:I'm not even sure if this is the right spot to ask, but I'm kind of spiraling here because I have no clue what to do...
So, like, two weeks ago I sold a shirt to this girl. She paid for everything upfront, totally legit, no issues there. I shipped it out the next day along with two other little packages, but those two arrived instantly while this first one is just... nowhere. I went down to the Post Office after five days and the lady at the counter was all like, "Oh, it's just the holiday rush, things are moving slow, don't worry, it'll get there." The thing is, I didn't get any tracking or receipt. But the buyer keeps telling me it hasn't shown up yet. She mentioned something about moving, so maybe that’s part of the problem? Or maybe not.
Now I'm just sitting here wondering what to do. 😕She was seriously great and paid immediately, and I sent it right away, but she still doesn't have the shirt. 😢

You really should've sent it via Priority Mail or something with tracking, then you'd actually have proof. This way, you're basically stuck—the other person could just claim they never got it, and since there was no signature required, you can't prove anything.

Ladies, seriously, always use tracked shipping or a package service!😉

So, I’m looking at sending two books over to New York City—they probably weigh somewhere around a pound or so total. Does anyone know what the shipping costs might look like for something like that? ☕

Sophia Harris34 said:So, I need to ship two books over to New York City, and they weigh about half a pound together... does anyone know what the shipping costs might look like? ☕

You can actually just run the numbers on the USPS website, you just have to select the international shipping options...
It'll show you the rates if you send them as a package $34😲, or even as media mail $13...

Elizabeth Baker38 said:You can just run the numbers through the USPS website—just make sure you select international shipping options when you're looking it up.
It’ll show up right there on the screen if you select the option to send it as a package. $34😲...just like a printed flyer. $13.

So, I actually sat down and crunched all those numbers myself—really went through the whole thing—but honestly? I was just hoping someone might come along and suggest a different way to look at it. You know how it is, sometimes you get so stuck in your own logic that you need a fresh perspective to snap you out of it. And then, well, I ended up getting totally distracted by those... $33☕🙄

It’s definitely a printed document.