A knife trade gone wrong. What to do?

OT:

Because of the nature of my online business, I literally ship over a thousand packages a year using the USPS Priority Mail in most instances and then their First-Class in some other instances, virtually without any losses (let me insert my own anti jinx prayer in here!). In some cases these items are costlier than some knives the we (the collective knife community in here) ship using the USPS. However, the items which I ship do not have as much extrinsic value as a valuable knife which may motivate someone along the delivery process to act upon an illegal impulse. I have never had the need to insure all of packages either just because as the margins get squeezed and smaller, adding insurance in every instance makes doing business very cost prohibitive.

Case in point, if the merchandise which you are shipping has more extrinsic value than its intrinsic commercial value then insure it to make it more iron clad, but also bear in mind that when it comes to making a claim, you ought to have all your ducks in a row because the burden of proof vis a vis value is on you the claimant. Personally speaking, I think that most losses occur because of p*ss poor packaging rather than nefarious activities but I do not discard the latter wet it comes to something which can be quickly turned into cash!
 
sharkattacksw said:
As of now, my knife is less than a week late, so maybe I'm just jumping ahead too much. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it arrives.
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What is the tracking saying. The PO like you to wait 30 days, but they sometimes will act earlier. They can often find it if it is stuck in the system vs. taken by an employee.
 
I was leaning towards communicate with the other half of the trade and give it a bit of time ... until I read ... "they already sold the knife you sent"

That raises a red flag for me ... first no deal is done until both sides are satisfied ... for me I think this is especially important with trades ...

and not even waiting a few days to confirm you received the knife he or she sent before selling yours seems odd to say the least ....

other then that others have covered it pretty well ... Insurance is there for a reason and it is the sellers responsibilty and it protects the seller ... when will everyone learn ... do not use PayPal F&F to pay use G&S ALWAYS ... and use insurance ... ALWAYS ... and another thing if the value is over what you can afford to thow away ... use Signature Confirmation as that extra layer of protection ... the cost of it all maybe $10 to $15 dollars is well worth it when its that or losing hundreds of dollars.

I hope your knife shows up and its that simple ... if not ... I think youve had many give you your options.

JJ
 
halden.doerge said:
One more vote for sender is responsible.

Had the post office lose a red M390 para 2 that I sold last month. Sent a refund. It’s what you do.
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If you had shipped by Priority Mail, you can initiate and request a trace and even if uninsured for up to its transaction value, you may automatically be entitled to $50 standard insurance coverage which will mitigated your losses, even though will not cover them fully.
 
Tarheelpwr said:
Not exactly apples to apples, but I have had one order coming from overseas and 2 domestic order from Cabela's over the last 2-3 weeks that ALL were like this. They took FOREVER, but they did all arrive in the end. Weather has not been nice lately.
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Weather is a HUGE factor and the other significant factor is certain time of the year when the mail volume has a huge spike, such as Christmas time. I have had my mostly business related adverse cases as the shipper during the Holiday period, when deliveries can go awry and that's because the USPS employs a lot of seasonal workers during that time before Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the sheer high volume calls for extra help and in most cases these seasonal workers are a lot less efficient and less detail conscious whether working on the delivery route or at the sorting plants!
 
Casinostocks said:
If you had shipped by Priority Mail, you can initiate and request a trace and even if uninsured for up to its transaction value, you may automatically be entitled to $50 standard insurance coverage which will mitigated your losses, even though will not cover them fully.
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Yes, I was able to collect the $50 insurance plus the original cost of shipping. So that helped cover a bit of it at least.
 
jmh33 said:
Once I hand the package over to the PO.. How am I responsible?? I don't get this at all.. I cant control what goes on.. John
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Sure you can control what is going on. If you don't insure the package that is your problem. I had started a thread specifically about insurance an the consensus is that the buyer is not responsible for what you do. If you want to take a chance that is your problem. It is not the responsibility of the seller to worry about your package only his own.
If the knife was paid using PayPal using G&S you would be out of luck. If you didn't have proof of delivery they will refund the money so fast that you won't see it leave your account.
The upshot is that you are protected in the same manner.
One last example, You buy something from Amazon and it never shows up. You call them and they will either refund your money or offer to ship out another one express, I have had a few instances that this happened.
Bottom line is that without proof of delivery your screwed.
 
Even with insurance, a seller may not get their claim approved, if they can’t comply with the shipper’s protocol for reimbursement.
The bottom line is that the seller needs to personally insure delivery of the item, intact to the buyer. Those who want to avoid any risk or responsibility, should not be selling anything through the mail.
 
Insurance does not control what happens to a package.. PEOPLE DO.. I give my package to people at the PO not insurance.. Insurance is a means to an end.. NOT CONTROL.. Insurance does not loose a package.. PEOPLE do.. JMO!! :D John
 
This is true ... but it is insurance that reimburses you if the package is lost ... not people.

jmh33 said:
Insurance does not control what happens to a package.. PEOPLE DO.. I give my package to people at the PO not insurance.. Insurance is a means to an end.. NOT CONTROL.. Insurance does not loose a package.. PEOPLE do.. JMO!! :D John
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JJ_Colt45 said:
This is true ... but it is insurance that reimburses you if the package is lost ... not people.
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I agree.. BUT.. Once I hand my package off (insured or not) its out of my hand into other peoples hands.. I have no control over it then cause it aint in my hands..

I will politely agree to disagree with most of what is posted here.. :D
 
You are correct it is out of your hands ... and you don't have control of it ... but you still have responsibilty for it until it reaches its intended destination ... and the only way to cover and protect yourself as the shipper is to buy insurance ... or be prepared to pay out of your own pocket if Post Office or USPS employees lose it ... right or wrong that's just how it is.
 
sharkattacksw said:
When I checked, it says that it’s in transit to my town. However, it’s been saying that for several days now whenever I check.
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Be patient. I sent a knife from a deal here to a member in TX. It was supposed to be there Monday and it’s still showing that it’s “in route”. I’ve been in contact with the member and he said that the ice storms they had going on out that way have impacted the mail delivery. He knows things are moving slow right now.
 
jmh33 said:
I agree.. BUT.. Once I hand my package off (insured or not) its out of my hand into other peoples hands.. I have no control over it then cause it aint in my hands..

I will politely agree to disagree with most of what is posted here.. :D
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You’re correct, you can’t control what happens to the package once USPS gets it. However, your end of the deal still needs to be satisfied. If the shipper, that you chose to give your business to, loses the package, your end of the deal has not been met. It’s a simple concept.
 
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sharkattacksw said:
When I checked, it says that it’s in transit to my town. However, it’s been saying that for several days now whenever I check.
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they'll scan it at where it finally ends up, and a new tracking message will appear showing Moose Butt Falls or wherever they screwed up and sent it to. At that point, you'll get the "delayed", a new tentative delivery date, and the next day likely see it making it's way to where it should have been going the first time. I've had that happen a bunch of times, packages show up in towns with the name name as my town but two states away, or sent from one regional hub to another, totally bypassing me, before being sent back to the original regional hub and finally to me, the whole spectrum..but they generally DO show up. hang in there.
 
jmh33 said:
Once I hand the package over to the PO.. How am I responsible?? I don't get this at all.. I cant control what goes on.. John
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Look at it this way...
You accept payment in exchange for your knife...that creates sort of a contract between you and the buyer. You are responsible for delivering the knife. If you choose shipping it as a means to that end, you are - in effect - subcontracting the job to the shipping agency; but you are still the responsible party because the buyer's deal was with you, not the shipping company.
The buyer has no recourse with the USPS (in this case) because he did not hire them to deliver this package...the buyer does, however, have recourse with the seller; because he paid for an item that was not received.
 
Just saw this statement in a for sale ad ... and since it relates to much of what has been discussed in this thread I thought I would share it ... the sale thread had this statement at the bottom ..."Once I ship the knife via USPS my responsibility is complete."

Why is it so difficult for people to understand no matter how you word it or put a "disclaimer" into a sale thread ... the seller IS RESPONSIBLE UNTIL THE PACKAGE REACHES THE BUYER ... and no denying your responsibilty changes that ... why is this such a difficult concept ???

If you are going to get involved in buying and selling anything you should take a minute to research and understand how sales work.

I see these more and more ... and if you see it ... turn around and walk away ... and if you might be one that attempts to use such a disclaimer ... understand the law over rides your claiming no responsibilty.
 
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