Just lost a $300 knife with USPS...

[Manitoba]

I have had that happen to me, my theory developed once I looked on how it was packaged, and it slipped out of the box / sleve where it closes up. Fortuanately the personI bought it from believed me and reimbursed the moniew.

 

[Bluesummers]

I had a package say that it was delivered and 4 days later it was in my mailbox. I was going to call it a loss but it got to me finally. Hopefully this is the case with your knife.

 

[Cassull]

If your knife was stolen from the US Mail, it is a federal offense. Call the postal inspectors...they are better than the FBI.

I did this not one second after reading the "Delivered" status on the website. I already have a claim number. The lady asked to wait 1 business day, which means Monday at the very earliest... but most likely Tuesday since I called 1 hr before they closed today.

 

[Cassull]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but I don't see how this was the sellers fault. When a person buys something, it is either up to them to specify the shipping method and shipping details or, by not specifying, they are by default agreeing to leave those details up to the seller. Either way, the buyer is responsible for deciding how the package is shipped. And if the package is not shipped according to the buyers instructions, then the buyer has a justifiable grievance if something goes wrong.

I'm definitely not blaming the seller for this. If I had to blame anyone, it would be USPS for either:

A: Mistakenly marking package as delivered even though it's not
B: Mistakenly delivering it to the wrong address.
C: Leaving the package outside someone's residence unattended.

 

[UffDa]

If the package was insured and it was delivered without a signature, the USPS is responsible. I'm curious about one thing. Is mail usually delivered to your door? I take it that your
building doesn't have mail boxes.


RE: postal inspectors.

My boss sent a check to a company in Texas and it was delivered to the wrong address. A woman called the company and demanded $20 for the check. She left her name and phone number.
I called the postal inspectors and gave them the information. 30 minutes later we got a call from the owner of the company telling us that the woman brought him the check and apologized.

I am always somewhat amazed when I see stories like this. I have bought and sold thousands of items by US mail and have never lost anything. The company I work for has never lost anything,
but we came close once. UPS ripped the end off of a box containing 2 shotguns. They were being shipped to a LEO and his boss, a federal judge in TX. They delivered the empty box. We called the
ATF and the next day the shotguns were miraculously delivered.

 

[abcdef]

USPS once delivered a correctly addressed box (that is, my address) to a house across the road to people we do not know. Fortunately, the lady who lives there is a decent person and brought it to us. As far as the PO was concerned, the package was properly delivered. Since that incident, I've always purchased insurance.

 

[Cassull]

If the package was insured and it was delivered without a signature, the USPS is responsible. I'm curious about one thing. Is mail usually delivered to your door? I take it that your
building doesn't have mail boxes.


RE: postal inspectors.

My boss sent a check to a company in Texas and it was delivered to the wrong address. A woman called the company and demanded $20 for the check. She left her name and phone number.
I called the postal inspectors and gave them the information. 30 minutes later we got a call from the owner of the company telling us that the woman brought him the check and apologized.

I am always somewhat amazed when I see stories like this. I have bought and sold thousands of items by US mail and have never lost anything. The company I work for has never lost anything,
but we came close once. UPS ripped the end off of a box containing 2 shotguns. They were being shipped to a LEO and his boss, a federal judge in TX. They delivered the empty box. We called the
ATF and the next day the shotguns were miraculously delivered.

If the package is small enough to fit in my mailbox, it is left there. If not, then USUALLY, and by USUALLY I mean 90% of the time, they leave one of those pink notes saying that they could not deliver.

However, they have left packages in my front door before. This only happened about 2-3 times out of the many dozens of times I received a package.

 

[Hauling]

should have bought mine! lol jk. hope it shows up Monday.

 

[JuJu-]

Bake a tray of brownies infused with 24 Ex-Lax tablets. Put the brownies in a shipping box and set it in front of your door. When the package is stolen and you hear the toilet flushing all night, you'll know where your knife is.

That sounds like a plan!

 

[OhShoot]

I had one showed delivered about a month ago. Time delivered was like 7pm, way later than they ever actually show up here. I live in apt complex, besides our little boxes, we also have 4 big boxes for oversize stuff, they'll put a key in your small box to one of them in that case. Didn't know if item would fit in my little one, but figgered it was mis-delivered one way or other to another unit.

Went to PO, they looked etc. Nada. They had postman give me call next day, he checks and finds the station manager had scanned it, for whatever reason. To make % look better on performance data I suppose.

Three days later it showed up with a .15 postage due note on it, apparently got into some sort of round robin somewhere.

Just in the box, nobody tried to get the friggin .15 after all that hassle.

Hope it's something like that for ya.

- OS

 

[SavageSmurf]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but I don't see how this was the sellers fault. When a person buys something, it is either up to them to specify the shipping method and shipping details or, by not specifying, they are by default agreeing to leave those details up to the seller. Either way, the buyer is responsible for deciding how the package is shipped. And if the package is not shipped according to the buyers instructions, then the buyer has a justifiable grievance if something goes wrong.

Killgar, no worries, you don't sound like a jerk--lol I'm sure the OP welcomes any and all opinions regarding this discussion. I do, however, disagree. Every knife I've ever sold has always been insured, with signature confirmation. If you bought something at a store, the person behind the counter has to give you the item, right? Just because sellers here are selling goods over the internet, whatever method they choose to get it to you is at their discretion (UPS, USPS, FEDEX, Carrier Pigeon, or even a hand delivery), but they still have to be sure that they do in fact get it to you--just like the buyer made sure that they got the cash. Signature confirmation is a great way of doing that IMO, and for an extra few bucks, it's not too tough to facilitate. I don't mind if you disagree, your entitled to your own .02, but it's been my experience that insurance/signature confirmation are tools that protect the seller. That said, though I've never had a package indicate "delivery" without actually receiving it (since I've lived off base), I really hope yours turns up monday; $300 is a terrible thing to waste, bud.

 

[Paul Z]

I don't know if Jim insured it or not, but even if he did. I severely doubt the insurance will cover it. I'll send him an email and ask.

insurance will cover it, if he didn't opt for signature then the liability technically (legally) lies on the shipper. I had an issue with this once and the company ended up sending me a whole new tent. Oddly enough, the same tent showed up 2 months later in a beat up box.. lol!

That said, if its insured, it should be covered. Because as far as I know insurance with USPS requires signature upon delivery, and that lies on them.

 

[Confederate]

If you used a credit card, there's a very good chance that it will be insured. Call them and see.

The postal workers in my area are a den of thieves. They stole four CRKT folders that I was returning because they needed work, and when I bought four gift cards for my nephews and nieces, all of them were stolen even though they were in different envelopes. I lost hundreds of dollars.

If they delivered the item without it being signed for, they may have to pick up the loss. After all, they don't have those signature cards for nothing. Still, who knows? Will be curious to see what happens.

Believe me, ah feel your pain!

 

[Beile]

My mailman has delivered my packages to our neighbors several times by mistake and even a few blocks away, maybe someone will be honest and you'll be as lucky as I've been.

 

[sqoon]

That sounds horrible. I'm sorry, man.

Say, I haven't read through all of the posts here, so I don't know if anyone suggested it, but have you thought about going door to door and asking if the postman delivered a package to them "accidentally"? Perhaps say it was a gift from a family member, or something. Say that you don't mind if it was opened, and that you would love to have it back if they may have "found it". Maybe offer $10 if it is returned. I'm not saying go around and accuse anyone of being a thief (although they are), but you might get lucky. Nothing to lose, right?

 

[C Ben Susrool]

I am still awaiting a $300 knife that was scanned as delivered to me on March 9th.

 

[thaeffman]

I hope USPS resolves this issue for you. The postal system is great 99.9% of the time but it can be inefficient and messy sometimes (Ive had packages delivered to me a week after Canada Post said they were) . Its good to have signature confirmation for anything of value, saves the seller and the buyer some hassle because the post office is liable for the shipment until the seller signs for the package.

 

[Mossyhorn]

The seller should have sent it with signature confirmation. The insurance is to cover his butt. I recently sold a member a knife and shipped it via USPS priority mail with delivery confirmation. It was scanned at the post office on 9/28/12. The tracking showed it went to it's destination and came bac., Then sat in the PO of a large city without moving. I made numerous calls to the post office and finally open a claim. I was able to get a phone number of the major post office in my area. A very polite woman said she was assigned to my case and that the package was back near it's destination. She was able to track all the scans and even saw photos of the package.It was delivered the next day 9/15/2012, but still without any explanation for it's two journeys across the
country. I had it insured and had 3 more days left to file a claim that it was lost. I had insurance and came real close to using it.

 

[blt-2-drg]

The seller should have sent it with signature confirmation. The insurance is to cover his butt.

^^^This.

For the life of me i cannot understand how anyone, whether is be a private party or dealer, would ship something worth hundreds of dollars without insurance or atleast signature confirmation.

 

[Monofletch]

I don't know if Jim insured it or not, but even if he did. I severely doubt the insurance will cover it. I'll send him an email and ask.

Insurance it shouldn't have been left. but........

I would check at the P.O. on Monday. I bet it is there. The slip could have been overlooked. It is easy to hit the "delivered" option --it is on the top of the list after you scan the packages.

I am a mailman by the way!! I go door to door and my customers love my service!