USPS = Lost my package. Now what?

Tyrkon Lawson

Tyrkon Lawson

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Oct 31, 2003
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Well I have read about it and now it finally happened to me. First off this is the first time USPS has ever screwed up with my shipments. I have never had a problem, until today that is. And I know not much time has gone by but...

So I am starting this thread mostly to hear from others, who have experienced a similar situation, what tI have to look forward to. Here is my story:

I shipped a knife out via USPS Priority Mail, insured, and with a confirmation #. This was done on 10-09-07 at my local P.O. When I check the tracking info. on the internet it confirms that and then show that it was processed the following day in another city near me. Perhaps a larger processing facility. That was on 10/10/07.

Yesterday I called their customer service line to get help. :jerkit: They took my info down and said that they would have an "investigator" look into it for me and get back to me within 24 hrs. That was 10/16/07.

This morning I get a call from a P.O. worker in the city it was being sent to. She informed that she looked it up on the internet and that it was last processed on the 10th. She used the same tracking method I used. So I tell her that I can do that. And ask her if that is all they will do to "investigate" it. She tells me that's it and tells me that it will hopefully show up today.

Then I ask the worker what my next step is. She tells me I have to wait 30 days before I can make a claim. Great.

I have a few questions for you guys:

(1) If the knife never appears, and since I had insurance on it, what should I do to get ready for making the claim. Do I need a letter from the maker to state the value of the knife? I want to be ready the day the 30 day mark arrives.

(2) Once I file a claim, assuming all the paper work is correct, how long does it take to get my refund or insurance payment?

(3) Have any of you guys had a similar situation and if so
what was the out come?

This is a first for me regarding USPS and I hope the last. Accidents happen and they can not watch all their employees 24/7. I guess it all comes down to how they treat me from here on out. And it had to happen at a time I was raising funds to pay off a recent fender bender. But isn't that how it always happens. :o

Thanks guys.

BTW: The forum member the knife was on its way to has been very patient and understanding through this. I'll be posting a "positive" for him here soon enough. If he does not recieve it in today's mail I will be giving him a refund tonight.
 
Tyrkon,
I have not had the misfortune of having a knife lost by the USPS yet (knock on wood). But I will say that once in a trade with another member, he and I shipped our respective knives out to the other on the same day. The knives were exactly the same except for handle material and color variation. I got my knife from him in about 3 days, IIRC. Him? He waited over three weeks to get his. Apparently his knife was rerouted and delayed due to inclement weather in his area, which there was. I was just getting ready to make a claim when the knife showed up at his place.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is still highly likely that your knife that you sent out is still somewhere in the system. I know that it can be nerve-racking waiting to find out if you are going to have to make a claim or not. However, if you can just be patient, then hopefully all will turn out ok. Who knows why something might be delayed in delivery by the USPS??? I'm sure there are more possibilities than either you or I could guess.

Best of luck!
 
I sent a Bow sight back for warranty repair.
USPS 'lost it' for 3 weeks.
It was torture.

Good luck, I suspect it will show up.
 
O.K I feel like an a$$ now. And this being the first negative thread I have ever started here. I just checked the USPS "tracking" page. The same one the postal worker said she also checked this morning. It now show that the package has been recieved by them (the city I sent it to). Hopefully that also means the buyer will get his knife.

I think what worried me most was the lack of information regarding the whereabouts of the package. Sorry for the false alarm.

Nothing to see here people. :o:o:o

BTW: I will let you guys know if the buyer gets his knife safe and sound. Thanks.
 
In the future though just in case a package does go missing, keep your del conf,insurance tags AND the reciept. According to the PO if you don't have the reciept there is no proof. Just the little insurance tag is not enough. You'll have to wait the 30 days for a claim and then I think it is 45 days they have to find it or pay the insurance......they WILL fight you on the value!!!! Be prepared to prove the value of the item. Keep the USPS money order # or any other proof of payment(canceled check,paypal invoice) or be able to show what a current retailer is selling said item for. I lost a custom blade once and they surely were not going to take my word as the maker for the value of the knife. I had a friend who owns a knife store write up a statement that said yes the knife lost was worth XXX$. Then they paid off. They take everybit of the time they can, but eventually if you keep your info correctly they do pay and the hassle is usually worth it at the end.
 
I have had USPS Priority Insured packages take as long as 3.5 weeks from Indy to South Florida with no explanation. USPS is just like that sometimes I guess.

Also, USPS tracking numbers are useless for actually tracking a package. In fact I am surprised that it showed that it was processed at a second location. Usually there is only an entry for when the package is shipped and when it is received. I get DC numbers just so I can prove that the knife was actually sent.

So hopefully, your package is just delayed. Good luck!
 
matthewdanger said:
Also, USPS tracking numbers are useless for actually tracking a package. In fact I am surprised that it showed that it was processed at a second location. Usually there is only an entry for when the package is shipped and when it is received. I get DC numbers just so I can prove that the knife was actually sent.
Click to expand...

USPS does NOT offer tracking on Priority Mail packages. They only offer Delivery Confirmation on Priority Mail. There might or might not be intermediate scans showing up on the website, but the name Delivery Confirmation pretty much describes what it provides - confirmation of the delivery of the piece (and it's not necessarily there in real time either).
 
I had this happen once in a hundred or so packages that I have shipped by priority mail. Since I printed the label and postage from my computer, I could get very little info. I went to my local post office and talked to the post master. He ran a search and gave me a very detailed report the showed the path of the package every inch of the way. Your average postal worker does not seem to have access to this info.

By the way, the package was scanned in at the receiving post office and they said that they couldn't find it. Eventually, it was
delivered.

If you are shipping a very valuable knife, you might consider express mail. Insurance is included in the cost and if it is not delivered on time, you get your money back.
 
My Dear Friend,

Don't freak out - it once took over 15 days to get a knife from an adjoining state into my hands. 99% chance it will show up.

--------
Hannibal
 
Thanks for the input guys. I think this is just one of those "first time" things.

The good news is that it was scanned in the city of the recieving party this morning. And a postal worker left a message at my house saying that the package should be delivered tonight. :)
 
Tyrkon Lawson said:
Thanks for the input guys. I think this is just one of those "first time" things.

The good news is that it was scanned in the city of the recieving party this morning. And a postal worker left a message at my house saying that the package should be delivered tonight. :)
Click to expand...

...and it once took 28 days between VA and Canada. USPS was indeed a pain, but it finally worked out.
 
Bill Siegle said:
In the future though just in case a package does go missing, keep your del conf,insurance tags AND the reciept. According to the PO if you don't have the reciept there is no proof..
Click to expand...

This is what they told me also, however, I couldn't find the receipt for a lost knife and I still was able to file a claim and I did receive my Insurance claim. Don't let them tell that you can't file the claim, ever. Ask them for your appeal rights etc. (especially if the delivery confirmation says it is delivered and it wasn't)

Also when insuring knives I always insure them for at least $300 this requires that they get a signature when delivering it.

:D:D
 
OldPhysics said:
...and it once took 28 days between VA and Canada. USPS was indeed a pain, but it finally worked out.
Click to expand...

Ah....sending items across borders through the postal system. I have had numerous fleabay bayonets, motorcycle parts etc sent up from the states. I was ordering for the most part from New York state and Ohio. My goodies usually arrived in about three weeks from my initial mail out, which I thought was pretty darn good considering were I live. The two times that my shipments dragged considerably over the aprox. three week period was because the item was sitting at some customs warehouse on the Canadian side.:grumpy: I trust USPS and Canada post and have never had a bad experience, even shipping items thousands of miles (ebay again). I do however insure and track. Customs however...................I'd better leave this alone now before my blood pressure rises. Delays do happen, we do worry, been there, it's normal. Good luck in the future.
 
As a side here, Delivery Confirmation service does not mean anyone is required to sign for a package upon delivery. It simply means the Postal worker has confirmed that a package was delivered at that addy. Which means it may be sitting in a mailbox, left on the porch, stuck between screen door and house door, etc. Even an insured package does not necessarily mean a signature is required either! As far as I know, the Signature Confirmation (pink neon slip) service requires a signature upon delivery. This service costs a bit more. But it will provide a bit more peace of mind for those who are nervous about using US Postal.

On the average it takes at least a week for a priority package to arrive in one of my neighboring states! US Postal can get away with this since their policy states that there is NO guarantee that priority mail service will deliver within the 2/ 3 day period! In my opinion, it is a blatant racket that makes untold millions for the P.O. system.

N.

www.dozierknives.com/forum
 
I orderd some items on the internet on Sunday and it arrived today (10/17) via priority mail. It usually takes between 3-5 business days for items shipped priority or first class mail to arrive at my doorstep in Hawaii from anywhere in the U.S. Once in a while it will take a day or two longer. For some reason, this happened only with items shipped from Florida (3 times) and Ohio (2). ???? Items shipped via UPS usually takes 10 or more business days but a least you can track it across the country. Kinda funny how it will go from one city in California to another before being shipped to Hawaii. I think the USPS is pretty reliable considering how much less they charge than UPS or FEDEX.
Twice I ordered items through the internet that I did not recieve. One time was from Savson and some of us knows how that goes. Another time it was a re-order and the previous order was shipped vis DSL.
 
As Coug said, It's not time to panic yet. I've mailed literally hundreds of USPS priority packages and have had a couple of them (for no apparent reason) take more than the promised handful of days. I had one that was delayed 2.5 weeks during December. Believe me, I was sweating it, but it did show up.

What you do have to worry about is the infrequent case where your package was delivered to the wrong party by the USPS and the receipient simply kept it. That does occasionally happen. Back when I was trading blades frequently, I ripped open a USPS priority box that was delivered to my place and found women's underwear that were intended for the folks at the same address on the NEXT STREET OVER. :eek:
 
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