What does it mean when a package VIA USPS goes through the same sort facility twice?

Bladenoobie1

Bladenoobie1

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Hi,

Of recent I "completed" (not complete till I receive the knife) a deal with a maker here on bf for a custom fixed. It was shipped last Saturday and according to tracking it was supposed to arrive today. (sent priority 2-day mail) Unfortunately, it didn't even leave the sorting facility of the maker's area, rather it processed through the sort facility for a second time.

I've never had this happen to me with USPS before and was curious as to what it meant. Has anyone here had a same or similar experience as me? And if so, is there anything for me to be concerned about? Or does this only mean my package will just arrive a couple days late?

- BN
 
I'v had packages that I sent vis priority mail make it to the post office of the town or city, only to return back to my post office and then back to the destination I mailed it to.
 
This has happened to me a few times. Once, the package was placed in the wrong sorting area, and at the next location was redirected back to me. The other time was just an error in updating the track and confirm page, and the knife arrived on time. It might arrive a few days late, but I wouldn't be concerned with it just yet.
 
It means..... there was a bungle.

In twelve years of shipping, I have NEVER lost a package through USPS, although there have been delays.

Drum your fingers on the table. That helps. ;)

Coop
 
I recently checked a tracking number from a shipper that showed it left his town and was delivered to a different town the next day.
I didn't recognize the zip code or town so I emailed him to let him know that I hadn't received it.
The address that it showed delivered was the post office he mailed it from..
My item arrived here about 6 days later which was about right for something mailed to me in Canada.
I would let the person know of what you found it may have been something like what happened to me...
If not he will be able to check into it for you..
 
Thanks guys. The package seems to like to spend a lot of time in one sort facility. Hopefully I get it within the next 2-3 days.
 
It once took 18 days for a Priority Box with 1 knife to go from AZ to Illinois. It make a total of 12 sorting station stops, and was scanned a total of 34 times. I was freaking out, not because of the money that would be lost but I really wanted the buyer to have that knife, he had been hunting for that one a long time.
 
edit: Removed post since I didn't want to sound so negative about the USPS. Their operations and procedures sometimes are downright frustrating.

:(
 
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I've had this happen a few times. The last time a knife was shipped form Tx-Pa. It made it up here to the sort facility, bounced around the facility for a week or so and then went back to Texas. The seller resent the knife and it arrived three days later. It took about two weeks total before I had it in hand. It was addresses correct soi have ordeal what the actual problem was. Hang in there it will show up eventually. Consider that it's still showing up in the USPS tracking system. That's usually better than being MIA.
 
I shipped a knife from North Dakota to Alaska---made it to Alaska then for some reason they thought it would take a scenic trip to PA just for kicks, then back to Alaska.

All in all it added about 5 extra days to the whole shipping ordeal---in the end, all was well.

Paul
 
Well the package didn't arrive today. Its spending an awfully long time at one sort facility. I'm hoping for it to arrive within the next few days as opposed to a few weeks.
 
Did you ever think of calling the post office and asking them to check on it? They may know more about what is going on with it than random people on the net.
 
mrphotoman said:
Did you ever think of calling the post office and asking them to check on it? They may know more about what is going on with it than random people on the net.
Click to expand...
I tried but unfortunately their customer service hours of operation is down. I'm trying to send an email right now but it keeps saying my email address is invalid...
 
I'm starting to get frustrated with USPS. You can tell it's government ran (don't lose sleep over that comment, I work for the government myself). Highly inefficient. 3 days means 3 days at the soonest and not a second before. I was visiting family in Seattle over the summer and had an item shipped to me out there. Seattle has it's own sort facility and the item was shipped straight there (I want to say in under 10 hours). It then sat there 2 full days until it was finally delivered on the third day. I was staying 15 minutes away....

Currently, I bought an item on Sunday from someone who lives 6 hours away. I thought for sure it wouldn't take 72 hours to get here.... I was wrong. It'll be here tomorrow, 72 hours after being shipped. My tracking hasn't updated past acceptance and going to a sort facility but I am sure that when it does update it will show that it spent 2 days at whatever sort facility it was at.:mad:
 
I have been shipping my knives to customers since 1998 and I use the USPS only because of it's lower cost etc.

I have had packages take some strange routes to get delivered and several delays.
I have never lost a package with them yet!

The USPS still seems to be the most reliable way to ship. Years ago when I started knife making I worked in a Gun store and at least one a month a rifle we had shipped by UPS was damaged by them running it over with fork lift.

I don't think the owner ever got a dime back from UPS? They would always say that we didn't package it correctly and thats why the rifle was damaged. Go Figure?
 
I had a knife go missing between the sort facility & PO in Texas a couple of years ago (had Insurance luckily) & a Money Order in a Pri envelope go missing at a sort facility,but I still prefer the convenience & cost of the local PO.Just make sure you get insurance for the expensive stuff & MOs are automatically covered against lost.

OOPS,I mean UPS just plain sucks IMO.
I worked making radiator cores for 12 years & UPS constantly damaged cores going out to our customers.
They always said it was because of insufficient packaging.(more like insufficient brain matter of their employees.)
We had a pile of 'em every month that had to be processed & scraped,not to mention we had to make a replacement for each one damaged & reship 'em on our dime.
 
My favorite was a knife from AZ to me in HI (at the time) take three weeks via a side trip through Puerto Rico. It got stuck in a loop in and out of the PO there for about a week before the sender called the PO and they "fixed the glitch".
 
Not just USPS. I'm awaiting a knife from a dealer, sent UPS, which according to tracking has been sitting in a warehouse for 3 working days. Dealer assures me I'll receive it. Still, it is frustrating.....
 
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