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Fuckin' USPS' Network Distribution Centers: the thread.


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2 hours ago, danyc said:

Not angry, but once again baffled at the antics of the USPS. 

 

Was driving to Maine on 12/19 from NYC and deliberately dropped a record in the mail in Worcester, MA in hopes of it getting to a friend within a reasonable time, who only lives 20 miles north. Did this also to hopefully avoid the NY/NJ USPS black hole. It was prepaid but then sat for at least a week unscanned and no tracking updates. Next time it was updated was back here in my zip code on the 28th and then went to Jersey City... aka package purgatory! I mean was the PO totally thrown by the fact that I sped up the process for them, so they had to bring it back here and start the process all over? 

Everything goes through a distribution center. Come on now if you think the person at that post office sorts where it goes

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I've had some slow orders this holiday season but everything arrived in a decent enough time frame. My only issues were people who ordered something from me knowing it was shipped media mail, during the holiday season and still filed a paypal dispute after 7-8 days 😒 I also had a guy who ordered something the night before Christmas Eve and was upset I didn't get it shipped out before Christmas. 🙄

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10 minutes ago, morfiend said:

I've had some slow orders this holiday season but everything arrived in a decent enough time frame. My only issues were people who ordered something from me knowing it was shipped media mail, during the holiday season and still filed a paypal dispute after 7-8 days 😒 I also had a guy who ordered something the night before Christmas Eve and was upset I didn't get it shipped out before Christmas. 🙄

He confused your label name from Last Rights Records to Last Minute Miracle.

 

...I kid but that sucks with any PayPal disputes now. Shit's fucked we just have to wait.

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1 hour ago, N8TRU said:

I'm curious about this part: how is paypal handling disputes with usps being overloaded? I can't imagine dinging a seller who provides tracking on an item that is still set to be delivered.

You got me. The last person that did it was someone on eBay and the item still had 1 day left on eBay's shipping window. The buyer didn't even bother messaging me about it, just filed the claim. The item did end up being delivered and the dispute was dropped.

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1 hour ago, N8TRU said:

I'm curious about this part: how is paypal handling disputes with usps being overloaded? I can't imagine dinging a seller who provides tracking on an item that is still set to be delivered.

PayPal should tell people to wait, if tracking shows it’s in transit. I could see an agent hastily back a refund request if a package is never scanned in though.

 

IMO, the bigger headache is avoiding bad feedback. Some people are acting like you offered them a “get it by Xmas or your order is free” guarantee and they know they can use negative feedback as leverage. Sellers have to decide whether to lose money and hopefully avoid bad feedback or stick to their guns, make customers exhibit patience as their package shows up in a week or two, and possibly get their feedback score ‘ruined’.  I think most people will take December 2020 negative reviews with a grain of salt, so it’s not as bad as it feels, but some marketplaces like Etsy will shut you down or punish you for not having a perfect feedback rating, so it can be impacting.

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35 minutes ago, Snaggle Von Swift said:

I have three packages that got to Jersey City on the 4th, 11th and 15th that have not moved since. I would love to go take a tour of this facility.

You'd go there and promptly shut your face after seeing this 

FB-IMG-1609344592578.jpg

 

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On 12/29/2020 at 2:12 AM, MyEnemy said:

Did I quote you?? I wasn’t referring to you. But the fact that you responded to this and felt like you were personally attacked is exactly why this place is a fucking cess pool of shitty man children who live in a fucking Amazon world where you think things are and should be catered to you in a “certain amount of time”.  Are you fucking kidding me?!??!? 
...

I’m not sure what everyone’s fucking malfunction is when it comes to something taking a little bit longer to get to you. Are you really that fucking dense or what??

This post is spot on.  Love how this guy responds to a whiner and everyone whines about it.

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Step up your customer service game people. Some buyers are still going to be dense, but a little communication goes a long way. If someone buys something a day before Christmas eve, it doesn't hurt to send a "hey, hope you're not expecting this by tomorrow... because if so, here are some options... (offer expedited shipping at a higher price, refund if the buyer prefers, or maybe the buyer says "no problem"" message. Or realize that people get bent easily this time of year and ship the damn thing out Christmas eve, or remove the listing.

 

It should be a mystery to NO ONE who has sold records during the pandemic that delays were likely to happen during the holidays. Serious sellers should also understand that buyer's get extra sensitive during holidays.

 

Been doing this for 10 years. Some buyers suck, but I'm telling you from experience that most of it can be mitigated through OPEN DIALOGUE and PRO-ACTIVE COMMUNICATION.

Edited by ROVVLES
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3 hours ago, Shelby American said:

You'd go there and promptly shut your face after seeing this 

FB-IMG-1609344592578.jpg

 

What's the source for this? Are there more photos? My post wasn't a complaint, just me genuinely curious about seeing this place.

 

I've been inside to see the madness at the Philadelphia distribution center during the holidays, but i'm sure that's nothing compared to Jersey City right now.

Edited by Snaggle Von Swift
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For more photos search almost any news stations site.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/business/usps-delays-chrismas-trnd/index.html

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/covid-19-has-postal-service-overwhelmed-understaffed-christmas-n1252159

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/23/949827797/millions-of-christmas-gifts-may-arrive-late-due-to-overload-at-the-postal-servic

But also for the day job we have as much negative feedback on eBay from the last month as we did over the rest of 2020 total.  All due to postal delays.

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17 minutes ago, Chr15a113n said:

I’ve been patiently waiting for all of my orders for the last month. I know the usps is overwhelmed so it doesn’t bother me. Today I got a package that shipped on 12/2 and it was stepped on and the vinyl is chipped on one of the sides. I’m just hoping MerchNow replaces it.

They have a new thing where you have to pay for the "Route Protection" which costs $0.98 and they say they'll replace it (I'm assuming depending on the availability of them item) but some companies now (pretty sure MerchNow is included) might make you check a box with a statement that if you don't agree to purchase the protection they're absolved from the damage. Try their customer service but they're not very helpful and you're probably facing and uphill battle which you might need to file a Paypal claim. 

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2 hours ago, Snaggle Von Swift said:

What's the source for this? Are there more photos? My post wasn't a complaint, just me genuinely curious about seeing this place.

 

I've been inside to see the madness at the Philadelphia distribution center during the holidays, but i'm sure that's nothing compared to Jersey City right now.

Someone that works there, but yeah every processing center looks like that it's nuts. I see like 1 or 2 employees too.

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4 hours ago, GradedOnACurve said:

They have a new thing where you have to pay for the "Route Protection" which costs $0.98 and they say they'll replace it (I'm assuming depending on the availability of them item) but some companies now (pretty sure MerchNow is included) might make you check a box with a statement that if you don't agree to purchase the protection they're absolved from the damage. Try their customer service but they're not very helpful and you're probably facing and uphill battle which you might need to file a Paypal claim. 

Thanks! I actually did purchase the route protection when I purchased it around thanksgiving.

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6 hours ago, ROVVLES said:

Step up your customer service game people....

Hey I am going to second this big time.
Anytime I ship an order now, holidays or not I send a disclaimer of this sort..

"Hey delays happen, sometimes packages get stuck for a while, don't stress it will arrive, its out of my control"

 

The actual thing is much longer and more kindly worded, but you get the idea.

This has really helped out in assuaging people's stress, and setting expectations going in.

Have never had a situation where a customer demanded a delay-related refund as a result.

(though I know people who have, including some nightmare scenarios).

 

Cheers and happy holidays! Do something nice for your local USPS team!

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I had one person who dropped their claim after I explained that the tracking shows it’s still moving albeit slowly, asked them if they could hold for another week or two, and assured them that, worst case scenario, I’d gladly refund them if it’s truly lost or accept a return with full refund if they no longer want it because of the delay.

The other person opened the claim with a long paragraph pre-arguing a “it didn’t arrive by Xmas, it’s lost its value, I don’t want it” so I just apologized and refunded them. Better to eat $13 and move on with my life than try and convert someone who comes in guns a-blazing.

In general, hobby sellers can be a bit too personally invested and expend more emotional energy than required to resolve issues but I do think, as a general message, we should all take an extra breath this season, buyers included. I have 4-5 other customers waiting on packages who have quietly opened cases with USPS to try and expedite their package arriving or just been hanging tight. It’s much appreciated.

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Please don't regularly give in to scammers because it's easier to deal with guys.

 

Despite popular belief they don't just give buyers their money back automatically and there are no terms that say the speed of a government run business is the sellers fault as long as they don't actually lose the item.

A simple "Your tracking has been provided, I apologize for the delay but it's out of my hands. If there are any issues after receiving your record I will gladly accept the returned item for a full refund." Solves the issue most of the time. If the buyer is unreasonable and wants to keep the item and get a refund despite your offer I promise paypal will deny their claim. Only the most stubborn of stubborn will ship something back for taking too long.

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1 hour ago, V3XED said:

Anytime I ship an order now, holidays or not I send a disclaimer of this sort..

"Hey delays happen, sometimes packages get stuck for a while, don't stress it will arrive, its out of my control"

 

The actual thing is much longer and more kindly worded, but you get the idea.

This has really helped out in assuaging people's stress, and setting expectations going in.

Fx Networks GIF by Cake FX

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5 minutes ago, Shelby American said:

Please don't regularly give in to scammers because it's easier to deal with guys.

 

Despite popular belief they don't just give buyers their money back automatically and there are no terms that say the speed of a government run business is the sellers fault as long as they don't actually lose the item.

A simple "Your tracking has been provided, I apologize for the delay but it's out of my hands. If there are any issues after receiving your record I will gladly accept the returned item for a full refund." Solves the issue most of the time. If the buyer is unreasonable and wants to keep the item and get a refund despite your offer I promise paypal will deny their claim. Only the most stubborn of stubborn will ship something back for taking too long.

I literally don’t have time/energy to do this with a $10 order by a customer who is already riled up. And I wouldn’t call them a scammer automatically or in this instance. More opportunist, IMO.

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8 hours ago, ROVVLES said:

Step up your customer service game people. Some buyers are still going to be dense, but a little communication goes a long way. If someone buys something a day before Christmas eve, it doesn't hurt to send a "hey, hope you're not expecting this by tomorrow... because if so, here are some options... (offer expedited shipping at a higher price, refund if the buyer prefers, or maybe the buyer says "no problem"" message. Or realize that people get bent easily this time of year and ship the damn thing out Christmas eve, or remove the listing.

 

It should be a mystery to NO ONE who has sold records during the pandemic that delays were likely to happen during the holidays. Serious sellers should also understand that buyer's get extra sensitive during holidays.

 

Been doing this for 10 years. Some buyers suck, but I'm telling you from experience that most of it can be mitigated through OPEN DIALOGUE and PRO-ACTIVE COMMUNICATION.

The buyer in my case wasn't expecting to get the record before Christmas, he was upset I didn't SHIP IT before Christmas and waited until the following Monday to do so (he didn't ask me to but messaged me Sunday night asking why his record hadn't been shipped yet with a bunch of exclamation points). I've also been shipping records for over 10 years and judging by my 100% feedback on both Discogs and eBay, I'd say I'm doing just fine on the customer service front. My main issue with some buyers is the exceedingly high expectations thinking every order should be shipped within 1-2 days and arrive within a week even with media mail. I have a day job and a family and life sometimes gets in the way of me shipping your record out in Amazon like speed. I appreciate all the business I've received during the pandemic but sometimes you just gotta shake your head at some people, nothing wrong with that. You also have to realize that communication is a two way street, if someone is that eager for a record they need to tell me and I'll gladly offer Priority Mail for an extra fee.

Edited by morfiend
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6 hours ago, morfiend said:

The buyer in my case wasn't expecting to get the record before Christmas, he was upset I didn't SHIP IT before Christmas and waited until the following Monday to do so (he didn't ask me to but messaged me Sunday night asking why his record hadn't been shipped yet with a bunch of exclamation points). I've also been shipping records for over 10 years and judging by my 100% feedback on both Discogs and eBay, I'd say I'm doing just fine on the customer service front. My main issue with some buyers is the exceedingly high expectations thinking every order should be shipped within 1-2 days and arrive within a week even with media mail. I have a day job and a family and life sometimes gets in the way of me shipping your record out in Amazon like speed. I appreciate all the business I've received during the pandemic but sometimes you just gotta shake your head at some people, nothing wrong with that. You also have to realize that communication is a two way street, if someone is that eager for a record they need to tell me and I'll gladly offer Priority Mail for an extra fee.

I can agree with everything stated here. To be clear, my main gripe was towards those immediately blaming USPS. Buyers and sellers alike.

 

I don't work for USPS nor do I intend to die on any hill for them, but as someone who worked in customer service for years and has sold online for many more years, I fully agree that some people are whiny entitled jerks who have little understanding of how things outside of themselves function. It really shouldn't be our jobs to inform such people of basic logistics and human decency, but unfortunately nobody else seems to be stepping up. Also, we all get cranky from time to time and a polite reminder that the world does not revolve around us can be beneficial.

 

That being said, if a buyer bought something from me the night before Christmas Eve, I would probably try my darnedest to either

A. ship it the following morning for the reasons outlined above.

B. if I knew I would be out of town or couldn't ship right away, I might take my listings down for a brief time period or consider sending any last-minute buyers a message ASAP stating if I would not be able to ship before Christmas.

 

Now if this happens on just about any other day of the year, I would not go to such lengths. But Christmas is one of those times when people get extra touchy regarding package deliveries and USPS gets extra swamped, so it could be in our best interests to be pro-active about things rather than re-active. I've dealt with these types of buyers in the past and this is what I've learned to do in my own dealings. Just my two cents.

Edited by ROVVLES
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