Shelby American 4,327 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 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. ROVVLES, Snaggle Von Swift and shenanigans 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ROVVLES 29 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oblivions 632 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 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. ROVVLES 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shelby American 4,327 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 8 minutes ago, Oblivions said: 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. Cool Quote Link to post Share on other sites
morfiend 216 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) 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 December 31, 2020 by morfiend Shelby American, prowl20, shenanigans and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ROVVLES 29 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) 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 December 31, 2020 by ROVVLES morfiend 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
floyd_z 115 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 On 12/29/2020 at 2:54 PM, jerseypride said: The amount of anger and aggression here is pretty over the top. I know the holidays can be stressful but geez. Talk about going postal.... ROVVLES and jerseypride 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IntoXAnother 19 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Not complaining at all but have funny routing going on. On 12/22 it arrived at Teterboro and then Kearny here in NJ. Then "In Transit to Next Facility" Then 12/31 it departed Shrevport, LA. Nice to see my record coming way has traveled more than I have this year. ROVVLES and danyc 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stl_ben 716 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 People complaining about $10 packages seem to vastly outweigh the people complaining about $500 packages. My average order I ship out is close to $100 and boy do the Nickle and dimers get way more picky about everything. Shelby American and ROVVLES 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ryantark 647 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 “Shipped” 12/4 (label said it shipped that week) Accepted 12/16 Last scanned 12/20 Arrived at local hub today! Miracles do happen. ditc586 and Shelby American 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
derby625 184 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I’ve taken the last month off of selling via discogs because I knew it was going to be crazy shipping I did ship out 6 boxes of Christmas gifts on 12/14 via priority Mail. Two made it within 4 days. Two were delivered after Christmas. One finally popped up and should be delivered this week. And one was last seen in Indianapolis on 12/18 with nothing on the tracking after that. I have a crap-ton of records I want to sell but I’m holding off for another couple of weeks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thenameisluigi 164 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 5 hours ago, derby625 said: I’ve taken the last month off of selling via discogs because I knew it was going to be crazy shipping I did ship out 6 boxes of Christmas gifts on 12/14 via priority Mail. Two made it within 4 days. Two were delivered after Christmas. One finally popped up and should be delivered this week. And one was last seen in Indianapolis on 12/18 with nothing on the tracking after that. I have a crap-ton of records I want to sell but I’m holding off for another couple of weeks. Same, I didn't want to deal with any shipping nonsense so I just took everything offline for the holidays. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ZeroNowhere 442 Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 (edited) Has anyone ever received a postage due email from PayPal with the resin being “packaging type mismatch”. I received 2 last night for $5.50 and $12.25. Both were on orders for 1 record that was mailed in a standard record mailer. I have to pay them, otherwise I can’t print labels today for orders I need to ship. I assume the only way to dispute this is by following up with PayPal? Edited January 3 by ZeroNowhere Quote Link to post Share on other sites
streetwaves 98 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) I can't believe some of the advice being doled out regarding "customer service." You don't need to take your listings down or rush out to ship something the next day just because it's Christmas. If someone demands that you ship immediately because they couldn't get their shit together in time to order something, fuck them. It's always the guy who buys the $2 7" who wants it tomorrow. The entitlement generation is the worst. Edited January 5 by streetwaves grammar error stl_ben and MachoHommeRandallSauvage 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fowty Dollaz 2,226 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I think things are starting to get better/ get moving. I have 7 packages coming today. Several are from mid to late December. All but one are vinyl. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex lion tamer 25 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 1 hour ago, Fowty Dollaz said: I think things are starting to get better/ get moving. I have 7 packages coming today. Several are from mid to late December. All but one are vinyl. I've got a few records in the mail now that all started moving in the past two days, including one that was in limbo since Dec. 4th. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
onandonandon 7 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I got a package that was shipped 12/12 today. It hasn't had any movement since Christmas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shelby American 4,327 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 42 minutes ago, onandonandon said: I got a package that was shipped 12/12 today. It hasn't had any movement since Christmas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
onandonandon 7 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Not a complaint at all, just an observation. I ordered some records from Zia back on new years and those got from Phoenix to Georgia within a week, I was definitely surprised. I just have one left that was shipped on December with no indication as to when it gets here but as long as it shows up in playable condition, I'll be thankful. Post office and others were notable slammed for the past two months and I'm glad packages are at least moving again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sad Heart 2,649 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 1/14/2021 at 3:11 PM, Shelby American said: I spoke with a USPS employee today. As you and everyone knows they got slammed from holiday stuff. But after the holidays apparently Covid went around like crazy at the sorting / distribution facilities. A good handful are even shut down. So depending on where you live and where your record is coming from it could end up at one that is closed and it’ll sit there til they have employees back from their quarantine time. LA has been hit hard. Any record I get from CA most likely sits for weeks. But yah, I figured they were backed up but what makes it even slower is that media mail is last in the list. They focus on priority and flat rate first and media mail is last. So another big reason as why it’ll just sit there for weeks. Sucks but it is what it is. Just thought I’d pass that info along for everybody. N8TRU, YesPlease and Shelby American 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shelby American 4,327 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 That makes a lot of sense as to why some things are lightning fast one direction and backed up for weeks in another. Thanks for the info. Sad Heart 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scottheisel 1,515 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I'm beginning to wonder if my Laura Jane Grace LP pre-order from Polyvinyl will ever show up. Ordered it the day it went live in October, finally got a shipping notification on December 11. Then nothing for almost a month. The package even fell off my USPS Informed Delivery due to no updates. Then, magically, it got scanned again at the same facility in Champaign on January 9. Since then, it's been on tour, going to St. Louis, then Memphis, then Pittsburgh. Presumably Cleveland will be next, but it still has no official delivery date. Someday I'll get to spin this record! jerseypride 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ZeroNowhere 442 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 18 minutes ago, scottheisel said: I'm beginning to wonder if my Laura Jane Grace LP pre-order from Polyvinyl will ever show up. Ordered it the day it went live in October, finally got a shipping notification on December 11. Then nothing for almost a month. The package even fell off my USPS Informed Delivery due to no updates. Then, magically, it got scanned again at the same facility in Champaign on January 9. Since then, it's been on tour, going to St. Louis, then Memphis, then Pittsburgh. Presumably Cleveland will be next, but it still has no official delivery date. Someday I'll get to spin this record! I'm sure it will. I had an order that took over a month and a half to get 45 miles down the road. What a time to be alive. I also had an order from Relapse that was shipped, didn't update for a month to the day, and was finally delivered late last week. It came from OH. In the meantime I've received 2 orders that I placed after that order arrive around the same time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
N8TRU 551 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 5 hours ago, Sad Heart said: I spoke with a USPS employee today. As you and everyone knows they got slammed from holiday stuff. But after the holidays apparently Covid went around like crazy at the sorting / distribution facilities. A good handful are even shut down. So depending on where you live and where your record is coming from it could end up at one that is closed and it’ll sit there til they have employees back from their quarantine time. LA has been hit hard. Any record I get from CA most likely sits for weeks. But yah, I figured they were backed up but what makes it even slower is that media mail is last in the list. They focus on priority and flat rate first and media mail is last. So another big reason as why it’ll just sit there for weeks. Sucks but it is what it is. Just thought I’d pass that info along for everybody. Thanks for the info. I really think it would reduce complaints if USPS were more transparent about what's going on. Longest wait I have right now is something that shipped from Texas on 12/2 and never moved anywhere. Other things are coming but extremely slow. Tracking falling off informed delivery is also a problem. Basically we just have to be patient and hope they can get back on track soon. Postal workers are next up in DE for the vaccine and should be getting them late January/early February. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndigoHollow 41 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 All four parcels that I'm waiting from US are stuck in Jersey. Seems like they shut some facilities in the city. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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