Recent Problems With USPS

Despite years of relative satisfaction with the USPS, I have recently experienced multiple frustrating problems with shipments. I had a registered shipment from New Jersey get disconnected from tracking in January, and it was never delivered or found.

Another registered item from Long Island was shipped to me on March 27th with an estimated delivery of April 1st that has not had any new tracking info since the item was dropped off at the P.O. 2 weeks ago. It's 10 days overdue.

Perhaps unrelated, an item mailed from France supposedly on March 8th (according to the seller) has not arrived despite an estimated delivery of April 1st to the 8th. I've had many successful shipments from other European countries recently so I can't figure out why this one is gone. The one other European shipment that got "lost" besides this one from France was a registered item from Spain a few months ago. The seller told me that theft in the Spanish post office is pretty common. So a registered item becomes the same proposition as signaling to change lanes in many US cities- it's actually a signal to the other driver to speed up so you can't get in front of him. Registering the letter tells the perpetrator the item is likely valuable.

My original frustration with the USPS started last year when I had three items requiring delivery confirmation on the same day. All were scanned in, but only two made it into my office at work. After working carefully and thoroughly through the possibilities, it became apparent to me that our local carrier lifted the missing package after scanning it in. He had been delivering stuff to me at work for many months and knew a lot of the items I received were from ebay and from international sources. The item he stole was a nice Indian Head Cent, worth about $50, so it wasn't the end of the world. But there was no way to pin it on him directly as he scanned the items as delivered and our receptionist could not have known to verify anything. Interestingly, they changed his route less than a month later and he no longer covers my office. Duh.

Seriously- I have enough problems with sellers who describe stuff as MNH but somehow miss hinging, thins, sweating, tones and spots without also having problems with the stamps actually showing up. So.... what the heck is going on with the USPS right now???

Don't know if you've seen in the news, that several USPS employees have been caught on video dumping mail in dumpsters and ravines as opposed to delivering it. There has even been an occasion of a mail employee taking it home. When asked, The employee simply stated, (not a direct quote), That he didn't feel like doing his route.

What?!?!?

Too bad that doesn't work with Bills!!

I just had a registered shipment from Germany disappear when it got to NY a couple months ago. Luckily I got my money back, but it was still frustrating (I'd have rather had the stamp!)

There have been issues in the past as well with theft of registered int'l mail out of a NYC customs office or int'l mail sorting center or something along those lines. I haven't had any problems except the one I mentioned, but your comments plus my experience makes me think there must be another theft ring going. Oh, and I got a letter from the USPS about my disappeared shipment saying they were investigating and they needed me to confirm that I hadn't received it. The letter also said the investigation was requested by Deutsche Post.

I order from international sellers fairly frequently (a couple times a month or so) and it's funny that all the other (non-registered) shipments made it with no problems. This was the first time a seller shipped something registered mail and it was the only time I've had one disappear. That's probably not a coincidence. It's also ironic that I initially balked at the shipper's high shipping costs, but I saw that it was for registered mail, so it made it a little easier to swallow. Little did I know at the time that it was probably a detriment to making it all the way to me.

I don't know in US, but here in Canada it cost $ 10 to send a register letter to another address in Canada. I receive often register letters from place like Czechoslovakia, Philippines and the seller charge me only 3 $, from China it's usually free, USPS don't get a lot of money from those 3$ registration.

Like the OP, I have been amazed at how well the USPS has handled shipments until recently. Something has changed for sure ! First Class letter, 14 days from Texas to Michigan.

Two recent shipments with tracking, missing in their system for weeks. Even when they appeared at the sorting facility, they seemed to be on a merry go round and couldn't get out of the place.

It's getting scary to even drop a bill payment in the mail box anymore.

ps But the junk mail seems to be getting though just fine. Something is wrong with this picture.

I recently ordered some stamps (registered mail, of course). From Belgrade, Serbia to San Francisco took 2 days. From San Francisco to Louisville, KY took 17 days, and from Louisville, KY to me (Paducah, KY) took 6 days. (Louisville is a 3 hour drive for me). Watching to USPS website for updates of the tracking was a very painful experience.

I've had problems in the past with registered international mail. Apparently it is treated differently than domestic registered mail.

https://goscf.com/t/16125

Registration is apparently a signal to postal workers that there is something worth stealing.

I ask my foreign collector friends to send me stamps by regular mail without any fancy stamps, labels etc. so it looks just like a letter from a friend. I assume the risk of loss. To date, I haven't lost a single item since I began this tactic. It seems quicker too. I average 5 to 7 days from Europe.

Dan

I agree KC, it's painful to check for tracking updates and see that an item has "left the facility" yet not been scanned again for weeks. These items are obviously being stolen, yet the presumed chain of custody methods don't seem to matter.

The lost item from France (not registered) is really painful. The stamps were very, very scarce- Seychelles reprinted definitives dated 1996. I had come to the conclusion that if the stamps existed mint, they were rare. It was an amazing feeling to find all the reprints in one lot - for about $25. Not sure I'll ever see 1 much less all of them again.

I have absolutely noticed this lately. I have a shipment of those 1981 alcoholism stamps that's stuck in Hartford, about 20 miles away from me and it's been there for the last three days.I don't know what's going on and this is happened a couple of times in the last few months. It's definitely a change from the service I've been used to from the post office.

I recently bought a box lot from a seller in Germany via ebay. He shipped it via DHL. I was able to track that fine, but it's supposedly in the U.S. and in the hands of the USPS.

No additional tracking information is available via the USPS site. It's not quite late yet, but the complete lack of tracking information is not comfortable nor are the stories above.

I do not want this transaction to go bad as if I ask for my money back from the seller I may or may not be able to buy from him again.

Due to business travel, my wife and I were apart in the week of Valentine's Day, so we each wrote and mailed the other a card--unbeknownst to the other, as it happened--using white envelopes, correct postage and addressed to private residences. Neither piece has arrived. These are the first "lost in the mail" first class items I can recall in years, and the fact that both went missing, mailed from opposite ends of the country to long-established addresses, is troubling.

I'm getting very frustrated at U.S.P.S
-Ordered a 20 lbs package of books for my school from France on Amazon. Package went from I-parcel to UPS-MI to USPS. The delivery was done on a Saturday when the school is closed. the item was flagged as undeliverable as addressed, I scheduled with USPS a redelivery that did not happen, call after that to be told that because it was undeliverable the previous employee should not have tried to do a redelivery. Three days investigation and a USPS employee call me back told me that they could not deliver the package at the school because just my name was on it (which was not labeled like that on Amazon) and the school was close so they are sending it back to France, then he hang up on me. Contacted Amazon who told me to contact I-parcel who told me to contact UPS who did not answer my email.
-Some stamps mount I ordered over a week ago, got charged for it but still no news. Normally I get tracking from this company after 3-4 days.
-Some albums I ordered are since a week not moving from New Jersey.
-Order some stamps from iHobb in MNH condition a $60 U.S. stamp was obviously hinged. I email iHobb who the next day answer with an apology telling me that there MNH should not have any gum defects and to return them. 7 of the stamps had weird gum defect, I return them about 2 weeks ago. Still nothing, I emailed iHobb 3 days ago and still waiting for an answer.
-Plus I'm trying to order some stamps from France, I finished all the ordering information a week ago and still nothing. 3 days ago I inquired if they needed anything, they answered me the next day telling me that they had all the information for the order, but still nothing (this is not U.S.P.S fault for this)