Stamps Lost In Mail.

About two weeks ago I bought on ebay a pair of newspaper stamps. They still have not arrived. Fortunately, they were tracked. I checked the tracking number. A week ago they left Kingsford, MI. That's all of 70 miles from here. Nothing after that.

I called the Post Office and they said they would look. How is the Post Office at finding lost mail? If the PO doesn't find it, can I get my money back? From whom? Clearly, it's not the seller's fault.

Don

I'm in a similar situation, though I haven't approached the P.O. yet. My stamps arrived in Milwaukee all the way from the Far East. Maybe if I drive up and down Interstate 94...

I don't think you have any recourse to compensation from the PO. It would be up to the seller to file a claim. Since it has tracking, they can file a claim here:

https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm

But the PO needs to determine that it has been lost first, and that they cannot locate it. Whenever they scan a package, geo coordinates are recorded at the point of scan. So they can be pretty good at tracking packages. But once they have determined it is lost, then the sender has to file the claim.

Your only recourse is to request a refund from the seller. You say it is not their fault. That doesn't matter. It was their responsibility to see that it is delivered to you, and if you don't get it they owe you a refund. Since this was an ebay purchase, you may be able to get the refund from ebay.

I have had it happen a few times and they usually show up eventualy

blcjr - I could not disagree more. The seller did her / his duty. And to lay that heavy on them is inappropriate. In Canada is I send something expedited there is an automatic $100 insurance. Do yanks not have that?

2 weeks it's nothing, I have a package lost by USPS the 30th of Match, tracking still active on Canada Post but disappear 2 days ago on USPS, good things the guy refund me, it'S $ 300 os electronic for rockets

Every time I have something lost it's from US or Germany, all true I suspect those Germans never send me anything, every time I have to open Paypal dispute and in 2 case they reply with fake tracking and I get refund.

Check the listing for the dates ebay gives for when the item should arrive by. If it's past that window, send a message to the seller and see what they want to do. If you get no response there, go to the Resolution Center in ebay, click on the appropriate item and open a claim. ebay will take it from there.

Canadastamp,

Who can file to claim that (up to) $100 insurance coverage? I would imagine it is the sender, not the addressee. Correct me if I am wrong.

I don't know what differences there are in legal concepts between Canada and the US, and I am not really addressing this from a legal standpoint so much as a moral one, but if I were to take someone's money, I would feel an obligation to refund it if they didn't receive what I "sold" them. Until they receive it, the transaction is not complete. While the "fault" might lie with the postal service, the postal service does not have unlimited liability, which is why insurance exists. Unless a seller explicitly says "you want insurance, you have to pay for it" the seller should own the responsibility of insuring themselves in case they have to make a refund. I do think that even here in the US there is some small amount of automatic coverage. But it is still the seller, not the buyer, who has to file the claim for remuneration. If the seller doesn't, and refuses to refund to the buyer, how just is that? Again, insurance exists for a reason. But it protects the sender, not the receiver. It is then up to the sender to do the right thing -- issue a refund, and file a claim for a loss.

But that is all hypothetical in this case, as it is likely that if not received, ebay will refund the buyer, dock the seller, and the seller will have to make a claim with the postal service (which is as it should be).

Basil

Was it sent registered mail? If so, it was probably stolen by a US postal employee. Once foreign registered mail hit's the US, it goes into the main mailstream and isn't handled separately like domestic registered mail. The registration sticker is an indication that something valuable is inside. It might as well be a big flashing neon sign that says "steal me" on it. Those shipments you lost from Germany were probably stolen as well, this happens ALL the time; I've lost several registered mailings from Germany to postal thieves. If buying from international sellers, you're better off using standard mail, or biting the bullet and shipping via UPS/Fedex. Never have an international shipment sent to you via registered mail, you'll lose almost every one of them.

The post office wont let you file a claim for first class unless its been 30 days, we have free insurance in the USA for priority mail but I doubt 2 stamps were sent that way. Although you dont want to wait if its only been 2 weeks you just going to mess up a seller who you can see put it in the mail if tracking shows it. A claim filed with ebay this early will result in paypal putting a hold on the sellers money but if he has a tracking # you wont get a refund till you wait a while longer