eBay

38e_avenue · ‎04-13-2022

I recently shipped a package with ChitChats. The tracking shows they accepted the package on March 23. USPS is still "waiting" for the package as on April 13. Here is the answer I got from the ChitChats support team:

Thank you for your patience while our partner carrier completed their investigation. I am sorry to advise that this investigation has not yielded any favorable results. It appears that shipment XXXXX may have been lost in transit as we have been unable to trace it any further with the carrier. Unfortunately since there is no Chit Chats Insurance we are unable to file a claim. It will be at your discretion whether to reimburse or reship the item for your customer. Ideally we hope that every package gets delivered promptly and efficiently with no errors however the reality is that sometimes mistakes happen. Our partner carriers handle hundreds of shipments daily and unexpected circumstances do arise which is why we partner with U-PIC to offer low-cost insurance and give our clients peace of mind.

They did not ship, USPS did not receive the item at all, and they even refused to refund my shipping fee. I decided to terminate my business with them. Fortunately, there are alternatives ........

pjcdn2005 · ‎04-13-2022

There have been reports of usps not scanning until the item is delivered so it's possible that usps are the ones who have lost it.

38e_avenue · ‎04-13-2022

They are even worse with returns. They do not have their own custom broker! They charge 5 dollar return fee (!!!!!), and then they scrap ("dispose") your package (yes, they put it into garbage!), unless you are an INC registered business! All other similar businesses were able to resolve this issue, but they simply do not care. I sell OOAK items, not replaceable, and it really hurts knowing, they land in their garbage bins.

38e_avenue · ‎04-13-2022

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
There have been reports of usps not scanning until the item is delivered so it's possible that usps are the ones who have lost it.

Rather not possible. All other items were scanned and delivered, but not this one - for a very simple reason - it was not there ......

recped · ‎04-13-2022

The "alternatives" will have the same policy.

FYI - You have no idea (for sure) where things went wrong, ChitChats may have handed it over to USPS and the failure happened at that point.

This same thing happened to me once, I saw ChitChats scan the package and drop it in the big pallet box, those go direct to USPS and while everything else of mine that was dropped in the pallet box at the same time did get scanned by USPS this one did not.

I figure the "loss" happened AFTER the pallet was delivered to USPS.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

38e_avenue · ‎04-13-2022

@recped wrote:
The "alternatives" will have the same policy.

FYI - You have no idea (for sure) where things went wrong, ChitChats may have handed it over to USPS and the failure happened at that point.

This same thing happened to me once, I saw ChitChats scan the package and drop it in the big pallet box, those go direct to USPS and while everything else of mine that was dropped in the pallet box at the same time did get scanned by USPS this one did not.

I figure the "loss" happened AFTER the pallet was delivered to USPS.

Maybe, I will never know. But was your item delivered to the recipient? Mine was NOT. And it has NEVER happened to me since 22 years that an item was lost by the USPS. It's why I still think ChitChats is responsible for the loss.

teenytrinkets · ‎04-14-2022

But... that's the whole point of buying their insurance. Once they scan the item as received by them, the insurance protects you for what happens after that.

My beef with them is related to that. My local depot has a real winner working there. She's always watching YouTube when I drop off and doesn't even look up. There's always a giant bin of parcels right by the door... and I have to balance mine on top. So yeah, also that means anyone can pick up your packages and walk out with them.

As you can imagine, with her wonderful attention span, she misses receive scanning parcels. This is sooo bad for my business! In addition, missing receive scans means your packages aren't even covered by the insurance you bought! So I've resorted to taking photos of my packages balancing on the giant pile once I drop off.

I've called to complain about her twice. Luckily she hasn't missed a scan for a few months since after she came back from a long absence (thought for sure I was rid of her...doh!). But man, what a PITA she is! Unfortunately, the "better" drop location for me is an extra hour of driving.

38e_avenue · ‎04-14-2022

@teenytrinkets wrote:
But... that's the whole point of buying their insurance. Once they scan the item as received by them, the insurance protects you for what happens after that.

The insurance doesn't protects me against anything. It's not about money at all. It's all about my store's reputation. People ordering OOAK items become just crazy, if they don't get the item they paid for.

And here some math: I saved on their insurance +1.000 dollars during last few months. Until now, they lost 1 item, worth 10 dollars. OK, add the 5 dol. shipping fee - it makes 15 dollars against +1.000 dollars of savings. So no, I will not buy their insurance. But I understand the point. They are cheap. They make probably 1 - 1.5 dollar on every package, so they try people pay 1-1.5 dollar more for the insurance , which would double their profit. Fully understandable. But it makes not any financial sense to me.

38e_avenue · ‎04-14-2022

@teenytrinkets wrote:

My beef with them is related to that. My local depot has a real winner working there. She's always watching YouTube when I drop off and doesn't even look up. There's always a giant bin of parcels right by the door... and I have to balance mine on top. So yeah, also that means anyone can pick up your packages and walk out with them.

As you can imagine, with her wonderful attention span, she misses receive scanning parcels. This is sooo bad for my business! In addition, missing receive scans means your packages aren't even covered by the insurance you bought! So I've resorted to taking photos of my packages balancing on the giant pile once I drop off.

I've called to complain about her twice. Luckily she hasn't missed a scan for a few months since after she came back from a long absence (thought for sure I was rid of her...doh!). But man, what a PITA she is! Unfortunately, the "better" drop location for me is an extra hour of driving.

Funny, I noticed the same. Often there is no one at the counter, you just enter and put the package into a bin. Someone wrote here they look like they opened yesterday 😉

I still wonder what happened to my package. I have a new theory, and I opened a new ticket. All items from the batch have been delivered. One of them was destined to Ontario, so I think they mistakenly put my USPS item with CPC items together. It would explain why there is no scan (I suppose CPC would not scan such shipping label). I proposed a "reasonable" solution to the buyer - waiting for the response ....