Sold item lost in US mail

[miklamot]

I sold an item back on February 16th and it arrived in US at the sort facility on February 21st. Since then there has been no updates and the buyer just emailed me wanting to know where the package is. I am not sure what to do. I feel someone stole the package as it has a n unlocked cell phone in it. 

I am not sure what to do next. Any suggestions?

[mr.elmwood]

This is only day eleven (11) in the mail. You are over-reacting.

Very, very, little is ever actually stolen from the mail.

[miklamot]

Actually the buyer is the one over reacting lol, and now I am because I don't want to refund the money.

[mr.elmwood]

Stall. All they really need is re-assuring words.

[kroutpick]

Tracking number is your best friend.

1. You have the proof that you really shipped this item.
2. You both can track where the item is

How you shipped it to the USA?

• Priority   :  has on-time delivery guarantee + 100$ included coverage
• Xpresspost : has on-time delivery guarantee + 100$ included coverage
• Expedited parcels : has delivery confirmation + 100$ included coverage
• Tracked packets : has delivery confirmation + up to 100$ included coverage

If USPS/Canada Post are not able to prove that this item has been delivered to the buyer, you can make a Claim to Canada Post to recover initial shipping fees + up to 100$ coverage. (Call 1-800-267-1177).

But for the moment, as said by mr.elmwood : Relax and wait.

[melissasminis]

I would do what mr.elmwood said, and have them wait a little longer. It's too early to assume it has been lost or stolen. Sometimes online tracking isn't updated for many reasons. Maybe if you go to the USPS website there may be more updated tracking, not sure. Ask the buyer to wait until the end of the week, and that sometimes online tracking isn't updatedon the Canada Post website, assure them their item will be arriving shortly.

[reallynicestamps]

The whole "Stolen by Postal Workers" is such a crock. And yet it seems to be the go-to for upset users.

Ignoring mental illness, why would anyone with a steady job, excellent benefits, solid pension plan, reasonable hours, availability of overtime at higher wages, all with a relatively low level of education and training, bother stealing a used cell phone, endangering all those strong reasons to be honest?

And overlooking that most people are honest, whether they work for the PO or not.

If an item was stolen, and in this case , eleven days is only halfway through the normal delivery period, the theft would be more likely be from the porch mailbox by a passerby. In which case, it would have been marked Delivered before the theft and the seller off the hook.

Give the nervous buyer the tracking number, the date of shipping, the service used and perhaps even the address of his local Post Office. (Most people would not know that.) Baffle him with ... kindness and let him calm down. Remind him that it was coming from Canada and that it actually is now in the USA and on its way to him.

[pocomocomputing]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

The whole "Stolen by Postal Workers" is such a crock. And yet it seems to be the go-to for upset users.

Ignoring mental illness, why would anyone with a steady job, excellent benefits, solid pension plan, reasonable hours, availability of overtime at higher wages, all with a relatively low level of education and training, bother stealing a used cell phone, endangering all those strong reasons to be honest?

And overlooking that most people are honest, whether they work for the PO or not.

If an item was stolen, and in this case , eleven days is only halfway through the normal delivery period, the theft would be more likely be from the porch mailbox by a passerby. In which case, it would have been marked Delivered before the theft and the seller off the hook.

Give the nervous buyer the tracking number, the date of shipping, the service used and perhaps even the address of his local Post Office. (Most people would not know that.) Baffle him with ... kindness and let him calm down. Remind him that it was coming from Canada and that it actually is now in the USA and on its way to him.

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Recent (2013) Calgary postal worker accused of stealing returned cell phones for a total over $30,000 ....

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/21/almario-mendoza-torres-theft-charges-calgary-canada-post_n_2...

I would say theft in large amounts like this worker is rare. If you Google search you will find 1-2 cases a year of CP employees stealing large amount of items. Enough to get noticed and caught.

I would say there are some employees stealing 1 or 2 items a year and not enough to get caught. Like shoplifting in stores.

But the amount of thefts compared to the total volume of mail is insignificant.

[pjcdn2005]

Go to USPS.com and enter the tracking number. On the right side of that page there is a link asking for mail updates. Fill in the information and check off both boxes there.  Other sellers have said that when they've done that, the package suddenly appears again. It might be a coincidence but it can't hurt to try.

[maximus7001]

When stuff actually is stolen by postal staff it is not tracked and does not have a bar code.

[pjcdn2005]

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@maximus7001 wrote:

When stuff actually is stolen by postal staff it is not tracked and does not have a bar code.

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Packages do get misplace by the post office...tracking or not.

But the OP's parcel does have tracking otherwise they would not have known that the package had arrived at a U.S. sorting station.

[treasure.hunter.d]

I have several packages that landed in Chicago on the 25th of February, were scanned, and then nothing since. For these parcels Chicago is the first stop in the USA from Canada and the Customs inspection stop for them as well. I imagine that for whatever reason US Customs is backlogged. I think there has also been some weather issues that might be adding to the issue but more than likely it is just one of the times where US Customs is brutally slow.

US Customs has told me before that they can take up to 10 business days to clear a package and for my parcels we are only at 7-8 business days currently. I have relayed all of this info to my buyers (within a few minutes of each one contacting me) and every one of them thanked me for my prompt and informative response and vowed to wait patiently until i could look further into it next week and get back to them.

Handled that way, expediently and courteously, i truly believe that only a completely unreasonable person would give you any grief and in those cases there's not much you can do to make the person happy regardless of the reasons for the delay.

Cheers,

thD