eBay

velvetfinch · ‎10-31-2015

I mailed out a whole ton of items on Oct 3 and 4th. Due to the obvious expense of tracking I opt to use discount postage stamps to save money - I've done this for years with seldom an issue.

Well this lot of shipments in early October, almost all of them have mysteriously disappeared, not shown up, a few have shown up very late. I don't know what the heck is going on??? I'm thinking a Canada Post plane or truck went up in flames or someone at the Post Office stole the whole lot (unlikely)

Has anyone else experienced an unusual amount of lost packages lately? I guess there is nothing I can do, I have no proof of postage purchase as I used stamps. Is there even any point of contacting CP about this?

I just feel sick about it.

momcqueen · ‎11-01-2015

@velvetfinch wrote:
But, because I used postage stamps do I have any recourse at all? I mean I can't even prove that I mailed anything at this point as there are no receipts 😞

That is my concern for you. If it is a bar coded Small Packets Airmail parcel, you can get a Proof of Shipment receipt at the counter. If you walked to the counter and bought postage, you can show someone that at least, 'Look! I bought postage!' A canny thief (maybe someone got into the mailbag or mailbox) will know which letters or packets or parcels are least likely to be 'missed'. Absolutely, you are out-of-pocket on this and that is incredibly unfortunate but don't go quietly into that good night, make as big a stink about it as you can and even talk to law enforcement if possible. That is too huge a bundle of parcels to lose quietly. If a truck went up in flames, so be it. That is an accident and hopefully no one would be hurt. If someone has sticky fingers along the line, that is another matter entirely. Good luck to you. Let us know what you learn later if you think of it.

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mr.elmwood · ‎10-31-2015

Destinations?

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pjcdn2005 · ‎10-31-2015

I would phone Canada Post to let them know. I doubt that they will or can do anything but it might help them realize that there definitely is a problem if there have been other complaints from that same area.

aubreyclay56 · ‎10-31-2015

ive had things disappear when not using tracking my self ,sometimes its better to charge the high price and not get sales,hard call for sure most people are honest but there are those who are looking for free items,i lost a few things last winter mailing to the us but they were cheap items so it wasnt that bad other than the fact they opened cases for item not shipped i refunded the money and lost my top rated seller status on top of that,thought that was very nice of ebay,and they have the nerve to send emails like this is how we protected you lmfao they are awesome at times.For the most part i have been lucky.

bl32 · ‎10-31-2015

I have had a couple of problems with Canada Post in respect of 2 parcels to B.C.

Both after an interminable delay, returned to me with notation in ink "valid postage ?"

Both mailed with discount postage.

Obviously some postal clerk without a clue and too dense to ask someone in authority.

Bill

pierrelebel · ‎10-31-2015

"Both mailed with discount postage."

???

"discount postage" label purchased from PayPal?

or

"discount postage" with postage stamps purchased at discount? If so, what were the rates and which stamp denominations were used on the parcels?

bl32 · ‎10-31-2015

Pierre:

Both purchased as discount postage from a dealer. I only use discounted postage purchased from various dealers,.

As far as denominations used, I don't know now. Probably several different denominations as I try to "dress up" my shipments.

Bill

pierrelebel · ‎10-31-2015

"several different denominations"

It should be no problem as long as

1) the stamps you used all come with original gum and had not been previously used on the mail (even if no cancellation mark shows)

2) you stay away from "A" stamps issued in 1981 (cost $0.30) and some non-denominated stamps issued in 1995 (cost $0.43) when used on mail going outside Canada

velvetfinch · ‎10-31-2015

Mine were all postage stamps, correct denominations. All were destined from BC to the USA.

I've mailed thousands of items with postage stamps before and since and all get through quickly and no problem. I've NEVER had this happen where seemingly the entire lot of packages sent on the same day have gone mysteriously missing. I've had one here and there but NOTHING like this. Like I say, it's like postal truck went up in flames or the plane crashed.

Unfortunately with tracked postage being so high, I simply have no other option than to ship as I do without tracking. I tend to sell a large quantity of items in the $10 range, so adding $15 postage with tracking is not even an option. Unless my items are above say, $80 or so. I simply couldn't compete otherwise. I just have to take a risk, and suffer the consequences as I'm doing now.

The loss won't ruin me or my business by any means, but it is just very very distressing.

ricarmic · ‎10-31-2015

Hi Velvet!

I have had a whole day's mailings delayed before.

Everything was late, the Canadian stuff was the first to start showing up and a portion (it was a few years ago so I'm not 100%) of the US never showed up. It was very bizzare, certainly something happened with that shipment between my wee post office and exiting the nearest sorting centre (probably London at that time).

The good news is that I've been doing this for a long time now and that is the only time a whole batch was MIA (it was closer to Xmas when it happened).

I wouldn't bother with calling CP it will just be wasted time in my opinion.

I would prepare for the notes from your buyers, anything you can do to get them to agree to waiting longer will be beneficial because eventually the packages will probably arrive.

If it is of use, here are my form letters I use when I get arrival questions, feel free to use whatever works for you...

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/I-haven-t-received-my-item-or-Item-not-received-case-the-...

I have not had anything "en masse" as of late but one never knows what will be in my inbox tomorrow!

ricarmic · ‎10-31-2015

I forgot to add, I realized the earlier answer wasn't you - the stamps will need to have been ones with original gum/adhesive on them.

If they are reused, (ie you are gluing them on) and someone in the PO notices it, they'll "seize" the packages and either contact you or return them to you advising you're breaking the rules.

velvetfinch · ‎10-31-2015

thanks so much, this is helpful! Hope they do turn up!

bl32 · ‎10-31-2015

I think everyone is missing the point and my intent here.

I never use "no gum" stamps. I never use "P" stamps.

I am scrupulous about affixing the correct postage especially when using multiple old issues and multiple values.

"Valid postage" meant in the "mind" of some postal clerk, these are obviously old stamps, can they be good for postage ? And I don;t want to ask anyone, so I'll just return them.

When I sent them back COMPLETELY UNCHANGED, they sailed through.

Bill

femmefan1946 · ‎10-31-2015

I would phone Canada Post to let them know.

I would start closer to home. Walk into the local post office (not the outlet) and ask for the postmaster.

She should be able to start an enquiry.

If the destinations were various, then the problem starts at the PO counter or the postbox pickup.

For what it's worth, no stamps of the Dominion of Canada have ever been demonetized. All are still valid for domestic use. (The P, A and undenominated ones are only valid in Canada).

Fun fact, the stamps of Newfoundland are also still valid for postage!

http://sparks-auctions.com/tag/bluenose/

fornax1049 · ‎10-31-2015

Just curious...are the P really only valid in the country... a clerk at my post office told me differently...she counts them as $0.85 each on foreign destinations...but they make their own rules at times. I did know this about the A's.

femmefan1946 · ‎10-31-2015

I may be being overly cautious. Certainly I've used a few Ps by accident with no problem, but then I also tend to toss my parcels into the mailbox and from there they go to the terminal.

So they are rarely looked at by human eyes, and the P stamps have the same tagging as the valued ones.

Well this lot of shipments in early October, almost all of them have mysteriously disappeared, not shown up, a few have shown up very late. fornax

The only feedback we can see is for an unrelated problem.

Are you just not getting FB from the sales in that period? Or are you getting complaints and dealing with them as you go?

ricarmic · ‎10-31-2015

I use Ps all the time for international shipments no problems. They count as 85c each.

Generally as long as the original PO is fine with whatever is on your package, you are fine, nobody adds them up after that, at least so far in my experience...

PS I use A stamps (I write beside them 30c with an arrow to the stamp - normally I only use them within Canada though).

pierrelebel · ‎10-31-2015

" a clerk at my post office told me differently...she counts them as $0.85 each on foreign destinations."

That is correct.

My earlier post (#8) referred specifically to "A" stamps (issued in 1981 at a cost of $0.30) which were meant to be used exclusively for domestic use and the 1995 non-denominated stamps (cost $0.43) which were also meant for domestic use.