Forgot apartment number shipping with lettermail

[rocketscollectibles]

I shipped a package a few days ago and later that night while messing around on ebay i saw that the shipping adress had an apartment number... When i packaged for whatever reason i did not saw it...

I guess the package will come back to me?  I guess they will need to reach the adress to realise it and then ship it back to me so it could take a lot of time? Do you think the mail carrier could still give it to the right person if for exemple he have 2 letter with that same name on it?

Feel bad about this one cause i'm pretty sure when i watched the adress the 1st time and packaged, it did not show an apartment number...  And because of it i could end with an INR case or a negative feedback cause of delay if the buyer is not patient

I'm waiting it to come back to me before obviously messaging the buyer about the mistake and the delay but i'm not sure what will happen with that package actually

[reallynicestamps]

Many carriers are literate, and if she happens to notice the missing number and is feeling in a good mood, she may fill it in from her own knowledge.

But if the address is not complete , yes it is likely to be returned.

However, return mail has never been a priority, lettermail even less so, and then toss in COVID.

The PO does have a Dead Letter Office which tries to complete addresses. It's a fancy name for an ever changing group of employees who are too sick or injured for more active work and too healthy to stay home.

Best bet?  Don't tell the customer (because you have no tracking unless you did go for registration) and be prepared to refund and apologize promptly when he contacts.

[rocketscollectibles]

One thing that could be in my favor on the return time i guess is that's it's locally? The adress i shipped to is like 30 mins in car from mine

[esclyons]

are you manually  writing your addresses, you should really buy a printer, and just copy and paste, the address, never a mistake..

just my opinion.. laser printers are pretty cheap..

[t_bjarnason]

If you picked economy shipping (5-15 days) and it's local, it's very possible that you will have the letter back to you before the 15 days is up (CP probably tried delivering it already if you sent it a few days ago). If you get it back quick enough, you can probably turn it back around and get it to your buyer before the 15 days is up, though they will be wondering why it took so long. 

I myself would probably message them once I got the package returned and explain the mistake. 

You should also look into a cheap printer so you can print labels. You can pick them up pretty cheap second hand. Makes shipping so much easier and reduces the chance of errors both on your end and CP's end. 

[rocketscollectibles]

Thanks for the idea. I'm not selling enough to consider buying a label printer though, it would be a bad investement at the point i am. Not a must for me for now

If you picked economy shipping (5-15 days) and it's local

I pick the other lettermail option. Not sure how many days it shows for buyers cause when i set up it's written 2-6 business days but when i check my listings it's written 4-8. Not sure if i can know the estimated date this actual buyer see, i don't see one in the order. I know the longer option gives more flexibility but personally as buyer 2 weeks+ shipping often been deal breakers for me, knowing it can chase sales i kinda don't wanna offer that 15 business days myself

I checked and CP says it's 2 days within a city and 3 days within a province, just wonder if it could be the same to come back... My buyer left 0 feedback to sellers so i will never know if ever he receive it too. Only thing i can do is wait and prey actually

[cumos55]

Place the address on the parcel...

and then....

Check and recheck the address .....

Before the parcel is mailed.......

[t_bjarnason]

2 weeks+ shipping often been deal breakers for me, knowing it can chase sales

How do you know this? The economy shipping says 5-15 days, not 15 days. Anyone that is purchasing anything that ships lettermail knows that it will usally take about a week once shipped, but can possibly be longer. This shipping option also gives you more protection against INR's, as there is a  higher chance that the item will not arrive before the 6 business days on the lettermail option, which can more easily result in an INR claim. 

it's written 2-6 business days but when i check my listings it's written 4-8

This takes your handling/shipping time into consideration. If you are set to ship within 2 days, it will add this to the expected delivery date for your buyer. 

[byto253]

As it is local, if not delivered it is most likely going to be returned and it is just a question of how long it will take. That can be pretty random but you should be at little risk of both refunding and losing your item.

Best case of course is that the carrier realizes who it should go to. That is a good chance in a small building but if a tower with 100+ units the chance is slim. Hopefully if not delivered you get it back ASAP and can contact the buyer to tell them it was returned and is being resent.

I have had a very small % sent back but buyers have been very cool when I explain about the return and that I am resending it.

[rocketscollectibles]

How do you know this? The economy shipping says 5-15 days, not 15 days. Anyone that is purchasing anything that ships lettermail knows that it will usally take about a week once shipped

Not everyone into canada knows perfectly the delivery rates of post canada lettermail this is impossible. This is just logic to assume that if 2 similar items of a similar price are showing 5-15 and 3-7 days, some will pick the 3-7 because of faster estimated shipping

[recped]

One thing that can affect delivery.........

Is this a BIG multi-unit building (like 200 apartments) or just a house with 2 or 3 apartments? If the latter the odds of delivery are much better.

[mr.special-editions]

That's my experience.  I don't make mistakes on labels I have a system in place thats flawless, however buyers from time to time make mistakes.  If they leave out an apartment number and it's a large building (in my experience the item always comes back, usually Xpresspost and I have to pay the crazy post office rate to retrieve it)

The exceptions are buildings that have a conceirge or building manager that accepts mail and the experience of the delivery worker.

A bit off topic @rocketscollectibles if you get mail delivery to your place of residence.  Canada Post workers are generally very friendly and you can ask them questions about mail delivery (I'm referring to offical CP workers that handle letter mail and small parcels, not the contract workers they generally use for most of their parcel services)

[lady.stark]

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@rocketscollectibles wrote:

Not sure if i can know the estimated date this actual buyer see, i don't see one in the order.

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In your order history, click on the listing title to see the actual listing. There, click on "View Order Details". You will see the estimated delivery dates that the buyer sees.