OMG Accidentally sent Two Packages with the Same Label

[tryubik-useonlyasdirected]

In a rush the other day I printed the first label in the queue. It turns out this may have been an old label. I cannot be certain but Stallion only shows that one parcel was submitted, this parcel matches the old label. Two parcels were sent in the mail & two parcels beeped and fully scanned.

This means: one label was used on two packages.

Stallion now shows the parcel(s) have been sent to the USPS and are awaiting USPS scanning. They are about to enter the USPS system.

What happens now?

One item was small and intended for people in New Mexico. The other item was large and intended for people in Texas. It appears BOTH parcels are now heading to Texas, i guess as i have no way to prove this, I just suspect it. The second one may have been printed correctly but may not have scanned properly and all is hunky-dory, though i suspect not.

Should I contact Texas and warn them an extra parcel is about to arrive and ask them to send it on (i can supply them with a label)?

Can I contact the USPS and have them stopped and rerouted somehow?

Moral of the story: don't rush.

[byto253 · Accepted solution]

You can try calling USPS.  I have found they are pretty accessible.  But I don't think that once a regular parcel is in the stream of millions of parcels they are going to fish yours out or have the ability so.

I have sent one person 2 shipments a couple of times.  One I found out from the recipient, the other I realized ahead of time.  In both cases the person who got both was kind enough to affix a label I provided and drop them off at USPS for me.   I also gave them a $5 "headache" refund for the hassle.  Communication is the big thing, letting everyone know what happened and what is being done.   People are pretty understanding.  

If the one sent to the wrong address is low value, just refunding when an INR claim is made is another option if the cost of the additional label is not worth it.  We make goofs, do our best to correct them and hopefully not lose on a deal, then move on. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

https://www.usps.com/manage/package-intercept.htm

That service might be of use in this situation. 

How you resolve this might be different depending on the value of the package. 

If this is a very expensive item, I would try to interecept it. Most people are honest, but you don't want to leave it up to chance that the unintended recipient does not keep the item. 

If this is a $20 common item that can easily be purchased from a different seller, I would probably just refund the original buyer. I think that if you look at all three parties involved, you, the unintended recipient, and the original buyer - it doesn't make sense for anybody to play musical chairs with their package to try and get it to them if it is a common item where it would be just as fast for them to re-buy it from someone else. 

Even if it was a Christmas gift and the absolute above and beyond way to correct this would be to provide the unintended recipient with an expensive next-day label, you're asking a customer to rush and drop off a package for you. It is an unfortunate mistake, but it seems like it would be very convoluted to correct if it is a common/cheap item.