Who has me beat for best free holiday from USPS?

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

At the end of September, I sent a hockey jersey to Vermont. 

The buyer contacted me last week. This was a very patient buyer. Their tracking had not updated for two weeks. The last update had it in Jamaica, New York. 

I opened a missing mail report with USPS. This usually gets the ball rolling and results in USPS delivery packages. I politely asked the buyer to give it a week since USPS can sometimes take a few days to resolve a missing mail report. I told them I would contact them by Friday if there was no update.

I look at the tracking this morning. I see an update. GREAT. The package must be on it's way to Vermont, Vermont as in the US state. 

Curiously, the last two updates are 'Depart From Transit Office Of Exchange', and 'Original Post Preparing Shipment'. Confused about why Vermont has an Office Of Exchange, I google these terms. Nothing useful comes up. As a last resort, I plug the tracking number into https://parcelsapp.com/en/tracking.

That is a useful website that will sometimes who you additional tracking updates not available on Canada Post or USPS.

The good news is that plugging the tracking number into that site answered my question about the state of the package. The bad news is, it's in AUSTRALIA! 

My poor buyer's Drake Batherson Ottawa Senators jersey received a free round trip to Sydney. I don't even know if anybody in Sydney knows what a Drake Batherson is.

I have no idea how USPS mixes up the two bins that say Vermont (US State) and Australia (completely different country half way across the world). If I wasn't so amused at this, I would be angry. 

Who has me beat for best free holiday from USPS? Have they ever sent your package half-way across the world, instead of to the USA?

[ricarmic]

My recent example was a tracked package destined for an address in Oregon (to a repeat customer).

It got to Oregon in the normal way, then it went off to Annaheim California, went out for delivery there a couple times then came back to Oregon, bounced a bit in Oregon then back to Annaheim CA again.

All told it went back and forth between OR and CA 6 times!!!! Each time it came back it came back to one of 3 locations in OR, two of them very close to the buyer's location, then when we thought it might actually make it, off it went back to Annaheim...

The buyer was exceptionally patient, we kept in touch. When it was finally delivered, all addresses on the parcel were correct, I had a ticket with Canada Post, it had the correct address, something happened in Customs or at Portland OR on the first visit that somehow marked it as a change of address. The USPS person I talked with said the address in USPS was different than the correct address.

Ironically I had a BRUTE of a time reaching an actual person at USPS, I got so upset when it looked like the 7th trip back to Annaheim was underway that I called again and just kept saying "Agent" everywhere I could, got automagically hung up on a couple times but on the third time I actually got a person. While she was talking with me, and confirmed the USPS address was different she asked if I had checked the updates, I had right before I called 5 minutes earlier, and VOILA it had been delivered. I'm still wondering if the USPS person looking into it prompted the updated tracking as I had checked right before (so I had the screen up if I reached someone). Anyway it got to the right person at the right address.

Anyway the awesome buyer was fine, the stamp was fine (it was a $315 one which is what was freaking me out as it would have involved ALL of my various insurance Co's to cover it and I'd still lose $100).

My best worldwide one was something that went to South Africa instead of Saudi Arabia - that one got fixed remarkably fast but that was likely 10 years ago now.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

https://missingmail.usps.com/

That is the link for the USPS missing mail form. You have to create a USPS account, which you can do (even as a Canadian). 

The website is slow - but filling out that form usually results in the package being found. A month or two ago, I had a very similar case to the one you described. Filling out the missing mail report resulted in the package no longer bouncing around.

In the case that I mentioned in the OP, I suspect the reason that the tracking never updated was because it was on a boat or waiting to aboard a plane to Australia.

[reallynicestamps]

Neither eBay nor USPS but our own auction and Canada Post.

We shipped a $15,000 auction lot to Moscow Idaho USA by Priority Post.

I don't recall what exactly happened when it did not arrive about refunds and such, since I wasn't working in the business at the time.

But.

Some two months later the PP envelope turns up at our shop, shabby but undamaged, with no explanation.

There were however handwritten notes on the envelope both in Cyrillic and in Roman handwriting with a Russian accent, enough to show that the envelope had been sent to Moscow Russia and returned to us without comment.

Undamaged and intact.

The customer got the original packaging for his Club Presentation Show and Tell. (And repaid for his auction winnings.)

He's still in touch, even though DH retired a decade ago, and the auction house has changed hands.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@ricarmic wrote:

My recent example was a tracked package destined for an address in Oregon (to a repeat customer).

It got to Oregon in the normal way, then it went off to Annaheim California, went out for delivery there a couple times then came back to Oregon, bounced a bit in Oregon then back to Annaheim CA again.

All told it went back and forth between OR and CA 6 times!!!! Each time it came back it came back to one of 3 locations in OR, two of them very close to the buyer's location, then when we thought it might actually make it, off it went back to Annaheim...

The buyer was exceptionally patient, we kept in touch. When it was finally delivered, all addresses on the parcel were correct, I had a ticket with Canada Post, it had the correct address, something happened in Customs or at Portland OR on the first visit that somehow marked it as a change of address. The USPS person I talked with said the address in USPS was different than the correct address.

Ironically I had a BRUTE of a time reaching an actual person at USPS, I got so upset when it looked like the 7th trip back to Annaheim was underway that I called again and just kept saying "Agent" everywhere I could, got automagically hung up on a couple times but on the third time I actually got a person. While she was talking with me, and confirmed the USPS address was different she asked if I had checked the updates, I had right before I called 5 minutes earlier, and VOILA it had been delivered. I'm still wondering if the USPS person looking into it prompted the updated tracking as I had checked right before (so I had the screen up if I reached someone). Anyway it got to the right person at the right address.

Anyway the awesome buyer was fine, the stamp was fine (it was a $315 one which is what was freaking me out as it would have involved ALL of my various insurance Co's to cover it and I'd still lose $100).

My best worldwide one was something that went to South Africa instead of Saudi Arabia - that one got fixed remarkably fast but that was likely 10 years ago now.

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@ilikehockeyjerseys 

Past CP Cross Canada Voyage

Expedited Package from Calgary to PEI:

Calgary/Regina/Wpg/ Mtl/Wpg/TB/Mtl/Wpg/Regina/Wpg/Ottawa/Mtl/Fredericton/Saint John/Charlottetown/Out for delivery.

Approx 3 weeks. When I asked CP they didn't have an explanation. Did get a refund for a service failure.

Calgary to Mexico City during Covid by Xpresspost - Approx 7 weeks. Should normally be 4 to 7 business days. CP page is dated August 2023 so current estimate may be out to lunch.

Calgary to Mtl fast...Then sat in transit somewhere in USA for about a month with no scans. After implementing a trace it finally started moving. Finally got to Mexico city (Mile marker address - Signed for by purchaser). Took a week to clear. Then 10 days to get delivered. Item was a no longer made part. Fortunately customer was patient and understanding. Like I tell my customers when/if they ask, eBay's estimates are best case scenario. It should be there "eventually". Service guarantees were not being honoured during Covid. And to date have not been reinstated for Intl/USA

Xpresspost™– International

USA Delivery Standard Not available

4 to 7 days (for most destinations)

-Lotz

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Canada Post's customer service wasn't very helpful to me. They just copy and pasted generic responses, and basically told me look at the tracking, while ignoring my questions about what was a very nuanced situation. Granted, I could have called them rather than used an online chat. 

Another tip if this ever happens to you, plug the tracking number into the postal website of the country it was sent to. On a whim, I put the tracking number into the Australian Post website and was able to see all the scans. Surprisingly, it only took a few days to get to Australia from the USA, then it seemed to sit in limbo for a few weeks until (I assume) the missing mail report resulted in it being found. So it must have gone into some sort of Expedited bin.

According to the tracking, it's on its way back. Hopefully, that is with one of their faster services and the customer will have it within a week.

If you want to look at the positive of the situation, I have no reason to complain, I got over  $200 in free postage to and from Australia!

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

The item was delivered to the buyer today in the USA. I was fortunate to have a patient buyer who reached out to me so that I could open a missing mail report.

USPS screws up a lot compared to Canada Post, but I am actually impressed with how quickly they seem to find things when a missing mail report is filed. I filed the report on October 18th, it was found in Australia a few days later, and then it took about 3 days to get from Australia to the USA. My fear was that it would take 2-4 weeks from Australia, but I guess they hooked me up with the premium service.