MISSING SWORD: USPS has lost this Neil Burridge bronze kopesh during transit that I sold last year, it was a 1 off with gold Ramasse the great's cartouche and ebony scales, if it ever pops up on ebay or somewhere else pls notify me as it would be stolen, thanks

---

 Attachment: 87.07 KB



 Attachment: 109.72 KB



 Attachment: 95.52 KB



 Attachment: 406.19 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 777.21 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 351.04 KB
[ Download ]

Sorry to hear that! I buy a lot of ancient repros that don't go online so I'll keep my eye's open.

Are you sure it is lost? A lot of international parcels are taking 2-3 months to get from the UK to a destination in the US if USPS is involved.

Dan is right, it has taken up to 3 months (!) for a dagger to arrive to me from the UK, and always at least 1-2. Meanwhile, packages from India usually come in under a week.

Several times I had to call the Post Office regarding lost and "stalled" pieces and eventually they will investigate your claims.

It isn't directly relevant in this case because the parcel is already in the US but the depots in the US are just as backed up.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9069047/Royal-Mail-swamped-millions-parcels-year.html

[ Linked Image ]

Yes, we have had parcels lost for 3 months. The post really took a hit last fall during the election and the backlog is at the back of the pile. We tracked a parcel in our state which was shuffled around to four different post offices. It’s like it was riding around in a truck for three weeks. (After coming from out of state.)
Good luck. I wouldn’t panic yet.

I'm in NY and it took longer to get a sword from Minnesota than an axe from the UK.

I think postage is all over the place.

Yeah, USPS is all over the place in terms of service. On the one hand, I've got a couple of packages out for delivery today that (provided they do indeed arrive) seem to be on time and on target.

On the other hand....

I've had a few instances where a package was "Out for Delivery", never shows up, and then next day or so there is a notice on the tracking webpage that states the package is "available for pick up" - and then, sometime thereafter, is simply delivered. I have no idea what that's about.

The "best" one I've had recently is a package that was sent from Florida at the end of December. I've dealt with the seller before, and I knew there was still a lot of issues with COVID, holidays, blah blah blah so I didn't pay much attention to the tracking. However, after about almost 2 weeks with the same notice stating that it was "in the system" and heading towards its next destination, I started to get concerned, and opened an investigation on my end and let the seller know as well.

Within a couple of days, the package showed up unceremoniously dumped upon my doorstep late at night (we're on the very freaking end of the delivery route, and are always last or even skipped altogether some days). Furthermore, one corner of the box got wet somehow and the box itself had been placed in a plastic bag. Nothing was harmed by this puzzling immersion, so it wasn't a problem - though still disconcerting. But the real kicker is this: even as of right now (I just checked a few minutes ago) USPS tracking STILL indicates that the package is "still in transit, arriving late"!!!

I am at a loss...

The seller mentioned that other customers had suffered similar issues, with packages delayed for sometimes quite a long time, and then just showing up fine, though super late. As he put it, "USPS has been shelling out some great service lately..."

Regarding USPS I think Yosemite Sam put it best: "Those Ijits"

Even with the problems with USPS I'm not sure the other options are any better.

I have have good experiences with USPS endnote so great.

The worst shipment I ever had was with FEDEX regarding package outside of Toronto. That's about an hour and a half from my house. It took a month and cost nearly $300.00

I had a really bad experience with UPS with a package coming from the UK where I had to hire a customs broker for $250.00 to fill out a form.

For international shipping, DHL is the best. They have their own planes and have stitched up deals with Customs offices so that their stuff gets expedited. Not cheap, though.

Since COVID started, there has been an unprecedented demand for parcel delivery and unprecedented workforce shortages in the Postal Service. Add the two together and I'm surprised that anything gets delivered at all. The US is starting to reach peak delivery capacity in major cities because the road network can't handle all of the delivery vehicles in addition to the regular traffic. It was alleviated last year because a lot of people were working from home or were furloughed. It will get even worse when they start driving to work again.

issue is this package has been showing up in tracking as In Transit, Arriving Late since oct 14th 2020, and it was just from california to texas and i had it insured and usps is trying to not honor the insurance by just running around the issue saying alot of contradicting things, even the buyer had called them and talked to them and they gave very mixed ideas of what to do, i ended up refunding him in full out of my own pocket

Legally, you had no choice but to refund. There are two separate contracts: one between you and the buyer and one between you and the courier. You have to fully refund the buyer because you breached the first contract. Then you try and get reimbursed from the courier because they breached the second contract. The buyer can't claim compensation from the courier because he has no contract with the courier.

Personally I use UPS for any item worth more than $300 if that is an option. Never had an issue with them delivering at least domestically.

FedEx would be my second choice.


I do not like using USPS for anything worth more than $300 just for the reasons cited in this thread.


Also it is hard to get reimbursed for a missing item through USPS. Most people say their insurance is worthless overall.

The only thing USPS take seriously is passport renewal.

We have Postmaster de-Joy to thank for doing his damndest to de-stroy the USPS. He has done a spectacular job at a time when its services were more vital than ever in our history.

I would be wary of using UPS as an alternative. This is what they did to my Christmas present...

---

 Attachment: 139.68 KB
[ Download ]