Stolen eBay hat

[LoveMyHats2]

Never count out that the actual "carrier" may have some idea what was inside the box that holds your missing hat. Make a very big stink about it to the post office. I had the same issues here with my local post office. Eventually merchandise was returned to us here, but let me tell you, you cannot just let it go. The Post Office has a Union that protects the carriers. That is the very first step in many that the postmaster will toss at you about what happens if you think the carrier took your package. Now you have no way to prove anything, however, you can make the attempt to have a refund if your Post Office will give you something in writing that they claim to have "left the package off in a public access place".

We love the Post Office for what they normally do for mail....and about hate the dishonest little buggers that work for them and steal. It takes a lot to have them even fire a thief. The one thief that works for our Post Office is still employed. He has been "caught" taking 3 packages, a pair of boots, two pairs of shoes. We also think he is stealing medication that my Husband has coming to here in the Mail, but we do not know that is "him" yet.

Please do know, any service that handles your "stuff" can have a crook working for that company. You cannot blame the entire Post Office or any other delivery service for what a few working for them , may do.

I sure will hope for you to have your missing hat and anything else that you paid for. It sure stinks to know this has happened to you.

 

[alanfgag]

Dear Banky, I am very sorry your hat has gone missing. It was an expensive purchase. I hope it was misrouted inadvertently and shows up soon.

The eBay seller specified which service they intended to use to ship your hat. It is your responsibility to provide a secure delivery location for your purchases on eBay. Do you and your neighbors experience theft of parcels or mail? If your mail delivery location is subject to pilferage, a PO box or an alternate delivery location (such as your office, as David suggests) is a safer bet.

The US Postal Service is the only carrier that is required to provide service to you. They come to your delivery location (your door, or a cluster box at your address) six days a week. It's not a bad idea to get to know your carrier and your post office. They will often go out of their way once they understand how they can provide better service to you.

Priority Mail, the service used by your seller, is generally the quickest and most affordable choice for shipping a hat. Fedex and UPS offer excellent services too. Fedex ground service is delivered by independent contractors. Both UPS and Fedex will leave parcels at residential addresses without signature if no one is home.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

We love the Post Office for what they normally do for mail....and about hate the dishonest little buggers that work for them and steal. It takes a lot to have them even fire a thief. The one thief that works for our Post Office is still employed. He has been "caught" taking 3 packages, a pair of boots, two pairs of shoes. We also think he is stealing medication that my Husband has coming to here in the Mail, but we do not know that is "him" yet.

I remember you discussing all the problems with your carrier. He sounds like a vindictive low down person. I'm sure he's stealing the medication as retribution for you calling him out on his thievery. It takes a sick person to stoop so low as to steal someone's medication as "payback". Have you considered getting a po box at another post office? It's only $100 per year.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Priority Mail, the service used by your seller, is generally the quickest and most affordable choice for shipping a hat. Fedex and UPS offer excellent services too. Fedex ground service is delivered by independent contractors. Both UPS and Fedex will leave parcels at residential addresses without signature if no one is home.

:O

The first and only time I used FEDEX (and I will never ever use it again) took more time and the import charge was so huge that I learned my lesson.
I remember that I payed $100 for a hat, shipping cost was $50 and on delivery I payed more $150 for taxes and their import service. Never more. I prefer the "unreliable" international USPS (they never ever failed me). Even if they lose the package, I can get my money back.
I have used SEUR, MRW and Chronopost, and they never left my package at my doorway. They leave a notice with a phone number to call to make another delivery.

In my country, we can check who sign the delivery.

 

[g.durand]

Banky, I am also sorry to hear about the loss. Let's hope it eventually turns up. Like David, I have online purchases shipped to me at work. I check the tracking updates frequently. My office is next to the shipping department, and I manage the shipping clerks, who pick up the bulk mail from the post office daily (among my many, many other duties ). I can usually be there when the package arrives and snatch it immediately from them.

 

[ManofKent]

I'll keep my fingers crossed it turns up!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I shipped a package once and the buyer contacted me saying that he never received it. I checked the tracking number and it showed that the item had been delivered which had us both scratching our heads until the buyer discovered that his mailbox was burglarized on the day the package was delivered. And for all its worth the buyer was in Arizona where, for some reason, I've had all kinds of stuff get lost in the mail.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I shipped a package once and the buyer contacted me saying that he never received it. I checked the tracking number and it showed that the item had been delivered which had us both scratching our heads until the buyer discovered that his mailbox was burglarized on the day the package was delivered. And for all its worth the buyer was in Arizona where, for some reason, I've had all kinds of stuff get lost in the mail.

I think the same happens in Italy. I see many sellers stating they do not ship to Italy because they lost/stole a lot of packages.

 

[Banky]

Thanks for the information and condolences, guys. I typically do have my packages sent to the shop, but with the infrequency that I use eBay I forgot it defaults to my home address. From what I understand, the parcel did indeed carry the basic $100 insurance from the usps. I may try to pursue at least getting that, but I also understand that would require the seller to make the claim which I'm unsure if he'll be willing to do. In any case this seems as though it is turning into an expensive learning experience.

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

I would bet that the seller makes the claim for you. Your feedback is an important card in this game and an unsatisfied customer who got no package and no assistance is an unwelcome comment for a seller.

Just be very careful about the accuracy of every detail.

Fed

 

[VetPsychWars]

Check the dumpster behind your building. Good chance a neighbor took it, found out it wasn't something that could be sold for drugs, and dumped it.

Tom

 

[gear-guy]

Check your cars, anywhere that this package might have been left out of the weather that you usually don't use. It might have been stolen or misdelivered but if inclimate weather was a factor then they could have put it somewhere to keep it dry. USPS is terrible about leaving notes or stickers where they leave packages. They don't. I drive for UPS and trust me the big three carriers screw up, but FEDx and UPS have better tracking. You pay a lot more because we must make money.

 

[crabman]

Hi, Postal Service tracking is a good idea. But! even if the item wasn't insured, I believe the postal service has some responsibility, to leave an item in a secured place! Normally if someone is not
home, the postal carrier should leave you a notice, so you can pick up your item at the local post office the next day. There may be some wishy washy loopehole that states they can just leave the item
unsecured at your front door, I'm not sure about this. But e-bay has a pretty strong "e-bay money-back guarantee". You didn't get the item, PERIOD! Maybe it's time to go into your irate,
type A personality, I'm gonna bust a blood vessel act. (don't hurt yourself, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point) The postal service carrier has a responsibility, and e-bay may protect you
more than you think. Be nice to e-bay when you contact them, at least initially, you might get lucky. As far as the Post office, if in fact they track that they DID deliver, the item to your address,
I would respond in an irate fashion, insinuating, "On what planet do you think it is safe to just leave a parcel unattended at someone's front door!!" I would also site previous problems with your
carrier, if there have been altercations in the past. DON'T GIVE UP!!! Pull out all the stops........forget this SOL advice and push it as far as you can go. ......regards.....Steve (crabman)

 

[hatflick1]

One of the best things I ever did was have decorative wrought
iron enclosure installed around the front porch of the house. Every
package is simply tossed over the grill work. In the past, however,
I have had packages need to be tracked down through the post
office. It is daunting. I hope you track down the hat.
Separate note, my son lives in San Francisco and has had mail
opened and contents removed from mailings I have sent him.
"Neither rain, nor snow..."

 

[Huertecilla]

:O

The first and only time I used FEDEX (and I will never ever use it again) took more time and the import charge was so huge that I learned my lesson.
I remember that I payed $100 for a hat, shipping cost was $50 and on delivery I payed more $150 for taxes and their import service. Never more. I prefer the "unreliable" international USPS (they never ever failed me). Even if they lose the package, I can get my money back.
I have used SEUR, MRW and Chronopost, and they never left my package at my doorway. They leave a notice with a phone number to call to make another delivery.

In my country, we can check who sign the delivery.

I live next door and the signed for option is bomb secure for all but UPS.

USPS and EMS use the Correos within Spain so it wíll arrive at the Post Office in the village. No way that gets lost.

Courier services hooking up witth Seur, MRW and Chronopost all either know the routine or use the provide telephone number.
Our farm is in the campo with no address and it is not easily accessible over an offroad track so I expect the couriers NOT to get to the door.
The local Seur guys however do. The MRW calls when they leave it at the gas station, Chrono meets me at the gas station etc.
For unknown services or sensitive articles like gun stuff, I use a garage in the village as delivery ´address´. Between brakets because it has ´none´, it is ´Garage X, next to the Cepsa petrol station´...
The issue is with UPS who just don´t use the phone and return to sender with the argument ´incomplete address´ which it is not; the complete address is the name of the farm; that is all there is = complet. hence the telephone number to help them. Ok, with me; they refuse to phone, I refuse to use them.

If anything I take my hat off to the shipping services. Bar exceptions it gets here unbelievably fast and glitch free. The record is a watch from the deep south of Japan to my hand in .... THREE DAYS!!! Mind boggling. It was EMS expresse and Correos.

Also rather surprising is the lever of security & service between Portugal/the campo of Andalucia and the US...

 

[Gargs]

With the rules and costs changing, and no information what a thing might cost if you send it Priority but not flat rate...I can't say this for a fact BUT I think anything sent Prioritiy automatically carries $50 insurance, which is a good place to start with both the vendor and the PO.
To add a little humor to this horrible situation, if nobody was home and a package containing something like a hat would arrive, the person delivering our mail would put it under the front door mat. You can't make stuff like that up.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

If anything I take my hat off to the shipping services. Bar exceptions it gets here unbelievably fast and glitch free. The record is a watch from the deep south of Japan to my hand in .... THREE DAYS!!! Mind boggling. It was EMS expresse and Correos.

Also rather surprising is the lever of security & service between Portugal/the campo of Andalucia and the US...

As far as Portugal EMS Express service I can only say good things about it.
Ebay GSP works with them. Tomorrow will receive what I expect to be a Stetson 30x. Tracking info says it's already in Portugal and will be delivered tomorrow.

With the rules and costs changing, and no information what a thing might cost if you send it Priority but not flat rate...I can't say this for a fact BUT I think anything sent Prioritiy automatically carries $50 insurance, which is a good place to start with both the vendor and the PO.
To add a little humor to this horrible situation, if nobody was home and a package containing something like a hat would arrive, the person delivering our mail would put it under the front door mat. You can't make stuff like that up.

For USPS international service, I've used first class and priority. Both takes the same time. Sometimes first class tracking stops when the package exits USA, sometimes it is fully tracked.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

With the rules and costs changing, and no information what a thing might cost if you send it Priority but not flat rate...I can't say this for a fact BUT I think anything sent Prioritiy automatically carries $50 insurance, which is a good place to start with both the vendor and the PO.
To add a little humor to this horrible situation, if nobody was home and a package containing something like a hat would arrive, the person delivering our mail would put it under the front door mat. You can't make stuff like that up.

Some postal items now do have automatic insurance, I think is is $75.00 on the item, and anything sent priority mail.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Thanks for the information and condolences, guys. I typically do have my packages sent to the shop, but with the infrequency that I use eBay I forgot it defaults to my home address. From what I understand, the parcel did indeed carry the basic $100 insurance from the usps. I may try to pursue at least getting that, but I also understand that would require the seller to make the claim which I'm unsure if he'll be willing to do. In any case this seems as though it is turning into an expensive learning experience.

I can tell you from what we went through for "missing" items....you cannot give up putting the heat to the post office. Speak directly to the post master of your post office. Ask for direct information, (have who ever scanned your package asked what did they do with it). Speak to any neighbors. File a complaint to the postal inspectors office (you can do this online) and explain what you can in the complaint. Contact your State Governors office and Attorney General's office. Time consuming? Yes it is. But it can yield results if you do.

We here in my house, know what carrier is a thief. He is not our regular carrier, but has a title similar to "substitute teacher". The Post Office has the carrier work all over different routes maybe for when someone calls in sick or are on vacation? We keep an eye on anything coming and when the tracking says it is "out for delivery" we are right outside waiting for it to show up. If it is not delivered, a call to the post office is going to take place while the carrier is still standing right there. The last "item" that the carrier was attempting to not deliver was an eBay purchase, and the carrier stated "no..no packages for you today" when I had just looked at the USPS tracking that stated "out for delivery". I called Post Office, the carrier did not desire to wait around to see what his "boss" was going to say, but after I finished speaking to the Post Master, not more than 10 minutes later the carrier was back knocking on the front door, handed me the package and not saying one word, turn, ran back to his mail truck, and drove off.

To date, the only "items of mail" we have not had recovered and finally delivered has been medication mailed to us. But that will eventually change...a few hundred phone calls to the Doctor's office and the Post Office in the City that the medication was originally mailed, and having some "internal" tracking being done, will result in the person or person(s) that are taking that mail, to be arrested by normal law enforcement. To date, the US Postal Inspectors office has not once done anything at all about the theft of mail. Fortunately for us here, the medication being stolen is sent from the VA Hospital pharmacy, and this particular VA Hospital has a police department that were willing to have other law enforcement become involved.

 

[ChrisB]

Unfortunately, mail theft is becoming rather common. Last July, I lost a hat that was delivered by USPS priority mail while I was out- someone stole it from my front porch where it was left. Apparently people will follow the mail truck, looking for a delivery made where no one is home. I was only out $20, but it was extremely annoying.