I'd love to be able to see the deets, but I guess I'm "not authorized to view these tweets"? Pretty sure I'm not banned or blocked, since I've never had an account. Do you have to log in now just to see anything on Twitter, or is that a user setting now?
ETA: Yup, they broke something. I can see it from desktop too, but on this iOS 9.3.5 device, every tweet from any user shows that message, and any other Twitter URI bounces me to mobile and then gives "Sorry, Twitter is taking too long to load" with a "try again" button that doesn't work.
Web 2.0 at its best. Thanks for all the helpful responses!
.@USPS @USPSHelp Thanks, I found my missing package ... label. Your employees ripped it off the box and stole a $10,000 package from me. pic.twitter.com/LfuPZ9vZ8U
That is so painful to read. On the one hand, USPS is apologising for the inconvenience, on the other hand they're shifting blame away from themselves by recommending to use more tape?
Sounds right. They're okay for first-class mail, but you don't really want to trust them with anything of significant value; while theft is relatively unlikely, mishandling is in my experience quite common.
The tough part is that byuu's probably going to have to make it right with the person who shipped him the games - he's already said that if they can't be retrieved, he's going to do that even though he's really not at fault, and I understand why.
If you know any popular Twitch streamers or YouTube gaming superstars, now might not be a bad time to reach out, as I'm going to be doing later today. It would be amazing to see the huge retro gaming fan community come together and solve a problem like this for someone to whom we all owe so much.
Well, I don't know for sure, I suppose, because I don't know you. But byuu has been in many ways the eminence gris of the SNES emulation scene for about as long as there has been one; in addition to the only really machine-accurate emulator, bsnes, his research and often his implementations have substantially improved a lot of the more commonly used SNES emulators out there, and he's also responsible for a nontrivial fraction of the ROM dumps that give an emulator user something to play.
Whether or not that means you owe him anything is yours to decide. If you decide that you don't, that's fine. I suspect I'm not the only one who would decide otherwise.
Minecraft isn't retro and Notch isn't byuu. I have no idea what either has to do with the matter at hand; at least one of us is almost certainly confused.
He doesn't know me from Adam's off ox, but I bet there's someone here of whom that's not true. I'll concentrate on people with whom I'm already acquainted, and hope someone comes along who can put a word in Notch's ear and hope to be heard.
As is amply covered in the prior HN thread linked from one of my earlier comments, byuu feels himself responsible because he requested the games be shipped in the first place, rather than ship himself and his ripping/scanning rig to Germany.
I get that, if you want to be cheese-paring about it, what you say is in a narrowly technical sense correct. But the motivation here is identical to that which moved my first real boss to cover a $200 parking ticket I incurred through what I'm willing to admit, and stated to him at the time, was inexcusable carelessness on my part in failing to observe a sign. He nonetheless covered the fine, considering that, since I was in a position to make the mistake as a result of carrying out his business, it was reasonable for him to relieve me of the consequence. (Once - his exact words as I recall them were "now, you fuck it up again, you're on your own".)
That's the same kind of motivation I see in byuu's intent to make this situation right with the shipper, instead of blaming him and doing nothing. You can argue if you like that byuu shouldn't feel responsible. But I think we'd all enjoy a better world if more people more often did.
On one hand, I understand why byuu wants to reimburse him. If I was in that situation I probably would as well.
However, I don't understand why the shipper didn't insure the package for a full amount. If you are sending something wortk 10k, insure it for 10k. It's simple as that. If it made shipment expensive, then I'm sure the community would have sent him some money to cover the cost(or byuu himself would).
I think I saw mention of €1000 being the maximum DHL would cover? Regardless, it's in the past; there's a lesson to be drawn for the future, but that's no help at all in the present.
"... when I went to return the first box of 100 games, I was surprised to learn that FedEx would only insure packages for up to $2499. Anything higher would require documented proof of value, and the faxing of many forms, which the retail employee I worked with had no interest in even contemplating."
Simple (though maybe more costly) solution is to send a bunch of boxes. Send only $2-2.5K worth of cartidges per box. Might double or triple your shipping cost, but would be cheaper than paying out of pocket for the value of lost package.
He had to limit the insurance due to both a) difficulty proving the value of retro games no longer for sale, and b) legal restrictions in Germany due to Hartz IV.
So from what I gather on the Twitter chain, a USPS employee likely stole the package and claimed it as "lost", then probably tried to sell it as a lot on eBay.
Since USPS is basically trying to blame byuu for this, I'm afraid the only option here to get any recourse is support-by-public-shaming. It would be a sizable blow to USPS's reputation to be framed as "A bunch of thieves who will deliver your stuff unless it's valuable, then we'll steal it, tell you we lost it, and sell it."
He could try to involve the police, but I imagine it will go nowhere. It's a pity.
I once had an international package go missing at some point after clearing customs despite a label declaring its value accurately at $1. I doubt that was due to theft.
I don't see them blaming byuu. I see them giving practical advice for ways that might reduce the chances of this happening in the future. That's different from "this is your fault, not ours."
The eBay listing indicates this may be theft, not just plain loss. Have they told USPS about this? And I don't mean telling their no-doubt powerless social media team on Twitter, I mean reporting it to the postal inspectors:
Not really. Every business has thieves. It sucks that this happened but it's not going to be a sizable blow to the USPS.
After shipping hundreds of packages my personal anecdote is that USPS is far better and cheaper than UPS and FedEx. This one other anecdote won't change that.
Correct. This isn't the first time it's happened. This happens all the time. I've been a victim of this several times. Of course my items weren't nearly as expensive but it was still within $500-$1000. At the end of the day, you just claim an insurance and move on instead of wasting countless hours on the telephone and doing postal office visits.
This is why insurance exists. Usually you'll find the big complainers didn't buy it. Evidenced here by the request for more funds on patreon. It doesn't even seem like the loss is irreplaceable, unlike something handmade.
Time and effort cannot be replaced, but the monetary loss at least should be insured against.
Unfortunately byuu made a poor decision about risk. If anything this makes me question byuu's ability to assess risk which is a pretty important skill in someone looking to be an archivist. Throw in lack of accountability and this is someone I will definitely not be supporting.
It seems unkind to conflate the current business model of the company and the employees. Many people serve lifelong careers in the postal service honorably.
Interesting to read this today. A couple weeks ago, I sent my nephew a new Rasp Pi, custom wood case, book, breadboard kit package for his birthday... and am just in the process of filing a claim on it.
Problem is, I was kind of coerced by the employee into using this specific shipping that gave me only $50 insurance on the package. I didn't realize I was so under-insured until after the package was confirmed as "lost".
I wonder if x-ray or something is making it easier for employees on the inside to target expensive electronics packages.
I was wondering: The shipper used DHL, so how did the USPS get their grubby hands on it? Then I looked at the Wikipedia article for DHL and found that ~8 years ago, DHL started using USPS for local delivery.
I've found recently that when I order a package online, it will ship via UPS, but then the package is turned over to the USPS for last-mile delivery. I hate this because the package disappears into a black hole of USPS incompetency where they can't even do tracking properly, much less delivery. I wish Amazon had an option "don't let USPS touch this" for shipping.. I'd be willing to pay extra.
Ive heard through the grave vine that approaching Amazon via customer service and asking for the primary shipper to handle all phases of the process will stop your packages from getting handed to local services.
I've had a similar experience. A few years I had multiple issues with LazerShip (last mile delivery) and I complained to Amazon about it. They've never sent anything via LaserShip to me since.
You guys must be special. I've had several problems with LazerShip. Most recently they delivered a $300 watch to the wrong location. I've specifically asked if I could somehow avoid having packages shipped by them, and the CSRs have told me they can't control that.
Maybe it has to do with my region, or the fact that I'm quite close to a regional Amazon warehouse.
I had an issue where USPS was claiming packages were delivered to meet their prime contractual agreement then not actually delivering it until 1-2 days later. (So prime 2 day was taking 3-4 but marking it as delivered to my box on day 2 every time). I filed a complaint to USPS, and a USPS employee actually called and admitted that they were probably doing that to make their stats look better. I feel like any other organization admitting to contractual fraud like that would actually face consequences, but truthfully I don't think anyone holds USPS to a high bar.
Contacted Amazon and they claimed they prioritized UPS for my address. Seemed to work -- packages come via UPS almost exclusively now. Pretty good resolution in my book.
I have the exact same issue with USPS. If I see Amazon shops with USPS, I don't even bother to look for the package until the next day now. The problem for Amazon now is if I need an item ASAP, I really can't trust their next day/2 day shipping so I will just end up going to a local store and buying it.
My issue was resolved via the exec customer support team after e-mailing Jeff Bezos. Worth a shot. Amazon is many things, and being great at customer support is definitely still one of their best strengths.
USPS is most definitely marking things delivered to meet agreements, while delivering whenever they can. Most all of my Amazon purchases get delivered by USPS and ALL of them are delivered 1-3 days after I am notified of delivery.
Originally I thought it was due to USPS delivering at 8PM on my route (I live in an Apt), but a few months back they switched so packages are delivered mid day. Still getting packages days after delivery notifications.
I cringe every time I see "UPS SmartPost" as shipping method, which uses USPS for delivery. Package literally comes within a couple miles of my house, then continues hundreds of miles to another state for sorting and another 2-3 days of postal tourism.
+1 on requesting shipment methods on Amazon for extra fee.
It's odd to see all the hate for USPS in these threads. My own experience is that USPS is by far the best carrier out there. Part of it is the unfair advantage of actually having a mailbox to deliver to. Smaller packages are placed in the mailbox rather than left in front of my garage to be stolen by random passersby. But part of it is just that they're reliable and cheap.
With Amazon, around here they like to use a craptastic local shipper called LaserShip. Now those folks are the epitome of incompetency. Tracking is useless, they like to mark packages as delivered well before they actually arrive, and sometimes they just plain give the stuff to the wrong address. Once they gave my package to a random house thirty miles away!
I don't mean to say that you and the others are wrong, of course! I wonder what the difference is. Maybe I'm just lucky in this respect due to where I live or something.
Amazon doesn't make it possible to prevent a shipper from being chosen to fulfill a package, but you can request what they call "carrier deprioritization" via their customer support helpdesk, which will artificially weight the carrier in question so that their algorithm will opt against it unless it is the only carrier able to fulfill a given order.
I've had good success with this last year, after Amazon's own in-house fulfillment service caused me a series of issues due to erroneously failed deliveries; since I made that request, I haven't had a single shipment fulfilled via AMZL_US save those for which I requested same-day delivery of items present in the Canton warehouse. Other sorts of orders which AMZL_US would previously fulfill are instead now handled by UPS or FedEx.
If you have trouble with LaserShip, as I gather many do, you could probably do worse than to request Amazon deprioritize that carrier. If my experience is any guide, you may have to bounce from rep to rep a couple of times before you find someone who knows what you're talking about, but it's worth persisting, because the results are, at least in my experience, much worth the effort. Hope this helps!
Thanks! I don't order much from Amazon these days (just because it has become really annoying to wade through all the third-party sellers, and they often aren't all that price-competitive anymore) but I will keep that in mind for the next time.
I wonder how bad a carrier has to be for Amazon to abandon them entirely.
I recently shipped something a few miles via USPS and it just never got there. I was RMAing something and the company was nice enough to replace the item.
I've noticed USPS deliveries at my office have been very unusual lately. They often just throw the stuff on the floor near the door (there's a table for mail, etc), and when people exit the door it mashes the letters and such. Very odd. Also, it appears that the people delivering do not speak any English. I've tried to talk with them and either they are pretending to be ignorant of English or they don't understand it.
The only way to protect yourself is to ship non-USPS and insure.
I've had stuff disappear or get smashed with other shippers. It's part of the nature of cheap package delivery at massive scale.
I had UPS leave things outside my garage where they could easily get run over. Thankfully they've finally learned to put stuff at the side of the door rather than the middle.
Throwing mail on the floor is completely bizarre, though. I don't know if it would do any good, but have you complained to your local post office about that?
> Tracking is useless, they like to mark packages as delivered well before they actually arrive, and sometimes they just plain give the stuff to the wrong address.
USPS marks stuff delivered before it arrives here at work. They seem to just run through all the packages and flag them when they put them on the truck. Had it happen with one from Amazon just yesterday. At least I've always received them. I have more trouble with Amazon not putting everything in the box they're supposed to.
> It's odd to see all the hate for USPS in these threads. My own experience is that USPS is by far the best carrier out there.
From what I've gathered from anecdotal evidence, things vary a lot by region. Where I am, USPS is incompetent (repeated Sunday deliveries to my apartment building fail because "no access" despite USPS employees having a key to the building during the week) but the other carriers all make an effort and are willing to redeliver later the same day if they mess up.
Plus when I want to ship things around the country or (especially) internationally, USPS is nearly always the worst option unless you want slow and cheap.
Yep, DHL is typically cheaper for international than UPS or FedEx. For shippers to save even more cost they do the last minute with USPS. This is available for every service. Tracking does show up for USPS. If you paste the FedEx SmartPost or UPS Innovations tracking # into Google, it will direct you to the link for USPS's tracking.
Read the label on the package in the twitter link, it was shipped Deutsche Post (the German equivalent of USPS), not DHL. They use the DHL name sometimes for international packages (they are owned by the same group) but shipping Deutsche Post is decidedly not the same as shipping DHL.
As I mentioned in the last thread DHL definitely does not use USPS for delivery. I get packages every week via DHL and they are delivered in the yellow DHL vans, by DHL employees, 100% of the time. They may farm out last mile delivery to USPS for some rural or residential addresses though.
If someone in Germany can clarify this, I'd be interested.
In Germany, they are not just owned by the same group, it's the exact same company ("Deutsche Post AG", the parent company of the group) and you talk to the exact same persons to use their services. Letters and small packages use the "Deutsche Post" brand and larger ones use "DHL" but that should not be confused with the DHL you find in the US. Despite the name they are still the USPS of Germany. They differentiate because in larger cities they deliver both services separately, i.e. your Amazon order will not be delivered with your letters in the morning but later in the day. They also have a US-style service which they call "DHL Express".
You can choose to have your package delivered by DHL US instead of USPS but that is not the default option when shipping from Germany. You have to through DHL Express for that.
All of the large US couriers have a service where they use USPS for the last mile: DHL eCommerce, UPS SurePost, FedEx SmartPost.
Thanks for the clarification. I suppose I should have mentioned my experience with DHL is with packages sent from the EU (but not Germany) to the US. I guess the EU ex-Germany's DHL is more like US' DHL.
I was wondering: The shipper used DHL, so how did the USPS get their grubby hands on it? Then I looked at the Wikipedia article for DHL and found that ~8 years ago, DHL started using USPS for local delivery.
I've found recently that when I order a package online, it will ship via UPS, but then the package is turned over to the USPS for last-mile delivery. I hate this because the package disappears into a black hole of USPS incompetency where they can't even do tracking properly, much less delivery. I wish Amazon had an option "don't let USPS touch this" for shipping.. I'd be willing to pay extra.
I've had several packages "lost" by USPS since moving to San Francisco. Never had issues in any other city. Almost everytime a package is shipped by USPS it stresses me out. I'll pay extra for FedEx now because UPS and DHL both use USPS for the last bit of the delivery in the city. I can't believe there is no way to really file a claim for a lost package. When you try they usually just give you a the Postmaster's phone number who puts you on hold for up to an hour. It's insanity. I'm normally for public services, but USPS is incompetent and can't be trusted.
They might, but it happens much less often in San Francisco from my experience. Whereas practically every UPS package I had shipped from Amazon Prime was being fulfilled by USPS. I just try to avoid them when possible after a number of horror stories.
A common privatization tactic is to defund public services so they're indeed incompetent. Then point at their incompetence as reason for privatization.
I suspect there is serious corruption and/or significant mismanagement in SF USPS. I've read many other experiences of people having trouble receiving packages from them. I personally had one or two cases of them not delivering stuff because they didn't feel like it.
If the package was worth 10k no way would I trust USPS with it. We ship out thousands of packages yearly via USPS and there is zero accountability for lost or damaged goods. We file weekly claims to get the $50 priority mail insurance value which rarely covers the cost of re sending out an order.
Yeah, if I sent something to the States via DHL, I would assume it would get to the intended recipient via DHL. Not "DHL palm it off to the local postie".
As I mentioned above, it was not shipped DHL, it was shipped Deutsche Post [0] (confusing because they are owned by the same group). They are the German equivalent of USPS.
So yeah, doesn't look like the games were packaged properly at all.
I don't want to sound mean, but undervaluing the contents for insurance and then wrapping the stuff in brown paper for packaging is kind of asking for this to happen.
In this case it wasn't even about packages just randomly getting lost, but this thing was clearly packaged so poorly that it should've been immediately obvious that this was going to happen.
The USPS will have gps coordinate of the scan made by the carrier on the street for delivery. --- If it made it to him or her.
The carrier will enter one or more dispositions such as delivered, damaged, attempted and 20 others.
It does happen where a delivery from another company for last mile goes "missing" and the entire manifest is reportedly "delivered" to the USPS. When in reality it never got there. This happened semi frequently at Christmas so the arrivals were not "late." the other reason is someone stole the parcel.
Almost always stuff reappears - but late. No company in the chain accepts "late" so they fudge the scans.
I would not assume that having just the label and no parcel means anything conclusive.
It means I won't be getting these games ever now, that much is for certain.
Even if their story about "the machine at my label" is to be believed, I am now tasked with asking them to "please find my box. It's the brown, rectangular one with no label. Trust me, that one worth $5000 - 10000 is mine, even though there's no way for me to prove that."
As a general rule "stuff" isn't allowed to sit around a mailroom or distribution center. Bad packaging and addresses happen daily.
A formal investigation is needed. The USPS still bows to political pressure. Often a letter to your congressman (not accusing but seeking help), puts postal management in another gear - and may find your items.
I've still failed to get anyone to officially contact me on this matter. Exhausted every possible recourse I could think of. Any time I actually get a human involved, they just pass me off to some online form or say they can't help.
If it truly got separated from the merchandise and it was not packed with a shipping more inside them most of the people you contacted are not capable of researching it. Try filing online and call your local congressional office.
The workers in front of screens can't help in all likelihood. It has to be found by walking around.
It is definitely USPS's fault, but from what I can see that box was packaged incorrectly. I am just posting this so OTHERS might not make the same mistakes, I am not judging or blaming the original shipper (nobody is perfect!)...
I've shipped a lot of stuff internationally. It appears that the shipper had a 18x16x10 box and wrapped it in shipping paper. They then applies the shipping label to the shipping paper.
First of all, shipping paper is garbage, if it isn't on tightly enough then creases get caught in the conveyor belts and ripped off. It also doesn't do a damn thing, it is just glorified wax paper with minor water resistant properties.
But here's their big mistake: They attached the label to the easily ripped off shipping paper and [likely] didn't write the destination address (or source address) on the box itself or within the box itself. That is a huge "no no."
If you ship internationally, and particularly if you ship something valuable: Invest in the cardbox box. Cardbox boxes are NOT created equal. Most cardbox boxes are single walled recycled nonsense, you want a double-walled heavy duty box. The nice part about double-walled is that the first wall will "eat" the water damage leaving the inner wall completely intact holding the box's shape.
You should also write the source & return address on the box itself. Even if the label has it. The label can be ripped off. And if your box lacks an invoice inside then instead include a contents list and set of addresses (this is so that if the box were to spill it can be reunited and forwarded).
Last part: The tape. Not all tape is created equal. Look for the weight rating. If it doesn't have a weight rating then it isn't shipping tape. Here is a good place to start[0], again look at the weight ratings don't assume that brand X is good even 3M make "economic" tape I wouldn't use. Tape uses heat, water, or pressure to adhere. Most tape you'll be using will be pressure, if you don't own a tape dispenser then use your finger to apply pressure to the tape after it adheres. If you do own a tape dispenser then make sure you're using it correctly and applying pressure along the whole length of the tape (otherwise it "sticks" but at hugely reduced effectiveness).
This, just so much this. Heck, you can get a pack of 12 from Costco for like $10 and that tape will last through anything but the most abusive handler. If you're worried about the package making it in one piece, wrap the whole box in 3M tape. It will be a giant pain in the rear for the person receiving it to open it up, but if you're shipping something worth $10k, it's probably worth the "hassle".
It's often cool to bash Amazon but their boxes always withstand the shipping and delivery process.
Imagine this. A cart of parcels shrink wrapped 10' is rolled near a scanner. Each is scanned and then "thrown" into a semi-circle of hampers. One on top of the other. Some things Amazon sells like dog food gets on top of that badly packages ebay or etsy lamp you just paid $75 for.
"Top load only" items like live chicks get special treatment.
There are some deliveries where USPS does "last mile" for other carriers.
If shipping something worth $10,000 the insurance for the package should be $10,000. Apparently the sender insured it for less than the value which is the fault of the sender, not the receiver.
Not certain how the receiver would be liable for the sender not insuring the package properly.
Under German law (which seems to be applicable here unless they explicitly opted for something else) the liability shifts to the receiver as soon as it is handed over to the shipping company. The idea is that the receiver could have picked it up themselves but chose delivery instead. It's a pretty old law that a usual person doesn't notice in their life because there are special rules to make everything right when a company ships to a consumer.
Of course one also would need to check if they had any agreement on which shipping service or insurance to choose which was violated or if there is any applicable kind of negligence involved.
101 comments
[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 244 ms ] threadETA: Yup, they broke something. I can see it from desktop too, but on this iOS 9.3.5 device, every tweet from any user shows that message, and any other Twitter URI bounces me to mobile and then gives "Sorry, Twitter is taking too long to load" with a "try again" button that doesn't work.
Web 2.0 at its best. Thanks for all the helpful responses!
There's no login required for viewing anything that is otherwise accessible on Twitter.
That being said, I could see the tweet just fine.
If not, that is a very expensive lesson to learn.
The tough part is that byuu's probably going to have to make it right with the person who shipped him the games - he's already said that if they can't be retrieved, he's going to do that even though he's really not at fault, and I understand why.
If you know any popular Twitch streamers or YouTube gaming superstars, now might not be a bad time to reach out, as I'm going to be doing later today. It would be amazing to see the huge retro gaming fan community come together and solve a problem like this for someone to whom we all owe so much.
Whether or not that means you owe him anything is yours to decide. If you decide that you don't, that's fine. I suspect I'm not the only one who would decide otherwise.
He doesn't know me from Adam's off ox, but I bet there's someone here of whom that's not true. I'll concentrate on people with whom I'm already acquainted, and hope someone comes along who can put a word in Notch's ear and hope to be heard.
I get that, if you want to be cheese-paring about it, what you say is in a narrowly technical sense correct. But the motivation here is identical to that which moved my first real boss to cover a $200 parking ticket I incurred through what I'm willing to admit, and stated to him at the time, was inexcusable carelessness on my part in failing to observe a sign. He nonetheless covered the fine, considering that, since I was in a position to make the mistake as a result of carrying out his business, it was reasonable for him to relieve me of the consequence. (Once - his exact words as I recall them were "now, you fuck it up again, you're on your own".)
That's the same kind of motivation I see in byuu's intent to make this situation right with the shipper, instead of blaming him and doing nothing. You can argue if you like that byuu shouldn't feel responsible. But I think we'd all enjoy a better world if more people more often did.
However, I don't understand why the shipper didn't insure the package for a full amount. If you are sending something wortk 10k, insure it for 10k. It's simple as that. If it made shipment expensive, then I'm sure the community would have sent him some money to cover the cost(or byuu himself would).
https://byuu.org/emulation/preservation/lost-package/
"... when I went to return the first box of 100 games, I was surprised to learn that FedEx would only insure packages for up to $2499. Anything higher would require documented proof of value, and the faxing of many forms, which the retail employee I worked with had no interest in even contemplating."
Since USPS is basically trying to blame byuu for this, I'm afraid the only option here to get any recourse is support-by-public-shaming. It would be a sizable blow to USPS's reputation to be framed as "A bunch of thieves who will deliver your stuff unless it's valuable, then we'll steal it, tell you we lost it, and sell it."
He could try to involve the police, but I imagine it will go nowhere. It's a pity.
EDIT: Corrected 'UPS' to 'USPS'.
I once had an international package go missing at some point after clearing customs despite a label declaring its value accurately at $1. I doubt that was due to theft.
The eBay listing indicates this may be theft, not just plain loss. Have they told USPS about this? And I don't mean telling their no-doubt powerless social media team on Twitter, I mean reporting it to the postal inspectors:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/MailFraud/...
I (thankfully) have no experience with them, but I have heard that they are not people you want to mess with.
Not really. Every business has thieves. It sucks that this happened but it's not going to be a sizable blow to the USPS.
After shipping hundreds of packages my personal anecdote is that USPS is far better and cheaper than UPS and FedEx. This one other anecdote won't change that.
Time and effort cannot be replaced, but the monetary loss at least should be insured against.
Unfortunately byuu made a poor decision about risk. If anything this makes me question byuu's ability to assess risk which is a pretty important skill in someone looking to be an archivist. Throw in lack of accountability and this is someone I will definitely not be supporting.
Problem is, I was kind of coerced by the employee into using this specific shipping that gave me only $50 insurance on the package. I didn't realize I was so under-insured until after the package was confirmed as "lost".
I wonder if x-ray or something is making it easier for employees on the inside to target expensive electronics packages.
I've found recently that when I order a package online, it will ship via UPS, but then the package is turned over to the USPS for last-mile delivery. I hate this because the package disappears into a black hole of USPS incompetency where they can't even do tracking properly, much less delivery. I wish Amazon had an option "don't let USPS touch this" for shipping.. I'd be willing to pay extra.
Maybe it has to do with my region, or the fact that I'm quite close to a regional Amazon warehouse.
Contacted Amazon and they claimed they prioritized UPS for my address. Seemed to work -- packages come via UPS almost exclusively now. Pretty good resolution in my book.
+1 on requesting shipment methods on Amazon for extra fee.
edit: clarified USPS does delivery on these.
With Amazon, around here they like to use a craptastic local shipper called LaserShip. Now those folks are the epitome of incompetency. Tracking is useless, they like to mark packages as delivered well before they actually arrive, and sometimes they just plain give the stuff to the wrong address. Once they gave my package to a random house thirty miles away!
I don't mean to say that you and the others are wrong, of course! I wonder what the difference is. Maybe I'm just lucky in this respect due to where I live or something.
I've had good success with this last year, after Amazon's own in-house fulfillment service caused me a series of issues due to erroneously failed deliveries; since I made that request, I haven't had a single shipment fulfilled via AMZL_US save those for which I requested same-day delivery of items present in the Canton warehouse. Other sorts of orders which AMZL_US would previously fulfill are instead now handled by UPS or FedEx.
If you have trouble with LaserShip, as I gather many do, you could probably do worse than to request Amazon deprioritize that carrier. If my experience is any guide, you may have to bounce from rep to rep a couple of times before you find someone who knows what you're talking about, but it's worth persisting, because the results are, at least in my experience, much worth the effort. Hope this helps!
I wonder how bad a carrier has to be for Amazon to abandon them entirely.
I've noticed USPS deliveries at my office have been very unusual lately. They often just throw the stuff on the floor near the door (there's a table for mail, etc), and when people exit the door it mashes the letters and such. Very odd. Also, it appears that the people delivering do not speak any English. I've tried to talk with them and either they are pretending to be ignorant of English or they don't understand it.
The only way to protect yourself is to ship non-USPS and insure.
I had UPS leave things outside my garage where they could easily get run over. Thankfully they've finally learned to put stuff at the side of the door rather than the middle.
Throwing mail on the floor is completely bizarre, though. I don't know if it would do any good, but have you complained to your local post office about that?
USPS marks stuff delivered before it arrives here at work. They seem to just run through all the packages and flag them when they put them on the truck. Had it happen with one from Amazon just yesterday. At least I've always received them. I have more trouble with Amazon not putting everything in the box they're supposed to.
From what I've gathered from anecdotal evidence, things vary a lot by region. Where I am, USPS is incompetent (repeated Sunday deliveries to my apartment building fail because "no access" despite USPS employees having a key to the building during the week) but the other carriers all make an effort and are willing to redeliver later the same day if they mess up.
Plus when I want to ship things around the country or (especially) internationally, USPS is nearly always the worst option unless you want slow and cheap.
As I mentioned in the last thread DHL definitely does not use USPS for delivery. I get packages every week via DHL and they are delivered in the yellow DHL vans, by DHL employees, 100% of the time. They may farm out last mile delivery to USPS for some rural or residential addresses though.
If someone in Germany can clarify this, I'd be interested.
edit: added picture https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png
You can choose to have your package delivered by DHL US instead of USPS but that is not the default option when shipping from Germany. You have to through DHL Express for that.
All of the large US couriers have a service where they use USPS for the last mile: DHL eCommerce, UPS SurePost, FedEx SmartPost.
I've found recently that when I order a package online, it will ship via UPS, but then the package is turned over to the USPS for last-mile delivery. I hate this because the package disappears into a black hole of USPS incompetency where they can't even do tracking properly, much less delivery. I wish Amazon had an option "don't let USPS touch this" for shipping.. I'd be willing to pay extra.
DHL is the worst, as a sender you don't notice. But on the receiving end there are numerous things that can go wrong.
And with DHL, there always seems to go something wrong.
I have asked our suppliers to avoid DHL and we just pay them more for proper worldwide service ( UPS / Fedex ).
Use UPS or Fedex next time!
UPS and Fedex do exist, but their fees are outrageous, and both services are only available to business customers.
[0] https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png
I don't want to sound mean, but undervaluing the contents for insurance and then wrapping the stuff in brown paper for packaging is kind of asking for this to happen.
In this case it wasn't even about packages just randomly getting lost, but this thing was clearly packaged so poorly that it should've been immediately obvious that this was going to happen.
The carrier will enter one or more dispositions such as delivered, damaged, attempted and 20 others.
It does happen where a delivery from another company for last mile goes "missing" and the entire manifest is reportedly "delivered" to the USPS. When in reality it never got there. This happened semi frequently at Christmas so the arrivals were not "late." the other reason is someone stole the parcel.
Almost always stuff reappears - but late. No company in the chain accepts "late" so they fudge the scans.
I would not assume that having just the label and no parcel means anything conclusive.
Even if their story about "the machine at my label" is to be believed, I am now tasked with asking them to "please find my box. It's the brown, rectangular one with no label. Trust me, that one worth $5000 - 10000 is mine, even though there's no way for me to prove that."
As a general rule "stuff" isn't allowed to sit around a mailroom or distribution center. Bad packaging and addresses happen daily.
A formal investigation is needed. The USPS still bows to political pressure. Often a letter to your congressman (not accusing but seeking help), puts postal management in another gear - and may find your items.
The workers in front of screens can't help in all likelihood. It has to be found by walking around.
Good luck
I've shipped a lot of stuff internationally. It appears that the shipper had a 18x16x10 box and wrapped it in shipping paper. They then applies the shipping label to the shipping paper.
First of all, shipping paper is garbage, if it isn't on tightly enough then creases get caught in the conveyor belts and ripped off. It also doesn't do a damn thing, it is just glorified wax paper with minor water resistant properties.
But here's their big mistake: They attached the label to the easily ripped off shipping paper and [likely] didn't write the destination address (or source address) on the box itself or within the box itself. That is a huge "no no."
If you ship internationally, and particularly if you ship something valuable: Invest in the cardbox box. Cardbox boxes are NOT created equal. Most cardbox boxes are single walled recycled nonsense, you want a double-walled heavy duty box. The nice part about double-walled is that the first wall will "eat" the water damage leaving the inner wall completely intact holding the box's shape.
You should also write the source & return address on the box itself. Even if the label has it. The label can be ripped off. And if your box lacks an invoice inside then instead include a contents list and set of addresses (this is so that if the box were to spill it can be reunited and forwarded).
Last part: The tape. Not all tape is created equal. Look for the weight rating. If it doesn't have a weight rating then it isn't shipping tape. Here is a good place to start[0], again look at the weight ratings don't assume that brand X is good even 3M make "economic" tape I wouldn't use. Tape uses heat, water, or pressure to adhere. Most tape you'll be using will be pressure, if you don't own a tape dispenser then use your finger to apply pressure to the tape after it adheres. If you do own a tape dispenser then make sure you're using it correctly and applying pressure along the whole length of the tape (otherwise it "sticks" but at hugely reduced effectiveness).
[0] http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Adhesives/Tapes/...
It's often cool to bash Amazon but their boxes always withstand the shipping and delivery process.
Imagine this. A cart of parcels shrink wrapped 10' is rolled near a scanner. Each is scanned and then "thrown" into a semi-circle of hampers. One on top of the other. Some things Amazon sells like dog food gets on top of that badly packages ebay or etsy lamp you just paid $75 for.
"Top load only" items like live chicks get special treatment.
Packaging is a BIG deal for a successful outcome.
Not certain how the receiver would be liable for the sender not insuring the package properly.
Of course one also would need to check if they had any agreement on which shipping service or insurance to choose which was violated or if there is any applicable kind of negligence involved.
USPS has a Registered Mail tracking program with Germany:
http://faq.usps.com/?articleId=1437076354655