posted on March 22, 2001 02:09:00 AM
I have run across this situation several times--a seller sends an insured package to me (for over $50) and includes delivery confirmation. I have also read many threads here about the pros and cons of spending the extra money for delivery confirmation.
Here is what I have learned: When you insure an item for over $50 or send it Certified Mail, the sticker that is put on the package has a barcode on it, just like delivery confirmation. You can go to the USPS.com website and track this number just like you can with delivery confirmation. It will show the city and zip code where the parcel was delivered, and you can click on the button to see further info (i.e. where it was accepted). This does NOT work with insured items under $50, since they use a rubber stamp on the package instead of a barcode receipt.
NOTE: A larger post office will probably scan it at the counter when you mail it, and I think you can track it right away. I took an insured package to an official USPS 1-clerk counter inside a copy store last week, and they didn't have scanning equipment there. No info showed up on the website while it was in transit. I checked before starting this thread, and the website now shows the delivery date and location, but not the date/place it was sent from.
This really only affects sellers who send more valuable items (over $50) or Certified--but any little bit helps when trying to maximize profits or keep the mailing costs down! I'm sure nearly all of you folks are more experienced in selling than I am, but I'd be interested to know (just for the heck of it) if this is common knowledge or if it's news to any of you.
P.S. I've REALLY enjoyed reading this message board. Many things don't apply to me, but your comments and observations are helping to make me a better seller AND bidder! I've even referred a couple of eBay newbie sellers and bidders here so they can learn a ton about auctioning.
posted on March 22, 2001 06:44:37 AM
I have sent insured packages ($100 and more) without delivery confirmation and was unable to trace it online. I had one get lost in October and the PO is still unable to tell me what happened to it. DC is still the only guaranteed (well practically guaranteed) way to trace your package.
posted on March 22, 2001 11:33:25 AMVargas, I'm a little confused--if a particular post office doesn't have the capability to track the insurance sticker, how can they have the ability to track delivery confirmation (since they both use the same barcode system)??
posted on March 22, 2001 11:38:01 AM
>>I'm a little confused--if a particular post office doesn't have the capability to track the insurance sticker, how can they have the ability to track delivery confirmation (since they both use the same barcode system)?? <<
I would think that the insurance code uses a completely different computer system than the confirmation. Even the numbers are different. DC uses 20 numbers. Insurance uses 2 letters followed by 9 numbers and then two letters. The device the mailman carries in order to scan the DC packages probably stores the scan for later upload to a computer than is tied to the web for online tracking. It probably does not store the insurance bar code or only in some places. All I know was that I could not track my insured packages and when I filled out the claim form at the PO, they told me it would take weeks to get an answer. It has been since October and I am still waiting.
I learn something new everyday on these boards. Thanks!
I didn't know the over $50 insurance receipt served the same purpose as a DC however, I had one from a shipment that I made in January and, sure 'nough, I went to the USPS site and tracked it and it showed the delivery information (just like a DC).
I also tried another receipt I have from a shipment that I made on March 20 and received the following response:
"There is no record of that mail item. If it was mailed recently, it may not yet be tracked. Please try again later."
Last, I put a DC number in on a shipment that I just made today and it says the same thing (i.e. "There is no record, etc.). Of course, I would have thought that the DC of today would have shown "in transit" or something to that effect.
Well, partly solved, partly not. I live in small town Indiana where we don't even have a traffic light, some roads are dirt, some roads are gravel, some roads are paved and coyotes howl at night.... I'm really not THAT backward though.
posted on March 22, 2001 01:01:11 PMYisgood, perhaps if both the sending AND receiving P.O.'s are too small to deal in barcodes that may be the reason for "not found" on the website even if you KNOW the package has been delivered.
Molly001, try tracking the number on the package you mailed on the 20th in maybe a week or so and see if it shows up--also the DC package that currently is not tracked--to see if you ever get a true "confirmation." It might be interesting--and if you STILL can't find it, you might want to take the matter up with your local P.O. and get a refund!
I know many of you sellers are rural, so have you sent a DC (or over-$50 insured) package to another rural location and checked the tracking? It would be interesting to see if the P.O. is actually providing the service that you're paying for!
What I was told in the PO is that DC will work just about everywhere. It does take about a day to get into the system, but by tomorrow you should at least see "accepted for delivery on 3/22." The insurance receipt may or may not be tracked depending on where it's going and if that place has the proper equipment, since insurance tracking is a recent modification that has not hit all locations yet. Therefore you can not depend on insurance for tracking purposes.
posted on March 22, 2001 04:28:34 PM
I just entered an insured package (over $50.00) that I mailed on 2/16/01. It says the date that I mailed it and it is on its way. This is a priority mail package! Did I mention that the bidder already sent an email thanking me way back in Feb. and left me feedback?
If this person was crooked, they could plug in the number on the package and get the info. They could then email me saying they never received the package. According to paypal rules, they could do a charge back. This would be a really stupid because it's fraud, and who would want to risk jail time?
This happens more than the post office would like to admit. Sometimes they just don't scan the packages.
I saw another thread somewhere about checking old DC's, and the seller found out a few boxes took some big detours defore ending up at the right address!
It's not a perfect system, but the post office considers these sufficent for coverage for lost packages, and apparently paypal does to.
That works for me. Now if the post office would just do this for packages under $50.00, but I guess it's not cost effective.
posted on March 22, 2001 04:42:35 PM
Just a thought...if the P.O. never "confirms" delivery (as proven on their website), do you think maybe they'd refund the money?? (LOL!)
Without eBay, I might have a real life...
posted on March 22, 2001 06:12:34 PM
I did offer D.C. on packages to make it easier for the buyer to track, also so I could make sure that they got it. Except that it really doesn't matter if you are insuring the item whether for 5.00 or 500.00. As a seller I am placing the item in the hands of the P.O. and once accepted it is their problem. As long as you have the insurance cert stamped with the date and the address on it that proves you mailed it. D.C. only says that it made it to their P.O., it could have easily been left on the front step and stolen from there. But you cannot track that. The only true way to insure receipt is by returned signature. So D.C. turns out to be pretty much useless if you have proof of mailing (insurance receipt).
posted on March 22, 2001 06:29:23 PM
I have been closly monitoring my DC and +$50 insured numbers for the past month to decide whether to trust just the insurance. I find that neither one is 100% accurate. I have several packages that are still in transit (that I have confirmed as delivered by the buyer) and in one really odd case the DC showed that I mailed the package in my hometown but according to the insurance tracking I dropped it off for delivery in another state!!!! More often than not, the insurance tracking shows as "not in system...". The system is only as good as the people on both ends who must do the scanning and the computer system is subject to glitches (according to my local PO). They got a chuckle out of the package I took out of state to insure and then brought back home to mail! But they won't give refunds on items that aren't ever scanned or those still showing as in transit when they are not. I argued I paid for a service I didn't get. They got a chuckle out of that too!
The only reason I use DC is for PayPal. If you ask what they consider "proof of mailing" they always say "using a system that allows tracking". That means for all intents and purposes Delivery Confirmation!
posted on March 22, 2001 09:41:26 PM
I had a problem come up when I had purchased both DC and insurance on a package - the company I sent the item to said they never got it; the USPS said it was delivered, and therefore refused the insurance claim on the lost package. We went around and around about it for a few weeks, and the company has finally dropped the issue (this was a pager I was returning). I don't know if they found the pager, or just decided it was not worth the hassle. But I don't intend to purchase DC again on a package I'm insuring.
(Even though I have to stand in line at the P.O., it is worth it to get the computer-printed receipt that shows each city and zip code I mailed to, plus the postage and insurance amount. That "almost" prooves to anyone that I mailed his/her package, and doesn't cost anything extra.)
posted on March 22, 2001 10:43:14 PM
All accountable mail now have bar codes (except insured for under $50). Companies that had the old cert, reg, express, cod, etc stickers were asked to change over to the new stickers with the barcodes. Some have not (i.e. IRS). All barcodes are scanned. The ones w/o barcodes we manually enter (a big hassle). Insured w/barcodes require signature. If confusion over if item was delivered a request can be made for a copy of signed receipt. These are now scanned too (they have their own barcodes that are tied in w/the barcode of the cert, reg, express, etc). There is a fee for this service. Only DC's do not require signature.
You are correct yisgood, the scanners have a small harddrive and the scans are stored and uploaded at the end of the day. I've noticed posts in the past where people have mentioned that DC parcels have "travelled" abit. The only explanation I can figure is that when the carrier gets the scanner in the morning he/she is suppose to verify info. (date, time, zip code, route #, last 4 digits of SS#) before using scanner. Perhaps the carrier was careless and mis-entered their zip. We, in my office, did have one carrier enter the wrong zip and did not verify it for nearly a week. All of his enteries for that week were shown as being delivered in another state.
Each time an item is scanned it "asks" you to verify the zipcode. It is a careless carrier that does-not verify each time.
I don't know all of the answers and I hope I did not misinform anyone.
I've even referred a couple of eBay newbie sellers and bidders here so they can learn a ton about auctioning.
