posted on August 25, 2001 06:58:08 AM
I've been selling a few items on ebay. I've used delivery confirmation to cover myself. On one occassion, a person claimed they did not receive their package. I provided them with a delivery confirmation number and had no problems with this buyer. What do you think? Should delivery confirmation be used or just an option?
posted on August 25, 2001 07:15:39 AM
I don't use delivery confirmation. I just insure the item and have the buyer pay for it. If it does not arrive, I have proof of mailing thru USPS insurance or UPS receipts. If it gets lost in the mail, have the buyer file a claim on the item with the company used and send them the receipt and all the information needed.
posted on August 25, 2001 08:39:00 AM
If the item is over a certain dollar amount, it's a good idea to have some proof that the item at least landed in their post office. Frequently packages end up sitting at the post office because a carrier didn't leave a note of attempted delivery.
I think anything over $20 ought to have some proof of delivery. Most problem prevention items seem to be rarely needed--until you do.
posted on August 25, 2001 09:28:28 AM
You might want to do a site search. This topic gets debated every month or so on the EO
The people who like DC (like myself) will extoll its virtues: no (or few) "it never came" claims, or miracles that occur when you mention DC & the USPS site ("golly, it arrived after all", etc. etc.
The people who don't like or use DC will emphatically state that its a waste of money, that it has no tracking ability (actually there is rudamentary tracking), and that you should just insure every item that goes out.
So, it's a personal choice. Personally, in almost 3 years of selling (& using DC on every package), I've only had 3 or 4 people contact me saying "my item never arrived." And in every case I pointed them to the USPS site, which noted that the item had indeed been delivered (or being held at post office)....lo & behold! I received emails stating "hey, it's here after all."
posted on August 25, 2001 10:07:17 AM
dc proves it has landed in the buyer's post office,but it does not proof it has been received by the buyer??
what happens if it were stolen say at the doorstep,at the leasing office,at the neighbor's doorstep or someone broke into their mail box??
who bear the loss??
is dc good enough when buyer does chargeback with any of the above situation?
posted on August 25, 2001 12:30:54 PM
And round we go again
Delivery confirmation is proof that it was delivered to the post office OR the address, not proof that someone accepted it. I've had a package delivered to the address where the bidder says they never saw it! It was also insured, so that saved the day.
Now, for all you good little sellers and bidders, there's a new delivery confirmation out there. You pay $1.75 and you can have the bidder actually sign for it.
posted on August 25, 2001 09:20:58 PM
Insurance is not acceptable proof with Paypal. Insurance is more expensive than DC. Insurance is not trackable. When buyer says he never received item, what do you do? The PO makes you wait at least 30 days before filing a claim. Then it takes another 6 to 8 weeks to get a response. Will you make your buyer wait that long? You are sure to get a neg and possibly a charge back.
DC is 40 cents with priority mail, 50 cents with media mail and free if you use endicia. In about a thousand packages shipped, not a single one failed to arrive with DC. Not a single complaint of a missing package. The only one that ever got lost was going overseas (where DC is unavailable). For me, DC wins hands down.
When I send something expensive like a digital camera, I do insure and depending on the destination, I sometimes use signature delivery.
I give my buyers the option to pay for insurance and I explain to them that I have never had a domestic package get lost or damaged. If they take the insurance, then I promise to replace or refund if DC shows that the item was not delivered. If DC shows delivery, it is their problem. I am not responsible for the safety of their neighborhood or their workplace. But I have never had a single report of a lost or damaged domestic package.
posted on August 25, 2001 10:19:20 PM
Will the post office pay on an insured item that was claimed as lost, if DC was also used, and shows that the item was delivered?
posted on August 25, 2001 10:53:25 PM
Insuring a USPS package for $100 does get you a signature. The postman has to get a signature on values above $100. One of the gentleman at the post office told me this was the cheapest and safiest route to take when wanting a signature or confirmation of delievery.
I recently sent an item witn just dc, thinking the buyer would have to sign for it. To my surpise, the buyer calls me and informs me that they left the item on their door step. This is a good customer of mine he calls me about every 3 days, because I ahve a toll free number for my customers, to see if I have any good deals or if I can find a particular item for him and his family members, so he was not to upset, but I decided to start shipping with the $100 insurance limit on it to guarntee the item gets signed by someone.
posted on August 26, 2001 05:13:49 AM
I use one or the other but not both. My stated shipping includes DC. Insurance is optional on most items - I only charge the difference between Ins and DC if they choose to insure since the dc is already built into the shipping.
I usually only get one or two customers a week that don't want insurance. DC is my proof that I mailed. I don't believe it serves any other function as there are too many postal workers not scanning. But proof of mailing is very important, so I use it.
So, on more expensive items, just use the blue insurance sticker, and it is trackable online just like delivery confirmation AND they will have to sign for it.
posted on August 26, 2001 07:38:38 AM
I now use delivery confirmation on my half.com book orders over $5.00. Here's why:
I had the experience of a buyer recently complaining that her book had not arrived. I wrote her a letter after getting her complaint, letting her know that if it had not arrived within a week of the date of the letter that I would have to begin a trace on the package with the USPS. (you know, that form you fill out) There was no delivery confirmation on the package. Well, wouldn't you know it, she emailed me. The book was there after all. So I have learned a lesson. If I cannot do without the refund money, I put DC on the package.
posted on August 26, 2001 07:39:29 AM
Hi All, As a seller I use DC on all packages sent. This is a proof of mailing, for a very small fee. For insurance, it must be requested on small priced items. The blue bar coded label (USPS) is available for items insured for $51.00 or more. As a USPS Letter Carrier (mailman), I can correct a few statements I have seen lately. DC is trackable on the usps.gov site, from mailing to delivery. The PS allows us to leave these packages if we feel they will be safe, if not we leave notice, and scan them attempted. Please be assured we know which routes that packages can be left, and which ones we leave our billfolds in the post office. As far as missed scans we are currently at 98%, a figure that still is getting better. I have never had a scan missed, I tape the label down with CLEAR tape, which secures it to the package. Also please be aware that the Postal Service seeds DC into the mail stream to verify carriers scanning them, missing a scan can lead to discipline. Good Luck, Marty
posted on August 26, 2001 08:05:37 AM
>>The blue insurance labels are trackable. <<
Sorry, but I have heard this misinformation before. None of my blue insurance forms were ever trackable. The PO told me that eventually this will be possible but right now the system is not completely ready to do this and many will not show up.
Here is one for you to try:
VA227616406US
All I get is "you did not purchase tracking for this package."
Here is the DC from the same package which shows up fine:
01805213907085332519
Since DC is free for me, I always have it. But even if you pay for it, it's more accurate than insurance.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:25:11 AM
Hi, The blue lable WITH the bar code (insurance) must be scanned in by the window clerk at time of mailing. It can not be done by any Pack&Post,or even a letter carrier, or if given to a mailhandler on a back dock. The window clerk must scan the DC and or the other service labels at the time of mailing or they will not show up in the system. They MAY show as delivered, or be dumped by the system. (Please be aware this is a relative new system and we are still working on it) NOT AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.
[ edited by hoosiermarty on Aug 26, 2001 08:27 AM ]
posted on August 26, 2001 08:31:50 AMkidsfeet Even though the blue insurance tags have barcodes and they scan it at the counter, it is emphatically NOT trackable by the consumer at this time, and may never be. Same goes for the green certified and red registered.
Only Delivery Conf. and Signature Conf. are trackable by non-USPS people.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:35:26 AM
I have a BIG problem with the poster who claims a 98% scan rate. In the last 3 months using Endica and free DC I have sent 422 packages priority mail, and 337 media mail.
Of the 422 packages sent priority mail, 57
have not been scanned even though they all made it to my buyers...so thats about a 15% scan failure rate. Its much worse on media mail as about 50% of those never get scanned. I have no idea why media mail is worse except that with no priority mail color stickers or green scanning label, it makes it far easier for people to not scan it.
I firmly believe the green scanning DC label is the key, as whenever one of those is on a package it almost always seems to get scanned. I have a friend who sells on Ebay, and pays 40 cents to use the green DC label. Since the first of the year he has sent out 2,100 packages DC priority mail, all with green stickers. He always tracks all his mailings on line, and to date only 17 of those 2,100 DC mailings has had a scan failure.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:50:11 AM
Using Endicia so far 38 out of 42 packages show as delivered. The last four were only shipped Friday, so it is still too early. As far as I'm concerned, that's 100% scan rate. Then again, I ship priority and use priority labels to print the shipping info. Maybe if you print on plain white labels, the postman misses the fact that it should be scanned.
As for my insured packages, I only ship them at the PO and they did scan the labels right in front of me. I still can't track them online. The one insured package that got lost going to an APO took several months before they admitted it was lost. So it seems to me there is no online tracking.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:54:11 AM
I'm back..... What is Endica? And on the media mail labels. If they say Delivery Confirm or something close to that, even in black and white they should be scanned at delivery point. That is a perfectly good label, the green is easier for the carrier to see though. If you give me a while I'll dig my insureds up and check where I confirmed delivery, might have screwed that up. The 98% figure is posted in the overall performance scores by management, I have to take them as true. LORD know's they would not lie to me....LOL
posted on August 26, 2001 08:58:47 AM
Endicia is a service that lets you print postage from your PC. But it goes way beyond that. You get free delivery confirmation. You get a great program that lets you customized your labels. It tracks your packages for you and makes it very easy to look up any one and even email the recipient to let them know about it. Well worth the 9.95 a month particularly since the free DC pays for itself and I have saved many trips to the Post Office. Thanks Tom for spreading the word.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:59:50 AM
i just tried to track a blue insurance slip on usps website,it does not work.
here is the story-
a lady bot 5 teapots from me in my shop,each sits inside its own carton and i mailed all five in one shipment.
she claimed two were broken and has been advised by retired postal employee thats if she showed up at her local post office,they would take all 5 away from her.
she said it is also too much to do hauling 5 teapots and original box to post office.
she described one of the broken teapot-lid was jammed so badly inside the hollow of the teapot no matter how hard she tried like running under hot water,she cannot remove the lid.
so she send the 2 teapots back to me insured so i can take them to the post office.
i took them to the post office and the clerk said where is the original box used for mailing ?
i told her what she told me and of course we all know post office does not take away all five teapots.
i also looked at the jammed teapot,it lid is okay, but there is a chip,there is no sign that the lid was jammed badly into the hollow of the teapot.
i have not heard from the post office or receive a claim check yet.
but on 8/7 i sent her 2 replacement teapots insured with 100 dollars using the usps blue slip and usps priority shipping.
now she claimed she has not received them and want her money back.
i told her we have to wait till 9/7 to file claim,in the mean time i will call usps fraud investigation and her local city police and discuss the mail theft situation in her district .
(usps has the right to examine the original box used for shipping these teapots,if she described one of them which sits in its own carton was jammed so badly,the impact must be huge and should be evident with the outside box,so where is that box??)
see,this is a case where delivery confirmation is useless,it will just showed it arrived at her post office,
what helps will be the insurance slip as it will be signed by some one if delivered or if undeliverable,usps can track it .
posted on August 26, 2001 10:57:42 AM
Well, then it must be a new development. Because last year, the blue forms ALWAYS gave me the delivery date and time.
They were just as good as the delivery confirmation green forms.
I rarely ship the postal service any more, as I have a UPS account.
But, there WAS a time that they were trackable online, and I did it all the time.
posted on August 26, 2001 11:21:48 AM
ups is just too expensive for some of us.
not only is ups ground takes longer than priority usps,but you have to provide your own box and enter info onto their system.
but then first 100 dollars insurance is included.
the problem is not really the carrier(s),the problem is the buyer & seller.
buying from individual and selling to individual in cyberspace is the problem.
established mail order companies ship every day,they are obviously making money to stay in business/
if the buyer feels he has been wronged ,he will be persistent and keep coming back to have the issue resolved,no matter how much hardball you play,these are the ones you want to tell yourself,okay i will remedy the situation by giving replacement or refund and chalk it up as part of business expense.
, etc. etc.
