posted on September 30, 2001 01:04:40 PM
Just had an auction end. Winning bidder emails me and says he wants it shipped by UPS because he's had too many things broken by USPS (his FB is 9). I stated USPS Priority in my auction and EOA notice. I don't use UPS and there isn't a UPS drop location within 15 miles of me. Any ideas? Should I email him and promise to pack extremely well (which I try to do anyway) or tell him to forget about the auction and eat the fees. It's only a $9.00 item. Barbara
posted on September 30, 2001 01:09:07 PM
Stick to your TOS.
I had someone tell me to make sure I packaged something well as she had had 5 different things broken by the USPS (this was after the auction). I have a 600+ feedback - quite a bit for good packaging. Did this thing arrive broken? Apparently yes, I am letting her deal with her post office for a claim. Sounds to me like her post office doesn't like her anyway....
posted on September 30, 2001 02:37:05 PM
Isn't this special? The auction went on its merry way for 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. After its over the high bidder says he doesn't want USPS, when it was specified in your ad.
Stick to your TOS and make sure you insure, Whether the high bidder pays for it or you---I see trouble on the horizon with this high bidder. And if this high bidder doesn't pay for the insurance, make sure they know you have insured. Do it! And from now on, please make insurance mandatory. Less headache for you!
posted on September 30, 2001 02:41:35 PM
And I have one that's just the opposite. We have a daily pickup account with UPS, and I have a buyer that is insisting on having a 9.99 package mailed thru the Post Office to a PO box. Yup, wants me to make a special trip to the Post office just for them.
I'm going to do it, (easyier than fighting with someone), but it will be mailed when I'm going that way anyway.
posted on September 30, 2001 03:08:15 PM
Checked the cost for a one-time-pickup, 2 pound UPS ground package to go CA to NY (includes insurance to 100.00)....
Cost from their web site...9.65
A bit more than PM but if the buyer is willing to pony up....??
Ironically, because of our rural postal address and package theft problems in the country, I prefer items to go to our PO Box in town....of course, UPS doesn't ship to PO boxes so I do make sellers adamant about shipping UPS aware of that issue.
The few low dollar items I sell I will either self-insure or insure them for the minimum $ USPS needs for the tracking number ($51 the last time I went to the PO). I'm in the same boat as Barbara except for a bit more distance...
If I was in her place, I'd likely offer the UPS one time pickup option at a premium to the stated shipping cost in the auction. Unfortunately, shipping on this item via UPS may meet or exceed the cost of the item...the caveat on this offer being whether I'd normally be avaiable all day at the ship point when UPS picks up...If not, no option...
posted on October 1, 2001 06:17:18 AM
Update!! He sent payment via Paypal and requested I write Fragile on the box. I also included insurance. I'm mailing it today so now I'll wait and see if it arrives in good condition. I extra packed this one.
If you write FRAGILE on that box and give it to UPS, you can GUARANTEE it will arrive broken - even if you packed it in concrete.
I have found that bidders who ask me to use another form of shipping, because of damages they have sustained to merchandise, almost always assures them of getting another damaged item, when mine gets shipped. Its like Murphy's Law or something.
Two times, someone asked me to use a different carrier and stressed "pack well" (like I don't already). In fact, I extra packed just because. Both times those packages arrived damaged - not from my packing - there were actual tire marks over both packages. I still believe it was like a JINX with them asking for special packing and mail service.
Insofar as UPS is concerned, I have friends who work for UPS - They have told me to never mark anything FRAGILE. All it does is make some idiot pick it up and drop kick it around the warehouse.
I wish you luck and hope that package arrives safely. Cross your fingers.
posted on October 1, 2001 09:24:42 PM
My son worked at UPS this summer-at their largest hub. While there is no time for "drop kicking a package" at this hub-putting Fragile on the box was a waste of time. Boxes come down the belt so fast there is no time for seeing which one is fragile. As my son said-they don't even know what that word means anymore. FRA GIL E -must be from France.
I am happy to hear that your son's crew was more responsible and obviously too busy to mess around with packages.
When I made that statement, I should have stated that this is NOT always how UPS operates. However, my own pick up driver advised to never write "FRAGILE" on the boxes.
That is a tough decision to make, considering most carriers require you to write "FRAGILE" on the box, if the item has been insured and contains glass or other breakables.
The very first time I marked a box FRAGILE (on all sides in LARGE letters), the box was destroyed (tire marks). That however, was not UPS, it was Federal Express.
A poster not too long ago on these boards advised - her packages must make it down her own flight of stairs as a test of how well the item has been packaged - in other words, sellers really must go the extra mile to package the item and buyers must understand the costs associated with doing so. The package may be a little larger and heavier as a result.
Again, I was not insinuating (sp?) that all UPS people are the same and I apologize if I offended anyone with that statement - it was not my intent.
posted on October 2, 2001 06:08:51 PM
You didn't offend me at all! Well, maybe the mom in me when I read "idiot" until I reminded myself that no one was calling MY son an idiot.
As I said, he worked at their largest hub and it's crazy there. The packages come down the belt so fast, they have no choice but to throw them at the end. And when one falls off, it's picked up and tossed back on. They have a kind of "oh whatever" attitude about anything marked Fragile. They're given a very few seconds to handle each package and if they take longer, they are fired! Not hard to see why they don't take the time to read what's written on a package. He loaded for UPS Air, but ground is the same way.
That summer job gave all of us a bad taste of UPS. They promise those kids the moon and it all turns out to be just a lot of talk.
posted on October 2, 2001 06:18:20 PM
Yup, got a friend who is a stupidvisor (his word, not mine) at the major NC hub.
A direct quote from his training:
"To unload a truck quickly, you must move the packages to the end of the truck. They taught us to grab a package at the bottom of the stack and pull it out, then jump back! The resulting collapse of the stack would move most of them to the end of the truck."
And when they are moving down the line, tossing them is a common way of saving time.
He recently pulled a flat package out of a corner... it had been there for over a year!
And the drivers are told to ignore Signature Required stickers for residences.
I just love UPS. Of the 1200+ packages shipped, only UPS has ever damaged one, except for one I admit I packed poorly.
I kept the cardboard with the tire marks that UPS claimed was a "poor packaging" damage!!!!
posted on October 2, 2001 06:26:48 PM
Regarding USP, had my first delivery via them yesterday. The buyer insisted I send it through UPS and even included a prepaid label. Went to our local drug store--the only outlet for UPS in a great deal of miles. The lady behind the register didn't know what to make of my package with a prepaid label/ address sticker. Well, off it went and with a great big sigh of relief heard from the bidder today that it arrived all well and intact! Would I use USP again? Probably not--have a great relationship with my local PO and it is like my second home. But the UPS does deliver--just a bit inconvenient for my circumstances.
Not sure where this fits in with the topic, just that the UPS does deliver and when they say overnight, they mean it!
posted on October 2, 2001 07:11:48 PM
The reasoning behind marking a package "fragile" is simply to show the recepient that it was packaged/labeled with care. If I send a fragile item and do not mark it as such it shows a lack of care. Whatever the carrier does with the package is beyond my control.
posted on October 3, 2001 09:23:10 AM
What is the problem with a bidder asking, after the auction, for you to pack well? (Why bother you with that request before they even win...what if they don't win?)
I have found that many high feedback sellers who THINK they pack well -- actually do not pack well. Some don't truly understand what a fragile piece of glass goes through in the shipping process. When checking your feedback, I scan the most recent 25 and if I see several comments about good packing, I feel confident. If I am really concerned about the item, I check to see what those bidders bought. The "good packing" feedback is rather meaningless if they bought fabric or books, but the item I'm considering bidding on is a large piece of old milk glass. (Milk glass is more fragile than other glass. Large pieces are more easily damaged than small compact pieces. Etc.)
(This is a general comment, not aimed at anyone personally.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
