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Morality question (USPS lost goods)

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    Morality question (USPS lost goods)

    Awhile back (4 months) I sold some springs to a guy in NC. He didn't want to pay a lot for shipping so against my better judgment I shipped them USPS at his request.

    I wrote both addresses on a label, very visibly crossed out the other address on the box (same box different springs were sent to me in), ran the label by the USPS register biscuit to make sure it was legible and I did everything right, and shipped it off. I only got delivery confirmation as even with insurance they will just claim that you "improperly packaged" it if they lose it, and somehow that's the end of it.

    Anyway, fast forward to a month later. Lo and behold, he has not received the springs. He received the rear sway bar that I shipped to him UPS (at my cost, since USPS lied to me about whether they could ship irregular shaped objects), but not the USPS-shipped springs. Obviously I found that weird, so I checked the tracking.

    It went straight to the labeled return address (my address) where they said it was undeliverable (which was bullshit), from there it went straight to Maine. Never to North Carolina even though that was the destination entered for that tracking number.

    I called about a dozen different post offices. Where I sent it, the return post office, post offices in Maine, etc etc, no dice. I started an investigation with the supervisor at the local post office, whom I have not heard back from (still need to follow that up), I've wasted dozens of hours of my time waiting in line at fucking post offices to hear "we can't do anything to find it, just wait longer" time and time again.

    Now, the question here is, the guy has been pretty patient, but after four months he (understandably) has begun to become weary. He seems to think he is entitled to a full refund.

    Now I am generally a compromising, understanding kind of guy so if it came down to it, I was going to offer half of the whole charge back to him. But honestly, after thinking about it, he insisted that I use USPS to save a few bucks, I gave him a good price on the springs ($100 and they retail at $330 or something), I paid extra to ship the sway bar to him UPS (and charged him nothing more), and I've been running around for months trying to find the damn thing. If the package came back to me somehow I'd be willing to foot the bill to get it to him just to be a good seller, but as it is I've busted my ass and I'm not feeling very obligated to absorb the loss just because he decided to be cheap.

    Throw me your thoughts. Am I wrong?
    paint sucks

    #2
    Cliffs:

    Guy buys good springs off of me for cheap
    Guy insists I ship USPS instead of UPS
    USPS is a fucktard and loses it
    Guy wants full refund
    What do I do?
    paint sucks

    Comment


      #3
      Tough call. I'm not sure what I would do. Technically it's not your problem, however it's hard to say what the right thing is to do.
      Originally posted by z31maniac
      I just hate everyone.

      No need for discretion.

      Comment


        #4
        If he insisted usps then it's his problem. Or you could do a discounted refund.

        Comment


          #5
          ^^ agreed. (Just this once)
          sigpic89 M3

          Comment


            #6
            Send his refund to him via USPS.
            cars beep boop

            Comment


              #7
              I always pay $0.70 or whatever it is for delivery confirmation and insurance if item is expensive. Never had a problem with USPS. There was one item I shipped to Canada to Lee that for some reason didn't get there, and since it's international there isn't a tracking number. Personally I issued a full refund, probably didn't have to, but oh well.
              Mtech1 v8 build thread - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413205



              OEM v8 manual chip or dme - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho....php?p=4938827

              Comment


                #8
                The sway bars have nothing to do with the springs - so forget about that, it's another issue.

                So you are saying that you didn't clearly get rid of the old shipping labels and that is part of the confusion?

                (Most professional shipping labels (from a real shipping department), are thermal labels. They are made up of little microscopic beads that turn black when heated. The problem is that if you use a pen, and cross them out, the ink can smudge and come off easily.)
                Originally posted by Matt-B
                hey does anyone know anyone who gets upset and makes electronics?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by george graves View Post
                  The sway bars have nothing to do with the springs - so forget about that, it's another issue.
                  The sway bar is only a side note further indicating my frustration with USPS and how I've already gone above and beyond for this guy.

                  So you are saying that you didn't clearly get rid of the old shipping labels and that is part of the confusion?

                  (Most professional shipping labels (from a real shipping department), are thermal labels. They are made up of little microscopic beads that turn black when heated. The problem is that if you use a pen, and cross them out, the ink can smudge and come off easily.)
                  Apparently I didn't. Everything I did I did right in front of the USPS employee, I wrote TO and FROM on one label exactly how they directed me to and placed it on the center of the face of the box. The other address (which it presumably went to, don't see any other reason it would) I took a ball point pen and scribbled the fuck out of it.
                  paint sucks

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Tough to say now. Ideally you ship it Via UPS, no matter what the buyer says. Period. Since he was cheap, Id make him wait it out with you. Being in the seller's/your position, its a tough call, since you dont want to be out money, but want to do the right thing. You were cooperative to send it USPS, almost to a fault. From the buyer's point, he doesnt want to waste his money on nothing, and get ripped off. Also from his point, how does he know you shipped anything, let alone the springs. In contrast, as a buyer you should be more responsible than trying to save a few bucks, and eat the UPS shipping costs.

                    IMO... He gets what he pays for. He wanted to save some cash, and went with the cheaper route of shipping. It was a risk he was willing to take.... I say he waits it out with you, until the situation is resolved.
                    Originally posted by blunt
                    i would jerk larry king off while tonging jflips ass if h0lmes would blow his head off

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Well, it seems that he's doing that (waiting it out), but he's getting a little anxious as it has been 4 months, maybe more. To his credit, he has been pretty patient (probably because he's been stationed in several places for a few months). Honestly, I'd be very surprised if it's "found" at this point short of someone actively seeking it out.

                      This whole experience is probably a big unlucky coincidence regarding USPS, but I don't think I'll be using them again unless it's a necessity. If I'd have known this would happen I would have eaten the extra cost and gone UPS with the springs too.
                      paint sucks

                      Comment


                        #12
                        USPS is horrible. I remember in high school I sent a 96-97 Skybox Rubies Kobe Bryant RC (card) to a guy in Australia. I sold it for about $300 delivered, insured it for $300. The guy never gets the card, but gets his insurance money for it. All is good..... literally a good 4 months later I get the card back in the mail, it said the destination couldnt be reached, or something along those lines.
                        Originally posted by blunt
                        i would jerk larry king off while tonging jflips ass if h0lmes would blow his head off

                        Comment


                          #13
                          USPS might be cheaper, but they have a fine delivery track record IMHO. They just don't track as well, and offer less services.

                          But for shipping to home address, I think USPS f-ing rocks. You get that whole extra day of shipping (saturday) for free. So when your package with UPS is sitting in a where house on Friday night till Monday evening - with USPS, you got it on Saturday, two full days before you would have with FexEx/UPS.

                          As far as a refund, it's up to you. Do you fell partially responsible?

                          BTW, next time, cover up that old label with a blank label, or hit it with a heat gun to turn it all black.
                          Originally posted by Matt-B
                          hey does anyone know anyone who gets upset and makes electronics?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by george graves View Post
                            USPS might be cheaper, but they have a fine delivery track record IMHO. They just don't track as well, and offer less services.

                            But for shipping to home address, I think USPS f-ing rocks. You get that whole extra day of shipping (saturday) for free. So when your package with UPS is sitting in a where house on Friday night till Monday evening - with USPS, you got it on Saturday, two full days before you would have with FexEx/UPS.

                            As far as a refund, it's up to you. Do you fell partially responsible?

                            BTW, next time, cover up that old label with a blank label, or hit it with a heat gun to turn it all black.
                            Noted. Thanks.

                            Honestly, next time I will be going with something where there is no ambiguity and it's all computerized. I'm certain that it's not my fault as I know I wrote out two or three labels in front of the girl there until we were satisfied that it was perfectly legible and correct. But now I have no way of checking to find out, and USPS's policy is "wait until it gets to you." Well, that's bullshit. I tell you the address, you type it up so it's electronically documented. That seems a lot more secure to me.
                            paint sucks

                            Comment


                              #15
                              USPS isn't really cheaper if you use Priority Mail, I love those Flat Rate boxes and stuff you get for free. With delivery confirmation/tracking/insurance it's hard to beat. UPS can suck it.

                              Fedex > UPS.
                              Mtech1 v8 build thread - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413205



                              OEM v8 manual chip or dme - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho....php?p=4938827

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