Shipped USPS Priority to Guam 10 Days Ago...

[KnickNut3]

The guy who one one of my e-bay auctions for a $300 MP3 Player had me send it to Guam. I shipped it priority mail, but when I went to drop it off they wouldn't let me add insurance (a DIRECT contradiction of their website, which SPECIFICALLY told me to go to my local post office and they would add postage there). It's now been 10 days and the confirmation number still doesn't show it as having been delivered. I know Guam's a long way away, but it is Priority mail and I'm starting to get worried. Anyone else ship anything that far? If it gets "lost" or "stolen," think I have a case with USPS since they wouldn't let me buy insurance (even though I tried to)? Guy hasn't responded to any e-mails since he paid me two weeks ago--any chance he's gotten it but it just wasn't scanned in? Box was well packed and has no markings that it would be of any value.

UPDATE: So, went to the local PO and complained. They gave me a form to fill out, but he said the only thing they'd do before a month is knock on the door of the guy who I sent it to and ask if he got it. (Won't work, obviously, since he can then screw me over even if he did get it.)

Also, ends up the guy who told me "you can't add insurance" was wrong. Manager said I could have and "he'll talk to him," but wouldn't give me anything in writing. I can get the guy's name if I go in when it's busy and I see him working. I also grabbed an insurance sticker/form for reference. This gives me two options if it isn't found:

1) Protest to USPS that I was not allowed to buy insurance when I could have (with the name of the offender), and hope that they will honor it.
2) Use the insurance number I have and insist "you must have never scanned it." I know this is somewhat unethical, but hey, I wanted to buy it and was wrongfully denied the opportunity, and I also paid for shipping twice (mistake in the prepayment process), so I don't have moral qualms with it, and I'm a moral man. ALSO, would them not scanning it be plausible? I know they don't scan delivery confirmation stuff sometimes, but do they have to enter lots of insurance stuff into the system every time, so it would not be plausible that mine didn't get scanned?

Which would I have more luck with? If option 2 would work it would probably be more effective, but they might not buy it. On the other hand, I have no written proof of option 1. Thanks for the help.

UPDATE: Got feedback today. Don't know how long he had it, but WHEW, I'm relieved! Guess USPS just never scanned it in as being delivered. Lazy bastards...

 

[KnickNut3]

Wondering if anyone else has had experiences...

 

[eno818]

never do business overseas. i hope he didnt pay you by paypal.

 

[Adul]

guam is part of the US as a territory i believe.
We have a station in guam for DHL

 

[sygyzy]

won

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
won

 

[yhelothar]

own?

 

[cressida]

USPS priority takes forever to have delivery confirmation updated ... I just hope you don't get scammed some how.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3
The guy who one one of my e-bay auctions for a $300 MP3 Player had me send it to Guam. I shipped it priority mail, but when I went to drop it off they wouldn't let me add insurance (a DIRECT contradiction of their website, which SPECIFICALLY told me to go to my local post office and they would add postage there). It's now been 10 days and the confirmation number still doesn't show it as having been delivered. I know Guam's a long way away, but it is Priority mail and I'm starting to get worried. Anyone else ship anything that far? If it gets "lost" or "stolen," think I have a case with USPS since they wouldn't let me buy insurance (even though I tried to)? Guy hasn't responded to any e-mails since he paid me two weeks ago--any chance he's gotten it but it just wasn't scanned in? Box was well packed and has no markings that it would be of any value.

Do you have it documentated that USPS would not sell you insurance.

If not, then you claim against them is moot.

Request that they put out a query on the DC.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: cressida
USPS priority takes forever to have delivery confirmation updated ... I just hope you don't get scammed some how.

It can take up to 24 business hours, but never any longer than that. It's highly possible the package was never scanned when delivered. Not a frequent situation, but it's known to happen with delivery confirmation which is a reason you should never send valuable items without insurance.

To the OP, I wouldn't go emailing the guy if he got it or not. You could be sabotaging yourself that way, if he realizes it was never scanned, but got the package, he could end up filing a claim on paypal. Besides, there is nothing you can do until 30 days has passed, as USPS considers up to 30 days of transit to be within a valid committment time of priority mail. Even so, without insurance purchase, you have nothing to stand on.

 

[KnickNut3]

Looks like I got screwed from every direction. USPS was SO unhelpful, now I may get screwed double.

The guy's 11 for 11 on other purchases, so he's probably not a scam artist. You're right about not contacting him.

Sheesh... I don't see how I could have avoided this, being not able to buy insurance. Does stuff normally get to Guam pretty quickly, though?

Also, how do I put a query on it?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3
Looks like I got screwed from every direction. USPS was SO unhelpful, now I may get screwed double.

The guy's 11 for 11 on other purchases, so he's probably not a scam artist. You're right about not contacting him.

Sheesh... I don't see how I could have avoided this, being not able to buy insurance. Does stuff normally get to Guam pretty quickly, though?

Also, how do I put a query on it?

Go down to the local PO.

They will provide you a form to be sent in.

Keep track of the form (when/where you turned it in).
Also, request a explanation from the PO station manager about why they would not take insurance.

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper

Originally posted by: KnickNut3
Looks like I got screwed from every direction. USPS was SO unhelpful, now I may get screwed double.

The guy's 11 for 11 on other purchases, so he's probably not a scam artist. You're right about not contacting him.

Sheesh... I don't see how I could have avoided this, being not able to buy insurance. Does stuff normally get to Guam pretty quickly, though?

Also, how do I put a query on it?

Go down to the local PO.

They will provide you a form to be sent in.

Keep track of the form (when/where you turned it in).
Also, request a explanation from the PO station manager about why they would not take insurance.

Was told "we cannot add insurance to a prepaid package."
Thanks for the info. I'll try to get it in writing when I do it.

 

[Gurck]

By any chance do you also have Nigerian freinds aiding you in receiving an inheritance from a wealthy, deceased uncle you didn't know you had?

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: Gurck
By any chance do you also have Nigerian freinds aiding you in receiving an inheritance from a wealthy, deceased uncle you didn't know you had?

Ugh, not in the mood to be compared to a gullible fool. I guess I'll just try to stop worrying about it (since obviously there's nothing I can do) and just hope I never hear from the guy again.

Any words of encouragement or past experiences would be appreciated.

 

[KnickNut3]

Edited with update...

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3

Originally posted by: Gurck
By any chance do you also have Nigerian freinds aiding you in receiving an inheritance from a wealthy, deceased uncle you didn't know you had?

Ugh, not in the mood to be compared to a gullible fool. I guess I'll just try to stop worrying about it (since obviously there's nothing I can do) and just hope I never hear from the guy again.

Any words of encouragement or past experiences would be appreciated.

Sorry, it's just that a lot of people (myself included) won't ship outside of the states (well maybe Canada), and it's stories like this one (you're not the first by a long shot) behind that decision.

 

[EagleKeeper]

The insurance information is usually typed into their system and you will get a stamped receipt with the insuranctracking number/amount on in.

I do not think the no-scan defense will hold up.

You should also complain about being forced to pay a second time, if the postage was already pre-paid.

 

[Scarpozzi]

For the record, some packages sent USPS can be SLOOOOW. I had a package sent from CA to TN 2 years ago. It took it over a month to get here. The tracking number wasn't ever accurate in the transaction. Fed Ex is the more reliable for that kind of shipping. Just give it a few more weeks and see what happens.

 

[Bacardi151]

Originally posted by: vegetation

Originally posted by: cressida
USPS priority takes forever to have delivery confirmation updated ... I just hope you don't get scammed some how.

It can take up to 24 business hours, but never any longer than that. It's highly possible the package was never scanned when delivered. Not a frequent situation, but it's known to happen with delivery confirmation which is a reason you should never send valuable items without insurance.

To the OP, I wouldn't go emailing the guy if he got it or not. You could be sabotaging yourself that way, if he realizes it was never scanned, but got the package, he could end up filing a claim on paypal. Besides, there is nothing you can do until 30 days has passed, as USPS considers up to 30 days of transit to be within a valid committment time of priority mail. Even so, without insurance purchase, you have nothing to stand on.

...never say never...USPS, in my experience, takes forever to update their tracking and confirmation.. well over 24 hours

their delivery takes quite a while as well, even within the US. i tend to stay away from auctions that uses USPS, not because it's unreliable perse, but i just hate the lagging delivery. to me, it has always taken at least 2 more business days compared to other delivery/shipping companies and that's within the state or nation, so if it's an international delivery, i'd assume it to take a much longer time.

as for the OP, i suggest you be more demanding and aggressive when you talk to the manager, it is unacceptable for him to not put something in writing to assure you that something will be done about what happened. hell if they keep on denying, i suggest you tell them to review the tape of the day and hour you went into their office and talked to that inexperienced employee. bringing that up should make it look more convincing that you're not trying to pull off any scams.

anyways, hope things work out well, and keep us updated on this.

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
You should also complain about being forced to pay a second time, if the postage was already pre-paid.

Sorry on not elaborating on that one. I paid for it on a Friday and meant to send it on Friday, but I didn't get it out on Friday, so I lost my shipping and had to pay it again. Not the fault of my local PO.

Yeah, fingers are still crossed. I'll update. Manager was relatively kind, albeit witholding and unhelpful. If this becomes an issue later I'll be more demanding. For now I'll wait. For all I know the guy's had it for a week.

Aside: Guam is in the US, technically. I said US bidders only. Technically he qualifies.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
You should also complain about being forced to pay a second time, if the postage was already pre-paid.

Sorry on not elaborating on that one. I paid for it on a Friday and meant to send it on Friday, but I didn't get it out on Friday, so I lost my shipping and had to pay it again. Not the fault of my local PO.

Whoa, you paid for shipping TWICE? You just got it up the rear end. Even if you didn't ship the package out on that day, the postage is still good for several days following; but all you need in this case is to have the postal center apply the round postmark stamp to your shipping label. That becomes the new official postmark date. It's always done this way for prepaid metered mail; you're not the first person in the world to not be able to have it ship on the date your label was printed.

 

[AndrewR]

I wouldn't worry yet. The package could have been put on a ship and that takes up to 6 weeks. That's unlikely since it's Priority, but it has happened to us (Okinawa Military Postal System almost certainly uses similar system to Guam). Ten days to two weeks is nothing to worry about -- after three weeks you might start to be concerned.

And, yes, that idiot who said you couldn't do insurance was talking out his @ss. It's USPS -- of course you can use insurance!

Bottomline: Don't fret. Yet.

 

[RobCur]

i shipped something like 5lb of portable speakers to porto rico using media mail, took like 3 weeks. screwed the ship out of me, enver again will i ever ship media mail. slow as hell dude paid me 10 dollar in shipping but it only cost me 5.00 to ship it. I was xraxy never again... priority cost much more like 17.00
even parcel post cost AKA postal parcel LOL cost like 15.00 WTF?SHI+!@#$

 

[jpeyton]

Guy hasn't responded to any e-mails since he paid me two weeks ago--any chance he's gotten it but it just wasn't scanned in?

If he hasn't responded, who really cares? The guy hasn't shown any interest on the package, so why should you?

If he paid through PayPal, I would withdraw all the money immediately. That way if there is a dispute, YOU can choose to refund the purchase and NOT PayPal.