when I shipped...

[cowbell]

I have a question for anyone that would like to chime in.

I shipped some stuff over night to someone, they were not there when the package was delivered the next day. I shipped USPS overnight and had checked the little box " no sigiture required" so they would just leave it.
The post office didn't leave the box ( still trying to figure out why) so when they arrived the following day (2 days later) they were all dead.

My question is, the post office isn't going to refund anything but shipping if they do that. But the person that was to recieve the package was not there because they were at work but didn't make arrangements to have someone get them for them.

What do I do? I want to help the guy out but it wasn't my fault... Just wanted to see what anyone thought. Thanks.

 

[ranran]

If the guy whom you shipped to asked for you to waive the sig needed so it would be waiting for him when he got home, and you did that and the po messed up.
if it was me I would offer to resend the frags with the refunded posted. if i could. Or if it was something i do not have more of like a ffish or colony of coal. Since it was nethers fault. i would refund all of the actual shipping to the buyer and try to work out spliting the loss on the live stock

 

[kathainbowen]

Why did it arrive two days later? Why didn't the individual just pick it up from the post office? Obviously, since the postal worker felt the need to not leave it, they should have left one of those little "missed-you-for-dropoff" orange slips. So.... was this notice just not left or did the recipient just wait for it to arrive?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

They don't care. If there was no insurance then they probably wont budge. It;s probably going to be very hard to even get the postage refunded. I went through a similar experience with UPS.
Also I think that if it is a high crime area or the area doesnt appear to be safe, it can be up to the discretion of the postal worker to leave it or not.

 

[davy182]

Due to the fact USPS didn't follow the directions you should be able to get a refund for the shipping, but as far as the coral goes if it happened to me I would eat the cost due to the mishap. With my stuff I guarantee live arrival only with next day shipments so if it arrived dead I would have to eat the cost. Yeah it sucks but crap happens, otherwise people don't have to due business with you again if they feel it will be a crapshot in the dark.

 

[davy182]

My best luck with shipping is Fed Express overnight and setting up for pick up at the office. That way it is guaranteed arrival by 9:30 am and they call you. What is even better there is very little time that the package is not in air conditioning. So far this way I have always had great experiences with any coral.

 

[weaver5]

I work for ups and if we deem a house unsafe to leave even if no sig. required we do not leave it. You could never imagine the amount of people that claim to have not gotten a package and the neighbors tell that they watched them pick it up.I do not think usps will refund the cost and I will bet that the reason it sat there for 2 days is the guy works while the post office is open. Sorry to hear about your problem and hope it gets worked out

 

[cowbell]

The guy is a nicw guy and I don't plan on shorting him, I guess USPS left a note but when he got home it was to late to get it. It just drives me nuts that even though you try and pack it well there is someone that helps kill them.

 

[kathainbowen]

.... there's still something that sounds really off about someone not picking up a box of corals and letting it sit in the post for two days.

No sir, I don't like it.




I hate to sound like the angry-Jersey-girl, but how do you know the corals didn't survive? What did you send? Did he send you pics of damaged/sickly/dead corals that looked like they had once been the ones you sent? Or did he just tell you they died? I mean, something just sounds very weird to me that he wouldn't make a more concerted effort to make it to the post office to pick up his stuff when it's something like coral.





On a sidenote, though.... if you think he's on the up-and-up, and he is a nice guy, I'd probably just refund or send a new pack if I were in your shoes, but under the proviso that the second pack is the final one (ie- if the post or he screws up again, it's not your fault and you won't be refunding or sending another set of replacement corals).

 

[aquarius77]

You both should have known when a overnight package did not make it overnight... In my opinion i think you both should have been more proactive, you BOTH just let corals sit there for 2 days, it was not just him. I track and watch every shipment i send, if it does not arrive on time i know and i contact the buyer and then start makin phone calls to the PO's involved.

I would talk to the person who bought the corals and work something out between yourselves.

 

[michaelaz]

I agree , split it 50/50. I watch my packages send and recieve all day like a hawk so I know when its going to be there.

Next time leave it at the apt mng or his office.

 

[boviac]

Wow. Whenever I order livestock I have them I request the seller have it held it at FedEx and I'm there in the morning before their trucks even leave. But then again, I'm relatively close to the airport.

If I couldn't I'd certainly arrange for a sign to be placed on my door to deliver it somewhere else I've already coordinated for someone to be there. Or deliver it to my work and go home for lunch.

I agree with these above posts:

1) As I seller, I would certainly take this as a lerned lesson and track shipments more carefully. Maybe also have a disclaimer indicating that you are shipping LIVESTOCK Overnight and should be recovered and begun acclimation as soon as practical.

2) There certainly does seem to be some questions about the buyer's dedication to receiving livestock. (not being home, not going to pick up box, not coordinating box delivery next day, and we don't know enough about the 'dead' status to comment further there.)

3) and finally, work out some credit or replacement for this guy - only if he can work something out with delivery at his end next time. But then again, there is only so much you can do.

 

[cowbell]

Thanks to everyone.
I did send him an e-mail the next day asking him about the corals, this is the problem that I am having with this thing. If he had made arrangement to have someone there to accept them there would not be any problems. He sent me pics and they look dead, but the thing that gets me is I sent them over night to be there on Weds but he doesn't get them till Thursday after work. They are outside waiting for him when he gets home. It just doesn't seem like there was much effort for him to get the corals in his tank.

 

[rachelcb80]

Sounds to me like the buyer sure didn't try very hard. If he knew the shipment was coming Wednesday there's no reason for him not to of taken delivery that day. If he had to be at work then he needed to have someone at the house to take delivery. If he couldn't do that then he didn't need to buy corals until he could figure out a day he could be there to accept them.

Unless you feel a great need to somehow rectify the situation I personally wouldn't do anything as far as a refund is concerned. There isn't a retail company out there that would refund you anything if this same thing happened with one of their shipments.

 

[michaelaz]

Again, Pick your battles and fight your wars. If the cost to you is under $100 I would eat a few coral frags and ask him to PU the overnight and ship UPS or FEDEX, dont ship USPS, even on their website they say overnight is USUALLY nextday.

Usually is like the guy who got hit by lightning,it USUALLY never hits anyone, its a 1 in a million shot,ask him about USUALLY.

 

[cowbell]

It was $160... I was thinking of telling him that I would reship half sence he didn't work out the recieving side. Does this sound ok?

 

[ihopss]

A rock & hard place.
Your name is better than riches &gold.
Dose not sound like he was concerned ?