Missing package that was Delivered

Almost happened to me once. I was working from home too, went out to greet the FedEx guy (one I'd never seen before) & the package seemed really light. Opened it right inside the door...chock full of medical equipment. I jumped in my car, chased the truck down, & got my box.

Rather than calling, I figured I'd just deliver the box that had mistakenly been dropped on me. So I drove over, and lo & behold, there was another box on their step...at the wrong address. I picked that one up & re-delivered it, too.

Never saw that driver again. I'm assuming the random drug testing caught up to him.

 

the difference is that if fedex destroys it, one can assume that the shipper didn't pack good enough for it to make the journey...and most of us who have dealt with a break will tell you that it was on the most bullet proof box they ever packed that resulted in the break. perhaps there was too much slosh or someone figured out it was beer and just stole it somewhere along the way?

these are the reasons that some folks go the extra mile and bag individual bottles to prevent leakage and/or only use bottle shippers and/or put noise makers to mask the slosh. think about it, if you are sending a box of a few hundred bucks of beer, there are many things you can do that will cost a buck or two to make your box safer...and if it is that valuable to you, insure the box for a few bucks or require signature for a $2 add-on or set up to deliver to a facility for in person pickup.

by your logic, i can have a box delivered to my office, signed for and then vanish internally in my office and the shipper would still be responsible (and believe it or not, i have actually had a box get lost in my interoffice mail system for a day).

the general rules of trading (as evidenced by the replies and likes in this thread) is:

- shipper is responsible until delivery confirmation is given...and also with the corner case if something agreed upon was delivered broken (usually photographic evidence would be required here). extras break...well, they were extra, sucks but nothing is owed here.

ultimately, yes, the shipper should do whatever they can to help...ie, put a trace on the box or help file a claim if nothing ever shows (think ahead when the box first vanishes and you start describing the details of the package as this will need to tie into whatever evidence you provide if you have to file a claim - they will cover up to $100 plus shipping cost even if you did not insure). ultimately recurring trade partners are going to go that extra extra mile and you might get your box replaced, but set your expectations where they should be, once delivered it is your responsibility so if you won't be around or are concerned about your locale...consider your options.

 

I was at home during one delivery this fall by FedEx, and saw it was delivered online. Went to look and it was not on my porch. Looked across the street and saw a box on the neighbors porch. Sure enough. Haven't had the problem since.

 

This happened to me with a gift box for a trader. I told him it was coming, he was home all day, showed delivered and was not. Still has not shown up. I cannot replace the bottle (WB 4th Anniversary). Guess someone else got it and decided they wanted to enjoy it...

 

I haven't seen anyone mention this yet, so without engaging in the discourse about who is in need of fixing it, I'll just mention this: insurance. Every FedEx package comes with $100 insurance by default, and it's not very costly to increase this. $101 worth of insurance costs the same as $300 worth, so if you're going to buy more, go to $300.

In putting in an insurance claim with FedEx you need to provide an "invoice" which is admittedly hard to do "honestly" but since we're all being "dishonest" to FedEx about the contents of our packages anyway, I don't really think this is much worse. Personally, I see it as a bit of karmic retribution for all of the "confiscated" boxes of which FedEx employees get to enjoy the contents.

No guarantees that your insurance claim will be approved even from one similar scenario to the next, but if you got $100 let alone $300 it could go a long way toward sending a replacement box.