Hey BAs...I would really appreciate your advice. For starters, I've been shipping snow globes pretty much every week for the past 5 months so I'm not new to how this works. I typically ship via FedEx ground but I found myself in Alaska last month for work and ended up with more globes than I could fit in my suitcase. FedEx and UPS are both prohibitively expensive so I reluctantly decided to use USPS to ship the extra globes back to my office in Colorado. I picked up two of their large flat rate boxes and essentially used one to double wall the other. Inside the box went 7 globes (worth ~$150) along with some clothes for padding. Each bottle was zip-locked in case of leakage or breakage. When I dropped it off on Friday the 30th, the clerk informed me that it would arrive in Colorado on Monday the 2nd. They asked if I wanted more than the standard $50 worth of insurance however I declined as I knew they would not reimburse me for broken globes. I flew home that weekend, excited to get my box on Monday. When I looked at the USPS app though, it showed that the box was accepted at the local post office, left the local post office, and then arrived at the USPS "origin facility" - which I'm assuming is the nearby airport post office location. I was afraid that my box hadn't left Alaska, but I was optimistic that it was just a glitch. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday came and went and the package did not show up. I called the origin facility and gave them the tracking number and I was told that the delivery address must have been misread, but not to worry. A few days and a few phone calls later, they told me that the address label must have been rubbed off or somehow destroyed, making the box impossible to deliver. They said that I had two options: 1) File a claim and see if the box shows up in the Mail Recovery Center. I would need to describe exactly what was inside the box. If a match was found, they would return the box to me. 2) File an insurance claim for $50, which was the extent of my insurance and roughly the value of the clothes I used for padding purposes. I would still likely have to describe exactly what was inside the box. I suppose I have a third option: 3) Do nothing / cut my losses / walk away. Let some schmuck get an early Christmas present. Chalk it up to a cost of doing business and think twice before trusting the government to handle my packages. Naturally I'm inclined to go with option 1 and hope that USPS will be kind enough to find my box and return it but I'm leery about admitting what was inside the box, and have a bad feeling it was confiscated, not lost. If any of you have had ANY similar experiences with USPS, I would greatly appreciate you sharing as much thoughts and / or suggestions as possible. Thanks in advance for your help, guys! Cheers!
I have not had your problem with Snow Globes, but I have had a claim with the USPS. I shipped a cell phone to a buddy and the phone did not make it and the box was recovered at a post office between here and there. Made a claim no call back, called USPS they said no claim refiled claim no call back, same thing after filing claim for 3rd time I got a letter telling me to submit all receipts showing what I had shipped (HTC EVO phone and Otterbox) my one year old phone netted me $32, I spent more time and frustration tracking down the missing box and $32 was an insult. So moral of my story it was a lot of aggrivation to file a claim.
Not to be "that guy" but everyone who bemoans the prices of FedEx and UPS and therefore opts to ship USPS does so at the risk of getting screwed like this. You truly do get what you paid for. I know this isn't helpful to the current situation OP finds himself in, but it breaks my heart reading post after post on BA of people losing beer to the horrendous practices of the worst shipping service known to man.
@jerwin2 File a claim and describe exactly what was in the box. There have been plenty of documented instances of USPS delivering soaking wet boxes of beer. Yes, I believe according to their TOS shipping alcohol is illegal, but hell apparently there are employees out there that really do not care. The worst that could happen is you get a slap on the wrist for trying to ship alcohol and don't get your beer back. They're not going to come after you.
You're probably right. But maybe, maybe you're wrong- and if so, we're talking well beyond negative feedback. OP, let this one go, especially since your gut tells you it was confiscated, not lost or stolen. I am curious as to what you purchased though...
I would absolutely not "let this one go" and eat the cost. Why not at least try? Seriously, play the stupid card. "Oh, I didn't know you can't ship beer, sorry about that." Let's be real, they're not going to file legal charges against the dude. That's just me. I'd want to at least try to get my stuff back. OP, you can do whatever you'd like.
@ShanePB and @Abbbp - Thanks for taking the time to read my long-winded story and respond. Right now I'm leaning towards filing a claim. While I know that shipping certain items is frowned upon, I shipped them from myself and to myself so I'm thinking that reduces the severity of the offense. I would greatly appreciated hearing from anybody else who either works for USPS or has had a similar experience dealing with claims. Thanks.
Agree with Shane on this one. File the claim, tell the truth (you were sending beer from yourself to yourself), and if they tell you it's illegal just play dumb. You're not going to get in trouble for a first time offense and as Shane mentioned USPS is the same as the other carriers in that it all depends who is handling your claim/packages. I got a box delivered from my local post office that they wrapped in saran wrap because it was dripping wet. They still delivered. The post lady even knocked on my door to let me know the box was leaking. You might get a worker who doesn't care about you sending beer to yourself and they find your box. Or they process the claim and you get $50. Worst case they tell you that it's illegal and not to do that anymore and they don't give you $50. If a potential scolding is worth $50 I'd say do it.
Thanks again for all the feedback, guys. I thought you might like to know how this story ended. I chose to do nothing initially and was working up the nerve to file a claim and then all of a sudden I received a hand-addressed letter from the local USPS Hazmat Unit. 99% of the letter was boilerplate and explained that my package arrived in "bad condition" and upon examination and repacking, was found to contain snow globes. It mentioned that mailing snow globes is prohibited and cited the specific code in the law and then in the following sentence, said that I had two weeks to come retrieve the contents of my package. I was afraid that it was a trap, but I called them and didn't get any grief. I went by there the next day and they were as kind as can be...there was no finger wagging or scolding whatsoever. As for what I got back, one of the snow globes but missing but the remaining 6 were in perfect shape. The only other disappointment is that my clothes (used for padding) were missing, so I'm out roughly $50 worth of clothes but salvaged over $100 worth of globes. All in all, I was pleased with how they handed it but I will still think twice before I use USPS for that purpose again.
you pack your snow globes in $50 worth of clothes? Can we be trade partners? i hate buying clothes and judging by your profile pic we have the same fashion sense.
LOL. I had sent the box from myself to myself, thus why I used my own clothes for padding. Apparently when the one snow globe broke, my clothes soaked up some of the liquid so USPS decided to discard them. Mainly just socks and undershirts.
I know this thread is old, but I recently had my package of local coffee and local honey go missing. I made a bonehead mistake and forgot to put my return address on the box though. Should I file a claim?
I suggest you wait at least a full month before saying anything. Mail often gets delayed, but it almost never disappears. Keep in mind that when you go to file your claim, you'll need receipts for those bottles of coffee and honey.
