USPS confirms Byuu’s PAL SNES package has been lost
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Since USPS is basically trying to blame byuu for this, I'm afraid the only option here to get any recourse is support-by-public-shaming. It would be a sizable blow to USPS's reputation to be framed as "A bunch of thieves who will deliver your stuff unless it's valuable, then we'll steal it, tell you we lost it, and sell it."
He could try to involve the police, but I imagine it will go nowhere. It's a pity.
EDIT: Corrected 'UPS' to 'USPS'.
I once had an international package go missing at some point after clearing customs despite a label declaring its value accurately at $1. I doubt that was due to theft.
The eBay listing indicates this may be theft, not just plain loss. Have they told USPS about this? And I don't mean telling their no-doubt powerless social media team on Twitter, I mean reporting it to the postal inspectors:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/MailFraud/...
I (thankfully) have no experience with them, but I have heard that they are not people you want to mess with.
Not really. Every business has thieves. It sucks that this happened but it's not going to be a sizable blow to the USPS.
After shipping hundreds of packages my personal anecdote is that USPS is far better and cheaper than UPS and FedEx. This one other anecdote won't change that.
Time and effort cannot be replaced, but the monetary loss at least should be insured against.
Unfortunately byuu made a poor decision about risk. If anything this makes me question byuu's ability to assess risk which is a pretty important skill in someone looking to be an archivist. Throw in lack of accountability and this is someone I will definitely not be supporting.
Problem is, I was kind of coerced by the employee into using this specific shipping that gave me only $50 insurance on the package. I didn't realize I was so under-insured until after the package was confirmed as "lost".
I wonder if x-ray or something is making it easier for employees on the inside to target expensive electronics packages.
I've found recently that when I order a package online, it will ship via UPS, but then the package is turned over to the USPS for last-mile delivery. I hate this because the package disappears into a black hole of USPS incompetency where they can't even do tracking properly, much less delivery. I wish Amazon had an option "don't let USPS touch this" for shipping.. I'd be willing to pay extra.
Maybe it has to do with my region, or the fact that I'm quite close to a regional Amazon warehouse.
Contacted Amazon and they claimed they prioritized UPS for my address. Seemed to work -- packages come via UPS almost exclusively now. Pretty good resolution in my book.
+1 on requesting shipment methods on Amazon for extra fee.
edit: clarified USPS does delivery on these.
With Amazon, around here they like to use a craptastic local shipper called LaserShip. Now those folks are the epitome of incompetency. Tracking is useless, they like to mark packages as delivered well before they actually arrive, and sometimes they just plain give the stuff to the wrong address. Once they gave my package to a random house thirty miles away!
I don't mean to say that you and the others are wrong, of course! I wonder what the difference is. Maybe I'm just lucky in this respect due to where I live or something.
I've had good success with this last year, after Amazon's own in-house fulfillment service caused me a series of issues due to erroneously failed deliveries; since I made that request, I haven't had a single shipment fulfilled via AMZL_US save those for which I requested same-day delivery of items present in the Canton warehouse. Other sorts of orders which AMZL_US would previously fulfill are instead now handled by UPS or FedEx.
If you have trouble with LaserShip, as I gather many do, you could probably do worse than to request Amazon deprioritize that carrier. If my experience is any guide, you may have to bounce from rep to rep a couple of times before you find someone who knows what you're talking about, but it's worth persisting, because the results are, at least in my experience, much worth the effort. Hope this helps!
I wonder how bad a carrier has to be for Amazon to abandon them entirely.
I've noticed USPS deliveries at my office have been very unusual lately. They often just throw the stuff on the floor near the door (there's a table for mail, etc), and when people exit the door it mashes the letters and such. Very odd. Also, it appears that the people delivering do not speak any English. I've tried to talk with them and either they are pretending to be ignorant of English or they don't understand it.
The only way to protect yourself is to ship non-USPS and insure.
I had UPS leave things outside my garage where they could easily get run over. Thankfully they've finally learned to put stuff at the side of the door rather than the middle.
Throwing mail on the floor is completely bizarre, though. I don't know if it would do any good, but have you complained to your local post office about that?
USPS marks stuff delivered before it arrives here at work. They seem to just run through all the packages and flag them when they put them on the truck. Had it happen with one from Amazon just yesterday. At least I've always received them. I have more trouble with Amazon not putting everything in the box they're supposed to.
From what I've gathered from anecdotal evidence, things vary a lot by region. Where I am, USPS is incompetent (repeated Sunday deliveries to my apartment building fail because "no access" despite USPS employees having a key to the building during the week) but the other carriers all make an effort and are willing to redeliver later the same day if they mess up.
Plus when I want to ship things around the country or (especially) internationally, USPS is nearly always the worst option unless you want slow and cheap.
As I mentioned in the last thread DHL definitely does not use USPS for delivery. I get packages every week via DHL and they are delivered in the yellow DHL vans, by DHL employees, 100% of the time. They may farm out last mile delivery to USPS for some rural or residential addresses though.
If someone in Germany can clarify this, I'd be interested.
edit: added picture https://i.imgur.com/0vDfxVN.png
You can choose to have your package delivered by DHL US instead of USPS but that is not the default option when shipping from Germany. You have to through DHL Express for that.
All of the large US couriers have a service where they use USPS for the last mile: DHL eCommerce, UPS SurePost, FedEx SmartPost.
The carrier will enter one or more dispositions such as delivered, damaged, attempted and 20 others.
It does happen where a delivery from another company for last mile goes "missing" and the entire manifest is reportedly "delivered" to the USPS. When in reality it never got there. This happened semi frequently at Christmas so the arrivals were not "late." the other reason is someone stole the parcel.
Almost always stuff reappears - but late. No company in the chain accepts "late" so they fudge the scans.
I would not assume that having just the label and no parcel means anything conclusive.
Even if their story about "the machine at my label" is to be believed, I am now tasked with asking them to "please find my box. It's the brown, rectangular one with no label. Trust me, that one worth $5000 - 10000 is mine, even though there's no way for me to prove that."
As a general rule "stuff" isn't allowed to sit around a mailroom or distribution center. Bad packaging and addresses happen daily.
A formal investigation is needed. The USPS still bows to political pressure. Often a letter to your congressman (not accusing but seeking help), puts postal management in another gear - and may find your items.
The workers in front of screens can't help in all likelihood. It has to be found by walking around.
Good luck
I've shipped a lot of stuff internationally. It appears that the shipper had a 18x16x10 box and wrapped it in shipping paper. They then applies the shipping label to the shipping paper.
First of all, shipping paper is garbage, if it isn't on tightly enough then creases get caught in the conveyor belts and ripped off. It also doesn't do a damn thing, it is just glorified wax paper with minor water resistant properties.
But here's their big mistake: They attached the label to the easily ripped off shipping paper and [likely] didn't write the destination address (or source address) on the box itself or within the box itself. That is a huge "no no."
If you ship internationally, and particularly if you ship something valuable: Invest in the cardbox box. Cardbox boxes are NOT created equal. Most cardbox boxes are single walled recycled nonsense, you want a double-walled heavy duty box. The nice part about double-walled is that the first wall will "eat" the water damage leaving the inner wall completely intact holding the box's shape.
You should also write the source & return address on the box itself. Even if the label has it. The label can be ripped off. And if your box lacks an invoice inside then instead include a contents list and set of addresses (this is so that if the box were to spill it can be reunited and forwarded).
Last part: The tape. Not all tape is created equal. Look for the weight rating. If it doesn't have a weight rating then it isn't shipping tape. Here is a good place to start[0], again look at the weight ratings don't assume that brand X is good even 3M make "economic" tape I wouldn't use. Tape uses heat, water, or pressure to adhere. Most tape you'll be using will be pressure, if you don't own a tape dispenser then use your finger to apply pressure to the tape after it adheres. If you do own a tape dispenser then make sure you're using it correctly and applying pressure along the whole length of the tape (otherwise it "sticks" but at hugely reduced effectiveness).
[0] http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Adhesives/Tapes/...
It's often cool to bash Amazon but their boxes always withstand the shipping and delivery process.
Imagine this. A cart of parcels shrink wrapped 10' is rolled near a scanner. Each is scanned and then "thrown" into a semi-circle of hampers. One on top of the other. Some things Amazon sells like dog food gets on top of that badly packages ebay or etsy lamp you just paid $75 for.
"Top load only" items like live chicks get special treatment.
Packaging is a BIG deal for a successful outcome.
DHL is the worst, as a sender you don't notice. But on the receiving end there are numerous things that can go wrong.
And with DHL, there always seems to go something wrong.
I have asked our suppliers to avoid DHL and we just pay them more for proper worldwide service ( UPS / Fedex ).
Use UPS or Fedex next time!
UPS and Fedex do exist, but their fees are outrageous, and both services are only available to business customers.
If not, that is a very expensive lesson to learn.
The tough part is that byuu's probably going to have to make it right with the person who shipped him the games - he's already said that if they can't be retrieved, he's going to do that even though he's really not at fault, and I understand why.
If you know any popular Twitch streamers or YouTube gaming superstars, now might not be a bad time to reach out, as I'm going to be doing later today. It would be amazing to see the huge retro gaming fan community come together and solve a problem like this for someone to whom we all owe so much.
Whether or not that means you owe him anything is yours to decide. If you decide that you don't, that's fine. I suspect I'm not the only one who would decide otherwise.
He doesn't know me from Adam's off ox, but I bet there's someone here of whom that's not true. I'll concentrate on people with whom I'm already acquainted, and hope someone comes along who can put a word in Notch's ear and hope to be heard.
I get that, if you want to be cheese-paring about it, what you say is in a narrowly technical sense correct. But the motivation here is identical to that which moved my first real boss to cover a $200 parking ticket I incurred through what I'm willing to admit, and stated to him at the time, was inexcusable carelessness on my part in failing to observe a sign. He nonetheless covered the fine, considering that, since I was in a position to make the mistake as a result of carrying out his business, it was reasonable for him to relieve me of the consequence. (Once - his exact words as I recall them were "now, you fuck it up again, you're on your own".)
That's the same kind of motivation I see in byuu's intent to make this situation right with the shipper, instead of blaming him and doing nothing. You can argue if you like that byuu shouldn't feel responsible. But I think we'd all enjoy a better world if more people more often did.
However, I don't understand why the shipper didn't insure the package for a full amount. If you are sending something wortk 10k, insure it for 10k. It's simple as that. If it made shipment expensive, then I'm sure the community would have sent him some money to cover the cost(or byuu himself would).
https://byuu.org/emulation/preservation/lost-package/
"... when I went to return the first box of 100 games, I was surprised to learn that FedEx would only insure packages for up to $2499. Anything higher would require documented proof of value, and the faxing of many forms, which the retail employee I worked with had no interest in even contemplating."
Not certain how the receiver would be liable for the sender not insuring the package properly.
Of course one also would need to check if they had any agreement on which shipping service or insurance to choose which was violated or if there is any applicable kind of negligence involved.
ETA: Yup, they broke something. I can see it from desktop too, but on this iOS 9.3.5 device, every tweet from any user shows that message, and any other Twitter URI bounces me to mobile and then gives "Sorry, Twitter is taking too long to load" with a "try again" button that doesn't work.
Web 2.0 at its best. Thanks for all the helpful responses!
There's no login required for viewing anything that is otherwise accessible on Twitter.
.@USPS @USPSHelp Thanks, I found my missing package ... label. Your employees ripped it off the box and stole a $10,000 package from me. pic.twitter.com/LfuPZ9vZ8U
That being said, I could see the tweet just fine.
I don't want to sound mean, but undervaluing the contents for insurance and then wrapping the stuff in brown paper for packaging is kind of asking for this to happen.
In this case it wasn't even about packages just randomly getting lost, but this thing was clearly packaged so poorly that it should've been immediately obvious that this was going to happen.
USPS has a Registered Mail tracking program with Germany: