My shipper/carrier delivery nightmare, what was yours.

I’ll state up front this is nit picking and the comment is not directed at anyone in particular but; having been in logistics for 40 years I am compelled to correct a term I frequently see on this forum; i.e. the use of the word “shipper” when referring to a carrier.  

A shipper is the person who sells, packages and makes the arrangement for transportation.  The carrier is the party who actually moves the shipment.  UPS, FedEx and others are carriers, not shippers.

Ok; got that off my chest.  Thank you for listening. 😉

Curt

USPS completely ruined a grey 225E last December. Boiler front was off, all drive hardware, even the number boards on the cab???

I could see the engine from outside the package without opening it. This is no exaggeration one bit. It was my first damaged package.

Just last month I won a lot on EBay that consisted of a scarce Lionel set from 1969. It was boxed, but missing almost all the original packing materials. The knockdown price was very good because the set had the wrong locomotive.
I was confident the seller would do a good job packing because he described himself:
....... specializes in high end collectibles such as records, cds, dvds, comic books, sports cards, old toys, .........

The did put the set box into a larger box, with some packing around it. So the set box arrived without any new damage.
But the seller crammed all the set components in the box randomly: transformer, track, cars, locomotive, and any bits / pieces that were present. So plastic cars were rubbing against each other and against the sharp edges of 027 track ties. No packing inside the set box whatsoever. The track wasn't even stacked together.

Fortunately, nothing was broken in shipment, but there definitely were some new scratches.

I was going to leave negative feedback for the seller, but my brother, who is also a collector of trains and toys, thinks I should let it slide because the seller offered to take the set back. What do you guys think?

I still need a 1969 Hagerstown 2029 locomotive. There has been a few on EBay, but one was a repaint, and the other two weren't in very nice shape.

CharlieS posted:

Just last month I won a lot on EBay that consisted of a scarce Lionel set from 1969. It was boxed, but missing almost all the original packing materials. The knockdown price was very good because the set had the wrong locomotive.
I was confident the seller would do a good job packing because he described himself:
....... specializes in high end collectibles such as records, cds, dvds, comic books, sports cards, old toys, .........

The did put the set box into a larger box, with some packing around it. So the set box arrived without any new damage.
But the seller crammed all the set components in the box randomly: transformer, track, cars, locomotive, and any bits / pieces that were present. So plastic cars were rubbing against each other and against the sharp edges of 027 track ties. No packing inside the set box whatsoever. The track wasn't even stacked together.

Fortunately, nothing was broken in shipment, but there definitely were some new scratches.

I was going to leave negative feedback for the seller, but my brother, who is also a collector of trains and toys, thinks I should let it slide because the seller offered to take the set back. What do you guys think?

Bologna. Leave correct feedback. That's the only way he'll learn.

dkdkrd posted:

OK, sorry to hijack this thread....slightly...but it's a shipping 'problem' of a different sort.  Be prepared to roll your eyes, shake your head, and, hopefully, smile in disbelief.

Last year my wife (her biz) reached the end of helping a fellow hobbyist dispose of his G scale trains as he and his family moved from Meeeshigan to Alaska.  She sold his Bachmann K-27 to a chap in Illinois, Chicago area.  BIG box.  Shipped USPS Parcel Select, December 16.  Now I suppose in all fairness, we should mention that it was shipped between Thanksgiving and Christmas....the biggest shipping season of the year.  However, the same buyer had purchased other items from us, same estate, same manner of shipping, and had received them promptly.

Well, time marched on, and the BOX was not arriving in a timely manner, as expected.  The tracking process was not very accurate or up-to-date, either.  However, one of the later entries showed that the package arrived in Pittsburgh, PA!  (Remember: Shipped from Michigan, going to Illinois....geography check, here!)  Due to its auction price, the package was USPS insured for a four-figure number, so it was definitely on their tracking radar.  So, after 10 days, wife initiated an official search with the USPS, to which she received an immediate acknowledgement of her request via email.

Then, we heard from the buyer.  The package showed up on his doorstep, December 30....about 2 weeks shipping to go 300 miles.  

In January she received an email from the USPS that they were continuing their search for the 'missing' shipment.

Last night, February 23, she received another email that they were continuing their search for the 'missing' shipment.  And, as had been the practice with all of their communications, the tracking number was clearly identified in the email.  So, my wife entered the tracking number in the appropriate status section of the USPS website.  And guess what?....

The USPS website said that the package was delivered on December 30, 2017.

And, yet, the search is continuing......apparently!  I mean, that's what last night's email said.

So, now we're wondering if it will ever be 'found'?

Oh, and BTW....one of our friends mostly into 1:1 trains suggested that it would have been cheaper/faster to hand carry the package (as luggage) on Amtrak, meeting the seller at Union Station in Chicago, and catch the afternoon ride back to Michigan...all in one wonderful train-riding day!...than to pay the insured shipping fees of USPS, and endure the 2-week hand-wringing experience buyer and seller went through.  And that suggestion was, indeed, confirmed as to the lowest round-trip ticket availability.

Hmmmm.....wonder if that insurance will pay off if the package is finally declared 'LOST'!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Stay tuned.....details at 11.

KD

As a USPS employee I am not surprised by this at all. My one question is in January when you received the first we are still looking for the package that was already delivered message did you or your wife respond saying the package was delivered? I would not be surprised to find that the answer to that question is yes. 

Believe it or not it is rare (compared to the number of packages we handle) that a package will take such a route. The problem was most likely that an employee placed it in an incorrect container thereby sending it to the wrong plant. When I ship something USPS I give my packages directly to the mail handler so I know that at least it was in the correct container when it left my plant. One of the few advantages of working in one of the plants. 

dkdkrd posted:

OK, sorry to hijack this thread....slightly...

KD

Not hijacked at all, right on topic.  A great story!

In the early 2000's bought a MTH Redbird subway set from Jim in Pennsylvania. Nice price too. Anyway after a week no trains. Checked online and UPS showed "Delivered on Front Porch". I used the porch everyday so I would have noticed a box.

Next day I'm standing on the front porch looking out. For some reason I looked down and to the left. Sitting there in bushes was a box. Yes it was the train set. It perfect shape too. Must have been there a few days. My only guess is that the driver tossed it on the porch and it slid off into the bushes.

The roof overhang protected it.

Sean

juniata guy posted:

I’ll state up front this is nit picking and the comment is not directed at anyone in particular but; having been in logistics for 40 years I am compelled to correct a term I frequently see on this forum; i.e. the use of the word “shipper” when referring to a carrier.  

A shipper is the person who sells, packages and makes the arrangement for transportation.  The carrier is the party who actually moves the shipment.  UPS, FedEx and others are carriers, not shippers.

Ok; got that off my chest.  Thank you for listening. 😉

Curt

I stand corrected and my posts updated. Never too old or too proud to learn something new.

Best regards

I have a friend who has over 200 locomotives and he will not buy a locomotive no matter how great the deal is if it has to be shipped. I have been pretty lucky. I only had one problem. I bought two locomotives from Norm’s O Scale. Both were Atlas locomotives that were on sale. One was a GP60 and the other a SD40. After about 10 days or so I called Norm’s and inquired about the locomotives. I was told they had shipped out a while ago and were marked as delivered. Now I was starting to panic because I had not received anything. The carrier was FedEx. I called FedEx and explained what was going on. They weren’t very helpful saying that the package was delivered. My house number was 548 but at times I had received mail for 348. I felt it was a long shot but I went over to 348 to ask if they had gotten a package by mistake. The guy who lived there told me hadn’t seen the package. I left with a feeling that I at least tried but being out close to $600 hurt. I found out that FedEx (at least at that time) hired a lot of temporary workers to deliver their ground freight. Coincidentally, a couple of days later the locomotives showed up. The GP60 was perfect but the SD40 had several detail pieces broken off it. It looked like someone who knows nothing about trains ripped it out of the Atlas box. So did the guy at 348 have them and upon meeting me decided to return them, or was it just coincidence that whoever had them returned them around the time I went over to the house at 348? I never found out but I was happy not to be out all that money. 

My solution when I ship is to have them professionally repack my original box and shipping carton at the UPS Store and insure it as packed by them, so there is NO reasonable question as to the quality of the packing. I save ALL boxes and original packing plus original shipping cartons when possible. As for purchases, I avoid the "bay" and only purchase from well-established dealers who pack and ship properly. I am not a collector, and at this stage of my life, my OCD requires new and unblemished/undamaged items, so the idea of accepting any other items is anathema to me. I have been very lucky with all received items with a special shout out to Trainworld, Grzyboski's, Charles Ro, Ready to Roll and Western Depot for their excellent packing and shipping! Have to admit UPS has done an excellent job for me including successfully shipping a $3000 live steam loco to a Kalmbach staff member!

A recent part order left from N. Carolina bound for Pgh. PA. It spent 2 glorious weeks in Philly. The shipper inquired to USPS as to the hold up. USPS told him there was a problem with the bar scan label on the package, meanwhile the delivery address was clearly specified on the box. I guess after 2 weeks my parcel fell into the hands of someone that could read. This wasn’t my worst experience, but certainly the most inexplicable.

A couple of years ago I sent a Lionel NYC Mikado to Alex for repair and upgrades.

Alex completed the work and sent the engine back to me via USPS as a we had done in the past.

The BAR code on the box was damaged or defective. The box would arrive in Memphis and immediately be returned to New York. Alex and I fought with the USPS for over two weeks while my engine made five or six round trips between New York and Memphis.

I was finally able to plead my case with a USPS employee in Arlington TN, my zip code PO. He took the initiative to make the main post office in Memphis physically remove my box from the conveyor that was automatically shipping my box back to New York dues to the defective bar code.

Of course the engine had to go back to Alex for more repairs.

The employee that help me at the USPS told me my box should have been given frequent flyer credits

Thanks,

Richard

Had this box of cars today packed really well

Was it shipped priority mail??

The outer box was fine,  Just interesting how he tossed all the cars in the plastic tote and then just laid some paper over the top.  I don't think anything broke but the cars may have gotten a bit more scratched up than when I bid on them.  I'd be a bit more upset if it was another 226E like my other story earlier in the thread.  This was just a box of cars for $10 plus shipping.  I'm disappointed, but I can let it go too.

Dennis Holler posted:

The outer box was fine,  Just interesting how he tossed all the cars in the plastic tote and then just laid some paper over the top.  I don't think anything broke but the cars may have gotten a bit more scratched up than when I bid on them.  I'd be a bit more upset if it was another 226E like my other story earlier in the thread.  This was just a box of cars for $10 plus shipping.  I'm disappointed, but I can let it go too.

$10 plus shipping looks like a bargain for all that. I'd be happy to pay more than $10 for just one of them!

Thanks, I find a lot of stuff on there like this for similar prices, but then again, I spend to much time there surfing in order to get lucky. For some reason it is enjoyable though.  Still get a thrill of the hunt to find that miss labeled or wrongly listed wrong category gem..  Its fun.

Same with me. I like to go picking. Not by driving around in a van. Just sitting in front of the computer at night surfing the auctions and finding ones that are about to end without a single bid. :-)  Storage space is a looming issue!

I don’t have a nightmare story. However I’d like to use this thread to compliment all the wonderful sellers I’ve brought from. I live in Australia and I’ve bought many, many items from the US over the past 12 months. Most were from the bay - both dealers and individuals. EVERY item has been carefully and respectfully wrapped with lots of protection. Each seller wrapped the item as if they was going to receive it themselves.

Isn’t that what life is all about … to treat people as you would like to be treated if you were in their situation.

Before I started buying, I was warned that most items coming from America get broken and damaged in transit. That has NOT been my experience. The only slightly negative experience I had was with a Lionel pedestrian walkover bridge when I encouraged the seller to use the least expensive shipping method and he did not use an outer carton – just wrapped the thin box in brown paper.

I really don't any nightmare stories with UPS & Fed Ex but our efficient USPS is a different story. ON February 23rd the person delivering left a parcel down the street. A elderly lady about 80 from the next block was kind enough to bring it up to me. I felt sorry and offered to drive her home  which she didn't accept. Then on the 25th the idiot left a notice that no one was home in my mail box which I seen in my e mail so I quickly drove down the street and caught up to him. Evidently he only gave the door a love tap and didn't bother to ring the door bell. I complained to the supervisor and she gave me a lame excuse that they had different subs on the route every day which I told her that she was giving me a nothing more than a P poor excuse for misdelivery.  The USPS should change there slogan to "We misdeliver for you."  I did call consumer affairs and someone did get back to me Friday that is going to look into the situation.

Hudson J1e posted:

As a USPS employee I am not surprised by this at all. My one question is in January when you received the first we are still looking for the package that was already delivered message did you or your wife respond saying the package was delivered? I would not be surprised to find that the answer to that question is yes. 

Believe it or not it is rare (compared to the number of packages we handle) that a package will take such a route. The problem was most likely that an employee placed it in an incorrect container thereby sending it to the wrong plant. When I ship something USPS I give my packages directly to the mail handler so I know that at least it was in the correct container when it left my plant. One of the few advantages of working in one of the plants. 

Hi Phil,

Can I pick your brain for a minute?   I bought a cheap Corgi die cast truck for re-lettering on that big auction site.   It was delivered  to the post office in Indiana on 2/24 and departed the same post office the same day via parcel select according to the tracking number info.   2/25 tracking info shows item in transit to destination(me).   2/26 tracking info shows item in transit to destination(me).   2/27 tracking info now shows "item delayed in transit and will not arrive when it was scheduled.    You will be notified of further updates when available".    That was last Tuesday and through today when punching in the tracking numbers on the USPS website,  the same delayed message appears with last Tuesday's date.   What the **** does delayed in transit mean?   Is it lost,  destroyed,  damaged?   I emailed the seller to see if it was sent back to them for some reason but no luck.   Any ideas Phil?   Thanks

Nick

Had purchased a nice Marx bridge off of the gettin' spot. The guy supposedly shipped it the next day. I'm kinda nuts about checking the tracking status on packages, especially crucial items like a bridge ...

SO a week goes by where it's sat in some shipping depot in the Middle East (Ontario) and then I get an email from ebay that Canada Post has lost the package. Fortunately ebay refunded me the price plus shipping but what the hell? Pain in the bum.

CharlieS posted:

Just last month I won a lot on EBay that consisted of a scarce Lionel set from 1969. It was boxed, but missing almost all the original packing materials. The knockdown price was very good because the set had the wrong locomotive.
I was confident the seller would do a good job packing because he described himself:
....... specializes in high end collectibles such as records, cds, dvds, comic books, sports cards, old toys, .........

The did put the set box into a larger box, with some packing around it. So the set box arrived without any new damage.
But the seller crammed all the set components in the box randomly: transformer, track, cars, locomotive, and any bits / pieces that were present. So plastic cars were rubbing against each other and against the sharp edges of 027 track ties. No packing inside the set box whatsoever. The track wasn't even stacked together.

Fortunately, nothing was broken in shipment, but there definitely were some new scratches.

I was going to leave negative feedback for the seller, but my brother, who is also a collector of trains and toys, thinks I should let it slide because the seller offered to take the set back. What do you guys think?

I still need a 1969 Hagerstown 2029 locomotive. There has been a few on EBay, but one was a repaint, and the other two weren't in very nice shape.

I agree with your brother. No hassle with the seller.  I too bought a "Slightly Used only Once" " Hogwarts " Bluetooth Lion Chief set from ebay. I posted about it last month. The seller also specializes in collectibles but packed the set poorly, It was missing the plastic window that went over the remote and he did not tape down the plastic window that went over the locomotive. He also did not put the track inside the original box but just laid in the the oversize shipping box next to the the original package. He did not tape the original box top done to the bottom box so the top was lose and free to come off  the the bottom. His used the plastic pillow type packing, the clear plastic  that is one bubble per sheet, not the bubble wrap. The loose track popped the bubbles so the box package bounced around in the box so that the top cover came up. The remote had moved itself down to the loco which had also come out of place as the plastic cover came off and slid away when the box top came up. The loco had flipped up sideways in its Styrofoam hole so it was sitting with the bottom sticking up. The sides where the articulated rods come out and attach the the wheels were bent out of shape and the remote had found its way on top of the loco. I contacted the buyer and he accused me or some one in my office (where I had it shipped to) of messing with it and we went back and forth for a week back  trying to get this resolved. He complained that he did not charge enough shipping and he paid $80 to ship it. Finally he agreed to take the set back and refund my money but supplied me with the wrong return label. The he told me to pay for the shipping my self and ship to his other address. When I told him that he needed to supply the label, he did not respond. After getting ebay involved they said to give him to Feb 27th to reply and if he didn't then they refund my money. He didn't and they didn't. The then said Feb 28th and he still didn't. They  then the sent him a message and he finally responded by saying you have your new label, now when are you going to ship it back. I had no new label. I got ebay involved again and they said that they did not see that the seller had supplied a new label either and that if the seller did not respond by March 1st I would be refunded my money. March 1st came with no response and ebay then said March 5th.  ebay sucks in customer service at least with me. So it could have been a lot worse. BTW the seller has a 100% satisfaction rating,  that is until tomorrow March 5th. If ebay doesn't come through they will both get a bad rap.   Funny thing is if the seller had just take a few minutes to put things in there place and secure them and had used a proper box , he would have paid less for shipping and things would have come out fine.

I am pretty much guessing he did not spend $80 to ship it either. I have just left negative feedback for two 

of ebay's "powersellers". The ones that you have to wait 7 days before you can leave negative feedback. Hoping

you will forget. I did not forget and they both got negative feedback and appropriate comments. Now I am just

waiting for ebay to reverse the negative feedback which has happened  before too. 

Here's my shipping story....I deal in die cast toys.  I sold a model tractor to a person in KY (I'm in WI) and they wanted it sent UPS red (Next Day Air) for an xmas gift.  Boxed it up and sent it off.   The buyer calls the next day saying no tractor has arrived.  Tracking shows it was last touched in Chicago and was still in transit.  To keep the guy happy I sent ANOTHER tractor NDA to him.  It arrived safely.  I kept tracking the first box and its status didn't change.  I filed a claim.

Fast forward 16 MONTHS and I get a call from the customer that the FIRST tractor arrived!  Ran the tracking number and it magically came back to life the day before in the UPS system.  I wonder where it was for 16 MONTHS!!!  I'm so relived that I wasn't shipping something important like a liver sample or such to depend on Brown!!!  LOL

On the flip side....I shipped some parts from WI to a guy in CA with USPS Priority Mail,  He calls me the next AM and says thanks for parts.  They made it there OVERNIGHT!!  I presume the box got put into the Express Mail pile or it found the right combination of planes, trains, trucks and skateboards for THAT to happen.

I generally like usps, but I had one incident that really a p--sed me off. Ordered a prewar set from Canada,

the seller sent it canadian priority. Because it was from canada it did not have a tracking number, oops,

it did have a canadian tracking number, but ebay does not tell you about those. Unfortunately there was a sub on the

route that day, never knocked on the door, nothing. I was home because I never left the house that day. 

No notification, nothing. I contacted the seller and he said he was notified it was delivered. He gave me a canadian

tracking number, when I checked it it said that the usps tried to deliver, I was not home. BS. I went to  the post 

office the next day and ended up with this idiot supervisor who kept saying it was a priority express package and

it had to be returned in 5 days.  Then he said he had it sent back early because he thought I was not coming for it. 

As it was actually a priority package he was supposed to hold it for 30 days, and attempt delivery again. I am 68

years old, some what handicapped. Throughout the conversation, he kept repeating over and over again "the

reason your package was not delivered is because you were not home", in that condescending tone like I was stupid or hard

of hearing or something.  I gave up, returned home and called usps customer service. They looked up the 

canadian tracking number and said it was indeed priority and he was supposed to hold it for 30 days. 

They said they would forward my complaint to the postmaster. A few days later I got a call from the 

supervisor that I  had the problem with. Same BS, same condescending tone, "the reason your package

was not delivered...................". And he said he was right sending it back. NOT. I  wanted the item so I sent

the seller more money for shipping. He very nicely sent it back with all the original packaging. I went to usps

and asked for my money back. They said all the seller had to do was go to his post office and explain and 

they would refund his money. NOT. I escalated my complaint in the usps requesting my money back and 

adding an age discrimination complaint against the local supervisor. Several days later I received a form

letter from usps saying that the employee had been spoken to and the case was closed. 

WRONG ANSWER. I spent the next day escalating it thru the usps again. (being retired has some advantages).

Finally I received a letter saying the supervisor who had caused all the problems had "approved a refund

and the case was closed".  NOT. So another day of waiting on hold, finally got some one with some 

intelligence. Apparently they had combined the refund  and the age discrimination complaint into

one case, when he "approved the refund" they wanted to close it and ignore the age discrimination 

complaint. So i guess my next step is to take it to the usps inspector general. 

This has been a long post, but the point is don't quit. 

Had ordered some boxcars from charles ro company.About a week and a half later.I called them and was tolded it was shipped.I called ups and was tolded it was delivered.I then got a hutch so I went up the street.There was a box sitting on my aunts house.Thing is she has past from this world.And you can tell no one has been living in the house.For years now.I was hot nothing but a lazy on the drivers part.I think this driver got himself fired for stunts like that!!It was a long time I used ups again.Started using fedex more.

This post isn't a nightmare story, but something on the lighter side.

In the 1970's, my mother ran a part-time boutique out of our home.  She had an agreement with the UPS driver that if no one was home he was to place the large boxes of silk flowers in one of the several vehicles that were usually sitting on the driveway.  One day I ran into town to get some supplies from the hardware.  As I was walking into the store, I passed the UPS driver who was walking out of the store.  We acknowledged each other and went about our business.  As I came out of the store a few minutes later the driver gave me a toot of the horn and waved as he took off.  Much to my surprise, my '68 Ford Ranchero was packed to the gills with boxes of silk flowers.  I mean both seats and floorboards. Even the dashboard.  All the way to the top!  As I stood in the middle of the street with my mouth wide open, the UPS truck pulled around the corner.  The driver was laughing his head off.  He did offer to load the boxes back onto the truck and deliver them to the house.  Wouldn't be able to pull a prank like that today.

Tom

"Flower Child" ring a bell?  Thanks for sharing.

This post opened up a few weeks ago when my Lionel 446 locomotive backshop was due to be delivered.  So yeah... how badly will that flimsy tin be whacked.  The box delivered was huge, like bar sized refrigerator sized.  Delivered at the height of the Nor-easter.  The outside of the box was soaked wet.  Oh vay!  Brought it in, opened it up and I gotta tell you, Lionel packaged this sucker very, very well.  This was new in box so cradled like a baby.  I lucked out.

Oh, big structure with a storied past but I'll gut the electronics and run it conventionally.

Here is a "Like New" ZW transformer purchased from the bay last week that was left on our porch 3 days ago. Seller overcharged shipping by $16.80 and added ZERO INSURANCE. Transformer is inside this box with ZERO packing materials. Picking it up off the porch was a lovely sound of many broken pieces rattling around inside.

Box is Stamped in Red multiple times by USPS "Improper Packing" "Received Damaged" "Received Open" etc. Call ed my postmaster who saw the box arrive (We live in small rural area) and stated to inform the seller they won't even pay the $50 that comes with Priority Box price due to **** poor packaging!!

Sellers listing stated transformer, trains, accessories for sale have been displayed in glass case of her late fathers since new. I haven't and don't want  to even open this mess of a box. Put in a claim with eBay within 5 minutes of picking box up off our porch. Took and uploaded these multiple photo's to eBay and now the fun begins 

1st reply from Seller: doesn't have a clue what happened. 

2nd reply from Seller: never shipped anything that heavy before....sorry...

3rd reply from seller: Offers 45% refund. States ZW built like tank. Easy fix. Just replace broken parts....

3rd 1/2 reply from seller: asks what we would do if we were the seller and this happened to us? Duh..... 

My response to seller: Give me a full refund, send prepaid return label to return this junk and close your eBay account in shame.

Now I have to wait until the 22nd and call eBay back who will refund my money if seller hasn't by then.

GREAT!

PS: Those big splits in box are actually taped over by USPS probably at every stop from PA to Missouri...LOL

In defense of USPS and the lack of even one Fragile sticker, the postmaster said they don’t know what’s inside any box....this could have been a pair of novelty painted coconut monkeys from Florida...I use COCONUTS name in my business...lol