Tis the Season for Package Theft

I am in the middle of a very sticky problem. Someone purchased a gift for their sister from us via Amazon. We sent off usps priority mail. Sis comes home from work to find her mail all over the street, with the box we sent the item in empty except for the packing slip. Someone drove through the neighborhood, opening mail boxes and scoping out Christmas Packages. Very tough issue as I sent package as agreed, usps delivered package, as agreed. But receiver is now without the gift as it was stolen. So who is responsible for replacing the gift? We did not insure the package. As it is, when all is said and done between shipping, amazon fees, etc, we clear about $5 on said item and insuring is another $2. Amazon said I am not responsible but in the spirit of giving I agreed to split the cost of sending a second package with the giver of the gift and I am sending with signature required.

SO Long story short - if you have packages coming consider paying a little extra for the shipping to insure they end up in the hands you intend. :mad:

That is such a bummer. I think you are doing the right thing, (actually above and beyond) even though you fufilled your end of the bargain to the letter.

I always try to have my packages sent Fed Ex and held at closest location to me at this time of year.

I have had only one lost package (that they claimed to deliver when i wwas home no less) by Fed Ex and had a two month battle with Paypal and the ebay seller. I just wanted her to file a lost claim with Fed Ex but, she refused and basically said i was lying and had the item. Which I did not. Long story short near the end of the two month time she did file a lost claim with Fed Ex and received a check from them and refunded my money. I just got ticked off that she refused to do so in the first place. I tried to file the claim myself but Fed Ex said the shipper must file.


Sorry to hear it ended up that someone took the item out of the mailbox. If I was the recipient I would call the police and report the theft.

I ship LOTS with my business,upwards of 50 packages a month sometimes, and I use all the carriers. If you didn't insure it, it's your problem. That is what insurance is for, to cover losses and incidents during the shipping process. Sorry about that, but that is the reality of it.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

I ship LOTS with my business,upwards of 50 packages a month sometimes, and I use all the carriers. If you didn't insure it, it's your problem. That is what insurance is for, to cover losses and incidents during the shipping process. Sorry about that, but that is the reality of it.

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Are you building that cost into your products or are you building that into your shipping costs? Are your items unique enough that you are competing on price with several other sellers?

My experience with the USPS getting to pay on a claim with insurance, is like pulling teeth. They rarely pay them out, maybe it is just my experience. I have better luck with Fed Ex and UPS

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Originally Posted by Trek-chick

My experience with the USPS getting to pay on a claim with insurance, is like pulling teeth. They rarely pay them out, maybe it is just my experience. I have better luck with Fed Ex and UPS

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This. If the USPS delivered the package and it was then stolen, i wouldn't necessarily count on the USPS covering the loss, even if it was insured. From their standpoint, the loss did not occur during shipment, but afterwards. Hence, the argument that it's not a covered claim. Your best best is to not only insure but require a signature confirmation, too. Now, the average person doesn't want to have to receive goods that way, but that's the best way to truly insure against theft.

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Originally Posted by Sky King

Are you building that cost into your products or are you building that into your shipping costs? Are your items unique enough that you are competing on price with several other sellers?

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My customer pays to ship both ways. I always put insurance into the return shipping price. I recommend that they insure shipping to me and make it clear in my policies that I cannot be responsible if they don't insure it. I don't sell a product, I have a repair service that is very specialty.

As a customer for any mail order item, I've always assumed that I choose to not insure something, that is **my** risk.

IMO I think this case is different in the fact that the item WAS delivered properly by USPS in the mail box but, the item was then, taken (stolen) and ripped open from there by someone else. I don't think in this case the insurance on the shipment would protect the sender.

I'll bet the recipient's homeowner's insurance would cover it, if it's expensive enough to be worth filing a claim.

On a related note, I am just loving UPS My Choice and I wish the other companies had a service like that. Once you sign up, you get an email notification when anything is being shipped to your name and address. Then you can have it held for pickup (free) or re-scheduled or re-directed ($5). There's a premium subscription service as well, that I think lets you re-schedule or re-direct at no additional charge, and maybe has some other benefits.

Fed Ex has the same service. Just call their toll free number with tracking and can have it held at nearest location etc. I tried to with UPS but could not have it done without paying $40 for their premium service once I signed up--just wanted to pick up at nearest location but, coiuld not do it and did not want to pay extra for that....

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Originally Posted by Trek-chick

Fed Ex has the same service. Just call their toll free number with tracking and can have it held at nearest location etc. I tried to with UPS but could not have it done without paying $40 for their premium service once I signed up--just wanted to pick up at nearest location but, coiuld not do it and did not want to pay extra for that....

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That's the beauty of the UPS service though, it's keyed to name and address not tracking number, so even if I didn't know a parcel was coming, I still get the email. This just happened to me last week, actually, I got an email about an unexpected parcel going to somewhere that I wasn't going to be for a while. I was able to get the shipper to redirect it too, so it isn't costing me anything.

I think maybe your issue was trying to set it up after the fact. I hold for pickup all the time, we prefer the trucks not come to our house at all because they tear up the lane, and it's never cost me anything.

Last I checked (and it's been probably a year) FedEx Ground and FedEx Express have separate depots, only Express parcels can be held, and only the shipper - not the receiver - can put the hold on. USPS obviously can hold everything or nothing, but not specific parcels (which is why we have a PO box :)). In fact I know FedEx doesn't, because DH has had a recurring issue with a company sending documents to the wrong address, and we never know about it until a neighbor or a housesitter or the lawn care company finds the envelope half in the door where it's been for weeks. :mad: :mad:

I have electronics, computers, or other big ticket items delivered to my office.

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Originally Posted by Trek-chick

IMO I think this case is different in the fact that the item WAS delivered properly by USPS in the mail box but, the item was then, taken (stolen) and ripped open from there by someone else. I don't think in this case the insurance on the shipment would protect the sender.

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There is insurance however... which is better than no insurance. It's absolutely true that you might have trouble making a claim because in mailbox theft I'm sure the regular issues of shipper/seller liability may not apply, but then again they might depending on how claims are handled. If you have any doubt, you should have things delivered securely: an alternate secure delivery address; signature required, etc.

My mailbox is one of those lock thingies so I don't ever worry about mailed packages. However, things getting delivered to the wrong address.... don't even get me going. <rant warning ahead> There are so many problems with USPS that sometimes I wish they WOULD go under as from everything I see, the services are incredibly poorly administered, and a ton of other issues.

There has been a series of these in our neighborhood. I bought Jet Dry from Amazon, and wondered what the thief would have thought if he got that.

That was above & beyond customer service Sky King. It was nice of you to do that even though you were in no way responsible for the item not ending up in the customer's hands.
I've been shipping my items via the USPS for about 18 months and so far (knock on wood) only one item has gone awol. I sent a replacement out 2nd day air so it would get there in time for Christmas, so I lost money on that one, but the customer was happy. If it started happening on a regular basis, I would consider changing the way I shipped.

I would agree that SK handled it nicely, and not losing a ton of money on it is a bonus. There's a lot to be said for gaining points through service. It's not always easy to go this route for many different reasons, especially if one is talking big ticket items. For a sub $50 item, I'd probably work something out like that if possible, but I rarely deal in items in that value range.

I should clarify the nature of what I do and why I am the way I am about shipping. I know I came off a little harsh. I sell a service, not a product.You send me your item, I service it and send it back to you. I am one of less than half a dozen people (that I know of) in the US that do the specialty work I do. Hence my insistence on insurance both directions. There's an added value once I get done with an item, but its not tangible for insurance purposes. In addition, may of the items I work with are no longer made, so how do you value that? Not all carriers recognize "replacement value" when you do purchase add on insurance for shipping.

The shipping thing is a real crap shoot, and even with the best of carriers and extra levels of security like signature required, things do happen. I once had a box opened by a shippers warehouse employee, the item removed, and the box relabeled with a new label. I was able to prove it as my shippers info showed a 5 pound box, but the customer received an empty box with a label, over the original label, that said 2 lbs. The carrier did pay the claim, but the stolen item was something that is no longer made, client had purchased it off eBay, and I'd done several hundred dollars worth of work to it. I really can't remember if I customized the item he got with his claim money or not; it was a long long time ago.

I.

I had this happen - both sides of it. FedEx delivered a Chris King (PINK!) headset and another package with an iPod Touch and they were taken from my front step. Since FedEx delivered it successfully, I had no recourse.
As an ebay seller, I sold someone a DVD and mailed it First Class. USPS showed it delivered, and the buyer told me that it was stolen, along with other items around the neighborhood, from the mailbox. Since I hadn't paid from the DVD initially, I felt good refunding the money for the disc, minus the shipping costs and ebay fee. He was very agreeable to that.

Great conversation, thanks everyone. On our big ticket items we do typically insure but I may start sending Signature Required. And Yes USPS did say "not there problem" on this one. Hoping it was just a bad incident and not something that happens again anytime soon.

2nd mirror is on the way, USPS as it was still way less expensive but with Sig required.

This has been an interesting discussion! I have on more than one occasion had Fed Ex and UPS declare that they delivered something when, in fact, they had not. This occurred on days I was home, and had been in the front part of the house working, and would have heard the truck. One showed up a couple of hours after I canned the carrier. One was re-sent my the merchant - no issues. There is definitely an issue in my neighborhood with package theft. On more than one occasion, cars have been observed following the delivery trucks. Yuck!

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Originally Posted by Sky King

Great conversation, thanks everyone. On our big ticket items we do typically insure but I may start sending Signature Required. And Yes USPS did say "not there problem" on this one. Hoping it was just a bad incident and not something that happens again anytime soon.

2nd mirror is on the way, USPS as it was still way less expensive but with Sig required.

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I assume the customer notified their local police about the theft. They (or you) should also notify the Postal Inspection Service.

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/c...complaint.aspx

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Originally Posted by ny biker

I assume the customer notified their local police about the theft. They (or you) should also notify the Postal Inspection Service.

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/c...complaint.aspx

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and what do you suppose they will do about it? One of my big issues with USPS is their lethargic and antiquated approach to everything

Based on what it says on that page, they won't necessarily have jurisdiction to lead on an investigation, but they might be able to assist.

It's guaranteed that they do nothing if they don't know about it.