Tis the Season for Package Theft

[Irulan]

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.

[Pedal Wench]

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.

[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.

[Blueberry]

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!

[ny biker]

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.

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

[Irulan]

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

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

[ny biker]

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.