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I recently tried to send a fellow 40K player a few things using the United States Postal Service. Never having had problems before, I didn't get a confirmation number. To make a long story short, the package never reached it's destination. Can anyone advise me as to my next course of action? I am going to speak to the mail personnel today but I anticipate them telling me what they can't do. Anyone experienced similar or had success with recovering a lost package?

Somewhere in the mid west there is a postal service station where they send all the "lost mail". It's usually things where the addresses were damaged or the package broke open durring transit. They work fairly digilantly to find where things go but they don't always suceede. You could try getting in touch with them and seeing if they have anything that matches the discription of what you sent.

Did you insure the package?

I've generally had no problems with USPS but their delivery confirmation sucks compared to the TRACKING systems provided by UPS and FedEX.

There's a really charming episode of the NPR show This American Life which describes the USPS department that tracks lost packages...and how it's going to be (or already has been) downsized into oblivion.

http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=70

So yes, your package is lost in the Immaterium. I have had lost packages before, and they did show up, though much later than originally anticipated. Good luck!

May just been problem with not enough postage. Go to your local post office and ask if it's there.

I recently received package back that was lost in Warp for 3 months. No reason! It was within USA, too.

If you were too cheap to didn't spend <$1 to purchase DC, that is your fault.

I always get delivery confirmation when I send stuff out now, because every time I haven't, the package has been lost. Very frustrating, especially when it's been gifts.

There is a Lost Mail form you can request at the Post Office. They'll use whatever information you can provide to try and track down the package.

Also... I work for a used/rare bookstore doing shipping, and we always use Delivery Confirmation. Why? Because the USPS lose packages? No. Because a depressing number of customers are lying bastards.

The number of times <PER WEEK> that I have to have the following conversation:

Customer: The $150 book I ordered two weeks ago never arrived. I want a refund.

Me: According to our confirmation #, it was delivered yesterday morning.

Customer: .......oh, wait it was right here on the end table, I must have missed it somehow.....

......

If that had only happened once or twice, I'd just assume the customer was a little spacey, or that their spouse or w/e had brought in the mail and they hadn't noticed the package. However, when we have to go through this song and dance on about 10% of our orders, and it ALWAYS happens within 12-36 hours of the package being delivered...

I am in no way saying that this is what happened in your case. However, I have personally had VERY good luck with the post office. I've shipped around 15k packages through them in the last year, and they have only lost one. And that one, the delivery address got torn off by one of the processing machines. I received the torn-off address back in the mail, along with a blank copy of the lost mail form. I filled out the form, sent it in, and they found the book and delivered it to the buyer within 2 weeks.

Also, we had one book sent back to us absolutely destroyed (hard back book, broken in half down the center of the boards, front and back....quite impressive, actually). Of course we're not happy they lost the one book and destroyed the other, but 2 out of roughly 15k is a pretty damn good performance ration. By my math, that's a 99.9986% successful delivery percentage. I know I've made far more shipping mistakes than that in the same period of time.

But, in the end....yeah, always use Delivery Confirmation. Also, if the item is light, send it First Class. If it's heavier, spring for Priority. Never ever ever send anything remotely fragile by Parcel Post.

Edit: Also, always check your post office receipt to make sure it shows the correct Zip Code. If the clerk screws up and enters the wrong one, the USPS really can become the Warp. Every Zip Code, as I understand it, corresponds to one Post Office (well, sometimes one big post office, and several smaller satellite offices, but generally one post office per Zip Code). If the clerk mis-codes the Zip Code, you now have a package with one Zip Code written in the address, and a different one encoded in the postage bar-code. The mechanized processing systems at the main distribution centers read the bar-code, and route the mail based on that Zip Code. Wrong encoded Zip Code = package sent to wrong post office. When your package reaches the wrong post office, they see the real, correct Zip Code in the address, and send the package back to the distribution center as mis-routed mail. Back at the distribution center once more, the encoded Zip Code on the bar-code is once more read by the processing machine.......I think you can see where this is going. If you're lucky, a human short-circuits this loop the first time the package comes back to the distribution center. I've heard stories of packages making 4or 5 round trips, though. Delivery Confirmation even lets you watch it happen!

Balzac wrote:we always use Delivery Confirmation. Why? Because the USPS lose packages? No. Because a depressing number of customers are lying bastards.

But, in the end....yeah, always use Delivery Confirmation. Also, if the item is light, send it First Class. If it's heavier, spring for Priority. Never ever ever send anything remotely fragile by Parcel Post.

QFT!

I've shipped well over a hundred packages, and anytime the contents are worth more than the postage, I've used DC. It's a huge trouble preventer.

I always get Proof of Postage *and* Proof of Delivery when conducting Internet sales.

That way, the seller can prove it was sent, and I can prove it was or was not received when selling and buying. With online trades, I think it's only right to do so. Paypal has made payment secure, so why not take steps to do the same with Transit?

BTW, does anyone know if there is a reward for grassing up the illegal import of Malt Liquor into the United States? Company I used to work for did it, and seeing as they treated me like something the trod in, I fancy a likkle payback!

contact ATF (alcohol, tobacco & firearms) - they probably deal with all the illegal importation of controlled items like that. If not, they can tell you who to contact.

OT: to the OP - if you didn't get delivery confirmation, you're most likely screwed. There is almost nothing you can besides fill out the lost form. And they probably won't find it. In the future, if you're sending a package, always get delivery confirmation. It's worth the extra $1. That way if it gets lost, there's a much better chance of them finding it and it probably won't get lost in the first place.

Delivery Confirmation doesn't even cost a dollar. It's $0.75 for First Class or Parcel Post, or $0.65 for Priority. Also, if you're going to ship priority, you can purchase your postage from the USPS web site and get Delivery Confirmation for free.

Yeah, while I'm sure DC makes the USPS work a little harder, it also makes it impossible (or nearly so) for the recipient to "not get the package." Genuine loss of packages happens, but is pretty rare. People claiming they never got packages... depressingly common. Unfortunately, without DC, you can't prove which one it is.

I find it worthwhile to spend the extra few bucks for the insurance as well.

I have never had problems.

ALWAYS get the insurance. Not that I have ever had problems.

That, and a note to Canadians: always use USPS, UPS is twice the price or more.

Tacobake wrote:That, and a note to Canadians: always use USPS, UPS is twice the price or more.

Note to Tacobake: The "US" in USPS stands for United States. I don't think they have any USPS offices in the Great White North.
; )

Sorry. Couldn't help but to rib you a little.

I agree with what you're trying to say, though. Same goes for US sending up North. Use regular mail, not UPS/FedEx/etc.


Eric

that was funny. haha. . Let's go get some tacos.

yes, the duty on regular mail is much less than the stupid $200 UPS costs. What do they call it. Brokerage.

------
I see, I think it is only for Canadians due to our unique relationship we have with the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Parcel_Service#Fees_for_Canadians

Phoenix wrote:Somewhere in the mid west there is a postal service station where they send all the "lost mail". It's usually things where the addresses were damaged or the package broke open durring transit. They work fairly digilantly to find where things go but they don't always suceede. You could try getting in touch with them and seeing if they have anything that matches the discription of what you sent.

Ever read Bartleby the Scrivener? Herman Melville predicted the impact of
lost communications on a human psyche.

Half a decade ago, I bought out a guy's GW collection for like $150, which was probably the steal of a lifetime. Anyhoo, it was like seven boxes of stuff. One box containing all his rulebooks and codices apparently opened up and spilled out during transit...and the USPS taped it back up and delivered the empty box.

It was then that I realized they pledge to deliver the box through sleet, snow, hot hail, etc...but the contents are another matter.

The funny thing was we didn't give a $hit since we landed such a ridiculous score anyway.

I always go for delivery confirmation. I never go for insurance unless it's a few benjamins (few hundred dollars for those who aren't hip to my jive).

Even then it is no guarantee. So far I have had a an Armorcast titan and a box of genestealers eaten by the warp during transit. I was none too happy.

Though to be fair neither were actrually USPS, they are minor daemons compared to Royal Mail.

As the saying goes, "go postal" walk in there screaming choas spawn and pull out your fake but still deadly bolter and shoot everyone, jump across the desk and call this lost package place and request your package at once, and if they fail, make them to the burny dance