Where did you lose your packages? Who's lost packages as buyer/seller?

As seller, I've lost packages sent from USA to Germany, India, and Italy, so far (two packages more recently). I wanted to know if

  1. as a seller you also lost packages, sent from where to where
  2. as a buyer you didn't receive packages, sent from where to where

I hate to impose higher shipping charge for express mail but I can't afford losing $100 packages here and there. I have to refund the buyer.

So list of package lost:

USA->Germany first class mail (as seller)
USA->India first class mail (as seller)
USA->Italy first class mail (as seller)

I've been a on-line buyer a long time now, mostly e-bay but many other sites also. Maybe 1,000 purchases, hard to guess over so many years, but I have never had a shipment go missing from the U.S. or from overseas. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Lefty

I havn't lost any yet, which is worrying me. Every package that makes it to its destination increases the chance that the next one wont, lol.

I havn't lost any yet, but a couple have taken several weeks to arrive via USPS to foreign countries. Held up in in-country Customs seems to be the cause.

wizdum:
Every package that makes it to its destination increases the chance that the next one wont, lol.

Not unless someone is keeping a count :slight_smile:

CrossRoads:
I havn't lost any yet, but a couple have taken several weeks to arrive via USPS to foreign countries. Held up in in-country Customs seems to be the cause.

You ship priority or express?

CrossRoads:
I havn't lost any yet, but a couple have taken several weeks to arrive via USPS to foreign countries. Held up in in-country Customs seems to be the cause.

Ya know, I make and sell fake bombs, and I have never had a problem with customs. I think they just choose people at random.

"priority or express"
Which ever one has the lower international shipping cost.
I shipped to India recently, the receiver suggested I spend $10 more next time and go with FedEdx.

I am in Brazil. Over last 2 1/2 years I made 119 purchases from the USA, Ireland, UK, Hong Kong and China (I have every single one documented, so my number is accurate!)

Of all those times, only once a package was misplaced by the Brazilian postal service. According to international laws, any package is property of the sender/shipper until delivered at the destination.

In that one case the package was from DealExtreme (Hong Kong), and they re-sent me the items. After 6 months, which is the time the Brazilian postal service (aka "Correios") officially considers a package as lost, DX was able to get a full refund from Correios for the value of the goods in the packages.

The Brazilian customs only inspects packages with a declared value of US$ 50 or more, and they just charge you the taxes and the package is cleared for pick up (when a package is taxed, it is not delivered... you have to pick up at the nearest post office and pay the taxes). That has happened to me about 1/5 of the times.

I don't think, as a buyer, I have ever not received a package. One took a very long time because they had addressed it to Austria rather than Australia.

A couple of years ago one was very late, so I complained and they re-shipped it. The package finally turned up about three months later. I contacted the seller and offered to return it, but we agreed the shipping cost exceeded the value of the package.

Wow, either you are all very lucky or some of my customers are not telling the truth :roll_eyes:
I've lost 4,5 packages since I started shipping internationally. No package was lost within USA, thanks to paypal free delivery confirmation (?!). So about 2 per year but recent 6 months have seen 3 lost packages. I'm pretty concerned.

When I do a project as consultant, I always ship priority or per request and put insurance on them (sometimes $1K value). That's because they can afford the charge. Not with someone buying a $30 kit.

CrossRoads, does international flat rate priority have insurance or tracking as options at all? I'd be unwilling to ship UPS/FeDex/DHL etc. I live in a small city. There is one post office. These chain stores are spread out across a 10-15 mile radius and I get off at 5pm. If I get off early I can make it to the post office, that's it.

I have bought from Ebay many times with no problems from both US and International locations.

I have sold only a few items and the only place I had trouble with was Australia because I think I did not get the addressing proper on the package. In my case the package was held-up in customs and the buyer was able to get the package after a few weeks of delay.

Everything I've ever ordered has arrived (mostly domestic U.S.). I believe the longest anything has taken was three weeks; a T-shirt from Norway.

I used to sell a shareware component. I can tell you there are definitely thieves in the world. I find it truly amazing that people tried to steal a $10 component. (Huh. I just remembered. The Norway T-shirt was actually payment for the component.)

Sending to UK makes me nervous. I've lost a couple of packages going there. They need to get their act together there.
Even my UK customers tell me their own Royal mail sucks donkey ass.

Yeah I agree. I often see this pattern. Worried customer reports not getting the package and needing it for a project. I refunded and offer express mail option and the response from that customer stopped after the refund. Because these incidents (their fault or postal fault), their neighbors and countryman/woman will pay more for my stuff. That's sad.

vasquo:
Sending to UK makes me nervous. I've lost a couple of packages going there. They need to get their act together there.
Even my UK customers tell me their own Royal mail sucks donkey ass.

I second that opinion. I buy a lot of biking and sports goods from an UK e-store called Evans Cycles. Not only the Royal Mail offers a lousy service, but by default their international shipping does not have a tracking number. I've had orders from Evans take up to 65 days to arrive and know way of knowing where it was. I know it isn't Evan's fault: it is just Royal Mail that sucks big time.

Another e-store called Chain Reaction Cycles, located in Ireland, from whom I also by loads of mountain-biking apparel, has tracked parcels and their packages arrive in less than 15 days.

It doesn't cost that much extra to get registered or certified mail. Less than $2 from Hong Kong to US.

Using the royal mail is like challenging Dirty Harry to a shootout. Do you feel lucky, punk, do ya?

Seriously... like many aspects of life in Britain, expect to pay top first-world coin for service that would make most third-world service providers blush with shame. Even in the deepest darkest post offices of India (with their legendary red tape and all that) I always had faith that the stuff would arrive - and it did. Ship packages from England or France and you're taking chances. 7 out of 9 packages shipped after B-school were meticulously opened with a razor knife, looted, and then re-closed using mailing tape made exclusively for the postal service (i.e. not available to the general public).

Given where morale is headed in the USPS system, I can only hope that the postal police will keep that kind of behavior in check in the US.

Constantin:
Given where morale is headed in the USPS system, I can only hope that the postal police will keep that kind of behavior in check in the US.

I did mail an Xbox 360 to someone and have it arrive looking like it fell out of an airplane...during a hurricane. Not sure what the postman was thinking when he dropped it off. Probably "not my problem". The little punk that received it tried to blame me for the damage too, filed every complaint form he could find with Paypal and Ebay. I don't usually waterproof my shipments.

It seems that if a package is greater than 22 Euro and has no bill (exact content and price I guess) then German customs will just withhold it. One of my packages eventually was claimed by the buyer after receiving letter from customs and forced to pay tax and show proof of purchase. Maybe something to be prepared for if you ship a package to Germany, either mark as lass than 22 Euro or gift, or include details of the package.