Q&A: Should I pay extra for USPS Delivery Confirmation at the retail window?
QUESTION: I have a problem regarding USPS treatment of Delivery Confirmation.
Originally I addressed all my books by hand. If the price was over $25, I would slap on a green Delivery Confirmation sticker. The postal clerk would scan it in in front of me at the window. It cost 65 cents for each Media Mail package and 55 cents for Priority.
After postal rates went up in May, I decided I was spending too much on DC. So I switched to online postage via PayPal. It's more trouble, but DC costs only 18 cents, and it's free for Priority Mail). I use online postage only for books that merit DC, i.e. books over $25 or books sent via Priority Mail or Global Priority.
Problem is, they don't scan these in when they receive them. Normally the book will eventually get scanned when it's delivered or at some transit point en route. But today I got an angry email from a buyer. I sent out his book on 6/20. I am in New York, he is in Florida. It should take 4 days; it's been 10 days and it hasn't arrived. I sent him a notification email on 6/20 with DC links, etc. Here's what the DC link says now:
Maybe I should go back to old-fashioned expensive DC stickers -- or just give them up completely!
ANSWER: It's the same sorry state of affairs here in Northern Virginia. I use electronic DC with Endicia. The Postal Service used to be fairly reliable about scanning my packages when they got to the regional sorting center. But now my packages are rarely scanned until they're practically delivered (if then).
It wouldn't be so bad if the "tracking" result the Postal Service gave the customer at least implied that the package was on its way (as far as they know). But with the wording they've got, it makes it look like we've either forgotten to mail it, or we're just lying. A horrible situation.
But I don't think it's worth standing in line to pay 65 cents for DC, though -- even if you do get the scan when you mail.
But all this has forced me to quit giving customers the DC number when I send a shipping confirmation e-mail. There's nothing I hate more than having to pay for something I'm not getting.
Originally I addressed all my books by hand. If the price was over $25, I would slap on a green Delivery Confirmation sticker. The postal clerk would scan it in in front of me at the window. It cost 65 cents for each Media Mail package and 55 cents for Priority.
After postal rates went up in May, I decided I was spending too much on DC. So I switched to online postage via PayPal. It's more trouble, but DC costs only 18 cents, and it's free for Priority Mail). I use online postage only for books that merit DC, i.e. books over $25 or books sent via Priority Mail or Global Priority.
Problem is, they don't scan these in when they receive them. Normally the book will eventually get scanned when it's delivered or at some transit point en route. But today I got an angry email from a buyer. I sent out his book on 6/20. I am in New York, he is in Florida. It should take 4 days; it's been 10 days and it hasn't arrived. I sent him a notification email on 6/20 with DC links, etc. Here's what the DC link says now:
Status: Electronic Shipping Info ReceivedIn other words, they confirm that I paid for postage for that item, but they can't confirm whether I actually mailed it -- because they never scanned it! It occurs to me that if the Postal Service really loses this book, my DC is USELESS! Amazon now demands tracking as evidence against A-Z Claims, but this DC doesn't help me a bit!
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on June 20, 2007 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later.
Maybe I should go back to old-fashioned expensive DC stickers -- or just give them up completely!
ANSWER: It's the same sorry state of affairs here in Northern Virginia. I use electronic DC with Endicia. The Postal Service used to be fairly reliable about scanning my packages when they got to the regional sorting center. But now my packages are rarely scanned until they're practically delivered (if then).
It wouldn't be so bad if the "tracking" result the Postal Service gave the customer at least implied that the package was on its way (as far as they know). But with the wording they've got, it makes it look like we've either forgotten to mail it, or we're just lying. A horrible situation.
But I don't think it's worth standing in line to pay 65 cents for DC, though -- even if you do get the scan when you mail.
But all this has forced me to quit giving customers the DC number when I send a shipping confirmation e-mail. There's nothing I hate more than having to pay for something I'm not getting.
Labels: Postal Service
posted by Steve Weber at 6/30/2007
20 Comments:
I have the same exact problem. I shipped 21 packages on the 19th. 17 of them still have not been scanned into the postal stream. This is the second time this has happened to me in the last four weeks.
I am going to start breaking up my mailings. I have several secure mailboxes and post offices I can mail my packages from. I plan on putting a few packages in each every day. For me it won't add any extra time in my day. Perhaps it will reduce the risk of this happening again.
I use Endicia. When I get a letter like you received, I cut and paste the Endicia shipping info into the reply. I tell them I shipped that package within 48 hours of payment (usually it's 24)and explain that the post office is holding up the delivery. I tell them I feel badly they are waiting on their book.
I also tell them and make a call to the post office if the package is out for more than 2 weeks.
Some good the rate increase did!
Sorry to say I have some additional bad news to add. Just because a package is scanned when it is delivered doesn't mean it's delivered to the correct address. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico which is known for its poor postal service. Several times, when I have been waiting for a package to arrive, I obtained the delivery confirmation number from the seller, entered the number in the postal service tracking site and found that the package was delivered -- only not to me! What good is delivery confirmation if the addressee is not the one to whom the delivery is confirmed?
I don't use it anymore. If I sell a valuable book (over $30.00) I use Endicia's insurance, which is cheaper than postal service insurance. If I am going to gamble, I'll pick the game.
This is basically highway robbery. The post office is getting away with ripping off the public! I use dc on every package through Endicia because of the discount, and hopefully as a way to deter scammers. I still get e-mails (but not as many) from customers that they have not received their books. I think the post office treats the mail you meter at home differently because of the price difference. There has to be some consequence or the post office will continue with their lazy treatment of dc. I propose that all online sellers begin a letter campaign to the head Post Master General. Maybe a flood of angry letters will at least stir things up a bit to promote change.
In order for dc to work they must scan every package at the time it is first received in their facility. Otherwise they have no business charging us for a service that they cannot "deliver".
The only way that an entity like USPS will respond to a bad situation is through pressure. If we all demanded refunds of each and every .18 paid for non-scanned DCNs, I think they would straighten this out. A call to the head honchos and maybe a congressman or two also might help.
I am going to find the articulation agreement for the DCN service and see what "weasel" clauses are in there. The "sevice" is charging money for something they are not providing.
Well, I have contacted the USPS about this very issue in the past. I asked that they explain why an item did not get scanned at the outset of its journey, from the point at which I dropped it off. I, too, had a customer seeing the very same notice posted at the top (showing postage had been printed, but no other information).
I was told that the Delivery Confirmation service is just that: a service to confirm that an item is delivered to the recipient, nothing more. (I realize mistakes are made as the previous poster indicated, and sometimes an item is delivered to the wrong address, etc.) What I was told is that many folks believe this is supposed to be a service to TRACK the item -- but it is not. Yes, we may see some stops along the way when the item is scanned at various locations, but there is no guarantee we will see this at all.
I'm not sure if there is another type of "tracking" service available, but it seems there isn't. I do find it frustrating that the post office will scan the DC barcode if you purchase the additional service at the window, but there is no scanning going on for those items dropped off in boxes.
By the way, I recently had to stand in line for an international package, so while there I asked if they would scan my Endicia posted Priority Mail packages. The clerk told me she wouldn't since the postage was done online and they could not scan the items at the window (or would not). I'm still not sure what it would have hurt to show the items received at my local post office...
I will continue to use DC thru Endicia simply for the reason that it is one way to show that an item is received, if I need to do this. I check the DC status of most of my orders and find that they are almost all scanned at the receiving end. I was very surprised to hear others say so many of their packages are never scanned at all.
I had 7 packages sent on May 24th and none of them have arrived yet. Thank goodness it was a slow day. Since, I mail from a small post office almost all media mail that goes out is mine. The postmaster has come to the conclusion that the whole bag was lost. There is a seperate bag just for media mail. He tried to call and e-mail back up the line but got no response, even from his boss.
Luckly all of the buyers have been very understanding, so far. I have either refunded or replaced 4 of the books. One, whose book I replace with another copy I had, even gave me a 5 with a very good feedback comment.
But you should be able to at least to get some kind of response from the Postal Service.
Yes, we all have our sob stories about the United States Postal Service. I nearly lost an Oxford English Dictionary in that hole in Bell, California. I had to refund a customer for an expensive gaming magazine that was never scanned after using Endicia postage....
Chalk it up to the cost of doing business, folks. You're an online bookseller. You don't have any shrinkage because no one, save you, your wife or perhaps your cats, has access to your inventory. Open up an actual store, even in a quiet little tourist town, and you'll be losing books out the door left and right.
Not that that's any consolation to the sometimes craptacular service provided by our government delivery system, but if you're that concerned about delivery of a particular item, use DHL, FedEx or UPS. Otherwise, expect to lose a few books to postal "shrinkage" every now and then.
I put Endicia tracking on every item and provide that information to the customer. They appreciate it, regardless if the book gets lost or arrives. And let's face it, they usually arrive.
Even if the book gets lost, the customer knows about it before I do, can alert me to the problem, and we work it out together, either by contacting USPS, or by A-Z refund, if possible.
I use the program SHIPPING ASSISTANT off the U.S. Post Office web site. I pay 18 cents for Delivery confirmation (it is added to the postage at the windows). I agree that is is not doing it's job but I think the nice label and bar code and all does actually help get the book there faster even if the D.C. is not really working. I have had less claims of non-receipt. I use this on books $5.00 and more. But I go onto the U.S. Postal Site to see where my book is and as you say it's not been scanned yet. My post office clerks say that when I use Shipping Assisting and print the lable I'm automatically entered into the system but I sort of disagree with that. This is catch 22 in my opinion.
The post office recently changed to "Not scanning" DC information and has told us, like the other post stated, that it is for confirmation of delivery, not tracking.
What really hurts is the message the buyer sees that makes them believe we haven't shipped yet. I get a LOT of questions on that - Why haven't you shipped, it's been x number of days....then you have to explain it all to them.
If you notice, this happened all at once. There must have been a memo,then no scanning. If we take one to the window, the clerk will look around and act like a fugitive while she scans it because she thinks if we wait in line, she should at least scan it. So from her behavior, she thinks its a ridiculus rule and is a rebel.
I think post office hubs aren't scanning either....so its not just at the point of origin...
We have a lot of problems with packages we ship to the NY area. I am sure there is a problem with one of the hubs but without tracking, I can't even tell anyone where the book is hung up.....
Interesting discussion. I too noticed that when someone purchased delivery confirmation at the P.O. their package was scanned, yet mine were not.
I asked one of the clerks why this was and he shrugged his shoulders and said they get in trouble if they scan packages with the DC already on it.
There are a couple of reasons given for the postal employee at the counter to not scan electronic DC like you get from Endicia. Pick the one that suits you best, I've heard them all.
#1 - you are getting a discount on the price so they won't scan it
#2 - they aren't allowed to do it
#3 - they don't know how to do it
#4 - it takes too long and they are busy
At my local post office, where they know me well, if they aren't busy they will scan my Endicia packages that have DC on them - also it helps when the boss isn't around.
DC has never been anything except confirmation of delivery. However confirmation does not mean it was delivered to the correct address or even delivered at all but still scanned. They can scan it and take t home for themselves or even throw it in the trash if they want. I know that's a radical thought but I'm just making the point that DC is not trustworthy.
I also have found out that if you want a refund for non scanned DC labels, giving the refund has to happen through the local post office and it is at their discretion. They are more likely to refund a DC if they issued it for you than they are to refund an electronic DC from Endicia or even the USPS online service.
NEVER send the DC info to the customer - you are only asking for trouble by doing that since the USPS message they see online says in a roundabout way that they did not receive the package.
D.C. Does NOT prove a package was delivered. If it did then there would be no need for sig confirmation.
It is a "DELIVERY CONFIRMATION" Not a tracking number... The post office is only required to scan at delivery. If you want full service then you need to pay for full service. I would rather have my discounted .18 cent confirmation printed at home than to waste my day at the post office and have to spend .75 cents on each and I ship over 50 packages a day so that time adds up. There is a way to have your delivery confirmation bar code scanned and you can do it through Endicia as well. Of course you have to pay a higher monthly fee. It works like this.. Print all of your postage with dcs and after you are finished you can print out a master bar code which represents all of the packages you have printed for the day so that when you drop off the packages at the post office or your mail carrier picks them up from you they just scan 1 simple bar code from the paper you give them and then all of your bar codes will show as scanned. I have not used this service yet, But I am going to start soon just to avoid the headaches. Just remeber that if you want to have your delivery confirmation scanned at origin then you need to pay the regular fee of .75 cents each or upgrade your postal account so that you can print the master barcode to scan.
One other note: I email all my customers the dc number as soon as I print the postage. In my shipment confirmation to them I even explain that it is a delivery confirmation and not a tracking number and I tell them the message they will see. Since I added this information to my shipment notifications I only get about 1 or 2 idiots that cannot read out of about a thousand emailing me saying the post office said they never received the book from me for shipping. Why people that cannot read buy books in the 1st place is beyond me. Communication goes a long way so if you ship fast and communicate with your buyers they are more understanding. The post office sucks and gets worse all the time, But there are not a lot of options for us as booksellers.
BTW if you should go to UPS instead of the postal "service" please know that if you use their BASIC service your pkg will be delivered to the postal sorting plant and delivered by the post office...this happened to me recently and I paid for UPS direct-to-my-door-by-UPS and still got the post office...can't win in this life I reckon'...
I'm new to this and only for my own books. Is it the consensus to use DC or not? I haven't even tried the Paypal print postage feature yet. I hand carried to the post office to just make sure the amount shown on Paypal was the correct postage (it was), then I forgot to DC it and they didn't ask at the counter.
I guess I'd better ask my customer if they received the book yet. Big business, eh?
Any of you booksellers want to carry my books, drop by my blog and leave a comment on any post. (hey, can't hurt to ask, right?)
I am still using DC on everything, but the thought that occurs to me is: the entire point becomes moot if Amazon, my major point of sales, does not accept DC "confirmation" as proof of delivery when a buyer claims they have not received their book. Why even bother with DC anymore?
To the last poster.You are correct DC doesnt prove it was delivered.
I send out books daily valued over $50.00. Do you know how many not delivered/item was damaged I have recieved in a year.
NONE
My local carrier is such a nice guy, and he does the scan when he picks up the mails every day.
From the USPS website (https://hdusps.esecurecare.net/cgi-bin/hdusps.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5077&p_created=1084558748&p_sid=HsKTpBFi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_topview=1#arrived):
Q: My Delivery Confirmation(tm) package arrived, but no delivery information is available
A: The absence of a delivery scan on a mail piece does not necessarily indicate that the item was not delivered. It is possible the piece was delivered but the scan was not captured. Contact the recipient to confirm delivery of this item.
Gee, that's useful. Contact the recipient to confirm. So that's what I'm paying for!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home