How do parcels disappear in the post?

[pixelgeek]

I have never had anything go missing but recently I received a parcel from the US that had ended up in Brazil before being sent back to Canada by the Brazilian postal officials.

How it got from the US to Brazil I will never know but I suspect that many legitimately lost parcels may just end up places where they ought not to be and people don't have the wherewithal or processes to send them back.

[Cory]

There are a whole lot of reasons.

Twice this past year I have gotten packages from Europe that horribly mangled the address when they copied it onto the package. Fortunately I have a Post Office with long time employees who went the extra mile.

Several years ago I got an order from Eureka in Australia that had been damaged in transport by a purple liquid that had obscured most of the address and dissolved one end of the package. It took six months to get here and it was a miracle that I got it - somebody else had shipped shampoo or something that broke and spilled. In fact only the zip code on the postage was legible, I was lucky that the carriers here go through the undeliverable mail on occasion to see if it matches a customer.

Finally as a landlord I also frequently see piles of mail for past tenants, improperly delivered mail, and random packages that the tenants just throw in a corner or leave on the mailbox where it blows away or falls onto the lawn (especially bad when there's snow on the ground) instead of notifying the post office.

[Conquistador]

Weird Glenn, I had subscribed to 'Latina' magazine and kept getting 'Hispanic'...spooky...

Strange coincidences in my life are seldom mathematically impossible.   

[cue Twilight Zone music]

I received a notice about a 1968 class reunion (the same year I graduated from another school in SoCal) to my Mother's alma mater where there was, apparently, a graduate with my exact first name, middle name, surname, and patronymic.  It took some time to convince the disappointed sender that they had the wrong individual...   

I also, years later, had an individual in the rental house across the street with no phone and my exact first name, middle, name, surname, and patronymic.     He had older relatives in the South US who were not healthy and their children had access to the area's phone book and since the address was one digit different assumed I was he.  I think some never believed I wasn't him.     I have no clue if they were the same person but given their accent,  'ethnicity' and economic status it is unlikely.

I also suffered from an individual in my home town of my approximate age and (from comments) quite similar in appearance who was observed by several girl friends over the years kissing other females -      - or, given who my ex-girlfriends are today, perhaps I should be     

Gracias,

Glenn

[Modhail]

(knocks wood) I've only ever had one parcel go missing (since I started mail ordering things, about 17 years ago). I do get once or twice a year a parcel that is mangled, sometimes beyond recognition*. Funny how posties seem to have two standard responses to such events: Either hand over the package like there is nothing wrong in the world, while carefully averting your gaze. Or doggedly demand that you sign off "inspected and recieved in good order" before they will even take the package out of their van so you can see it.

Worst I had was a package that was marked on the box as 50x30x15cm being delivered closer to (on average) 45x25x7cm, in a roughly "s"shape, held together by 3 layers of packing tape with the delivery company's logo...
Oddly enough, the postie in question opted for the "nothing wrong in the world" response and actually seemed relieved to let me write "mangled beyond recognition" in the field where I had to note my reason for refusing the package.

[Johnno]

I was living in a house converted into a triplex. There were 3 " front" doors and an out of the way side door that the tenants didn't use it. I waited and waited. Nothing. Then waited some more. Then I checked the online tracking. it had been delivered 10 days prior. I thought my stuff was gone. Just for shits and giggles I walked around the property and checked the doors. My package was in the out of the way side door. Now I imagine if I had less than honest neighbors. That would be how parcels "disappear".

[Legion1963]

Over the last 6 months I've had two parcels disappear in the post, one from Ral Partha and one from a fellow LAF'er. For the life of me I can't work out how they can lose parcels in the post and why they don't accept responsibility for all parcels. It's highly irritating and totally unprofessional.

I recently spoke to someone who send out many parcels a week all over the world. His complaints are the same as yours dijit. Now mail getting lost/disappearring is nothing new but i too am under the impression that it's on the rise. Apart from certain incidents i think that this activity of parcels disappearing is being 'organised'. Add it all up, the value of the lost stuff and the number of parcels and it point only in one direction.

[Connectamabob]

I've never had a package disappear in the post (yet). I've had a couple dodgy close calls though. Have had packages arrive obviously opened by human hand (and not in an official capacity: when that happens they reseal it with special tape), but thankfully nothing stolen (dunno why). Postal service in general has been going downhill in recent years due to budget cuts in the USPS, resulting in more late packages and mistreated or sloppily delivered packages.

USPS used to be the best in my area. UPS and FedEx always had very consistent issues. UPS packages always arrived bashed up, always. FedEx drivers just flat out wouldn't do their job. They'd stick one of those "you weren't home" slips in the mailbox without ever actually coming up the walk, forcing you to drive all the way out to their depot to pick your package up (seriously: they'd do the slip-in-the-mailbox thing repeatedly on the same package, so it was either pick it up or let it be sent back). USPS stuff would always arrive clean on time, and with proper drop-off methods. Not so much anymore. Between the recession and electronic communication outmoding paper communication, the postal service is getting scraped thin, and quality of service is being noticeably effected.

Funny thing is, despite all that, the only times stuff has arrived damaged, it's actually been the sender's fault. Either the item was damaged before it was packed, or else was damaged because the sender cut too many corners on packing (i.e. sticking something fragile in an unpadded paper envelope, and suchlike).

I despise the principles behind postal insurance. There's no way to get around the fact that it's a responsibility dodging scam.

[Too Bo Coo]

I blame the poor service on the move to privatize these services.  Anytime anything gets 'privatized' it means two things happen almost immediately... Service tanks and costs skyrocket. My idiot countrymen, still drunk on the wonderful privatized medical system the US enjoys, want to privatize the USPS....  Idiots.

[Connectamabob]

Yeah, there's so many things I could rant along with you about in similar/related directions, but it'd be breaking the "no-politics" rule.

[maxxon]

I have never had anything go missing but recently I received a parcel from the US that had ended up in Brazil before being sent back to Canada by the Brazilian postal officials.

Interesting... last fall I was wondering where my Reaper BONES were and I checked the USPS site with the tracking number.

It was stuck in Brazilian customs.

International logistics can sometimes be illogical, but I still fail to see how sending a package from US to Finland through Brazil AND going through customs there is a good idea.

Once I got a package (a padded envelope really) that was slit open and missing all the contents. Luckily the seller was gracious enough to send me replacements.

Other than that nothing has ever been really missing if it was verifiably sent... but sometimes Royal Mail takes ages to deliver. I wait the 8 weeks, complain to the seller and get a replacement... and then after I get the replacement the original package finally shows up.

[Too Bo Coo]

Yeah, there's so many things I could rant along with you about in similar/related directions, but it'd be breaking the "no-politics" rule.

That's why I tried to restrict my comments to economics   Living in the Netherlands with TNT and coming from the States with the USPS, I'll take the Publicly run postal system everyday of the week.  Cheaper, better service and a national treasure!

[Connectamabob]

I'd like to know why if I order something from the UK (to California), shipping cost will be fairly comparable to ordering from within the US, and it'll arrive within two weeks of post, but if I order from Japan, the cost is 3x at minimum, and it takes almost a month. And why does shipping from France cost so much more than from other European countries? Last time I was looking at buying from a French company, it was like 20 euro to ship a single 3 euro figure, which scared me right off. Seen other French vendors/manufacturers that were better, but still weirdly high compared to neighboring countries.

[Too Bo Coo]

I'd like to know why if I order something from the UK (to California), shipping cost will be fairly comparable to ordering from within the US, and it'll arrive within two weeks of post, but if I order from Japan, the cost is 3x at minimum, and it takes almost a month. And why does shipping from France cost so much more than from other European countries? Last time I was looking at buying from a French company, it was like 20 euro to ship a single 3 euro figure, which scared me right off. Seen other French vendors/manufacturers that were better, but still weirdly high compared to neighboring countries.

It's because you're dealing with a multitude of economies, all with their own tight and slack sectors.  Postage in the Netherlands is quite high as well.

[maxxon]

but if I order from Japan, the cost is 3x at minimum, and it takes almost a month.

Your seller is using the wrong carrier. I order semi-frequently from Hobby Link Japan and their postage rates are quite reasonable and the stuff gets here pretty quickly.

Since I have to order almost everything from abroad, I have a fair bit of experience of this. What I've found is that typically postage rates are highest with sellers who are not used to selling abroad. They don't care, they couldn't be bothered to find the best shipping options, buyer pays shipping so why take the effort to find the best deal, they'd rather not take money from foreign devils in suspected terrorist countries at all...

Meanwhile sellers in e.g. Hong Kong who basically sell everything abroad have very good and reasonably priced shipping -- they have no domestic market to fall back on, so they must make the export side work to survive.

[Connectamabob]

Your seller is using the wrong carrier. I order semi-frequently from Hobby Link Japan and their postage rates are quite reasonable and the stuff gets here pretty quickly.

HLJ is one of the better ones, but not immune. I order from them maybe 3 times a year, something like that (just received one of these, which I may post a review of in the Sci-Fi boards if anyone's interested). To their credit, their cheapest shipping option these days (it used to be more) is only a bit more expensive than what I'd pay to have something shipped from, say, Hasslefree in the UK, but it usually takes almost a month. Next cheapest option is... not cheap at all. So it can be affordable, or timely (maybe: I've never tested), but not both.

I've ordered from other Japanese companies in the past, which have generally all been much, much worse (picture paying 20$ to ship a single DVD... and it takes a 5 weeks to arrive).

What you're saying about vendors not being experienced with and not wanting to work for outside markets makes sense. It kinda fits culturally too, in (well, with Japan I know from experience, France only from vague stereotype-ish reputation, so that may be wrong).

But I guess I'm wandering off topic.