Issues with Damaged Boxes at Post Office

[ELR LVR]

Hello all,
so this is somewhat of a rant but also to inform all of you to BEWARE of sending any parts through the Post office right now
I have had 2 small boxes in a row arrived damaged this week
With things fallen out of the box
1 of which had 4 triggers inside.
Guess how many triggers showed up?
ZERO!
And they taped the empty bo back up with a little note basically saying
"Sorry, but hey we'll try and do better for you in the future, we appreciate your patience and all that happy BS"
but no info on how to get compensated
So when I go onto USPS website to file a claim
I get "this is the link you need to use to file a claim"
Click link
The link explains how to file a claim and I click on that
It reroutes me back to the same link I need to use to file a claim
like circular reasoning going nowhere and no page to actually file a claim
In effect making it impossible to even file a claim which I'm certain they figure if they make it difficult or confusing enough people will just give up and eat it
----------------------------------------------
I believe the POST OFFICE has gotten away with this crap far too long and needs a reality check big time with some hurtin goin to their innards with a Class Action.
Anybody else finding the same and willing try and pursue class action to force them to cough up some real compensation they likely have been not having to pay for some time now based on how their website makes it impossible
and make sure this crap doesn't happen to anybody else or yourself again.
A cardboard box this small and not heavy should be plenty sturdy enough to hold up to the mail
But now we have to use some steel toolbox or small money box or something just to ship with to make sure nothing gets damaged?
------------
Forget the insurance claim
Some of these gun parts are irreplaceable
Last week, I sent back a customers Canjar....and luckily thank God, that got back to him in one piece
BUT the box and payment he sent to me, somehow the check slipped out through the side (3rd Pic)
(it did eventually get recovered and returned to the original shipper, surprisingly)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point is, if it is happening this often and PO goes unchecked, nothing is safe.
These small Priority mail boxes for some reason are not holding up to whatever equipment they use
That is most important, you gents need to know this
I suggest insuring every box for $3000 now because with how often this happens spending $10 to ship something and the odds of damage is better than playing the Lotto.
And if they have to pay enough claims out, they WILL do something different.
You guys should insure every box for way over the amount its worth until their crap gets sorted out
Especially for things like triggers which are Expensive to replace

 

[STS]

I have had similar service. The first thing to remember about the USPS is that they make the rules. They determine what documentation you have to provide to file a claim. If you provide all that is required, they will deny the claim for missing documentation that was not required on the claim form. If you follow up with an appeal, they will deny based on the assertion that you didn't provide some of the requirements that was in your original claim. The third and final option is to file a claim with the consumer protection division in Washington DC.
I came up with a strategy that was a bit of the beaten path after I filed a claim, followed by an appeal, both of which were denied. I called the Theft and Fraud Division in Chicago. The individual that I talked to there ask if I wanted to file a theft or fraud complaint. I indicated that I would indeed like to file a fraud complaint. She then asked if I knew who the party was that had defrauded me. I said that I did, and the guilty party was the USPS, and that I wanted to file a fraud claim against the USPS. I told her that the USPS sold me a service (postage) that included insurance in the price that was charged. I indicated that they had not provided the product that I paid for, and that that was fraud. She didn't want to file the claim but I refused to take no for an answer.
Two days later I got a call from a postal inspector asking me to drop the claim. I vigorously refused and explained the fraud that had been committed. Five days later they paid the claim.
Moral to the story is, Don't Take Any $hit Form The USPS.

 

[SecondsCount]

Breaking news! The post office literally ships a million boxes a day. They don't care about your box, and definitely don't treat it with kid gloves.

Shipping metal metal parts in an envelope is asking for trouble.

I tape all sides of the foldable boxes, and your package is a solid reason why.

Another suggestion is to completely fill the box firm with packing. This keeps the package from getting crushed under the weight of all the other boxes, which is another reason you had a blowout.

 

[mike mccormick]

The only solution to your problem, is to use a different carrier. Fedex has been great for me so far.

 

[ELR LVR]

I wasn't the shipper in these cases,
the other party was
which is one reason I'm bringing it to your guys attention
the 2 shippers were from this site
So all of you should learn from whats happening
Yes Def tape all sides of boxes, perhaps even double box things
Items such as Triggers fit nicely in a Bullet Box for example.
There's a lot of items being traded here,
I wouldnt also want some of you guys to loose out on something like a Tombstone trigger
and things like that ya know

 

[ELR LVR]

The only solution to your problem, is to use a different carrier. Fedex has been great for me so far.

I believe that, but even Govt Agencies have learned a lesson or two when enough people pound on their door
The PO is going to keep getting worse I guarantee you,

 

[kyotekiller25]

I tape boxes all the way up and down, side to side, twice over and still have had 2-3 packages break open over the years, and get delivered with empty or missing contents. It's not even worth the hassle to file a claim with USPS. Just end up eating it and refunding guys back their money. Shipping is definitely a gamble these days. I worked for UPS out of high school for a while, I know how packages are handled, and it's not very nice...

 

[marchx]

They lost my trigger 2 years ago. I still receive periodically a nice e-mail from them. They are still looking for it. I hope they will finally locate it by the time I retire.

 

[R.Morehouse]

When I ship in a flat-rate box, I use 2 or 3 of them and cut them to fit inside each other, then securely wrap and tape the shipped item so it won't move when I shake the box. Then I pretty much mummified the outside of the box. If I were a commercial shipper I could not afford the time or expense to do all of that. It sucks the length we have to go to try to ensure that what we ship will arrive intact......But it be what it be.

Regards
Rick

 

[Downeast]

I have lost quite a few items with them. It's now become a game. You pay your money and hope you win. Muck like the lottery. Will it actually arrive or be lost forever? The wife gets a lot of stuff from Amazon. Most of it is to big to fit in our mailbox so the carrier leaves a slip noting that we have a package at the local PO. So I go to the PO, hand them the slip and the nice old lady tells me that there is no package. It's a small PO and it is inundated with Amazon boxes. Most of the time she is by herself and you can tell she is in way over her head. She tells me to come back the next day. And sometimes the package will be there, sometimes not. Now can someone explain to me how I get a slip saying that my package is at the PO, when it is not?

I don't think even Elon could fix the USPS. Chances are that he would just piss them off and they would cut him off. He would never receive another piece of mail as long as he lived.

 

[dgeesaman]

The third and final option is to file a claim with the consumer protection division in Washington DC.

If you’re talking about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it’s being shut down as we speak.

As for the packaging strategies I agree package it as if you expect someone to try and destroy it. But that can only do so much. I review customer specs at my work and I’ve had a few come in saying that our crating should prevent damage during shipping and storage. Uh, hard no. Impossible. Nice try to make all shipping and storage incidents my responsibility Mr Customer by blaming everything on crates. (Our product is machinery so a forklift drop or on-road accident would be more than wooden crating could ever withstand)

 

[Just Dave]

As others have stated, that box lacked reinforcement, you cant possibly expect the USPS provided boxes to survive the sorting stations.
Every thing inside must be packed tight, so that it cannot move within the box,
Then I use some of the fiberglass-packing tape, and make a couple revolutions around the whole box, followed by more clear packing tape that seals every edge, this will help it slide thru conveyors and such and keep the thin cardboard intact, should it get caught on something.
We are living in different times, people dont give a shit about their jobs, and alot of those folks end up in these sorting stations.

 

[JFrank]

We might need Elon to look into it.

 

[Richard Jones]

It doesn't matter how much insurance you buy for your item. USPS doesn't just pay that amount without any questions. Buying $1M worth of insurance on a $200 part only puts more $$ into USPS's hands. They wrote me a check for a little less than $100 on a $450 barrel they lost, stating that the barrel was not new (though it was unused) and they prorated the claim. You still have to prove to them that the item is indeed worth that $1M you say it is.

Telling folks to buy more insurance thinking that will make the USPS 'pay' is not a proper course of action.

 

[dryhumor]

I’ll bet a fella could find some plastic boxes that would fit into those flat rate boxes….. probably in the fishing section of a store, or a hobby store. Fill the box with foam or styrofoam to reduce crush.

Most are $2-3 a pop, retail. Likely cheaper in bulk or wholesale.

 

[jwv2001]

How do you know your stuff wasn't stolen? Have you seen the people that work at the post office? Like baggage handlers. They get to know the address and snatch it. I knew an evangelical preacher that had his own Zipcode. Twice a month when the offerings would come in, mail would go missing.
I know one thing, you never want to go the class action route. The only people that makes out on that are the attorneys.

 

[WileyG]

I live 60 miles north of Birmingham and that Distribution Center is full of incompetent minorities!!! Example shown below. A parcel was supposed to come to me from MN........

Read this from the bottom up >>>--------->


Moving Through Network

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

PHOENIX AZ DISTRIBUTION CENTER

February 13, 2025, 9:23 am

Departed USPS Facility

AVONDALE, AZ 85323

February 13, 2025, 5:41 am

Arrived at USPS Facility

AVONDALE, AZ 85323

February 12, 2025, 11:37 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

BIRMINGHAM AL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

February 12, 2025, 10:40 am
In Transit to Next Facility

February 12, 2025, 9:10 am
Departed USPS Facility

PALMETTO, GA 30268

February 12, 2025, 7:47 am
Arrived at USPS Facility

PALMETTO, GA 30268

February 12, 2025, 2:53 am
In Transit to Next Facility

February 11, 2025, 9:13 pm
In Transit to Next Facility

February 11, 2025, 1:53 pm
Departed USPS Facility

SAINT PAUL, MN 55131

February 11, 2025, 6:35 am
Arrived at USPS Origin Facility

SAINT PAUL, MN 55131

February 11, 2025, 2:11 am
USPS picked up item

MORRISTOWN, MN 55052

February 10, 2025, 3:10 pm
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item

MORRISTOWN, MN 55052

February 8, 2025, 9:14 am

 

[STS]

If you’re talking about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it’s being shut down as we speak.

As for the packaging strategies I agree package it as if you expect someone to try and destroy it. But that can only do so much. I review customer specs at my work and I’ve had a few come in saying that our crating should prevent damage during shipping and storage. Uh, hard no. Impossible. Nice try to make all shipping and storage incidents my responsibility Mr Customer by blaming everything on crates. (Our product is machinery so a forklift drop or on-road accident would be more than wooden crating could ever withstand)

I wasn't referring to the CFPB. There is a consumer protection division of the USPS.

 

[dgeesaman]

I wasn't referring to the CFPB. There is a consumer protection division of the USPS.

I bet they stay busy!

 

[butchlambert]

How about this one to Australia! Indianapolis is in the wrong direction.
Look at the time!

https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?tRef=fullpage&tLc=2&text28777=&tLabels=LH241065015us%2C&tABt=false

It left here a month ago and it's new home is Indiana I guess!