Question about Postage / Trading/ Mail

No names mentioned------- But I recently offered trees for
postage. Some sent postage, Recieved trees and all is good. one said they sent postage yet I never recieved the postage, when i told this person this, they said "well fine whatever" Also some said they would send postage yet never did, so I just let it go. What do you do when something like this happens? I know things slip peoples minds, they do mine to, or things come up. I am not worried about the ones who said they would send postage and didn't, cause the way i see it if they really wanted them when I offered them, they would of sent. But the when someone says they sent it and i didn't get it----- what then?????? Also I have had a problem with my mail lately, It seems that one day i mailed 2 boxes and noone recieved them? I am in the process of trying to resend these things as i do still have some of what we were trading. Any advice on any of this????? Thank you :)

Some others may come up with some answers specific to your questions, but I'd like to refer you to the "What to do when things go wrong" section of the Trading Primer:

http://davesgarden.com/trading_primer/6/

It answers a lot of the kinds of questions you pose here.

Regards,
Dave

I read Lana's questions and they really aren't specifically addressed in the primer. (See, we TRIED to cover all the bases, but there were bound to be some that we missed - this being one of them.)

And I don't have an easy answer, either. Here's what I propose as an answer, but I'd like for everyone to look this over and chime in if you have a different solution in mind:

Q. "Gardener_Jim" says he sent the postage for the seeds I offered, but I never got his envelope. What should we do?

A. If the postage was significant - more than $1, offer to split the cost with him - he can send you another envelope with half the amount of postage needed. If it's less than $1, most traders will simply mail the seeds because "Gardener_Jim" has already paid postage to send the missing envelope plus the SASE. If you suspect that the envelope never got sent, make a note in your trade tracker, and keep an eye on "Gardener_Jim".

Q. "Trader_Sue" says she sent my box, but it's been two weeks and it hasn't arrived. What should we do?

A. Ask "Trader_Sue" how she sent it - there's a chance that the box can be tracked, depending on how it was mailed. There is a painful lesson to be learned if you've had problems with boxes not arriving at their destination here. You can request "Delivery Confirmation" on USPS Priority Mail packages for $.40 which might be a very good investment. Also, communicating with your traders is essential: e-mail them ahead of time to make sure they know to expect the box (See Plant Trading for details.) Good communication minimizes the risk that a package goes astray for very long.

Most traders will readily re-send a trade if it somehow gets lost en route. Offer to split the postage with them, since it's a loss for both of you. And if you have a feeling that something is amiss, make a note of it in your trade_tracker. Chances are good that the trader is telling you the truth, but you'll have a record of the problem just in case another trade with them also results in a lost package.

Okay, those are my responses that I'd recommend - any others? Many of you have been trading for years, so you're bound to have run across these scenarios yourselves, so please share your insights.

Don't know if this will make you feel any better, but sometimes things do get lost. I ordered a fan from an online site, but when it came it was broken so I sent it back. That was at least 6 weeks ago. Just this week I got an envelope from the post office with a piece of cardboard about 9" X 4" and a note saying this was found all alone with nothing else. (This was the part with my return address on) Mind you this was a window fan plus packing!! Weird things happen.

I just recently received an e-mail from a concerned trader that asked if I had received the seeds she sent me two weeks ago.I had not received them and e-mailed her and told her not to worry about it because right now I thought it would be risky to send anything that might look suspicious through the mail. A bulky envelope with bubble wrap and seeds inside might look a little suspicious to the Postal Service. I also was told that a lot of post offices won't deliver anything if it doesn't have a return address on it.
The last two trades that I sent out I wrote "seeds" on the envelope hoping that would help.
Go Vols advice is excellent. Keep track of the people you're trading with and when sending packages a Delivery Confirmation would be a great investment. Also make sure that there is a return address on everything being mailed out.

Thank you all for the advice, I was just looking for proper ways to handle things as i don't wish to offend anyone. All my other trades have went off perfectly. :)

Yes indeed, things get lost - - I sent a rose bush last year priority mail. When I hadn't heard, I emailed the recipient who said he hadn't seen it. I waited another week, same story. The weather had heated up considerably, so I offered to send him another in the fall. 5 weeks after I mailed the rose, it showed up on his doorstep, obviously deader than a door nail. We waited the summer out and the next one went off without a hitch. I recommend the delivery confirmation. it gives you a form to take to the PO and the postal service perhaps a bit of incentive!

Vols suggestions are all right on. It's probably amazing how many do go well, considering!

Throught my seed swapping history I've gotten "stung" a few times. there were times that I could barely afford to send the seed without a sase. when there were a lot, or if they were hard to come by,(rare or heirloom),I would insure them and write "hand cancel" on the side. It might cost a little more but I always got an answer back. Otherwise, I just let it go ,chalk it up to charity.