One of the most important things you can do is keep notes! I have had about a 99.99% good experience sellings on the Lily Auction. And you know what, I would sooner replace seeds or refund money than fight. This is my hobby, I enjoy it and I want others to enjoy the seeds and plants too!. Just do not try to take me across!
who pays for lost packages?
I've been kind of watching this thread off and on, and after what we have all been going thru with our post office - I'm almost mixed on the lost packages thing.
1) Yesterday (the 15th) I finally got a letter my mom sent from Bryan, TX on October 2nd.
2) 2 months ago - my DH picked up the mail from the PO Box and there was a pkg in our box....had a delivery confirmation # on it. I went to the usps.com site and looked up the number - it showed it had been delivered 3 days before....it had been delivered to our box - thing is - it belonged 2 PO boxes over from ours.
3) In July - a check had been delivered to our PO Box with Delivery Confirmation - thing is - it wasn't addressed to us and wasn't our check
4) We are the last rural route mailbox on our mail carriers mail route in this area - If she "forgets" to drop a letter off somewhere earlier in our neighborhood - she just sticks it in my box.....goodness only knows where my mail goes....LOL
5) I mailed a certified letter to Baytown (about 20 minutes driving time away) 1 month later when the post office finally "found" the letter and delivered it - they sent the signed green card back to the person I had mailed the letter to.
I agree with paper trails and receipts - but - after what I've seen with some of the stuff in our area in the last year - even after filing formal complaints with the post office - I'm not sure that even with Delivery confirmation you can be certain it arrived where it was supposed to
diamndsnjns sounds like your local PO is doing a real sloppy job! I would complain to the state office about this. Maybe it's time for a new supervisor down your way.
MollyD
diamndsnjns if you make a BIG stink they will do test mailings. If their mail isn't mail dose not go through well they will start at the top and work their way down until it is fixed.
I have had this happen to me several times. I shipped a package of plants and the receiver said they never received it or the plants were dead. So, I shipped another package and the same thing happened. I then shipped a third time and never heard anything back. The receiver has LOTS of positive feedback on here. If I were to hear back, once again, even if I shipped a third time with postage still out of my own pocket, I would be at a great loss and would still receive neg feedback!! That just isn't fair to me!! I don't like the feedback system here as it does not protect the sender. For that reason, I have decided to hide my feedback. I can't afford the neg. feedback as a new member and neither can I afford to keep sending the same things over and over!! Of course then, people would think there is something wrong with me and wouldn't want to trade.
Another thing that upset me was that I had a trade going with someone and found out that one of the plants that I had was identified incorrectly until I took it to a specialist. The other plants were fine For personal reasons, the receiver cancelled the trade entirely which was ok with me. I went ahead and sent plants anyway just because I wanted to. No trade involved. Then the receiver got IRRITATED with me because the tree seedlings were in poor shape even though the other things were fine. ( I have since quit trading tree/shrub seedlings) The person proceeded to tell me that they called off the trade and according to the rules on here that meant that I should have sent nothing!!! Geez...isn't anyone pleased???
No they are not, I just lost 300 bucks on ebay for just abot the same thing. Still got my first negative. Ive got a few things left I want to sell on ebay and then Im taking a break from 'people' for awhile. I have to sell the rest of this stuff to try to make up my loss. Paypal is no help, they just take your money and ask no questions. Ive said it before, your going to get it one day if you have that pay pla conected to your regualr bank account. I had seen people warn of this, I ignored it as I think Im a good seller. As we have seen or heard about in recent post, there are alot of misserabl whack-os out there.
I didn't get to read through this in it's entirety but My post man (delivery man) told me once, that if I paid for a package to go through and it had delivery confirmation then it's the delivery man's fault it didn't get sent through. If they didn't get it on their end then it was up to the delivery post man to pay for the parcel and the postage.
Reason I know this is I had a couple packages that were being delivered to another address that was the same as mine but a diff road, I had mentioned the lost packages to my post man and he told me if he couldn't get them for me that he would have to pay for them that he was responsible for the contents and postage. same being if it never got sent on the other end, it would be the delivery man's postage on the other end. BECAUSE. The have their little electronic thngy with them and when the package is delivered it's suppose to be scanned, that tells that THAT post man delivered it and he is responsible for it.
If this be the case when I ship boxes. I always ship with delivery confirmation and I tell my customers to take the delivery confirmation number up to the post office and talk to them about it, that they shoudl cover the damages, it's the law, they have to, after all. it was scanned and showed it was delivered but you never got it. I have never had one say to me well, it shows I delivered it here, they've never called me a liar on this. But my po man knows me well too.
If by chance the post office won't take care of this, then I have resent the package if they were willing to pay the postage, I'd send the plant free if they'd send the exact postage again. It's not fair to us sellers to have to recoop losses because of the po. if customers would stand their ground the po HAS to pay for the damages if there's proof of delivery.
Nough said LOL
Most of the stuff I've gotten on eBay has been good to great but there was one sale that was terrible and the seller offered nothing back in return from my complaint. My only recourse was a negative feedback (I agree the feedback system is whack). Thank goodness this deal was less than $20 so I wrote it up as a lesson and never ever ordered from that person again. I wish there was a way to warn other buyers but I guess we all have to learn the hard way.
I use a no fee checking account at a bank where we have no other accounts.
estrail1rider,
I probably don't need to tell you that you have proabably been had, but that is exactly why you need to use delivery confirmation on every package. I would certainly want to see photos of the dead plants and would even want them returned. You are not required to pay postage either. I have always looked at feedback as a waste of time. The person you are shipping to has good feedback but how do you know they don't pull the "did not receive" routine on everyone they buy from that doesn't use Delivery Confirmation. I'm betting that no one would give them other than good feedback, just because they said they didn't get the items, if they couldn't prove that they were in fact delivered.That would really be a great way to double your purchases without any additional cost if you were sleezy enough to do it. Unfortunately there are a lot of sleezy people out there. I always looked at BUYERS FEEDBACK as totally useless, especially now on ebay where a seller cannot leave negative feedback for a buyer. I still do I start their feedback with the words NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, deadbeat customer didn't pay. Or something like that. Like Daddy use to say, "it's as useless as XXXXX on a bull"!
The other thing about feedback for sellers is, if they have hundreds of happy customers, and a couple of negatives, I look at it as being the customer that would never be happy, and did it to be spiteful.
Well, at least they let you give your side in response. I was going to leave negative feedback for her as well, but I didnt want her to get the last word. :-o
If you wait the time alloted for resolution through EBAY/PAYPAL, you may have EXPIRED your chances of claim with your ACTUAL CREDIT CARD COMPANY.
I thought I was doing the right thing by waiting the delivery time estimation (14 days stated several times on website), and then the resolution process (45 days) through PayPal, only to find out that they cannot refund the monies. Hard to get blood from a rock, or a defunct checking account of a bogus seller.
Bottom Line: DO NOT DEAL WITH PAYPAL .... Deal directly with YOUR BANK! IMMEDIATELY!!!!! for refunds.
I waited and was 2 weeks past my alloted time for recourse with my credit card.
I am still waiting to see what the resolution is, but I doubt I will find any money refunded.
My Credit Card's limit of time was 30 days, but yet PaySCAM makes you wait 45!!!!
So much for being brought up to give folk the benefit of the doubt.
The company in question was a "Farm" out of "Central Florida" ... yes, those are clues!
DG's WatchDog skated them with almost ALL unfavorable comments, which I neglected to check out firstly!
Now, sad as it is for me to say: You, as a seller, I don't give a *&$% if you have a sick child, don't take my money!
(How sad is that? Now, I have some bad karma to heal, too! As, I do care about sick children; my sister died of leukemia at age 5)
FeedBack can work, but you have to read into those comments and sift out the truth, if you can.
TO END ON A GOOD NOTE:
Conversely, I ordered seeds from a company berated on Garden WatchDog, only to have the seeds show up in record time WITH bonus seeds, too boot!! They were even seeds I would WANT! (I forgot to check the WatchDog, ordered anyway, then checked the WatchDog, said EEEEIK! and crossed my fingers!)
I ordered something from an ebayer, and he didn't send with in 3 weeks I filed a paypal dispute immediately. they accepted the claim and are now filing my request for a refund from this seller because I have never received his item, You can file a claim with paypal before 30 days, I have always been satisfied with their dispute program and have always come out on top when filing through it. though only several times now. but i've always got my money back .
Whats worse about ay pal is, they take that money from the seller and hold it till the dispute is 'settled'. I to think its a scam, as that is alot of money and alot of interest they earn off of others. Altho the buyer, in my case, is the one who went to pay pal,me refunding her money immediatley wasnt good enough. One of the reasons I got a negative is because it took so long
WELL $%&$#, that money was gone from my account well over a month, how did I know pay pal didnt give it back to her right away. Not a perfect world, thats for sure. All in all, I would not buy or sell without it, best there is for now.
Feedback might help those poorly rated stores get their act together - especially if they want to stay in business. So maybe Garden Watch Dog is helping some stores get back to good business practices.
I have to say this, I purchased a bunch of Clivia seed that didn't exist from a fradulent seller in Turkey, and I got back every nickle, I did file my claim within 30 days, and I was lucky that a friend tipped me off. He was sending dried Chick Peas. The seeds in question were also from very rare and hard to find species Clivias 2 of which are fully protected by South Africa. Had I known that I would have never purchased them anyway.
Another time I filed a claim, and the seller came through in the end.
I'm sure the it varies from bank to bank but I can tell you with Wachovia they wouldn't pursue any action since I'd payed thru paypal. They said with paypal the buyer gives authorization for the payment to be made. Any issue needed to be addressed directly to paypal. Luckily the seller came through - keeping their word in the end.
Velly interestng. It is go good to hear your comments. On one of my last seed auctions ( Seeds sent out immediately upon Paypal payment - with delivery confirmation) I soon received an inquiry - "Where are my seeds??" I was able to give her the del. confirmation # and she must have been happy with that as I got good feedback.
The ones that are really a puzzlement for me are the shipments to foreign countries. I do not have to fill out a customs form unless the package is over a pound, or worth more than $400.00 to say, Sweden. But I am left without any proof I actually mailed it? What to DO???? Same way with the Netherlands. Yet foreign buyers say, send it this way, it always works. I would hate to have an 89.00 daylily seed order show up missing.
What has been your experience?
Se_eds,
Way up the page, I posted an image of the detailed reciept I get from the post office. To get it you have to go to the PO, but it has saved me a couple of times. I have had only 1 International order of about $65.00 lost and it was to Taiwan. The person I sent it to informed me that it had was not allowed entry, and that they would be returned to me. I never got them back, but he never asked for a refund either. I did check, they are not allowed, and I did refund 1/2 of his money. I felt it was fair, and I did get a THANK YOU.
I always use the green and white 2 part customs declarations forms, and list the contents as Daylily or Hemerocallis seeds and give them a value of between $5.00 and $10.00. I have sent seed all over, recently to Chile & Argentina. I have also done Japan, China and Indonesia.
John, thank you for this information. I am a newbie at sending seeds, I have recently sent seeds to the UK and Germany but put the customs forms on them as I felt this gave me some degree of certification/ I may have to do the disclaimer that seeds sent internationally have no guarantee that they will get there.
Your experience and expertise in these matters is greatly appreciated.
FYI: my SIL works for the post office in Ca. - she refuses to use the postal service! She says they are very careless with packages and letters - she prefers the folks in the brown truck when she has something to send.
Well, I work for them too, and I know UPS and FedEx are not any better, infact, some of our employees used to work for FedEx. Before I went to work there, I did hundreds of trades and ordered numerous orchids from ebay. Only had 2 problems. I didn't recieve my end of a trade once, and the sender didn't respond to emails. Then, once I did not receive my order from ebay, the seller did not do delivery confirmation, and did not remember sending my particular package, so he resent at his expense.
I do know being the person who receives the mail at the back dock and putting it in the machine(letters) that you would be suprised at the crap people do to letters. Do they not teach how to mail a letter in school anymore??? Stamps all over the letter do not go through the machine. Big, things in a flimsy envelpe get ripped up, if I don't catch it before it goes through. Each hamper has about 8,000 pieces of mail, and we cancel about 120,000 pieces a day, that doesn't count the fat letters that have to be hand cancelled. So, I may see 200,000 pieces of mail per day!! So, if someone puts seeds in a plain old envelope, it just might get ripped up!!! Blame that on the sender, what were they thinking?? That's what bubble envelopes are for.
Every once in a while there is a show on the History Channel that follows the path of a letter, it is very interesting, and will give some insight as to why some mail is torn up, and lost.
They might have the same people, but they pay up.
I had this problem also.I had a guy that said he did not receive my package with was a large trade.I remember because I had about 10 trades to get out and I had to dig the Cannes,garlic,onions and lots more and put my only Calf. Poppy in there with seeds etc.I try to ship good bulbs,Plants,Seeds and all others,Anyway the person wanted the things shipped with me telling them it was 100 here.So I shipped and he said he never received Package.So I told them I had my daughter's wedding reception and had to go out of town and maybe by the time I got home it would be cooler.The guy dmailed me because he seen me trading but it was for things to be shipped at a later date.The co op.They were real rude to me and started saying I called them a liar.I have Stamp.com so I went a head and gave comfirm # Then he called me a liar because he could not find the package tracking #.Which I had emailed and called for a pick up but did not get packages finished until after their pickup time and had to wait.What do u do in this matter?I told them their plants were shipped and not to bother me anymore.Funny this is only person that did not get their trade.And I never recevied the iron or snake plant.What do u do ?
If it were me, and this is just if it were me LOL, If they are rude and nasty, I would not bother trying to please them more. If they were understanding, and able /willing to work with you, I'd ship again if I had the plants and they would pay shipping the second time around. But me, I don't mess with NASTY folks. There's ways of getting through to folks without being nasty to them.
As a seller, I always ship again if it's lost in the mail even with the dc numbers in my hand, I'm not out the plants becuase I have propogated them, not bought them, and they Repay the shipping costs so I"m not out the postage. we're both happy in the end, but NOT if their nasty. Cause there is just no pleasing folks who can't keep their big mouths to a decent tone. Good luck with what ever you do.
I agree. I would walk away. Some people you just cant please. There is no reason for that kind of talk...and about a plant trade of all things.
I did reship and told them not to bother me anymore.I figured to keep my honor on Dave's,But from now on I ship with confirm # Thanks for reply ?
Its my own feeling that once the box gets into the postal system, it is no longer my responsibility if plants arrive, do not arrive, arrive dead, etc.
I always send viable plants. I always put DC on the box. I usually write LIVE PLANT PLEASE KEEP FROM EXTREME HEAT OR COLD on the box, and I usually write the SPECIES of plant (ex. Alocasia species etc)
Its not my fault if the box gets lost. Its also not my fault if, in spite of good common sense, the postal employee delivers the box and leaves it in the hot sun all day long til someone comes home from work.
I had this happen recently on a trade I made from another site. The person was willing to trade for an unrooted cutting, but being the nice person I am, I actually found 2 well rooted pieces to send to them. I had to bareroot them to make them legal to ship, but I wrapped them in very wet sphagnum moss, then in paper towels, then in plastic bags to hold in the wet moss. I wrote the usual please don;t leave in the heat on the box, but....
The postman left the box on the person's porch in full baking sun where it sat for hours. He claimed the plants were dead and not salvageable because they "dried out". Well DUH. He wanted me to send more plants at my expense. I refused. I have no idea if this guy will trash my rep on that site, and frankly, I could care less. I have a lot more pressing things to concern me than his displeasure.
Excuse me.....that simply is not my responsibility that the USPS baked the plants. Take it up with the postal carrier.
I am sorry it happened, but, #1 I sent more than what I promised to send the FIRST time and #2 I don;t have any more of that plant I can send and #3 I just feel its not up to me to replace what someone else ruined
There has to be a certain amount of expectation that "stuff happens" in plant trades. After all you are shipping a perishable thing, and its to be expected that sometimes things go south.
I did everything I could to be certain that the plants made it in a viable, good condition. I couldn't have done anymore.
Of course this is a different issue than plants you paid for not arriving, but its also something that happens probably with regularity
That will be the last time I reship plants,It cost me about 60 bucks I do not have to spend.Now on I use Stamps.com and I have free confirm # They give me free 10 dollars in stamp a month so it cost me 7.99 to pay for service and no post office rides a few times week.I told everyone while it was hot I would not ship plants.But the rest of the trades made it fine.I just will not trade again with this person.I even posted on plant trading and seed and ask if anyone received extras which I send extras any way but not 20 plants extra .It is over now.Learn from your mistakes
I use usps.com free delivery confirmation and discount for each time I ship on line, but I like the l0.00 a month better.