Question
I won an item on the 2nd. here is what I got when I "tracked" the item today...
"Track & Confirm
Current Status
You entered 9102 1288 8230 0173 XXXX XX
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper or shipping partner on April 03, 2005 to expect your package for mailing. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later"
.......complete waste of zeros and ones IMHO.
The message I got there yesterday had even less info. The USPS had not yet been notified to expect the package. It's almost funny. Maybe even insulting.
Don't get me wrong, I'm hardly ever in a hurry to get my item, and if I was I wouldn't bug the seller. But I think this tracking system is downright silly! I'd rather receive an email from the seller just stating what day it will ship.
Which would you rather receive?
Answer
We have this discussion in our office daily.
I don't use DC for this very reason. It's not really tracking at all. Most of our packages are not even postmarked. We take them to the post office in large tubs and they just dump them. They don't weigh them, mark them let alone scan them. Nothing, nada zilch!
I get emails monthly asking me where we are really located because their package was postmarked in their own hometown.
So, even if we add DC to an item about 60% of them are only scanned when they are delivered. And yes, you are right, we could stand in line every day and have them scanned. But, I am not willing to add 1 hour a day or pay an extra 1 1/2 hours in labor to our already 24/7 jobs.
I say No to DC because, it just makes your buyer think you haven't sent it yet. By the time it is scanned, they are holding it. Waste waste waste.
And that is not even mentioning the "my item hasn't been shipped emails". Those can go back and forth for days.
Answer
Originally Posted by liveinhope
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper or shipping partner on April 03, 2005 to expect your package for mailing. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later"
I won an item over the weekend that was shipped Monday. I'm getting that same tracking message LOL!
I did receive an email from the seller letting me know it had been shipped, much more helpful to me
Answer
I send everything with DC, but I'd never trust the USPS to send any kind of notices to my customers!
I almost never notify buyers when I ship either, unless I'm late shipping or there's another known problem of any type.
(The exception is personl friends -- I do occasionally notify them. )
Elaine
Answer
I do not mislead my customers into thinking that Delivery Confirmation is some sort of tracking mechanism. It isn't. It confirms delivery, and in my experience (over 5,000 packages sent that way to date) 98% get scanned.
I swear by eDelivery Confirmation, it has saved me a world of aggravaton.
I also send my buyers a notice the day I ship, but do not get too specfic other than to say it has been maled and should arrive "shortly".
I know other sellers have different experiences, but th post office and DC has been almost perfect for my shipments. Then again, I am in a small rural city and the posties usaully enjoy my daily visits since I have lots of funny comments while they process the items.
Larry
Answer
Delivery Confirmation only benefits the seller. I use it to verify delivery but email my customers to let them know when the package was shipped. I do not send them the DC number unless they ask for it.
Answer
grrrrrrrrrrr arrrrrrrrrgh kak fume gdfk blam blam dc dc usps .........!
Answer
I usually ship FedEx, and always send the buyer an email with the tracking number with a link. I also enter the buyer's email in the FedEx form so they can notify them too.
Probably wouldn't do this if I sold a large number of items every day.
I agree bocafossil... when I use DC it's just for my benefit.
When I ship USPS I usually send an email stating I left feedback and their item shipped. Guess I'd just have to quit this if I was shipping hundreds of items a day.
Answer
I am not sure I understand this thread.
The delivery confirm email is usually sent by USPS. It is an automatic feature shipper can select at time of preparing the shipping label via USPS. Since the USPS does not really know if shipment was ever sent, it gives the notice of pending shipment.
If the package does get scan in, there may be some info on the shipment status. However, there are shipments which never show any change in shipping status.
I use this feature on every one of my DC shipment. Saves me the time of having to email a buyer and letting them know shipment went out.
Answer
DC and SC from USPS is the very issue I asked all sellers months ago to write USPS and ask them to modify these services to better serve our community. The DC and SC not being scanned at pickup or counter is a significant issue to sellers. We sellers stand to eat any package lost by USPS prior to delivery and scanning at delivery. And as mentioned, if only 60% are scanned at delivery, then we need to be complaining every time the package is delivered and not scanned. We need online proof of shipment to satisfy customers and eBay and PayPal and prevent many complaints. USPS ignored the few sellers who did ask for this - there weren't enough sellers who asked them for the services to be upgraded.
If USPS doesn't scan the package at delivery and someone steals the package off the buyer's doorstep, the seller eats those losses.
Now, we hear that postal delivery folks aren't even scanning the delivered packages. When that happens, we have no proof of delivery and the buyer can scam the seller by simply checking online to see if their package which arrived is listed as "printed and expected" instead of "delivered". Our only way to fix this is to file USPS complaints every time a package shows printed when the customer tells us the item arrived.
These two issues aren't just a numbers game meaning that if a seller's losses are low, some won't act. The increasing amount of the losses other sellers are reporting should be a proactive cue. The increase will continue until the problems are resolved.