USPS First Class

[papermoon.lady]

Hi,

Do you know if there is a way to track a USPS First Class Parcel once it left the USA? I have ordered 3-4 USPS First Class parvels over the last couple of months and the tracking always ends in the USA. It took one week for all of them to arrive, and I have been waiting for this for about 10 days, which is not much, I know, and I guess still normal, but I would really like to know where it is.

Maybe the seller would have to choose a more expensive USPS option (First Class is the cheapest one) for the parcel to be trackable in Australia too?

Thanks

[papermoon.lady]

I wouldn't wait 60 days anyway because then I can't even get my money back through Paypal...

I do think that NY might be busier than other airports because NY is the heart of commerce. I was there once and it was really chaotic - so much traffic!

Anyway, if it doesn't arrive, I will contact the seller after 4 weeks and Paypal after 5....

[xena-and-alex]

Expense wise Priority and Express are the worst options.

[papermoon.lady]

Yes, but if you have bought a very expensive item you will want to spend a little bit more for peace of mind.

[lyndal1838]

mariq, have you ever compared the cost of First Class airmail with the Priority or Express options?  It is not a little bit more...it is at least 4 times the cost.

[papermoon.lady]

I know... I had to give up some things I really loved because of that. 9 dollars the item and 40 P&H for example 😞 But I meant if somebody buys something really expensive, like 2-3000 dollars.

Some sellers prefer the more expensive options because they are better trackable, although some still prefer the cheapest one because they sell more I think even if some then complain they didn't get the item. I mean, if P&H is 4 times as much as the price of the item, most international buyers will look for something else...

[papermoon.lady]

I searched a little bit on the net and I haven't found a single thread where people were happy with USPS (even the expensive options). As a matter of fact, all people were very unhappy. Some parcels have not only been delivered to the wrong address, even the wrong country! I am also still waiting for the small parcel from England by the way...

[lyndal1838]

Mariq, it is most unlikely that you will even find anyone posting praise for an organisation on an internet forum.

That is the nature of internet forums.

If you read these ebay boards you could be forgiven for thinking that using ebay and paypal is fraught with danger. There is nothing to be seen but problems.

But a very small proportion of ebayers even know about the boards and only come here when there is a problem.  There are millions of transactions going through every day with no problem at all.

I have had nearly 10,000 transactions on ebay with only a couple of real disasters where I have been out of pocket and I have never come to the boards to ask a question.

Multiply my experiences by several million and you will see that, despite what you read here, ebay is really quite safe.

[papermoon.lady]

This is actually true too. When I first signed up for eBay I bought a couple of things and everything went well, then I read somewhere that more than 40% of Aussies didn't get their items from eBay. More than 40%! So I stayed away from it for a few years... But in retrospective, I don't know, they must have really interviewed the wrong people or something... It sounds unlikely even a few years back that more than 40% didn't get their stuff....

[papermoon.lady]

There is an item I like (in the US) that has Priority Mail as the default shipping option and I asked the seller if he would also send it with First Class, and he was nice, he said it's fine, but that he is not responsible if the parcel gets lost... What would you do??

I understand sellers' reluctance to post with FC because there is no insurance, I guess that's why most sellers select Priority Mail as a default option for shipping, but somehow I feel insecure...

[lyndal1838]

Mariq, I would not think twice...use the First Class option.  If your seller is agreeable it is his problem if it does not arrive.

Probably 99% of my US purchases are sent First Class and the only ones that have gone missing have been proved to have gone missing in the USA....just 2 purchases in probably 8000 transactions.

I am married to a Canadian who has family also living in the USA. We have NEVER used anything but First Class in over 40 years and nothing has gone missing in all that time.