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Pony Talk => Off Topic => Topic started by: Seachanger on December 22, 2016, 09:45:31 AM

Title: Mail mishaps
Post by: Seachanger on December 22, 2016, 09:45:31 AM
I've been really surprised how all of the things I ordered for the holidays online came to me on time (or early) and in tact. I really can't believe my luck. I've had some mail mishaps before. One year I had a package from my mom accidentally delivered to an old neighbor who opened it and unwrapped all the presents before realizing it was for me. Another time I got a book in a box that was run over by the delivery truck. The box had tire marks on it and the book was very squished. I also had a pony shipped to me in a cracker box wrapped in newspaper. Against all odds the pony made it to me, it was just peeking out of the box a little.

Tell me about your mail luck!
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Koudoawaia on December 22, 2016, 09:54:35 AM
Well while I've usually had mail luck and have things arrive perfectly on time and in perfect condition, two things I ordered this year arrived late. One was a week late and the other was 8 days late.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: wystearya on December 22, 2016, 09:54:54 AM
Sorry, but I am laughing a bit about your book getting run over by the truck!  *ha ha*

One of my funniest was I ordered a fish tank from I think Petsmart or maybe Petco, I got the fish tank.. But I also got a random litter box sent to me as well.  This was a big litter box too, with a lid. Not sure why they thought I needed it.  LOL

It was not a freebie or anything either, as I called them to ask.  It was just a total mistake.  I was not charged for it.  Just random. 
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Leave a Whisper on December 22, 2016, 10:58:40 AM
Your book got ran over? That's an outrage!

The last bad thing that happened, is that someone stole my boyfriend's gift outta my mailbox. The post office showed it delivered and everything. I was furious.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Miniature Sheep on December 22, 2016, 11:38:10 AM
I've been awash with mail luck lately, which is especially awesome as I've been picking up things from overseas for the holidays and even for people's birthdays that are shortly after! Books I've ordered from America have been very quick arriving, I normally have to wait a whole 2 weeks before anything arrives from across the pond but one of them turned up within 5 days - they must've put some caffeine in that one! That said, I also had a little mishap in that a crystal, shipped from Manchester (I could literally have gone and picked it up in person) somehow ended up taking about 11 days to arrive. At least it's here now, even if it wasn't on time.

It's funny you should mention the box being run over by the truck, twice in one week the managers at my place of work were contacted about parcels that had fallen out of the courier's van - fortunately they were found before they were damaged! Still, the couriers got a stern talking to, a toy company in the run-up to Christmas really can't be messing around with misplaced parcels and resends - there just isn't time! Also I'd hate to see my handiwork being ruined (my job is to prepare the parcels for the courier services and I make sure they're protected with a vengeance but a car tyre might be a bit much for them!) D:
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Seachanger on December 22, 2016, 07:08:35 PM
Sorry, but I am laughing a bit about your book getting run over by the truck!  *ha ha*

One of my funniest was I ordered a fish tank from I think Petsmart or maybe Petco, I got the fish tank.. But I also got a random litter box sent to me as well.  This was a big litter box too, with a lid. Not sure why they thought I needed it.  LOL

It was not a freebie or anything either, as I called them to ask.  It was just a total mistake.  I was not charged for it.  Just random. 

Your litter box incident reminded me of a Christmas maybe five years ago when I ordered a plush from build a bear for my daughter and they sent me two of the same thing. I called them to let them know and they wanted me to return the extra one as soon as possible or they would charge me for it. It was the week before Christmas and I had to deal with getting it shipped back. I wasn't too happy about that.

Yay for everyone's good luck!!
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Tulips on December 23, 2016, 01:40:19 AM
I recently ordered some ear spacers from eBay and the seller sent me a taper in the wrong size instead of a plug. I asked for a partial refund (because the other item in my order was correct) but instead they gave me a full refund and then blocked me! A bit rude if you ask me, wish I'd noticed I was blocked before I gave them positive feedback (for refunding promptly).  :huh: Oh well, found someone else to buy my missing plug from. :P

The good luck was that another eBay order had an estimated delivery date in February. Well, it got delivered today :lol:
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Duenia on December 23, 2016, 07:32:43 AM
I had a package get crushed recently. Luckily nothing breakable was in that end of the box.

My mom was totally hoping that it meant she'd be able to open her xmas present early though. But alas I told her no  ;)
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Taffeta on December 23, 2016, 07:57:02 AM
That said, I also had a little mishap in that a crystal, shipped from Manchester (I could literally have gone and picked it up in person) somehow ended up taking about 11 days to arrive.
This reminds me of a trade I did with a Jem friend who lives in Stoke a long time ago. Stoke is about an hour and a half by train from my family home, including train changes. She sent her box to me and it never came. A week went by. A second week. She went to the PO to file a complaint and it was still sitting there. They had not even sent it out. So she claimed it back, got a refund, and then we arranged to meet up and she brought it in person instead xD. Royal Mail sometimes have spasms o.O.

I've also had lots of boxes turn up and then the tracking information says its still in the US or wherever after it has arrived with me. That's always fun.

Back in 2003, when I graduated for the first time, G3 was just out in the US and about to come out here. I wanted Rainbow Dash to graduate with as she was closest to my first pony, Windy. Some kind person in the US had a spare one and she said she'd send her to me, which she did. But it never arrived and in the end the friend (above mentioned in Stoke) fluke found the ponies in their TRU so got me a Dash to graduate with in time.

The American Dash came after about five months missing. She'd gone to Canada, California, and eventually made it to the UK. The person who sent her to me told me to keep her. She said that it probably wouldn't ever make it back! So I have her still, MIB, in my cupboard ;)

I also often have issues with one of the US International hubs. Is it Chicago? They constantly send parcels that are meant to come here to Canada. I feel bad for the people in Canadian customs who have to look at it and send it back with a sigh.

And last but not least, obviously the ponies I sent to Nella last summer, that took a detour to Holland via China. Thankfully it was tracked. Thankfully the Chinese are more efficient than the British, and it ended up, eventually, at Nella's address ;) The amusing part being that the ponies in question were all...made in China ;)
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Dragonflitter on December 28, 2016, 01:52:17 PM
Oh! This thread is so awesome. I love complaining about the mail! XD

Most of my complaints are because I work at a small business and I mail out some informational books to people, and sometimes I have the most ridiculous issues with getting the post office to deliver them!

One time I tried to mail something to a town 'kennebunkport' and when I was typing out the address label, I accidentally left off the 'port' on the end, so the town said 'Kennebunk'. Now keep in mind the zip code was perfectly correct, but because of those 4 missing letters, the package came back as undeliverable! -_- I would have assumed they would use the zip code to make sure it got where it needed to go....

Just past week I had a street address that my assistant typed out as '39 landlock street' when it should have been '39 lockland street.' That one got returned too. Okay, that one I can understand, although it seems like it would be close enough for them to figure out...

This last one takes the cake though. Last month I had a package sent to someone and my assistant typed out the address as '25 High Rock Lane.' It came back as undelivered and I couldn't understand why. Finally called the person who ordered it and it turns out the correct address is '25 High Roc Lane.' Yes, you are reading this correctly. The post office returned a package because we accidentally added an extra 'k' to one word!  :hmm:
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: zombienixon on December 28, 2016, 02:43:39 PM
I once tried to trade some of my old Pokemon cards to someone here who is in Australia for some G3s. The Post Office sent it to Austria. Then it went back to New York, and then went back and forth two more times and the last I heard of it, it was in Vienna. I don't think it went any farther because there isn't a &!@#ing Queensland in Austria! 

Post Merge: December 28, 2016, 02:46:11 PM

One of my funniest was I ordered a fish tank from I think Petsmart or maybe Petco, I got the fish tank.. But I also got a random litter box sent to me as well.  This was a big litter box too, with a lid. Not sure why they thought I needed it.  LOL

Maybe they thought you had catfish.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: kestral_kitsune on December 28, 2016, 06:18:00 PM
wanted to try some new gluten free food that I can't get in my area so went and ordered. got a notice saying it was delivered and came home to nothing. Someone up and made off with my box of food and none of the neighbors had seen anything was freaking mad since it was an $80 purchase with out shipping and would have lasted me the month.

other one I got a book delivered and put in our package box  but the mail person didn't put the key in my mail box so I didn't know I had a package until I randomly checked the package boxes to see if there was anything in them two weeks later.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: invaderhorizongreen on December 28, 2016, 06:46:17 PM
I once had a fabric and plastic lap desk stolen of my porch, to bad to the thief. The box was exactly like a lap top!   :lol: :lol: :lol: :devious: :devious: :devious:
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: SwordPony on December 28, 2016, 06:57:46 PM
I've had the worst luck out of my mail lady. My packages will come to the local post office then they will ride around in the back of her car for days. I've also had her leave a very expensive birthday present for my Husband just sitting up against the mailbox. 

Both UPS and FedEx are great. The UPS guy even lets me open packages in front of him. He will take them and make claims on my behalf if the item is damaged.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Noxxbunny on December 28, 2016, 07:13:37 PM
I've had the worst luck out of my mail lady. My packages will come to the local post office then they will ride around in the back of her car for days. I've also had her leave a very expensive birthday present for my Husband just sitting up against the mailbox. 

Both UPS and FedEx are great. The UPS guy even lets me open packages in front of him. He will take them and make claims on my behalf if the item is damaged.

Lol, I'm in the total opposite situation. Our mailman is terrific and will stay if I need to open a package in front of him. Fedex and UPS will just chuck the packages on the porch(because 99% of the time there is already outer damage) and will then run for it. Though there is one UPS guy we sometimes get and he's very nice. Actually waits for us to answer the door and he even brings treats for the dogs.

The only mail mishaps I've had are when something gets routed in a really roundabout way and then pops up at my doorstep suddenly. *knocks on wood*
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: plushroo on December 28, 2016, 09:02:59 PM
I usually have good mail luck, but recently I had two different parcels arrive at the mail depot in my state and then nothing. The tracking stops there. Luckily, the sellers have been very good working with me on trying to locate the parcels. One has already refunded me because they told me it was shipped priority to get to me quicker, but for some reason, it's not showing anything after the 7th of December. I've since ordered a replacement of one of the items and got it, but still kind of peeved that the postal service managed to lose two separate parcels from two separate sellers!
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Mewtwofan1 on December 28, 2016, 09:17:27 PM
I haven't had any bad luck with mail, but the mail service in Canada is pretty okay. They don't just drop the parcel and run, and they actually try to keep the parcel dry and with minimal damage. Not to mention the mail lady is nice, and understands my excitement with pony filled packages.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Galactica on December 29, 2016, 02:22:40 PM
My mail luck is usually pretty great considering all of the thousands of packages that I receive and send - But I have had a couple of terrible mishaps burned into my memory.

The worst one- was after I found a crispy gorgeous NRFB Blueberry Muffin Blow Kiss baby on Mercadolivre-  I bought her and the person didn't even put the doll into a box. She just wrapped the vintage package in PAPER and mailed it.  Cardboard packaging in Brazil is VERY THIN and since it was 30 years old... honestly it's amazing that the package arrived at all. 

Here's what I bought- absolutely pristine
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And here is the box I received- AFTER I tried to push it back into shape  :cry:

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I had another terrible incident too where someone bought my most rare and lovely Lady Lovelylocks dolls, and I carefully packaged everything up into a large box.  The buyer wanted to underdeclare (the Netherlands has a very steep tax) but the box did go by priority.  I watched as the tracking showed the package go to the major sorting center- and then never move.  It just disappeared.  The USPS people were absolutely useless and nobody could help us.  The box never resurfaced again.  Indemnity only covered the amount declared plus shipping.  Not even a fraction of the value.

I still have this hope that one day the box will surface- but the box wasn't little, it was huge. So it seems unlikely it just got miss-sorted.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Leave a Whisper on December 29, 2016, 03:57:33 PM
I once tried to trade some of my old Pokemon cards to someone here who is in Australia for some G3s. The Post Office sent it to Austria. Then it went back to New York, and then went back and forth two more times and the last I heard of it, it was in Vienna. I don't think it went any farther because there isn't a &!@#ing Queensland in Austria! 

Post Merge: December 28, 2016, 02:46:11 PM

One of my funniest was I ordered a fish tank from I think Petsmart or maybe Petco, I got the fish tank.. But I also got a random litter box sent to me as well.  This was a big litter box too, with a lid. Not sure why they thought I needed it.  LOL

Maybe they thought you had catfish.

 :biggrin: haha catfish!
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: Dragonflitter on December 29, 2016, 05:32:48 PM
That's awful Galactica. :( So sorry.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: lolaandbean on December 30, 2016, 07:44:29 AM
My husband ordered some magnets. Tiny little package that fit in the mail box. The next day a big huge crate from the same company was delivered. He wasn't home so I accepted the package wondering what the world he had ordered. The company accidentally shipped us a generator. Poor UPS driver had to come back and pick it up again.

The packages I ordered for everyone else arrived fine. I had no luck with the stuff I ordered for myself. It's been 2 weeks and 1 hasn't been shipped. The other 2 arrived reeking of cigarette smoke.
Title: Re: Mail mishaps
Post by: lostpony on December 31, 2016, 01:47:59 PM
Amazon says much of the stuff I ordered for myself for xmas is out for delivery today....hope some makes it here!

I ordered Gypsy this week on eBay and she arrived yesterday Yay!  she's right here right now.

When I was in high school I ordered a dox matrix printer and its color kit, and they shipped me the printer and then another one arrived, but no color kit...instead of shipping the color kit they shipped a second printer (worth a lot more than the color kit).  I wrestled with dishonesty then called them up and had them pick it up and send me the right thing.

One time at work a 3.5" disk arrived in an envelope and it had just been put in there without any cardboard or anything, and clearly the width of the disk had stalled the envelope going through a sorting machine and there was a big arc-shaped burn mark that went deep into the disk and we got a good laugh about how they just went ahead and delivered it in that condition anyway.

Slightly off-topic, I once bought a whole bunch of costume jewelry from the 30s from a person on eBay that I got into an argument with, so she smashed the pieces into the little box and they arrived in pure fragments.  Then she gave me negative feedback on my previously perfect record...good times.

Lately when I have a package for pickup at my local post office, they often tell me there is no package and sometimes say the tracking number isn't a tracking number...then I ask to talk to the supervisor and go over to the little half-door on the side and the supervisor always finds it for me.  Once when it had been routed back out for redelivery and I was on my way to work and wanted to get it then, he called the driver, found my package, and setup a place I could rendezvous with the driver on his route, and then I found a different driver first but in a few minutes the right driver happened along and I got my package.

Mailing can be fun.  I hope my toys get delivered today!

Oh I just remembered two more.  Once at work we received a laptop that had been shipped skin-tight in the mailing box with no packaging...needless to say it was no longer working, and months ago I ordered Sunnybunches and tracking showed her going from the East coast to somewhere in southern California, then sitting there for weeks and when I called up about it, they sent herr back to the shipper who had to receive her and re-ship her (without paying again) and this time Sunnybunches arrived in three days.  Her green hair arrived superdry and lots of it broke off when the seller said it wasn't like that before so....I wonder if the hair got cooked in a hot warehouse or something.

Galactica your stories illustrate why it's best to never underpack, and never underdeclare.  I underdeclared a gift to the UK so the recipient wouldn't get socked with customs fees but it's because the stuff was unique and unreplaceable anyway so if it got lost no amount of money would have fixed it.  I also had to send without tracking because the shipping fee was outrageous, and I did a lot of nail-biting for weeks until she said the gift package arrived so I lucked out that time Yaay.

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