So, last Saturday I had a bit of Post Office drama. And I did it entirely to myself. Uggggghh.
It was a busy day (youngest had basketball, oldest had a cub scout service project), so it was afternoon by the time we were back home and I got around to packaging my sales up for the day. (I like to ship every day – including Saturdays and Sundays! Shipping is my least favorite part, and I get cranky about it if I get too far behind.) I had quite a few sales to package up, and the last pick-up time at my Post Office on Saturdays is 3:45 p.m. I got everything packaged up, the last sale being from Amazon (merchant fulfilled, something I had listed long ago), and headed to the PO, getting there right at 3:45. So far, so good.
When we got back home I went back to my computer to respond to a couple Best Offers that I had received but hadn’t had time to look over. My Amazon seller’s account was still up on my screen, and I noticed it said that I had one item that still needed to be shipped. That made me pause. How strange. Was it possible I had sold something else on Amazon? Ha, if only.
I looked at the screen some more (I rarely ship from Amazon, and am not very familiar with the layout), and could tell that it was saying that I had not yet shipped the package that I had JUST dropped off at the PO! How could that be? And then I realized . . . uh oh . . . dang.it.anyway! There are two buttons that I could select when getting ready to print a shipping label. The one on the bottom of the screen that says something like “confirm and purchase shipping” and one on the top that says something like “print test label”. Wanna guess which one I chose? Yeah, not the right one.
So of course I was immediately worried. What will happen? My package doesn’t have actual shipping on it! What should I do? The package has already been dropped off at the PO! Argh.
I pulled up local PO phone numbers on my computer, and every PO in my town listed a local phone number EXCEPT the one I use, which only listed a 1-800 #. Why???
Feeling a bit desperate I printed out the correct shipping label, loaded my boys back into our car, and head back to the PO. I could see employees moving around in the back, even though our PO isn’t open to the public on Saturdays. I banged on the door to their work area several times. No response. I tried looking up the local phone number for the PO again. For some reason on my phone it came right up, so I called! I was in in the lobby of the Post Office, and could hear the phone ringing on their end in the back somewhere. Someone answered! Hooray! I explained that I had mailed a package and it had the wrong label on it, and the employee said he would be right out. Double hooray!
The worker came out and opened up the drop bin. There was only one package in it, and he just handed it to me. This was a bit disturbing, because it wasn’t my package. His willingness to assume that it was mine and just hand it over was disconcerting. But not my focus right now, so I didn’t really dwell on it. I explained that I dropped off my package earlier right at the final pick-up time, about printing the test label, blah blah blah, he knew just the package I was talking about because he had already set it aside to return to sender. He got it for me, I took off the test label, put on the real label, and handed it back to the postal worker. An hour wasted, but other than that all I felt was success! Problem solved, and I didn’t have to dwell on it the next few days, wondering where oh where the package might be.
Anybody else have any eBay or PO drama that’s come about totally of their own accord? I could use a chuckle. (Insert face/palm here!)
Lorrraine says
November 30, 2015 at 1:26 amI’m so happy that story had a happy ending! I remember once begging a postal employee to take my package in after the counter closed. Thank goodness he did. My new post office has a big drop bin for large packages so I can leave them before and after counter hours, but sometimes it’s jammed shut like on Monday mornings because it’s full. I always worry my package will get stuck halfway through the shoot. Luckily that hasn’t happened.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 30, 2015 at 10:37 amI always put my packages in the drop bins in the lobby if they will fit (most do). This time of year the bins do fill up quickly though, and then there’s a place on the counter inside the PO people will leave packages if they don’t want to wait in line. I don’t love leaving my packages there, but do it from time to time. It can be like a precarious game of backwards Jenga, trying to get your packages shoved into the overflowing stack without it all coming tumbling down.
Julie says
November 30, 2015 at 5:21 amI dropped off my packages only to come home to the last label I printed still at the printer. I dropped off a package with no label.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 30, 2015 at 10:38 amOh no! Were you able to track it down/get it back?
Julie says
December 2, 2015 at 4:08 amYes, I ran back with my label and they help me find it
Kari @ She Thrifts says
December 2, 2015 at 9:40 amOh, good! Glad it worked out okay.
Fonda Rush says
December 1, 2015 at 7:20 amI hope you remember to put something inside the package that has your address and the address to where it is being shipped. That way, if they can’t determine where it is to go from the outside, they might open the package at some point to see if there is a packing slip inside. Whew! That was a close one!
Kari @ She Thrifts says
December 1, 2015 at 7:56 amUnless the buyer specifically asks me not to (which happens every once in awhile), I do make sure to include a packing slip for exactly that reason!
Margaret @ Live Like No One Else says
December 1, 2015 at 6:28 pmHow awesome that you were able to get someone to open the door for you and you took care of the problem immediately. That was pretty good luck!
Margaret @ Live Like No One Else recently posted…Recent Ebay Sales and what’s been happening.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
December 2, 2015 at 9:38 amI know! Saved me from worrying about it for the rest of the weekend.
Linda says
December 3, 2015 at 12:05 amHow weird is it that the day I read this post on your blog, the exact same thing happened to me? The only problem was I discovered the label that was not on the package late at night after my husband had already dropped the box. He went back the next morning to see if they had a box of the label and they said they did not. I was perplexed and wondered was I crazy? Then as I made a second call to the post office that day to see if they have my package and they were telling me I would have to contact the good mail center in Atlanta. Literally while I was on the phone with them, the secretary buzzed my classroom and said an odd package had been delivered and did I attempt to msil something from there earlier. Since I scavenge for boxes at work, it still had the school’s address on the box (I hDnt marked through it yet) and they “re” delivered it. Needless to say I was embarrassed, but very grateful to accept this package. They didn’t ask for postage either! I absolutely couldn’t believe my blessed conclusion to my dilemma.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
December 3, 2015 at 8:06 pmWow, glad that worked out in the end! Lucky it still had the school address on it, and that the secretary thought to check with you.
Linda says
December 3, 2015 at 12:06 amSorry, I didn’t read my errors! We asked the post office about a box without a label, and I was told to call the dead mail center in Atlanta.