Package not delivered... has this ever happened to you?

[Tucs]

So I ordered two of the baroque akoya strands from the PP April special ten days ago, one white and one blue. I was so excited to receive them! these would have been my first akoyas ever. I live in Canada and I had it shipped via USPS as I always do. I was tracking the package using the online tracking tools and it showed as "delivered" on Thursday, April 23 at 3:40pm in the tracking system, but when I was able to go back home an hour later there was no PP package there. There was some other package (something else I had ordered) and some mail, but no PP package. I looked everywhere but it was nowhere to be found. The day after, that is yesterday, there was no mail delivered.

So I waited 24 hours and then contacted Canada Post. They say the package appears as delivered, and that they are "documenting my concern", but that it is PP and USPS that are responsible for a package not being actually received by me. I also contacted PP because according to Canada Post it is only the sender who can launch an investigation. The person I talked to at PP said they are contacting USPS but she does not think USPS will have that much information regarding the delivery since their system shows the package as "Customs Clearance".

I am heartbroken, anyone has gone through anything similar?? I just have no idea what happened, I have had dozens if not hundreds of packages delivered to my current house without ever a problem... I don't know what else I can do.

 

[ltlmsmfft]

Hugs to you! That totally sucks. Do you think it could have been stolen? I got a PO box years ago when I started ordering more and more items online because I am not home to get them and was afraid of theft. Now, all my packages are delivered to locked boxes or if they are too big they are held at the Post Office till I can safely pick them up.

 

[ennui]

Sometimes packages are misdelivered, and an honest person will turn them back in for correct delivery. I hope this happens to you. The outside of the box doesn't indicate what is inside, so there's hope.

 

[Tucs]

Thank you ltlmsmfft. If it was delivered, it is theoretically possible that someone took it in the hour between delivery and me getting home but smaller packages can't be seen from the street. Also why would they take a package and leave the other one? Again possible, but isn't it a bit weird?

Thanks ennui. Yes, I did think about that -- I got a box for the neighbours next house once by mistake and this could have been the case here, but it's been two days now, wouldn't they have noticed by now?

I'm really depressed

 

[icy_jade]

Oh no. I hope they are found soon. Poor thing. Hugs.

 

[Bailey1856]

I've had it happened Tucs where it said "delivered" for a couple of days but actually not. When I tracked it the third day it said "out for delivery" again so maybe wait until Monday and do another tracking.

 

[Tucs]

Thanks icy jade.

Thanks Bailey -- you know, it didn't say "out for delivery" at any point. In fact I thought it'd be delivered on Friday precisely because Thursday morning it didn't say "out for delivery". With previous packages I always saw an "out for delivery" tracking message the day of delivery (then perhaps it was just a coincidence). I will definitely check on Monday. Thanks, I don't want to be too hopeful, but that makes me feel a bit better.

 

[seaurchin]

I'm in the US but have had a few strange things happen with deliveries, a very small percentage of the time.

A few years ago, I ordered a large jewelry box that was never delivered, though marked as delivered. I called the company and they sent me a new one. I was happy, of course, but surprised it was that easy.

Another time, I sent a friend some gold earrings for her birthday, and she got the package but the earrings had been removed. I think that time I didn't want to bother with it and just sent her another gift.

I sent another friend a Christmas gift and she called six months later to thank me for the gift. She wondered what it was for. I told her to check the postmark and yes, the package had been misplaced somehow for six months, then delivered.

I hope it works out for you. I would think the packages were insured?

 

[baby nurse]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Tucs ! There's still a very good chance it will make its way to your house though. I've had something similar happen to me twice. Once tracking said it was delivered but it was still at the post office, and after several phone calls, they *found* it and I was able to come and pick it up. The second time, it was delivered to another address, in another state. That one was more complicated as all I had for the delivery address was the zip code; it took hours of phone calls and detective work, but in the end I got my pearls. Keeping my fingers crossed that you will too!

 

[pregcurious]

I once sold a thermometer on eBay and it never appeared at the recipient's address. I just refunded the seller, and I never followed up because I think USPS required that I wait a certain period of time. I had tracking on it, and it just got stuck in the middle part.

Tucs, I hope it appears.

 

[Lovinggems]

Some dust your way and hopefully it will turn up!

 

[Pearlescence]

When an item is being tracked that usually means it will need a signature for delivery - either you or the sender can ask to see the electronic signature- Does your postman have one of those handheld electronic signature things?. I sometimes suspect that a very few postmen who are in a hurry simply drive past, say they have left a card and press a delivery attempted button then head back to base.
Usually signed for stuff is insured as well, but yes, the sender/seller is the liable person if it is lost. Has to claim the insurance and replace.
It happens. In fact shipping is the bad in online. It's probably why Amazon thinks wistfully of drone delivery!

 

[Lovinggems]

I like the sound of drone delivery! Let's extend that service to takeaways as well.

 

[NacreLover]

Have you checked all your doors? I've had them leave things in very odd places. Once on a shelf in the carport.

 

[Pearlescence]

Surely not if they need a signature, nacrelover?

 

[Tucs]

I'm in the US but have had a few strange things happen with deliveries, a very small percentage of the time.

A few years ago, I ordered a large jewelry box that was never delivered, though marked as delivered. I called the company and they sent me a new one. I was happy, of course, but surprised it was that easy.

Another time, I sent a friend some gold earrings for her birthday, and she got the package but the earrings had been removed. I think that time I didn't want to bother with it and just sent her another gift.

I sent another friend a Christmas gift and she called six months later to thank me for the gift. She wondered what it was for. I told her to check the postmark and yes, the package had been misplaced somehow for six months, then delivered.

I hope it works out for you. I would think the packages were insured?

Thanks sea urchin. I'm glad at least sometimes lost packages do turn up. I don't think I can reorder $800 of value for a total of $1,600 -- it's a lot of money but also thinking about it makes me more depressed.
I'm not sure if it was insured; that's a good point. I will have to ask PP if that's the kind of shipping they get because I don't know.

 

[Tucs]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Tucs ! There's still a very good chance it will make its way to your house though. I've had something similar happen to me twice. Once tracking said it was delivered but it was still at the post office, and after several phone calls, they *found* it and I was able to come and pick it up. The second time, it was delivered to another address, in another state. That one was more complicated as all I had for the delivery address was the zip code; it took hours of phone calls and detective work, but in the end I got my pearls. Keeping my fingers crossed that you will too!

Wow baby nurse, I never heard of something like that, that's great you were able to recover them. I did go to my local post office and the guy there checked his computer and told me what I already knew, that it was marked as delivered at 3:40pm the day before in the system.

The lady from Canada Post I spoke to on the phone also said the system doesn't tell them the address it was delivered to -- just the area, and that is my area. So she couldn't confirm it was delivered at my house. I have no idea how it could be tracked if this is all the info they have. There is no signature required here for most packages so maybe it's that.

 

[Tucs]

I once sold a thermometer on eBay and it never appeared at the recipient's address. I just refunded the seller, and I never followed up because I think USPS required that I wait a certain period of time. I had tracking on it, and it just got stuck in the middle part.

Tucs, I hope it appears.

Thank you, pregcurious. That was nice of you to refund. Here they say wait 24 hours before saying something which is what I did.

 

[Tucs]

Some dust your way and hopefully it will turn up!

Thanks lovinggems! Thank you everyone for your kind words, too.

 

[Tucs]

When an item is being tracked that usually means it will need a signature for delivery - either you or the sender can ask to see the electronic signature- Does your postman have one of those handheld electronic signature things?. I sometimes suspect that a very few postmen who are in a hurry simply drive past, say they have left a card and press a delivery attempted button then head back to base.
Usually signed for stuff is insured as well, but yes, the sender/seller is the liable person if it is lost. Has to claim the insurance and replace.
It happens. In fact shipping is the bad in online. It's probably why Amazon thinks wistfully of drone delivery!

Thanks pearlescence -- actually no signature is required for most of the packages I get. The Canada Post person confirmed it was a "no signature required" package. I think it's the default here.

 

[Tucs]

Have you checked all your doors? I've had them leave things in very odd places. Once on a shelf in the carport.

Yes, I did! Thanks NacreLover. The other thing is there was another package waiting for me so I suppose if it had been delivered, it would have been in the same place. But I did check everywhere several times and will do again on Monday.

 

[NacreLover]

Surely not if they need a signature, nacrelover?

Not all items from Pearl Paradise require signatures. There is a price limit I believe.

 

[ckrickett]

Stuff like this happens to me ALL THE TIME I live on a street at a dead end and the street turns off and the road name changes for the last 3 houses. I am on that strip so I have 2 addresses for the same place . I also live on a large lot (for our area) and My husband and I have one house and on the same lot but deeper in is my MIL house and we live behind our own gate (like a mini compound) so there are 2 different house numbers, so all together we have 4 addresses (and just 1 mail box, but house numbers are clearly marked). Our postmen and delivery men are lazy so they will say it's un deliverable even though its perfectly fine OR they leave the package in front of the gate for people to take or cars to run over! UGH DH and I camped out in lawn chairs all day when we were waiting for our 2 computers from apple to arrive. We were not risking that much money.

I feel you. I would call your post, and maybe even ask your neighbors if they received it. They may have gotten it and have not gotten around to giving it to you (had that with a christmas present. Neighbor got our package, and went out of town for 2 weeks and gave it to us when they got back) ALSO if it is insured jump on that claim FAST!

 

[Pirard]

I think pp does ship with insurance. I've had this happen a few times, with the packages showing up in odd locations (apartment building 2 miles down the road; neighbor's home; marked as undeliverable sitting in the Post Office). It also happened with a PP package that was sent via UPS. Turned out the local UPS driver somehow changed the address on my package and indicated it had been delivered. I called UPS and had them pull the package (if you get to them before 7pm the package will still be in the local handling facility, which in my case is one town over). For whatever reason the UPS driver pasted another address label over the original PP label. It was odd to say the least, and not to be suspicious, but probably not a driver with a long career with UPS. Anyway, it did show up at the handling facility and I received my gorgeous pearls. I hope yours shows up tomorrow.

 

[Tucs]

Thanks ckrickett and Pirard. Well I'm glad to hear in many cases packages are eventually found. We'll see what happens, but I think I will stay home all afternoon and jump on the delivery guy when he comes by... If nothing shows up tomorrow I will ask about insurance. Thanks again everyone, I feel better after sharing and hearing about similar experiences.

 

[pearlsngems]

I hope your lovely pearls turn up soon!

We sometimes get mail for people whose street name is nothing like ours but has the same street number. Usually I just put it back in the mailbox with the flag up for the mail carrier to take and redirect; occasionally I drive over to the address of the intended recipient and hand deliver it.

 

[Bailey1856]

I've been following this thread hoping for good news. I just wanted to say I've never had anything lost by Canadapost. I've had delays but never lost. In some ways i'm glad we have a community mailbox because my mail is locked up. The only time they come knocking on my door is if they need a signature or i have to pay duty.
I was thinking about how else you can get your money back if worse comes to worst. In addition to PP's insurance your cc must have purchase protection. Please keep us updated. I'm really hoping for a happy ending here.

 

[BWise]

So sorry to hear that! There is still hope.

I've had a Fedex package showing "Delivered" when not. I tracked it down to their local office. They were not sorry at all. Filed a BBB complaint, but they have many complaints already.

Have you asked your postal service who was on your mail route that day? Your regular mailman or another person?

Once my mailman left a note in my mailbox saying nobody was home to receive the package, while I was just sitting inside watching him drive away... Apparently he was too lazy to walk up to my front door and knock. I called the postal office and they delivered it the following day.

Cannot wait for the drone delivery...

 

[EvangelineG]

I hope your pearls arrived safely today Tucs! How stressful!

 

[cmd2014]

I've had Canada Post say things were delivered that were actually out for delivery (over a couple of days apparently). So I'm hoping that your parcel is just late and not lost! But I also have a community mailbox, so I've never had anything left at the door.

I would imagine that PP insures what they send out though, so that if something doesn't make it to you, no-one ends up being out of pocket. Seems to me someone else here on the board had something go MIA in the mail, and PP replaced it with something similar (it was a one of a kind item IIRC from the connoisseur sale, so it couldn't be exactly replaced, but they did a nice job with a substitute).