Ordered item online (Ebay) Tracking says "package delivered front door/porch" as of three days ago. It wasn't there. I don't have it. Wasn't a porch pirate-as I was actually outside when my phone pinged about the delivery. I saw the mailman walk away to the next house, but there was no package. I thought it might have been scanned as "delivered" by accident, so I'd give it another day or two. Still not here. Still says delivered.

Today I ran after the mailman and asked him about it. He said he "doesn't remember anything, but it could be somewhere on the next block" ..like..what?!

Said he'd check and come back, but if he didn't find it, there is nothing that can be done and shrugged his shoulders. I was polite and told him thanks, I appreciate you doing that for me. He didn't seem to give a crap, but I still had some hope. He didn't come back.

Also, I had a different mailman knock on my door a few weeks ago and ask me to unlock my mailbox as he accidentally delivered the next block's mail to my address.

Apparently my local USPS delivery people cannot differentiate between my block and the next one over, even though the names are completely different.

Has this ever happened to anyone here...have you ever gotten your mail back in this situation? Should I bother with the 1800 number? I've read so many varying things around the web about what to do/who to contact. Even heard that there is GPS on where the package was delivered, but I don't know who has that information.

My local PO is filled with these workers who are SO unnecessarily NASTY to everyone all the time. Tried calling today and they put me on hold and hung up. I thought it was me being overly sensitive, but the Yelp reviews let me know I'm not alone.

I'm aware of this incident because of tracking, but what if they're delivering letters w/sensitive information of mine to the wrong house that I'll never know about. I'm kinda paranoid about it now 😖

I think I'm SOL, because the tracking in Ebay and Paypal say "delivered" and no matter how I word it, I come off as a scammer. It's an inexpensive item, so I lucked out in that sense; but I am still frustrated...and the system is just built in that you cannot completely avoid USPS for deliveries.

We actually just had this happen with a package from Amazon. Said it was delivered and it wasn't there.

We ended up contacting Amazon and they sent us another, so I'd say it wouldn't hurt to contact Ebay and see if you can get a refund or a new item sent.

Oh wow really? I wish I had ordered from Amazon. They seem to have the best customer care.

I contacted my Ebay seller to ask them about the packaging so I could describe it to the PO (what color boxes they use, if there's a logo on the boxes)

All I got is this tonedeaf canned response...

We are surprised to hear you have not received your package!

USPS/UPS will often mark a package as delivered when it is still in transit to its final destination. Your package may currently be on its way to you, in the USPS offices waiting for pickup or in the process of re-delivery. Please allow an additional 5-7 business days for the package to complete its arrival. We truly thank you for your patience!

This seller is located a few towns over from me...they didn't even answer my question! It seems I'm going to hit a wall from every party involved.

Thank you for sharing your experience w/this! ^_^

Ugh, that's frustrating! Hopefully it shows up in the next week, otherwise I'd just bug them again haha. :D

I used to work for a cell phone insurance company, and pretty regularly a shipped cell phone would never arrive or was stolen after delivery. Try calling the USPS 800 number and filing a claim for a lost/stolen package. That's what we had to do when a customer called in about it.

Sometimes USPS would end up covering the costs for a replacement, especially if it was their fault. UPS was much better at approving lost/stolen claims but occasionally USPS would too. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. I would also call Ebay's 800 number and see what they say.

Oh yeah I've heard some horror stories about the cell phones getting lost/stolen 😱 You must've had to deal w/some angry frustrated people!

Honestly this was an inexpensive item (under $20), so they'll probably laugh at me and consider a claim a waste of time. But if I had to add up all these "small" losses I've chosen to take over the years, it would be a lot of money.

I'm gonna try talking to my local PO again, and if I get nowhere I'll try the 800. Contacting Ebay directly is nearly impossible and a waste of time. I'm gonna stick w/Amazon when I need something now.

Ever since this mailman was assigned to my route everything's been kinda messy tbh. I haven't been getting stuff I won from contests, free samples, and some concert tickets I never got. Luckily ticket companies can deactivate the "lost" ones and send you a replacement tho. Somethin shady is going on. I always get the bills and damn jury duty notices tho lol

Thank you! :)

That really stinks, I hope your package turns up! I've had the same problem a lot in the past, where the carrier couldn't seem to tell the difference between my street and the next one over; it's super frustrating. I've had to go deliver a ton of stuff to my neighbor; no idea if anyone got anything of mine.

I recommend signing up for Informed Delivery so you'll at least be aware of every single letter and parcel you should be receiving...that way, you'll know what you're not getting. Every morning, you get an email with an image of all the mail that should be delivered to you that day. I find it slightly creepy that the USPS is scanning every single piece of mail but they're gonna do it anyway; might as well benefit from it. I've only had one piece of mail go missing since I signed up for this (my ballot, hmm).

It's been over a week and it was only coming from a few towns over. I think it's gone.

See, you're an honest person who does the right thing and I have done the same! It's disheartening to know that our neighbors aren't always the same way though...because honestly, people just love to keep free s***

It's extra frustrating that this mail carrier has a super thick accent and really broken English so communicating with him has proven to be difficult.

I tried signing up for informed delivery but ran into a snag with the verifying your identity part. I forgot what went wrong, but I've lived at this address for 20 years, so I don't know what the issue was.

Thanks!

That's a shame that Informed Delivery isn't working for you. Maybe it's just not available in your area yet.

If stuff looked important I always walked it over to the neighbor, but if it was clearly just junk I wrote DELIVERED TO WRONG ADDRESS really huge on the envelope and stuck it back in my box so the carrier would hopefully notice that they kept screwing up and I reported it a few times because it was getting ridiculous. Finally, a "managed service point" sticker showed up on my mailbox with a barcode that the carrier has to scan every day and I stopped getting so much of the neighbor's mail. I guess it makes them more accountable, or at least makes them pay more attention. Complaining works (sometimes)!

I'm sorry it's probably too late for your lost package though. Hopefully they'll send a replacement.

Are we the same person?! :P I've had the "managed service point" sticker on my mailbox for a few years actually. Strange thing; it was put on there when I had my good mailman. Seeing as how the tracking says "Delivered" in my hometown they are not going to send a replacement and Paypal will not refund because tracking is the "proof" that I have it.

I've been buying on Ebay for 15+ years and I've had some issues, but I've never left a single negative feedback. Pharmapacks think I'm trying to scam them out $15. Their canned auto responses are enough to keep me from returning, regardless of the item's value.

Update:

Ok got some help from the post office today! They looked at the GPS to find out the house it went to; turns out my neighbor got it and tossed it as it arrived damaged and leaking. Apparently a lot of us are getting mail from different houses/blocks, so it's this mailman messing up and I'll have to see what I can do now. I have missing stuff that had no tracking number and I'm sure I'm not alone.

I can't take pictures of the damage, so I'm still out of the item/money..but at least I know what happened to it! :D

Wow, what the actual heck, that's terrible! I hope you get a new carrier.

Also, I'd be really annoyed at that neighbor. It may not technically have been their problem to deal with, but if I received something like that, I'd bag it up and make sure it got to the person whose name and address are clearly marked on the box. It's the addressee's decision what to do with it even if it seems destroyed.

Well, I'm glad at least you got some answers...

Careless mailman+shady neighbor= I'm honestly afraid to order anything online anymore unless it's being delivered UPS/FEDEX/Amazon. I'm scared enough to have all of my mail held at the PO and I have to see if I can do that.

A supervisor happened to be at the PO and really helped me out.

They sent a carrier (not mine haha) to the neighbors house to ask her about it. Carrier informed her the GPS said it was delivered to her house. She tells the carrier that she didn't get it...but she saw me today and told me about it arriving damaged. And that she has gotten some things with her HOUSE NUMBER on it, but not her name (hmmm convenient, yes?)

Honestly? I find her story shady. She either lied to the carrier or to me. Or both. It was delivered a week ago. I don't knew her at all, but she lives almost directly across the street from me and didn't even say "Hey, we've never really met, but I got something of yours in the mail and it was damaged so I tossed it"

I think it was more "OH look let me see what's inside. I didn't want/need it so I threw it away"

The good thing is the post office knows something is up with the mailman. As for the neighbor, maybe now that she knows packages are scanned with GPS she'll reconsider being entitled to my stuff and walk 15 steps over to my house.

Thanks for listening to all of this and helping out <3

Neighbor's story definitely sounds suspicious.

I really don't trust most of my neighbors and always feel more comfortable when I have to sign for deliveries (or go pick them up from the PO/UPS store) and opt for that when possible. Even if it was delivered correctly, I don't think a package would last 15 minutes on my porch. ._.

Yeah, hopefully nothing like that will happen again!