Ebay mando taking forever!

**bienkow1** · Jul-03-2008, 1:06pm

Hello, for those of you that use ebay, I bought a mando off of a guy with a good ebay history and all, and I have spoken with him via phone and email, so he seems legit. He sent my mando US postal service ground on Monday the 23rd from California to here in Michigan. It still hasn't arrived.....cause for concern, or is this length of time normal for USPS?

**Bob Wiegers** · Jul-03-2008, 1:09pm

I hope all turns out well for you, but USPS packages have never been reliable for me, especially the important ones (somehow they KNOW which ones are the good ones). any tracking number?

**bienkow1** · Jul-03-2008, 1:10pm

I have a reciept number, but all it says is that the package was scanned in on the 22nd, but no tracking info is available

**bienkow1** · Jul-03-2008, 1:11pm

So bob, when you say you've had bad luck, did they just take a while, or did you never recieve them?

**lovethemf5s** · Jul-03-2008, 1:18pm

I don't think you have given it enough time. I just received a set of strings that I bought off eBay and it took USPS 13 days to deliver from the time it was mailed to the time it was in my mailbox. This was US first class mail. I know it can be hard to wait.

**Bob Wiegers** · Jul-03-2008, 1:31pm

it took a while. this was a super-duper emergency pay-through-the-nose business-critical data-recovery kinda shipment. and I said, sure go USPS. idiot. we lost a few clients because of that. and not long after I lost my job due to lack of revenue. (I've never connected these dots before, by the way). all's well that ends well, however. now I have a job down the road that pays twice as much :-D

**philen** · Jul-03-2008, 2:05pm

I ordered a double bass from Germany to Sweden a couple of months ago... I spoke with the guys in Germany and they said that the shipping usaly takes about 14 days to sweden. It took 7 weeks to get it here.
Do you think i was nerveous? -Yes i really was, it is quite much money in a double bass.

Anyway, i hope you'll get your mandolin soon. What kind of mandolin is it?

**TomTyrrell** · Jul-03-2008, 2:09pm

USPS ground takes forever. Tracking usually consists of "we have it" - "we delivered it" with a fairly long period of time in between. You can't even file a claim for a lost package for 21 days so that's about how long they figure they have to get that package to you.

**Zigeuner** · Jul-03-2008, 2:11pm

Originally Posted by (TomTyrrell @ July 03 2008, 12:09)

USPS ground takes forever. Tracking usually consists of "we have it" - "we delivered it" with a fairly long period of time in between. You can't even file a claim for a lost package for 21 days so that's about how long they figure they have to get that package to you.

Correct about USPS "Ground" I think that's also called "Parcel Post", right. If so, it usually takes up to three weeks to get a Parcel Post across the US.

I always use USPS Priority or UPS Ground.

**MandoSquirrel** · Jul-04-2008, 1:21pm

When I bought my Breedlove KO, I sent a money order & paid extra for "Priority Mail" to get it there as quickly as possible. It took a week, which is almost as fast as regular mail would have gotten it there.

**Jim Rowland** · Jul-04-2008, 1:39pm

I once ordered a set of plans from StewMac,and since I was in a BIG hurry,asked for "Priority"mail. It took eleven days to get here and the mailing tube was dented. Distance traveled: 74.8 miles.
Jim

**mandoplyr70** · Jul-04-2008, 2:06pm

I live in Indiana across the river from Louisville. Once tracked a mandolin I ordered from Tenneessee It went to Cinncinnati, then to Louisville, before It got to Indiana !!UPS hang in there !

**Jim** · Jul-04-2008, 2:23pm

Just spent 3+ weeks waiting for an ebay purchased Mini-disc recorder sent usps.

**Steve Cantrell** · Jul-04-2008, 2:33pm

UPS had my Poe for less than twenty four hours. The box that arrived looked like it had been dragged behind a truck. The mandolin itself had a broken headstock scroll. No more for me.

**Salty Dog** · Jul-04-2008, 11:28pm

Different folks have different experiences. #When I sent BRW#12 from upstate NY to Ben Wilcox (near Columbus, OH) for some maintenance work, he returned it via USPS (to my surprise as I had shipped via UPS). #He shipped it the deluxe method (I don't remember the exact title) about 10:00 AM one day and it was on my doorstep when I arrived home at 2:00 PM the next day. #I couldn't have driven to Columbus and back in that time. #This was 3/08 - perhaps things have changed since then.

**Keith Newell** · Jul-05-2008, 1:54am

I always ship USPS Priority and have never been dissapointed. I expect 3 days and 70% of the time it's there in 2. At least that has been the way for the last 40+ times.
Keith

**Mikey G** · Jul-05-2008, 8:41am

USPS Priority mail has always been very fast, and safe, when I've shipped mandolins: no problems.

**allenhopkins** · Jul-05-2008, 10:19am

Maybe we're looking at the difference between priority mail and parcel post?

**TomTyrrell** · Jul-05-2008, 1:17pm

Originally Posted by (allenhopkins @ July 05 2008, 11:19)

Maybe we're looking at the difference between priority mail and parcel post?

Yup, that's what it is. There was a time not long ago that Priority Mail could cost less than Parcel Post. There was also a time when Parcel Post could cross the country in 3 or 4 days. Those days are gone. I doubt it is by accident.

**gnelson651** · Jul-05-2008, 9:16pm

I bought some No-Snagg sinkers for fishing from Bass Pro. It took 10 days sent parcel post. I think DHL is the worst experience I had. I ordered a mandolin which was sent DHL, it took 4 days to arrive cross country (Ohio to NV) and another 5 days from the local distribution point to my door. I had to complain three times before DHL finually delivered it on a #Saturday.

**Mike Herlihy** · Jul-05-2008, 10:04pm

I won a National Dobro Bass on Wednesday, paid for it Wed. evening. It was shipped Thurs, got here Sat. USPS Priority.

Sorry to hear about your problems.

Mike

**Joe Mendel** · Jul-05-2008, 10:23pm

Last fall I bought an autoharp off e-bay. Everything went well, except the delivery, parcel post. The seller was more upset than I was, he was afraid I was going to give him bad feedback. He seemed like a good guy and was trying to resolve the situation as best he could. We waited the time needed to make a claim, he filed the claim & I wrote a letter stating my end of the situation. That day the box showed up looking like it had been tied it to & dragged behind the bumper of every truck it had supposedly been on, but fortunately the autoharp was fine.

**bshpmark** · Jul-06-2008, 9:13pm

There is a thread in the Acoustic Guitar forum regarding a fellow with a similar situation and a guitar. Apparently, due to the gas situation and fuel costs, the Postal Service is waiting until their trucks are crammed full with packages before they actually move them. So that delays shipping a few days in some locations. That business about neither rain nor sleet nor whatever still holds true. Now gas costs are another thing....