Mama2Three Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Hi there, I bought a book (FIAR 1) from my listing on the WTB board on 12/11. The person didn't accept paypal, so I sent a check. The check cleared my bank on 12/18. But still no book. I've sent 2 emails and 1 pm and have not received any response. A different book was sent to me through media mail on 12/29 and I got it in 2 days (from farther away), so I don't think the PO is the problem. I'm trying to be patient, but I had planned to use the book tomorrow. Never thought it would take so long. I'm thinking about waiting until tomorrow, then just asking for my $$ back. I really want to start our new schedule for DD right away, so I guess I'll just buy it elsewhere. Am I being unreasonable? How long have you had to wait for something to be sent? This is the first time I've had any issues like this, and I'm at a bit of a loss. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Does the person have positive feedback as a seller? If so, maybe she is just out of town with all the holidays and will get back to you sometime in the coming week? I would give it just a bit longer. If there was a problem with the package and she was out of town, it could be sitting on her doorstep as a return to sender waiting on her to get it and contact you. I say that if you don't hear from her in the coming week...or your package doesn't show, then ask for a refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) Media mail could indeed be the problem. You can expect a MM package to be delivered anytime between 4 days and 6 weeks, usually within 2-3 weeks within the continental U.S. It makes no difference whether other packages mailed to you via media mail arrived quickly or not. Each package lives and dies on the whether the particular post offices it travels to handle it quickly or let it languish for a long time. We ship around 10,000 book packages a year, a good percentage of them via media mail, and are very experienced with this type of situation. Media mail is entirely unpredictable. For example, we mailed a package to an address 5 miles away from our office, and it took 17 days to arrive there. OTOH, we've mailed packages to FL which arrived in 4 days. Routing is also unpredictable -- sometimes a package mailed from MA to NJ goes to Chicago or MN first. Packages can be held up at any processing center along the way because media mail (4th class mail) has a lower priority than junk mail advertising (3rd class mail) or magazines (2nd class mail). Edited January 5, 2009 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Three Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to be patient. Trouble is, I don't even know for sure whether it's been sent because the seller has not responded to any of my emails or pm's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Media Mail is indeed unpredictable. I'm not a huge shipper like Rough Collie (I do probably 100 or so a year), but I've also had things take weeks to go one county away and just a few days to go coast-to-coast. I personally don't give refunds on Media Mail items until it's been a full month or more since I mailed it. Not responding is frustrating though. I've had the same type of problem in the past with items that I paid for by check. Twice I never got my item and the person basically disappeared, thankfully small purchases though. For whatever reason, those who take Paypal tend to be more reliable in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Trouble is, I don't even know for sure whether it's been sent because the seller has not responded to any of my emails or pm's. That right there is cause for concern. Maybe the seller has some kind of problem which means she can't check her email, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Trouble is, I don't even know for sure whether it's been sent because the seller has not responded to any of my emails or pm's. That right there is cause for concern. Maybe the seller has some kind of problem which means she can't check her email, though. Maybe she is afraid of confrontation and just mailed the book and doesn't want to tell you in case you get mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Yup. Media Mail is totally unpredictable. I sent a package MM to a town 100 miles away, and it got there in one day! (total shock) But, I've had it take over three weeks. With the holidays closing down the postal system for a couple days, it's not too surprising that it's taking awhile. I don't know what to do about her not answering your e-mails. Maybe she'll see this, and contact you? You could always share her name here and publicly humiliate her. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Three Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 I don't know what to do about her not answering your e-mails. Maybe she'll see this, and contact you? You could always share her name here and publicly humiliate her. ;) Still trying to assume the best, that it's just some sort of mix up. But that'd be my next question... do I leave negative feedback? I never have, not here or on ebay/other forums (although it's probably been deserved a time or two), but if it goes beyond a month and no book, I guess maybe I should just so other folks know to be careful. Hopefully, it's a bridge I won't have to cross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 You could always send a letter, via certified mail so that you have proof that she recieved it. Gently let her know that mail fraud is a federal offense. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Still trying to assume the best, that it's just some sort of mix up. But that'd be my next question... do I leave negative feedback? I never have, not here or on ebay/other forums (although it's probably been deserved a time or two), but if it goes beyond a month and no book, I guess maybe I should just so other folks know to be careful. Hopefully, it's a bridge I won't have to cross. Rather than leaving negative feedback, my next move would be to post a message to her on the boards - - first the WTB and Sale boards, then the General board if no reply. You can also easily see if she has been posting recently (to see if she has been around/reading the boards). I don't think you've been waiting a terribly long time, though, for a media mail package sent around the holidays. If the she mailed it right after your check cleared, it's quite possible her PO sat on it until January, and it's only January 7 now. As far as the messages go, that could be worrying, but you didn't say when you sent them. I'm guessing not before Christmas, so less than or about 2 weeks ago? She could easily be on vacation for that amount of time, so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions too quickly. Basically, I think you need to give it a few more days (although I would post a "ms. x, can you PM me?" message on the boards). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Three Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 ... in the sellers on this forum and the USPO. I just received the book in the mail. Apparently, the seller's computer has been down for weeks and she just found my address. The package was mailed on 1/6 by media mail, and it got here on 1/8 (NC to VA). So, all's well that end's well. And we'll start FIAR on Monday. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Is always nice to hear a happy ending. Thanks for the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I am glad it worked out. In the future for a situation like this... I would try a phone call. You had her name and address so most likely could obtain her number. She would have gotten your addy from you then and you would have it sooner. My DH is a collector and phone calls have always worked while emails get ignored. YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I'm currently having this problem and it's media mail's fault. She sent the books the first week in Nov. and I still don't have it. This is not the first time media mail has taken 2 months or more for me. I've also received books from all the way across the country in 2 days, so go figure. But if the person doesn't respond in a week or two to your emails etc I would be concerned about that...(I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt though, I've had major problems with my computer and couldn't log on for over a month once ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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