Hi Susan, during our last trade, your bubble mailer arrived with dirty tire marks all over it, though I could tell you used a brand new envelope.

As of late Fedex / UPS would delegate the last stop of package distribution to USPS. So your packages might still not be safe from the hands of USPS. My mailman loves to cramp packages into the tiny mailbox, including rolled up paintings (promptly ruined). Guess walking 15 steps up to my front door and dropping them off is too much for him (I've asked nicely).

Here's my USPS "horror" story: I'd ordered two plastic jugs of salsa as a gift for a friend. The jugs were shipped to me via UPS, arrived in perfect condition, without a scratch. I took off the UPS label, affixed a USPS label, added a card inside, but mailed the jugs in the exact same shipping container that UPS used (it was a sturdy cardboard box w/protective wrap inside. Well, after 5 days of no updates on the USPS website, my friend got a phone call from his local post office indicating that the jugs had busted open and were leaking and that they would not deliver. He could come pick them up, if he wanted. Obviously, he did not want that, as the salsa was ruined at that point. Long story short, UPS delivered without a hitch, USPS failed miserably. The other thing I've learned is that USPS is contracting out a lot of their deliveries to independent contractors, who seem to care not about how they handle packages.

Click and ship is great! You do have to declare an exact value, up to $50. So figure out what your plants are worth before you ship them, since insurance is free. If the post office ruins the plants, they should pay up!

Are commercial receipts required? How do you prove the value of plants from your garden? When a sfrb full of seed packets went missing in the roundrobin forum, the sender had to provide a purchase receipt to file a claim with USPS.

There is more to this article on the USPS website, but this is probably the most relevant to us, as traders, especially (b.). I am not a dishonest person, but I would not hesitate to provide a receipt unrelated to the lost/damaged item if I had no other evidence of value. Hope this helps!

Evidence of Value

The customer, either the mailer or the addressee, must submit acceptable evidence to establish the cost or value of the article at the time it was mailed. (Other evidence may be requested to help determine an accurate value.) Examples of acceptable evidence are:

a. Sales receipt, invoice or bill of sale, or statement of value from a reputable dealer.

b. For items valued up to $100, the customer's own statement describing the lost or damaged article and including the date and place of purchase, the amount paid, and whether the item was new or used (only if a sales receipt or invoice is not available). If the article mailed is a hobby, craft, or similar handmade item, the statement must include the cost of the materials used in making the item. The statement must describe the article in sufficient detail to determine whether the value claimed is accurate.

c. Picture from a catalog showing the value of a similar article (only if a sales receipt, invoice, or statement of value from a reputable dealer is not available). The date and place of purchase must be included.

I also meant to add that once you have completed your transaction using "Click & Ship" the USPS will send the recipient an e-mail along with a confirmation/tracking number. I really like this feature.

I like letter c from the article. Plants are usually on the expensive side depending on the catalog. So... hold on to those plant catalogs! And of course try to remember when you bought the plant since you'll need to include that ;-)

I have gotten packages that look they were drop kicked across the warehouse so i now tape the daylights out of them. The mail girl said that it is 3 day delivery but not guaranteed for the box I mailed last week. They haven't ever said that before so they must be getting more comments on late deliveries--this spring one box I sent took 7 days. Luckily it was still cool. This week with our 90 plus degrees anything would be stinky mush after 7 days. I got a box like that last year. It was wet and stinky when it got her but I still managed to save a few things. :c)

I mail a lot of plants. I have found that priority mail mailed on a Fri is delivered on Mon. Mailed on Monday may take 3 or 4 days for delivery - go figure - lol. My mail lady has told me priority mail is supposed to be 2-3 days but may take up to 5. Depending on how far and the routing.

My package was mailed on a Friday but it took 5 days. It may have to do with where I mailed the package. I usually use the post office on 10th Ave. South, Birmingham and have not had a problem before. This last time I mailed my package and the bubble envelope containing seeds for Phyllis at the post office on Lorna Road because I was out that way. I don't know where the damage to the package that I received from Kms4me occurred. I think the USPS should drop the "Service" out of its name.

Susan

I once received an African Violet leaf trade coming from Ky to PA. It took 16 days (Priority mail). it looked like stir fry when it arrived. the post office response: 2-3 days is an average, not a promise.

Another time I ordered a plant from a wildflower farm in NJ. The plant was well packed, and there was a sticker on each side of the box with an arrow 'this side up' The box was placed in my mailbox upside down, with the weight of the pot and the soil on top of the plant. I called the local postmaster to inquire if literacy was a requirement for postal carriers.

Postal problems are common here. I have twice received letters properly address to MASS, once got someone else's income tax refund check, got a box of medical supplies for someone on a different route, got my next door neighbor's bank statement. So it does not surprise me when my mail goes missing - and it does - often enough to be a serious concern.

Susan,

It may have been the location, or not. My mother paid an outrageous amount to mail a dress to arrive on Christmas Eve that she had made for my daughter because my mother was always late in everything she did, and she wanted my daughter to wear it on Christmas. hTis was next day/holiday/gteed Express Mail (vs. Priority Mail) and it didnt get delivered. My mother was on a limited income and should not have done this anyway, but ...On christmas, my mother asked about it. We had no idea what she was talking about. The day after Christmas, the postman comes walking up with the box. I told my mom to get herself to the PO and complain and get her money back, which she did...because it WAS guaranteed.

The PO delivers an awful lot of packages, etc. correctly and on time within that 2-3 priority mail (not promised, but hopeful) time frame, but sometimes that gfaws are somewhat amusing and some are just plain sad.

I think the PO is losing money because they have serious competition from UPS, FedEx, etc. and USPS prices keep going up; people want and expect "service".

Some towns/post office operations are alot better than others. In my mother's town, my mother (once again late!) mailed christmas cards with a birthday invite to my father's 12/26 birthday the next day. My aunt was hurt/mad (same town) that she didnt get an invitation, tho my mother swore she sent her one. A month later, she got her christmas card. They found that one postal deliverer was sacking away mail rather than delivering all that was supposed to be delivered.

Recently I was waiting for a priority mail plant trade. It was supposed to arrive on Friday, and I didnt get it so checked tracking and it actually said it arrived at my PO on Friday at 6:39am (scanned) but that it was unable to be delivered due to wrong address or zip code. The next mornign I called the PO, the phone rang and rang. So I got in my car and went down there. The guy at the service counter looked on a shelf for undeliverable mail (i'm assuming) and called someone to help me. I knew it was a Priority mail regional box. The guy looked and 5 mins later I got a requested "update"f that said my package was at that PO and scanned at 6:35am. It was about 8:45. It took him another 10-15 mins to locate the package. He said it had just come in that morning (lie) and I told him that it said it was unable to be delivered the day before and that they were "forwarding" it but didnt say to where. He tried to tell me that the sender put the "from" label not exactly in the right place (it was fine) and that they probably forwarded it back to NY. (within 24 hours and it was back in MA in that time period from NY?) WHAT!?? ANYway,I got my package, but what craziness is this? And he said it was set to be delivered that morning and WHY did I not think they were going to deliver it?

I just dont think they know (or care) what they are doing 1/2 the time.

Sorry,I guess I got carried away! I have other stories but have rambled on long enough!