Q&A: Is USPS Delivery Confirmation worth the money?

Q&A: Is USPS Delivery Confirmation worth the money?


QUESTION: I'm fairly new to selling on Amazon (about eight months now). I've sold on eBay for many years (not books). On eBay I've always shipped with UPS (larger items than books.) With Amazon I sell primarily books and DVDs, and ship with USPS. I use Delivery Confirmation on items over a certain dollar threshold, and for expensive items I also add insurance.

My problem is with Delivery Confirmation. I've had two cases now where the customer says they never received the item, but the Post Office shows it as delivered. I've tried the reasonable approach of filing a lost package report and suggesting that the customer wait and see or request a refund from Amazon (I know Amazon won't give it if the Post Office shows the delivery, but I figure it will buy some time for the item to show up or for the Post Office to do their job). I also end every e-mail with a request that if the customer has any questions, other problems, or needs any other assistance, to let me know.

In both cases, after about a week, the customer didn't contact me, but left negative feedback. I don't want negative feedback, and work hard to keep my feedback at 99 percent. So I give the customer a full refund and they remove the negative (I don't ask them to, they just do it after the refund).

If I'm going to end up giving a refund anyway, what's the point of Delivery Confirmation? My complaint is with the Post Office; their service is terrible. They make a mistake, claim a delivery that was not made, and stand by it -- no matter what. My experience with UPS is completely different. First of all, UPS can actually track a package, the USPS can't (their tracking is a joke).

UPS gives me a refund 100 percent of the time, and within two weeks for a lost or damaged package. Of course, UPS is too expensive to use for books or DVD's so I'm stuck with the Post Office.

So, what good is Delivery Confirmation? I'm considering dropping it completely.

ANSWER: You're right, on the surface it doesn't make a whole lot of business sense to use Delivery Confirmation. Although I've been too chicken to drop DC myself (yet), I agree with every point you've made.

For example, at the end of 2005 I tallied up how much I'd spent on DC during that year. It was over $4,000, even with thediscounted online rate from using Endicia. Obviously I didn't get my money's worth. During that time I had three or four A to Z claims worth perhaps a total of $100 that I was able to get reversed because I was able to show DC. So I spent $4,000-plus to save $100?

Also, during 2005 I answered about 400 or 500 e-mails from people who I'd sent a DC number to, but they couldn't get a tracking result from the Postal Service. (At the time I sent the DC number in my shipping confirmation e-mail). I heard back from the people who couldn't get a tracking result from the USPS Web site because their package was never scanned until delivery. So when the customer checked the tracking, they got the impression I had never shipped the package despite what I'd said in my shipping-confirmation e-mail.

After I took a look at those numbers from 2005 I decided to stop giving the DC number in my shipping confirmation e-mail because I decided it was causing more work for me, not less. It's irritating to pay good money for a service (DC) that ends up causing a bunch of extra work for you.

So why am I still using DC? Good question. I've seriously considered dropping it but have just been avoiding the decision. One thing that is hard to quantify: How many customers who might otherwise try pulling a scam are kept "honest" because they assume from seeing the DC barcode that there is certain proof of delivery?

Also, Amazon monitors your refund rate and A to Z claims. Once you get to 5 percent of refunds, you'll be in trouble. But if you're fulfilling your orders promptly, there's not much chance your refunds will reach 5 percent, even allowing for the occasional Postal Service screwup.

Also, I'll add a few words in defense of the Postal Service, despite the aggravation they cause me. Media Mail is very economical and it's the only real choice for booksellers who want to maximize their profits -- especially us used booksellers who are operating on just a few dollars' profit margin on each sale. And it's possible that Delivery Confirmation will show "delivered" even though the buyer doesn't receive the package. For example, anyone walking down the street can swipe a package out of a mailbox.