Terribly frustrating when the seller makes a label and doesn't ship for days later! It makes for an initial appearance of a fast shipper. They're just buying time so they don't get bombarded with emails asking when they're going to ship.

Oh, and you can guess how foolish I looked after going off on a rant only to realize I was entering a FedEx # into USPS tracking. Lol

I've had too many packages coming at one time! :)

Why do you get emails that the item has been shipped and when you track it 4 days later it still says "shipping label created"?

Iris, for Ebay and perhaps other selling platforms, the seller can actually buy the postage and pay for it via Paypal as part of a site transaction. There is a postage discount for doing so. I believe once the postage transaction is completely the seller may mark the item as shipped even if it is still in his/her possession.

The silver lining is that the seller must physically get the item to the buyer within a specified time once it is marked as shipped, and is graded for doing so, and downgraded for failure to meet that date.

Or the emails that tell you that your order has been shipped, but there is no tracking number included and cannot be found going to the sellers website?

That challenge is met by signing up for the tracking info from the major carriers, UPS, Fedex, and USPS who will send specific tracking info on all packages to you if you choose that option. You can sign up on their websites.

Paypal protections as well as Ebay protection runs from the date of purchase, not the ship date, so after a specified time period you can open a Paypal case, and that definitely gets the seller's attention.

This annoys me, too. I don't mind things taking a while, but the USPS gives you a date and then can simply change it to a later date. Then why bother giving me a date to begin with if it means nothing?

Also I have had things that I could have, theoretically, picked up in 20 minutes. But has taken over a week to get here. After going to a TOTALLY DIFFERENT STATE, FIRST, I GUESS ON SOME KIND OF SIGHTSEEING TOUR!

FYI - you can simply put ANY tracking number into Google and it will find the correct site. This helps keep things like what happened to Moonie from happening. :)

Thank you, Lucille. The one with the tracking was bought on Amazon, I guess a 3rd party seller. Of course this kind of thing happens a lot buying on Etsy for me. I am usually more relaxed about it, it's just getting so close to Christmas and I would love to get the wrapping done before my younger daughter gets home from College. Just because she is grown up doesn't mean she is going to see any of the presents for anybody....I am going to look into signing up for notifications. I didn't know that is possible. There is a contact us button on the company's website I ordered from, but no order status one. Guess I will give this one a few more days.

moonie, this happened to me before, too. The easy one is UPS since this is usually starting with the 1Z

Thanks, chloe, i did not know that! Don't know why it took me until the next day to realize the number I was entering was too short/looked nothing like a usps #. lol Oh well, live and learn! :)

Usually I don't track packages unless something doesn't come on the initial date provided by the seller.

After spending the month of November acting like a Scrooge, i finally got around to doing my shopping. It's been a nerve wracking experience!

I like to start early, just in case I need a plan " B". I had a cute little planter for a friend collecting unusual plants. I ordered a plant from Etsy. It was supposed to be 4 inches. It came bare root and wasn't even an inch. When I contacted the seller, the answer was that the root system is included in the size ( trying to stretch the roots it might have been 2.75) Never heard of such a thing as including the roots (unless buying something in a gallon size I suppose). So there was no way I could use that.

Instead of email notifications, I suggest registering with UPS My Choice Delivery Planner. UPS My Choice site will describe the features and benefits. Choose email, text, or both.

UPS My Choice

FedEx Delivery Manager

FedEx Delivery Manager

Informed Delivery by USPS

USPS Informed Delivery

When you receive a tracking number via email, simply copy it, paste in search box and it will take you directly to the shipper.

Glad I'm not the only one who gets frustrated by shipping labels created, emails sent, and then things not showing up in the system.

Had a funny one this week: Ordered some items from Target and they shipped from a nearby major city. Showed shipped on Saturday, but nothing in the system. The system said it was shipped UPS, but would be handed over to the USPS for delivery. Yesterday, still nothing online. Yesterday afternoon UPS showed up with the box. Okay, that was confusing, but at least it is here!

Not mail related per se, but this is Penneys.....Ordered online with my phone number as contact. Got a call (on MY phone) that it was in so off I go. Get there, they can't find it (not by number or name). I let them hear the voice mail. Finally after much guessing, I give them my husbands phone number to see if they might have it in his name. Why yes, it is under his phone number. Well, the three yahoos working there couldn't NOT understand my question of if they called MY number, then why is it under a different number?? How could they have called a number (mine) that they have no (according to them) knowledge of??...Just got the blank out-to-lunch look.

So anyway, had to return said item as it didn't work. That went fine. Except now I get a daily recorded message on my phone that my item needs to be picked up before X date or it will go back in stock and I will be refunded the amount to my cc....

Comedy of errors.

I no longer have any patience for some of the hassles that stem from online shopping so I limit my purchases to Amazon or sites that actually have a store front locally; especially during the holidays. If I have to pay a little more for the convenience and peace of mind that offers, it’s worth it to me.

Glad to learn that i am not the only one who is annoyed by the emails generated by online shopping. In the future I am not going to sign up for updates form UPS. The blow by blows are clogging the works. I so my online shopping at Amazon and brick and mortar stores where I can return easily.

The aggrevation I actually find myself with this morning is Lands End and their use of UPS along with the USPS. They offered “free shipping” if I spent over a certain amount, had a decent sale, so I bought a couple of button down shirts for my SIL on the 3rd. They shipped on the 7th, UPS delivered them to the Post Office on the 11th. Not a thing has happened since and they are essentially missing in action. I did a chat call with Lands End and was told to contact the Post Office. Really? Have you ever tried to call the post office? I’ve never experienced any thing but frustration doing that AND our post office is 10 miles north of us, in a direction I never travel so I’m sure not going to drive there so I can see the blank look on their faces when I ask where my package is. When I suggested it was their responsibility because THEY choose the ship method, the response was they have no control over UPS using the post office for delivery! WHAT???? Had they disclosed their ship method in their shipping advisory, I would have NEVER bought from them. BUYER BEWARE!!! Grrrr....

Macy's just did the same thing to me. I got one of those "your package has shipped" emails from Macy's. But, they didn't actually ship my order for a week after I'd ordered it. I find the whole thing pretty irritating. I actually think it's purposefully deceptive.