I have a shipping buddy who sends me boxes. The other day I got a DIM box that was crushed and it was obvious the box had been broken into and the contents were clearly visible. One side of the top of the box was punched in and the other side was pulled up. I reported it to the scheduler and told her I remember someone said they had a similar situation on a box they shipped. Has anyone found out the box they shipped or gotten a box that looks like it was opened? This is actually the second box I have gotten this way. I do wonder what the person who opened the box thought when they found three boxes of angel hair pasta. They left the pasta but I bet they were disappointed.

Only the second? Consider yourself fortunate. I got one today that was a custom-made poster (not cheap) that was wet, ripped, both end caps removed, and bent. I know it was packed and shipped well and therefore damaged in transit. The thugs at the USPS processing centers also steal things of value (have had it happen more than once). Good luck on collecting on insurance. Unless it's something new and you have all the documentation, you're screwed. Haven't had any of the "shops" broken into yet, but for personal stuff, ship FedEx if it's anything of value.

There's another thread here all about this somewhere.

I have probably done hundreds of these shops with the previous MS company. I have had a handful not make it, although could have been stolen at the other end. A couple came back to me, damaged. And there was the one box that the post office police personally delivered to my daughter's door to make sure there was no marijuana or other illegal items in the box. I agree with Password, especially when you are doing a large volume of these. There will be some misses. I started to seal the boxes using some extra tape, taping at all of the 'seams/corners' and taping over the to and from addresses. I have had less trouble with damage since I started to do that. Costs more in tape but helps.

Wow! If that was my box, I am glad I only sent you pasta! I didn't send it like that, I promise!
If it is, that was an odd shop from the moment I stepped into the post office (nothing that will keep me from being paid). Makes you think that a company like (redacted) should get together with their client and arrange having shoppers on both ends routinely so that the quality of their shipping can also be analyzed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2016 03:11PM by tcurione.

tcurione, you may want to edit your post to remove MSP'S name.

Good catch, tstewart.
Sorry for letting that error slip!

I got a box Friday that had been torn and taped back. I got a letter a couple of weeks ago saying they had lost the contents of my box. Who knows how many boxes arrived at the food bank when we were sending all to them at that time..

I bet everyone sending packages to foodbank addresses was assumed by employees to be mystery shopping. I mean, who does that?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2016 03:08AM by TechSavvy.

I've had amazing personal experience with USPS and insurance claims. The process was easy, payment was swift, and I did not have to jump through hoops. Considering I send hundreds of packages a year for over a decade and only two were lost - I consider that pretty darn good!

I did a bunch with the old MSC, and sent several to my son on a military base. He said they all arrived fine, but were opened for inspection. But that was not recently. USPS is sketchy.

@tcurione wrote:

Wow! If that was my box, I am glad I only sent you pasta! I didn't send it like that, I promise!
If it is, that was an odd shop from the moment I stepped into the post office (nothing that will keep me from being paid). Makes you think that a company like (redacted) should get together with their client and arrange having shoppers on both ends routinely so that the quality of their shipping can also be analyzed.

Yup, it was your box. That poor box was beaten and abused. It's too bad I can't use it again. The first one I had "opened" was from another shopper and it had a phone book in it.

The dim weight boxes are subject to being crushed because we generally don't fill them properly. They are far too big for what we have in there and the empty space is hard to fill without going over the maximum weight. I fill the space with newspapers, but it still isn't great. Without filling it properly, it is subject to collapsing.
I have had less than 0.1% of my regular boxes damaged. I did have a box with canned crushed pineapple (shipped to a friend 50 miles away) get crushed. So ironic.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2016 05:34AM by SoCalMama.

I have had one box on a shipping job never delivered. It took some effort but I finally got reimbursed for the contents and the postage. i did not have any proof of the contents as I buy things on mega sale throughout the year. Many of my receipts were faded already or for an item that I paid $4 for that would cost me $20 to replace. The post office honored the insurance but it was not easy. I also sent two packages via post office on my own dime that arrived completely broken up but all the interior packages were accounted for and in good condition.
Just to put this in perspective I have shipped things using other methods that have arrived broken and not gotten reimbursement. And my daughter once sent me a way overpriced potted flowering plant via one of the floral delivery companies. It not only arrived after the occasion but I got a cheap clear vase with cut flowers in it that were not too fresh. They returned the money but I wonder how many flower recipients know what was sent if it was sent by someone out of town? Most people do not ask the sender did you send daisies to me to find out their friend had ordered long stem roses. So I think there are probably lots of errors like this and the recipient sends a thank you without realizing they got the wrong thing and I am being kind calling it an error.

It's a little more expensive but I have sent my daughter packages of toilet paper and/or paper towels when she was in college. It met the weight requirement and filled the dim weight sized boxes a little better.

@SoCalMama wrote:

The dim weight boxes are subject to being crushed because we generally don't fill them properly. They are far too big for what we have in there and the empty space is hard to fill without going over the maximum weight. I fill the space with newspapers, but it still isn't great. Without filling it properly, it is subject to collapsing.
I have had less than 0.1% of my regular boxes damaged. I did have a box with canned crushed pineapple (shipped to a friend 50 miles away) get crushed. So ironic.

At this point I have received four DIM boxes from another shopper within a month that were all damaged. One was just a hole, one had a hole and crushed, one that was ripped open and the latest was destroyed. I have emailed the scheduler and sent her pictures. There is something happening on the route these boxes are taken. The one today was so badly damaged they had to wrap the entire box in shrink wrap to hold it together.

Whelp, I guess I can join the club. One of my boxes came back to me destructed as the OP describes!

About a year ago when the damage happened to my box I emailed the previous company and suggested they should include a few follow up questions regarding whether the boxes are arriving on time and in good condition.
They might have to pay us a few dollars more to put in the follow up information but I think this follow through would be an important component of their shops.

They should be doing two mystery shops. One on the sending end and one on the receiving end. I guess they are just concerned if the employee asks the hazmat questions. They don't really care if the package made it intact. As a customer that would be my number one priority. Sandyf is correct and I usually call on my own to see if the package made it intact and have not had any problems, but it sure would be nice to get a few more dollars for my follow up call.