Sent a return to Amazon last week. Surprised to see it delivered to me yesterday.

Evidently it was not properly marked due to the Lithium Battery content. The “Rejection Notice” states the ENTIRE label must be on one side of the box and cannot overlap the box edge.

Thing is, I didn’t put the label on the box, returned it in the same box Amazon sent it to me in so it already had the label on it and evidently UPS had no problem delivering it to me in such a dangerous and non-compliant state.

You be the judge...



That ever so slight sliver of label “over the edge” was exactly 6mm over the edge. The printing on that portion of the label was white border and a few dashed red lines. Entire Bar-code at the bottom in on the flat side.

Interesting that they also tore the box open, even though the return address was on the label, not sure why they would need to open it.

Taking it back to UPS today, I expect they will now refuse it because the label/tracking number has been “used”. Which means I will have to deal with Amazon to get a new label generated.

Yeah, that's a bit ridiculous.

Do you have a UPS Store nearby?

If so, get with Amazon and see if they'll send you a UPS Store "pack and ship" return barcode. It should be free, just like a standard UPS return label. (Always has been on all of my Amazon returns, anyway.)

You then just take the item (sans packaging) to a UPS Store, hand over the item, let them scan the barcode, and leave. Once the barcode is scanned, your responsibility for the return is done, and they're then responsible for packing, boxing, labeling, and shipping the return item. Let them deal with it.

^^^ this

OR

Take it back to the USPS and say you are not returning it, you are rejecting taking the package for the reasons outlined specifying that it was not properly packaged for your safety and demand its return.

But Rogue's suggestion is probably best.

For me the UPS Pack and Ship is not always an option. Seems to depend on who the actual seller was or the reason for return.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
...
You then just take the item (sans packaging) to a UPS Store, hand over the item, let them scan the barcode, and leave. Once the barcode is scanned, your responsibility for the return is done, and they're then responsible for packing, boxing, labeling, and shipping the return item. Let them deal with it.

Not always... I’ve done that when an option, but there have been some instances where 6-7 weeks after I sent stuff back that way, Amazon claims they never received it then I have to hassle with chatting or calling to straighten things out so they don’t re-charge me for the item.



Anyway, the UPS store accepted the packed box and scanned the label. Will see what happens this time. I carefully sliced the sliver of label that went around the corner and removed it. Also sent from UPS store near home (originally sent from the open near work).

Hopefully a less anal inspector works in my home area.

Our local Kohl's department store takes Amazon returns. You got any Kohl's there?

quote:

Originally posted by rexles:
Our local Kohl's department store takes Amazon returns. You got any Kohl's there?

Yes, but same problem. Not always an option and stuff sometimes doesn’t arrive to Amazon.

If I was a cynical person I might think that UPS Store and Kohl’s employees don’t exemplify the highest standards of ethics and integrity....

quote:

Originally posted by rexles:
Our local Kohl's department store takes Amazon returns. You got any Kohl's there?

I just did that with a Streamlight product. I just carried it in in a plastic a bag and they scanned the barcode in the email. No hazardous packaging of any kind.

My UPS store sucks when it comes to anything firearm related and they always ask what is in the box. I found out during a return to Midway USA and I answered honestly that it was a wooden rifle stock. "Can't accept gun parts it's our policy" I got the thing by UPS in the first place! "Sorry you have to go to a UPS customer counter".

So now I send "machine parts" or "plastic parts". But now that Midway provides a printable pre-paid label they don't ask what's in the box. Perhaps they cannot refuse a pre-paid label to a contracted client?

That said, reusing the lithium labeled box I received from the vendor has never been an issue.

Biggest mistake was reusing a box to pack something to send USPS, and I failed to notice it was a box marked for ammo (not a sticker, actually printed as part of the box). They helped me rebox it which was nice.

Regardless of how it was sent before, once you send it, you become the shipper, which means you become responsible for proper packaging, labeling, declaration, etc. Regardless of who sent it, even if you send it back in the same packaging and the packaging is wrong, it's your responsibility under federal law.

UPS is sensitive to lithium issues. This is what's left of UPS 6, a 747-400 that developed a lithium fire, coming out of Dubai:



History aside, it is law. Whether it was caught by another inspector at another time is irrelevant; it was caught this time. It was sloppy packaging on the part of the original shipper.

Some labeling errors are more obvious than others. A few years back I arrived to take a flight into Afghanistan. The airplane was loaded with clear ULD's, or large shipping containers, and when I walked he freight, I saw that each held pallets with hazmat labels, and pallets stacked on top. Lithium. The labeling appeared correct. All of it, including a big placard on the pallets that said "do not stack."

I called our hazmat specialist and woke him up. He asked if I could get into the ULD's. I asked why. He suggested I could remove the labels and thus, they'd be okay. I asked if he'd been drinking.

I had half the load removed and left behind; all the stacked pallets stayed. On a 747...that was a LOT of cargo.

It doesn't take a whole lot of lithium batteries to set a load on fire, and it doesn't need to be in an aircraft, though a great deal of UPS cargo goes by air. I stopped a truck on the highway a couple of years ago, waved the driver down; his rig was on fire, and he wasn't aware. A lithium fire, as it turned out. He was able to get pulled over and separate the rig, but the trailer burned.

It's unfortunate that the original shipper didn't label the box properly, but their responsibility ended when the package was accepted; once it gets sent back, it becomes your responsibility until it arrives at the other end. There are large fines for improper shipping, which includes the packaging, which includes the labeling. Most people just assume that if a box gets dropped, it's good enough.

If you dropped it at one of the franchise stores (UPS stores), the person receiving should have caught it and stopped it shipping. Clearly someone along the line did. It's a pain, but while labeling may seem trivial, it isn't

Not debating the importance of proper labeling for reasons stated above, but does the shift on the label on that package really matter? Oh, so you noticed it has lithium batteries in it. Sounds like the label did it’s job. Again maybe I’m missing something, but I’m assuming those labels are required so the shipping company can treat them in a certain manner.

IF you say nope, the law is the law it requires XYZ then wouldn’t it be easier, safer and make more sense for UPS inspector to just slap a new lithium sticker on it? Instead of just putting a new sticker on it they decided to put a “hazard” on one of their trucks and put their driver, their truck, and their cargo at risk to return it to his house?

Just checked the tracking, looks like it made it though the local hub and is on it’s way this time.

Also noted that after being rejected at the local depot, it sat there for 5 days before they actually sent it back out to be returned to me. Surprised they risked such a danger to the facility for so long

Agree in this case it's not a 747 full of mislabeled items that can cause a fire. Its a sticker that has a tiny edge around the side.

Someone had their proverbial head up their ass that day, you got the tail end of it...

Nonetheless, we have a UPS Store and Kohls near us, everything is returned via those stores, we take nothing to UPS direct.

So far every return has been processed quickly and without hassle. When you return via either you'll get instant emails when it's scanned, and notification of your refund the same day, usually within hours.

My one daughter leaves them on her porch to be picked up by the driver, and it can take a few days for them to come by due to schedules.

I prefer to drop it, not have to box it, get my money back the same day. Plus I get out of the house and get to wear a mask!

Looking at the picture I vote "snit".

Just because you have one, you don't have to be one.