Packages don’t have postmarks, they have shipping labels with barcodes. I’d mark it wrong address and drop it off at a Mailboxes Etc (or whatever the local equivalent might be), since they do shipping with all the major carriers, who can use their scanners to determine if the package is their problem or not. If nobody takes the blame, someone at Mailboxes Etc will have an extra present under the tree.
I think Smartie’s got the right idea. Call them again if you feel generous and tell them you’ll be returning it as of Monday. If they don’t pick it up, then send it back.
Side thought - I wonder if you could use something like “Wrong Address - please forward to [correct address]”.
Probably not–the shipping labels are a one time only deal, they will need to generate a correct label to either go back to the shipper or to divert to the proper address if the shipper wants them to do that. The USPS is the only service where every house gets passed by every day so they can divert since they don’t need to be paid twice–you pay the post office once and after that it’s up to them to get it where it belongs. The other shipping companies get paid by the trip so they’d need to get paid once to deliver to the wrong address (that was not their fault) and they’ll charge the shipper to sent it back. If the shipper wants them to fulfill the delivery with the correct address, a label will be generated to make sure the shipper pays for all the legs they cause.
Shoot.
Weird that it’s not clear which company sent the package or which carrier (USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc) delivered it. Though I’m looking at a box that was delivered by Amazon yesterday and the shipping label does not make it obvious that it came from Amazon. Their smiley logo on the box, does make it obvious.
Can I just say that every time someone uses “Steech” it makes me happy? As I mentioned, it was an in-joke among a circle of friends 30 years, ago, and most of us have long since lost touch. But for some reason I’ve carried it along all these years in my mind, and seeing it get a little love just makes me happy.
Ya buggardly steecher, ya!
Oi’l tells ya wha’ hoppens ta thems what steeches roun’ he’yah!
They gets steeched themselfs by an unmarkèd am’zon trook. An’ deliver-èd to a made-oop lot number a-way-oot on tha moors…
.
.
.
Nah, not th’ moops!
How barmy ya think oi am?
You’ve gone above and beyond, by figuring out who it should have gone to and contacting them. It’s not your responsibility to fix their mistake. (or the shipper’s mistake, for that matter.) Call them again and ask if they want to come pick it up. Agree to leave it out when they plan to come by. If they don’t want to bother, it’s yours. If you can’t reach them in a few more attempts, it’s yours. Don’t feel guilty, and don’t feel like you need to hold onto this thing forever.
Yeah, if it came in a box with a smile arrow or a bullseye then it would be easy to know who it came from. Instead it came in the manufacturer’s packaging, so it’s easy to know that it’s a Crockpot, but not its source.
Further research on the shipping label shows that the number on it which starts TGA is an Amazon Logistics code. If it had been 1Z then I’d have known it was UPS, and other obvious clues (like the company name) for FedEx and USPS. This label is the plain brown wrapper of shipping labels. No need for a return address it leaves from your own warehouse on your own truck, I guess.
Amazon has a nice page that says “if you get something you didn’t order, let us know” with no information on exactly how to do that. It’s not too difficult to find their customer service live chat page, though.
I’ll give the appropriate recipient another week, past Thanksgiving, to get back to me, and then I’ll contact Amazon.
I wouldn’t wait; just contact Amazon now and let them know. Most likely, they’ve already dispatched a replacement to the intended recipient.
My address is 788 and I got a package addressed to 786 with a name that’s not mine. There isn’t a 786 but the delivery person figured “close enough” and tossed it on my porch. I googled the name and they live at 756 just up the block so I walked it over since the box was small and light enough for me to carry. I’d feel bad keeping something that wasn’t mine.
Oh yeah, if my box had been to 1512 My Street (instead of 1504) or had a neighbors name I knew or it came up on Nextdoor I’d have taken it over. No big deal. I’ve had packages with my correct name and address delivered to the wrong house, and they’ve shown up eventually. Worst one was with USPS. The delivery tracking had the GPS of the elementary school, but was actually left at a nearby house. Our usual carrier (who was getting us this information) said it was the fill-in carrier, and he was an idiot.
I think most people are happy to help a neighbor, and tolerant of mistakes. For me, the issue is that when the delivery person has a package that cannot be delivered, they make a “best fit” and then Amazon et al refuses to come get it. I’ll do their work for them when they pay me. I’m not sleuthing who they really meant and then driving it across town because they didn’t want to deal with it.
Yup. If it belongs to a neighbor, I’ll bring it over. If someone contacts me and asks me to leave it out next Tuesday, I’ll happily comply. But I’m not driving 15 miles or spending an hour on hold with Amazon to correct someone else’s mistake.
We have contract postal carriers out here who don’t really care much about doing their job well. I regularly get mail for two other homes. One is about half a mile away and the other is two towns away. The closer one has a scary dog in their yard and hasn’t responded to notes, so when I get their packages or mail, I just write “Delivered to wrong address” and put them back out to be picked up again. It’s not my responsibility to go above and beyond to see that mis-delivered mail finds it’s way home, its the responsibility of the people who got paid to do the job.
I drove the first package I got for other home to them and left it with a note on their porch. They called me back and thanked me. We exchanged numbers in case of further mix-ups and now i just text them when I get their stuff. They usually pick it up faster than the postal workers would.
I hope you didn’t sign the note “JaneDoe42”.
This is what my dad does. He’s at 615 Street Ave, and they’ve become friendly with their doppelgängers at 615 Street Rd.
“And we’ll drive by Jane’s house on the way home to see if our package has come in.”
Well, since the mystery box somehow has no indication of who shipped it, it is NOT from Amazon.
## WHAT IF YOU RECEIVE A MISTAKEN DELIVERY?
When it comes to a mistaken delivery, you’ll need to contact whoever sent them and ask them to collect the goods.
The difference between a mistaken delivery and unsolicited goods is simple. You can identify a mistaken delivery if the address and name on the package are different than yours. In many cases, you might find some similarities, but this package should be labeled for somebody else.
Call customer service for the company in charge of delivering the item and tell them what happened . The tracking number on the package should help them locate where the items need to be sent next.
This shouldn’t cost you anything–and you shouldn’t be inconvenienced in any way. The company should send someone to pick up the product within a reasonable timeframe.
## DON’T TRY TO KEEP PACKAGES RECEIVED BY MISTAKE
Companies will be alerted by the sender or their tracking system that the shipment wasn’t delivered to the right address. Even if you don’t alert them of the wrong delivery, they still might call your house or show up at your door asking where the package is.
Also, don’t try to reach out to the person who should have received the package . Respect their privacy by going through the shipping company rather than reaching out to the individual directly.
Now, IF you DO get ahold of the shipping company and they don;t care then:
If you reach out to the company and don’t get any response, then you can feel free to keep it . Sometimes, it won’t be worth the company’s money and trouble to retrieve it–in which case you’re free to keep the package.
However:
, Postmaster at U.S. Postal Service (1995-present)
Answered 2 years ago · Author has 183 answers and 619K answer views
If you get a misdelivered package you should return it to the post office immediately, if it was delivered by the post office. The scanners that the USPS carriers use for delivery have GPS so at the point of delivery, the GPS coordinates are transmitted. Management can now retrieve the Geo location to retrieve the misdelivered package or contact the Postal Inspection service to report a theft of mail if the address the package was delivered to erroneously doesn’t return it willingly. The best way to handle the situation is to immediately inform the delivery office that a package was misdelivered to you so they can pick it up as get it to it’s proper destination.
Now all of these make a strong difference between a package you did not order, but was delivered to YOU (with your name on it)- a "unsolicited package. That is a GIFT, and you can keep it.
VS
a Package misdelivered with somebodies else name on it- you can NOT keep or open it.