202 Comments so far

1. 
   Ciaran - May 20th, 2021 9:31 am

   Looks like my package which I re-mailed on 5/12 with the original label has finally arrived at its destination.

   The lack of tracking info had been making me nervous…

2. 
   Steve - May 20th, 2021 12:23 pm

   The package I remailed on May 7 with the original label was also successfully delivered. I’d thought it was lost, since the tracking info never showed anything beyond the original return to sender. But the customer confirmed it was delivered a week ago.

3. 
   Doug - May 20th, 2021 9:35 am

   I re-labeled mine and shipped it on Monday. It just departed the SFO IDC, so I’m hopeful its finally on its way. It appears I’m screwed on a refund on the original shipment, but have a claim in to Paypal.

4. 
   vincent - May 20th, 2021 11:34 am

   Go another one back. Mailed April 26, via SFO, received back May 20

   Got this sticker on it;

   https://ibb.co/tbgJj5P

   What a mess.

5. 
   Colin - May 24th, 2021 9:56 am

   To update the refund side of things, just got a follow-up e-mail from Shippo saying they’d secured refunds for my bounced packages.

6. 
   cody burch - May 27th, 2021 12:51 pm

   USPS is a freaking joke. has anyone gotten anymore packages back?

   again we’ve been shipping this way for years without a problem.

7. 
   Anonymouse - May 27th, 2021 1:10 pm

   I was able to successfully re-ship using the same/original label. The package was accepted (again) on May 21. On May 24-26 it went through the SF, Santa Clarita, and City of Industry distribution centers. Currently shows “In Transit to Next Facility” and I’m waiting to see it actually leave USA or arrive in the destination country…

8. 
   V - May 27th, 2021 2:05 pm

   I wouldn’t call is successful till the parcel is actually in the hands of the customer.. Have a couple at SF, one with a new label, one with the initial/first label. Waiting to see if they go through. Usps is now a third world outfit. Wouldn’t want to have that one one my resume if I still aspired a further career..

9. 
   Anonymouse - May 27th, 2021 2:09 pm

   I agree, it is not a successful re-ship until delivered to the customer! But just getting the original label back into the system and heading in the right direction seems to be a good sign. I’ll let y’all know what happens as the packaging continues on its journey.

10. 
    Raphaël - May 27th, 2021 11:15 pm

    Received my package the day before yesterday at home in France.
    Thanks Steve ! That was quick after the re-ship !

11. 
    Anonnn - May 28th, 2021 9:27 am

    So far I’ve reshipped about 6 packages with the original label

    One has made it to its recipient in Canada
    Two have at least made it to their respective countries (Spain and France)

    and one got returned back to me again, I have no idea why (despite being reshipped at the same time as the aforementioned one to France). I’ll just buy new postage for this one, I guess…

    the other two are in limbo since their original tracking ended at being returned to me, so I won’t know until the customer says anything…

12. 
    Cody Burch - May 28th, 2021 10:22 am

    We received two packages back yesterday. We mailed them on 5/19 and 5/20.

    We have been sending packages the same way for years, using “shipping department” as the name on the return label. They were refused due to “no sender’s name”.

    I have a feeling that, after the USPS system update they will start being very picky on what is allowed through the system. Just as the issue with the export compliance missing, some of our packages with “shipping department” made it through without any issues, only these two came back. WTF

13. 
    David - May 29th, 2021 1:01 am

    I wonder whether description of:
    Emu
    was taken literally to be products of the Australian bird:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu
    which would be blocked in Australian Customs.

14. 
    Brett - May 29th, 2021 12:10 pm

    I have also received a message from Shippo that I will be refunded the cost of postage on the packages that were returned.

15. 
    Vijay on East Coast - May 29th, 2021 1:18 pm

    A problem report from the East Coast!

    Thanks, Steve, for setting this up! I will complete your survey soon. I think this is only the tip of the iceberg, and you will see more postings here soon as the “returns” are being delivered by the slow processing centers on the East coast.

    I paid $81.40 for a Priority Mail International on USPS Click-N-Ship (they should be calling it Click-and-Rip) on April 30th and gave it to clerk at the local NJ post office the same day, with pre-printed customs labels. I am a personal shipper sending gifts to family/friend. No electronic items as such, and provided complete descriptions and weights of individual items on CP-72 declaration forms.

    The package was stuck for a while, and I thought that might be due to Covid situation in the destination (Asia). It was returned to me yesterday (May 28th), after full 4 weeks of going nowhere (and thanks to this blog, I at least know why):
    May 25, 2021
    Return to Sender
    JAMAICA, NY 11430
    May 13, 2021
    In Transit to Next Facility
    May 9, 2021
    Departed USPS Regional Facility
    JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
    May 9, 2021
    Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
    JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
    May 1, 2021
    Customs Clearance
    ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)

    My return had a different label from what you have seen from San Francisco; a red-letter (uppercase) mailing-label sticker saying “Return to Sender due to Export Compliance Regulations Missing Electronic Customs Data”

    Mine doesn’t say who affixed the stamp, but judging by what others have posted, it seems to me that it’s the USPS itself (not US Customs) that rejected it. And also so since it “cleared” US Customs before going Jamaica NY IDC (at JFK Airport).

    The posts here saved me a lot of time and aggravation; so I am not calling USPS, or going to the post office. Will try to apply for refund on USPS online, and dispute with the credit card company. I will also write to my US reps, since they need to know how the USPS “Click-and-Rip” works: This is actually not the first time USPS’s bad software tried to rip me off. I had sent 5 similar packages using Click-N-Rip in the previous 6 months, and 3 out of those 5 times they charged my credit card twice, for the same label. On two of the times, there were different reference numbers (for the same label), so after seeing that the package got delivered, I applied for, and got refunds on the duplicate charge. And, one time, both credit card charges had exactly the same reference number, so I had to dispute with the credit card company.

    So, it seems that there may be a lot of incompetent dummies doing the software programming for USPS. Pathetic also that no USPS employee at those IDCs had a clue or courtesy to see that when the packages are piling up on the RTS shelves, something must be wrong. Couldn’t they realize that even if the “Electronic data are missing”, the paper customs forms on the packages have all the necessary information? And, what’s the purpose of providing the sender’s contact info (e-mail and phone), if they are not going to be used to contact the sender in a situation like this?

    As for me, I am not thinking of re-shipping (even using the same label). Receiver will not be home in 2 weeks, and I will not be home in a month should the package return to me again. From me, USPS lost some future business: using the money that I send 10 of these packages in a year, I can buy a round-trip air ticket, and deliver the items myself.

    I feel sorry for those who run businesses, and have to use USPS. Please, please, don’t just absorb the loss; do whatever you can (local media – as John suggested, elected reps, class-action lawsuit etc) to hold the USPS accountable for highway robbery on top of incompetence.

16. 
    WTF - May 29th, 2021 9:57 pm

    Had the same issue with returned package. Paid and printed new labels and dropped off at my local USPS location. The clerk claimed they were “unaware” of the situation and refund cannot be made. Called all possible numbers, and everyone was a push-over. Filed a dispute through PayPal and explained the whole fiasco, Paypal didn’t even wait for USPS’s response and fully refined the first label. The new label is already reaching its destination in a few days.

17. 
    Robin Theobald - June 2nd, 2021 10:59 am

    The small company I work for has had the same issue. I just Googled and found this thread.
    We have shipped internationally for over 30+ yrs with USPS. But everything shipping around the last week of April to the first week of May or so has never even gotten out of the US.
    I do most of the shipping here and am doing nothing different and know of no changes to the process.
    But everything is coming back with the sticker saying “Return to sender due to export compliance regulations missing electronic customs data”.
    But tracking just shows it being returned because of address issues.
    We were on the phone for over an hour the other day with several people from USPS with zero answers.
    Everything that has been returned back, we sent back out using UPS, because USPS is just not reliable at this point.

18. 
    Anonymouse - June 2nd, 2021 4:20 pm

    Final update on my side. As a recap, my package was sent May 10, returned to sender May 12 in SF, and I received it back on May 14. I then Googled and discovered this fantastic thread, and decided to wait a few days to see what other people reported (i.e., do I pay for another label, or try again with the original).

    On May 21, I decided to attempt to re-ship using the same label. The post office counter person scratched their heads but said they would take it. Tracking indicated it likely left USA on May 27, arrived in Canada on May 28, and today on June 2 the recipient confirmed it was delivered successfully. For anyone who hasn’t yet re-shipped, you might consider trying the same label, before risking another payment for a new label.

    Hope everyone else is able to get their issues resolved. It’s a shame USPS doesn’t seem to acknowledge anything happened. Huge thank-you to BMOW for hosting this thread!!

19. 
    V - June 10th, 2021 8:05 am

    Filed a claim at this point, since they can’t seem to get their act together… Old label re-used.. In SF for going on 3 weeks now…

20. 
    Doug - June 10th, 2021 8:10 am

    I reshipped using a new label in mid May and it made it to Italy quicker than normal. My claim on the original $87 with Paypal was denied for some relatively cryptic reason, so I’ve filed a claim with the USPS. That was at least a week ago with nothing but crickets. F’ing postal service…

21. 
    Matt - June 10th, 2021 9:00 am

    This thread has been a life saver. Most of our 30+ packages have been delivered (after reshipment) we used a combination of old and new labels depending on value of packages.

    We have been trying to work with our shipping platform (ShipStation), as well as Stamps.com — we are not even at the point of getting postage refunded as the only thing the two orgs do is blame the other –even when we consistently point out it is not either of their fault, but the “fault” of USPS and we simply want to get refunds on the postage for the returns that we did not re-use. Both orgs state they are completely unaware of this being an issue.

    This is shocking to us when there had to be thousands (and thousands) of parcels affected.
    We’d prefer a – yes, we know and we’re trying to figure it out.

    We would like to hear more about service providers who got this right, as we would like to change our shipping platform to a more service-oriented provider.

22. 
    Brett - June 10th, 2021 12:54 pm

    Shippo has promised me twice now that they are securing refunds for its customers affected by this snafu. But so far, nothing has been credited to my account.

23. 
    tom - June 10th, 2021 6:24 pm

    Same problem here with shipping to China in May 2021 through NY Jamaica facility. Two packages RTS/ with notes: “missing electronic customs data (or similar)”. It’s a banana republic style of customer service, courtesy of US government agencies- either US Customs and Border Protection or USPS.

24. 
    Sherm - June 11th, 2021 7:50 pm

    Mailed my package to Germany on April 26, cleared NY customs ISC April 27, got to Jamaica NY international distribution center April 28, and sat there until May 28. A few days later Tracking showed a June 2 RTS (\”could not be delivered as addressed\”). Got the package on June 7 with informative/helpful/sincere/grubby label \”RETURN TO SENDER DUE TO EXPORT COMPLIANCE REGULATIONS MISSING ELECTRONIC CUSTOMS DATA\”.

    Sent in a request for USPS support, giving all the details. The response directed me to the USPS wild blue AI yonder of FAQ\’s, policies, procedures, etc without saying a single word about the specific problem I described, and needed help on.

    This thread to the rescue. When I learned that the problem had come and gone , leaving quite a few uprooted trees and blown roofs in its wake, I re-mailed with a new label.

    As a side note , it looks like San Francisco is about three or four weeks quicker that New York at processing international mail.

25. 
    nn - June 14th, 2021 10:07 am

    Sorry to say, this has NOT been resolved on the East Coast.

    I had one Priority parcel (shipped early May; returned mid-May) to the Netherlands returned with the cryptic “Return to Sender Due to Export Compliance Regulations MNissing Electronic Customs Data” sticker. Spoke with my vendor (Pirate Ship) who indicated it was a communications issue. They refunded my postage (super customer service btw). I reshipped with a new label May 17th. Our items go through JFK/NY. Parcel just returned today with the SAME sticker.

    Very frustrating.

26. 
    V - June 14th, 2021 10:23 am

    USPS = a nightmare. They seems to be in self destruct mode…

27. 
    Sherm - June 14th, 2021 8:02 pm

    nn Thinking that the problem was solved, I reshipped on June 11. Tracking shows it is working its way thru the normal New York way-points. But now I’m guessing that my package will receive the same treatment as yours did. So in a month or so I expect to get my package back. THer must be a way to break through the USPS barricades and communicate with someone who can help.

28. 
    Tim - June 15th, 2021 4:08 pm

    I haven’t updated on here for about a month when this was in the earlier days of blowing up. I received my package back on May 12th with the dreaded Missing Data sticker. The routing was Portland, OR through SF Customs with New Zealand as final destination. I waited about a week to decide how to resend, but ended up resending with the old label and having the postal employee re-scan it and force it into the system. Since that date there has been zero update on the tracking. It never even showed up as rescanned or re-sent. I wasn’t sure if it just fell into a black hole or what. However the good news came today that it was delivered to my son in New Zealand safe and sound. Still nothing updated on the tracking but it did arrive! So there is hope, but not alot of clarification on what the heck happened with this whole debacle.

29. 
    Joe Parknavy - July 22nd, 2021 7:59 am

    I just got 3 back from Japan and one from the UK. They are not leaving the country. They are getting stuck. Pirate Ship says just reprint labels and resend. The will also refund you your postage.

    “Missing Electronic Data”

    Thank you for your patience! 👍
    That “Missing Electronic Data” indicates that there was an error with the necessary information being sent from USPS, to the Customs Department. Back in early July, they reported some issues that they were having regarding this process, but have since rectified the situation. This is 100% an error on their part, and I’m so sorry that they dropped the ball here 😭
    We have issued credits to your account for the cost of both of these labels. You’ll be able to see this reflected in your account balance, on your Reports Page! I hope this helps you set sail again, Captain ⛵

30. 
    Joe Parknavy - July 22nd, 2021 8:01 am

    I am also shipping express.

31. 
    Anonymouse - July 22nd, 2021 8:01 am

    @Joe Parknavy, what US distribution center were your packages returned from?

32. 
    Joe Parknavy - July 22nd, 2021 8:09 am

    @Anonymouse Here is a tracking number all of them are the same EP863263566US

    Look like New York.

33. 
    Ann - July 22nd, 2021 9:25 am

    I can report, that with my customer’s ok, I reshipped at the after the 2nd return via Priority Mail through First Class Mail using Pirate Ship’s Simple Export Rate. Fortunately, the parcel was just under 4 lbs. As there was no longer any point in rushing service as we’d started this excruciating path MAY 3rd!

    Happy to report, it seems 3rd time was the charm after ONLY 2 1/2 months 🙁

    Original: Priority shipping date was May 3 – returned May 28
    Second: Priority ship date May 29 – returned June 14
    Third: First Class shipping date was June 15 – landed in the Netherlands July 5th; cleared for pick up on July 16th. 🙂

    Customs for Priority Parcels both went through Jamaica NY ISC Customs. The First Class parcel was different. It went through, sequentially:

    USPS Facility: METRO NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER BROOKLYN NY 11256 US
    USPS Facility: MID NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER MELVILLE NY 11747 US
    Processed by Asendia: RONKONKOMA, NY 11779
    Asendia Facility: HAUPPAUGE NY 11788
    Next Stop: Netherlands

    Hope that info helps someone.

34. 
    Tyler - July 22nd, 2021 9:44 am

    I’ll update my status in case anyone else is experiencing the same thing. I had re sent my package to Japan on 5/17 (see previous posts) and apparently the tracking number didn’t work for the resent label. I kept checking with my sister-in-law to see if it ever arrived and the answer was always ‘no’. I assumed that I was out that package because I wouldn’t be able to claim insurance since I couldn’t track it, but it finally arrived….. 2 months later. I don’t know if it was stuck in US customs or Japan Customs, but it eventually made it there on the re-shipped label.

35. 
    Matt - September 30th, 2021 11:34 am

    While USPS allowed us to buy postage, it seems that Australia is no longer accepting parcels from the United States. We have just had all of our shipments (from the last week) to Australia returned. Large HOT PINK sticker – reads: MAIL SERVICE SUSPENDED – Return to Sender !! Further investigation does state on the USPS site that mail is suspended to Australia, New Zealand and Libya.

36. 
    Matt - December 13th, 2021 9:33 am

    We are now receiving parcels returned stating INVALID POSTAGE. These are international parcels we have been shipping this way for many years. First Class International Mail (large envelope or flat 2-4oz). Any idea what is happening? Is this happening for any of you?

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