The Official and ONLY Place to Discuss Negative Trade Experiences + Trade Blacklist

[misstarbender]

.........

[polish.princess]

If you did 3 different trades and none of them arrived until last Friday, then it's a CP issue and not the fault of the traders. They shouldn't be punished for CP's errors. As long as they sent you what was agreed on when they agreed to send it, does the envelope have the postmark?

If 1 arrived last Friday, maybe wait a few more days in hopes the others arrive too. After that I'd contact the traders. 6+ weeks is a pretty long time, but then again CP is awful for that.

In regards to this comment made, and as a proud Canada Post employee, let me correct you. We are not awful. We are hardworking people trying to do our job in a very difficult environment. I am just SICK AND TIRED of people blaming the post office. I'm not saying we're perfect and don't make mistakes. However, how can you expect us to deliver mail if the mistake starts at the beginning? People, you have to accept responsibility and blame yourselves for the mistakes you make when mailing your letters!

As letter carriers, even though addresses are illegible, incomplete and sometimes nonexistent, we try our best to deliver the mail. We will check names against other pieces of mail if possible. Keep in mind, not every letter carrier has his/her own route. You can't expect us all to look at your name and know exactly where you live. People get sick and yes, even letter carriers get holidays! A letter carrier covering a new route is not as likely to match up a name to an address.

For some reason, millions of Canadians STILL... yes, STILL don't know how to properly address a letter.

Jane Doe
111 Apple St.
Toronto, ON M1V 1J1

People, the postal code goes on the SAME line as the city! You may think it's not a big deal, but it is! Consider this: 70% of the mail that CP delivers, is sequenced by a machine. If your postal code is improperly placed, the machine can no longer read it and spits it aside. Believe it or not, the same letter can be circling the sequencing machine for weeks before someone notices. With 1.2 million letters being rejected per week, your "priority" coupons might be held up. This is also extremely important for you to have your postal codes correct. The machine sorts by postal code. So if you misspell just one letter or number, Toronto may now be Vancouver and your mail goes on a journey.

WRITE LEGIBLY! If we can't read it, how can we deliver it?!

Use appropriate envelopes! Those small, archaic envelopes are easily torn up by machines or slip between cracks.

NO STAPLES, PAPERCLIPS OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN PAPER IN REGULAR WHITE ENVELOPES. These get caught in the machines and YES, they WILL destroy your mail! If you want to use staples or paperclips, use a manila envelope or a bubble envelope. These are hand sorted and do not go through a machine.

Apartments have apartment and street numbers! The apartment number goes first and then the street number:

10 - 1500 Cumberland Ave OR 1500 Cumberland Ave. Apt 10

Include your return address! Mail gets damaged and is sent to the Undeliverable Mail Office (UMO). This office sorts through 7 million letters per year, trying to reunite them with their rightful sender. We live in Canada, where it rains and snows. Addresses fade when people write in pencil, pens smudge and unfortunately people do deposit liquids into mailboxes that spill all over everyone's mail. Addresses DO become illegible. If we can't read it, how can we deliver it?!

USE PROPER POSTAGE! So many people think "one stamp will do." Postage depends on size and weight of a letter. Your letter will be returned to you if you don't use proper postage (and SOOOOOO many of you pack your envelopes thick and think one stamp is enough). But wait! We can't return that letter to you because you didn't include your return address! ( http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/pers...sdocuments.jsf ) If you aren't sure about proper postage, go to a Retail Postal Outlet (RPO) and any clerk will be able to help you.

Empty your mailbox! If your mailbox is full, your letter carrier will hold onto the letter for a few days until you clear it. If you don't, mail is returned to sender. Didn't include your return address? That letter is now going to UMO (see above).

I'm sure 99% of you regular folk out there are all guilty of at least one of these above-mentioned human errors. And GUARANTEED, you tried to blame it on Canada Post. Next time, before mailing a letter, log on to the Canada Post website ( www.canadapost.ca ), ask your letter carrier, or go to an RPO if you are not 100% sure about mailing your letter.

And finally, use common sense!

Thanks SC'ers

[OgresWife]

I can understand that working at Canada Post can be very stressful at times, and I fully appreciate all the hard work that most employees do.
However, I only recently learned that the postal code goes on the same line as the city. This is the way it was taught to me in school, and I only graduated 10 years ago.

The vast majority of CP is great! I can send stuff to my friends and family at Christmastime and it gets there the next day for the most part (two hours away). I only get a little frustrated when people send me things from two hours away and it takes 3-6 days to get to me.

It was more annoying when I had won a prize and it was mailed to me from (again) two hours away and all three times it was sent, I never received it and it never was sent back to her. ( it was sent from a post office all three times, and I have a PO Box)

Its become a game as to when my freebie will arrive, usually no less than a week AFTER everyone else on here does.

The most annoying point is when I'll have 4 days of junk mail, and then one day of a crammed full box.

Amusement was had when I saw my two Tampax freebies get scanned into the system at my post office ( I saw them one morning when I was sending something, my name and box number) and they didn't get put into my box for two days.


I can absolutely understand your frustration with people complaining, but from my point of view and experiance, I do everything "right" and I still have an unpredictable postal system.


I apologize if my post is wrong, but I needed to point out that sometimes BOTH sides are in the right for their feelings.

[polish.princess]

I know most people hate flyers and admail. Consider: admail is a large portion of Canada Post's income. It pays the employees wages. Without admail, you would not have a letter carrier. Or a mailbox. Or Canada Post.

I'm also surprised that a "free sample" would be scanned as delivered. Free samples are sent through the mail as admail. These are never scanable items and cannot be traced. To be traceable, a parcel must have a certain barcode (notice if you ever see a barcode that says "NO DELIVERY SCAN" this doesn't count as a scanable barcode) and this is an extra fee. Companies that send freebies don't pay for a delivery confirmation.

[marmaduke]

In regards to this comment made, and as a proud Canada Post employee, let me correct you. We are not awful. We are hardworking people trying to do our job in a very difficult environment. I am just SICK AND TIRED of people blaming the post office. I'm not saying we're perfect and don't make mistakes. However, how can you expect us to deliver mail if the mistake starts at the beginning? People, you have to accept responsibility and blame yourselves for the mistakes you make when mailing your letters!

As letter carriers, even though addresses are illegible, incomplete and sometimes nonexistent, we try our best to deliver the mail. We will check names against other pieces of mail if possible. Keep in mind, not every letter carrier has his/her own route. You can't expect us all to look at your name and know exactly where you live. People get sick and yes, even letter carriers get holidays! A letter carrier covering a new route is not as likely to match up a name to an address.

For some reason, millions of Canadians STILL... yes, STILL don't know how to properly address a letter.

Jane Doe
111 Apple St.
Toronto, ON M1V 1J1

People, the postal code goes on the SAME line as the city! You may think it's not a big deal, but it is! Consider this: 70% of the mail that CP delivers, is sequenced by a machine. If your postal code is improperly placed, the machine can no longer read it and spits it aside. Believe it or not, the same letter can be circling the sequencing machine for weeks before someone notices. With 1.2 million letters being rejected per week, your "priority" coupons might be held up. This is also extremely important for you to have your postal codes correct. The machine sorts by postal code. So if you misspell just one letter or number, Toronto may now be Vancouver and your mail goes on a journey.

WRITE LEGIBLY! If we can't read it, how can we deliver it?!

Use appropriate envelopes! Those small, archaic envelopes are easily torn up by machines or slip between cracks.

NO STAPLES, PAPERCLIPS OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN PAPER IN REGULAR WHITE ENVELOPES. These get caught in the machines and YES, they WILL destroy your mail! If you want to use staples or paperclips, use a manila envelope or a bubble envelope. These are hand sorted and do not go through a machine.

Apartments have apartment and street numbers! The apartment number goes first and then the street number:

10 - 1500 Cumberland Ave OR 1500 Cumberland Ave. Apt 10

Include your return address! Mail gets damaged and is sent to the Undeliverable Mail Office (UMO). This office sorts through 7 million letters per year, trying to reunite them with their rightful sender. We live in Canada, where it rains and snows. Addresses fade when people write in pencil, pens smudge and unfortunately people do deposit liquids into mailboxes that spill all over everyone's mail. Addresses DO become illegible. If we can't read it, how can we deliver it?!

USE PROPER POSTAGE! So many people think "one stamp will do." Postage depends on size and weight of a letter. Your letter will be returned to you if you don't use proper postage (and SOOOOOO many of you pack your envelopes thick and think one stamp is enough). But wait! We can't return that letter to you because you didn't include your return address! ( http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/pers...sdocuments.jsf ) If you aren't sure about proper postage, go to a Retail Postal Outlet (RPO) and any clerk will be able to help you.

Empty your mailbox! If your mailbox is full, your letter carrier will hold onto the letter for a few days until you clear it. If you don't, mail is returned to sender. Didn't include your return address? That letter is now going to UMO (see above).

I'm sure 99% of you regular folk out there are all guilty of at least one of these above-mentioned human errors. And GUARANTEED, you tried to blame it on Canada Post. Next time, before mailing a letter, log on to the Canada Post website ( www.canadapost.ca ), ask your letter carrier, or go to an RPO if you are not 100% sure about mailing your letter.

And finally, use common sense!

Thanks SC'ers

Thank you. I am sure that a few of us learnt something new.

[Cupcakes'nCoupons]

I was taught in school that the proper way to address an envelope was with the postal code on its own line. I am only 25. I guess CP has changed things over the past few years. Did they notify people or just decide to change things without notifying the public?

In regards to this comment made, and as a proud Canada Post employee, let me correct you. We are not awful. We are hardworking people trying to do our job in a very difficult environment. I am just SICK AND TIRED of people blaming the post office. I'm not saying we're perfect and don't make mistakes. However, how can you expect us to deliver mail if the mistake starts at the beginning? People, you have to accept responsibility and blame yourselves for the mistakes you make when mailing your letters!

As letter carriers, even though addresses are illegible, incomplete and sometimes nonexistent, we try our best to deliver the mail. We will check names against other pieces of mail if possible. Keep in mind, not every letter carrier has his/her own route. You can't expect us all to look at your name and know exactly where you live. People get sick and yes, even letter carriers get holidays! A letter carrier covering a new route is not as likely to match up a name to an address.

For some reason, millions of Canadians STILL... yes, STILL don't know how to properly address a letter.

Jane Doe
111 Apple St.
Toronto, ON M1V 1J1

People, the postal code goes on the SAME line as the city! You may think it's not a big deal, but it is! Consider this: 70% of the mail that CP delivers, is sequenced by a machine. If your postal code is improperly placed, the machine can no longer read it and spits it aside. Believe it or not, the same letter can be circling the sequencing machine for weeks before someone notices. With 1.2 million letters being rejected per week, your "priority" coupons might be held up. This is also extremely important for you to have your postal codes correct. The machine sorts by postal code. So if you misspell just one letter or number, Toronto may now be Vancouver and your mail goes on a journey.

WRITE LEGIBLY! If we can't read it, how can we deliver it?!

Use appropriate envelopes! Those small, archaic envelopes are easily torn up by machines or slip between cracks.

NO STAPLES, PAPERCLIPS OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN PAPER IN REGULAR WHITE ENVELOPES. These get caught in the machines and YES, they WILL destroy your mail! If you want to use staples or paperclips, use a manila envelope or a bubble envelope. These are hand sorted and do not go through a machine.

Apartments have apartment and street numbers! The apartment number goes first and then the street number:

10 - 1500 Cumberland Ave OR 1500 Cumberland Ave. Apt 10

Include your return address! Mail gets damaged and is sent to the Undeliverable Mail Office (UMO). This office sorts through 7 million letters per year, trying to reunite them with their rightful sender. We live in Canada, where it rains and snows. Addresses fade when people write in pencil, pens smudge and unfortunately people do deposit liquids into mailboxes that spill all over everyone's mail. Addresses DO become illegible. If we can't read it, how can we deliver it?!

USE PROPER POSTAGE! So many people think "one stamp will do." Postage depends on size and weight of a letter. Your letter will be returned to you if you don't use proper postage (and SOOOOOO many of you pack your envelopes thick and think one stamp is enough). But wait! We can't return that letter to you because you didn't include your return address! ( http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/pers...sdocuments.jsf ) If you aren't sure about proper postage, go to a Retail Postal Outlet (RPO) and any clerk will be able to help you.

Empty your mailbox! If your mailbox is full, your letter carrier will hold onto the letter for a few days until you clear it. If you don't, mail is returned to sender. Didn't include your return address? That letter is now going to UMO (see above).

I'm sure 99% of you regular folk out there are all guilty of at least one of these above-mentioned human errors. And GUARANTEED, you tried to blame it on Canada Post. Next time, before mailing a letter, log on to the Canada Post website ( www.canadapost.ca ), ask your letter carrier, or go to an RPO if you are not 100% sure about mailing your letter.

And finally, use common sense!

Thanks SC'ers

[OgresWife]

I don't know why it was scanned, but for whichever reason, it was. I had thought maybe it wouldn't fit in the box and it needed a pickup card but they fit in fine. A few of my samples of come in with a barcode on the address label, but not knowing much of the system I have no idea what its used for.

I'm not cranking on admail at all, sometimes its good and if not I recycle it. Its the four days of nothing but admail and then an overstuffed box one day a week that gets annoying. Just finished 3 weeks in a row of it. And on different days, lol! if I knew which day was going to be the good day, I wouldn't walk up everyday

[DianneS]

I was taught in school that the proper way to address an envelope was with the postal code on its own line. I am only 25. I guess CP has changed things over the past few years. Did they notify people or just decide to change things without notifying the public?

I was taught the same, however the fact that the postal code is supposed to be on the same line as the address has been posted on SC many times over the past two years....and yet people seem not to remember it. Human nature is that we need to be told the same thing many times, many different ways before it finally sinks in and becomes habit.

[Cupcakes'nCoupons]

Whether its posted on SC is not my concern. It is whether the general public has been told that this is the way to address things properly. Most people are not members on this site and would not think to check twice.

I was taught the same, however the fact that the postal code is supposed to be on the same line as the address has been posted on SC many times over the past two years....and yet people seem not to remember it. Human nature is that we need to be told the same thing many times, many different ways before it finally sinks in and becomes habit.

[SmCoupongirl]

I have a question for some of you who are more experienced in trading. I recently set up a trade with someone where i sent them a gift card in exchange for some coupons from my wishlist. They have not yet received my gift card but I have received their coupons. I sent the gift card out a while ago but I am not worried about that mail has been really slow in my area lately.

The thing is I noticed just today that some of the coupons that I received clearly state on the back of them not valid in Quebec which is where I live. Others have a typo on them. In english they state when you buy any of the product while in french they state when you buy any 2. And of course since I live in Quebec most cashiers will read the french part rather then the english part.

I contacted the trader about it and they said they didnt know which is possible. I have myself in the past neglected to read all the fine print on coupons. However i feel kind of disappointed about it. I was really looking forward to using those coupons and now they are basically useless to me and will have to try and arrange to trade them with someone else.

I guess my question is has this kind of thing ever happened to any of you?And what did you do about it? And how did you prevent it from happening again?

[DianneS]

Whether its posted on SC is not my concern. It is whether the general public has been told that this is the way to address things properly. Most people are not members on this site and would not think to check twice.

Not saying the general public reads this site. Just that even on a site like this where it is posted frequently, people still seem to miss it. Canada Post has a great website with lots of information.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/pers...addressing.jsf

Canadian addresses

1. Put information such as title, floor, etc. above the street address
2. Put a hyphen between unit/suite/apt number and the street number.
3. Put the city, province and Postal Code on 1 line.
4. Put 2 spaces between the Postal Code and the province.

[K8's Fate]

I have a question for some of you who are more experienced in trading. I recently set up a trade with someone where i sent them a gift card in exchange for some coupons from my wishlist. They have not yet received my gift card but I have received their coupons. I sent the gift card out a while ago but I am not worried about that mail has been really slow in my area lately.

The thing is I noticed just today that some of the coupons that I received clearly state on the back of them not valid in Quebec which is where I live. Others have a typo on them. In english they state when you buy any of the product while in french they state when you buy any 2. And of course since I live in Quebec most cashiers will read the french part rather then the english part.

I contacted the trader about it and they said they didnt know which is possible. I have myself in the past neglected to read all the fine print on coupons. However i feel kind of disappointed about it. I was really looking forward to using those coupons and now they are basically useless to me and will have to try and arrange to trade them with someone else.

I guess my question is has this kind of thing ever happened to any of you?And what did you do about it? And how did you prevent it from happening again?

If you're concerned about the fine print on a future trade, then just ask for the specific wording on the coupon from the other party. Many people (especially stackers) often request this.

You can also ask for the UPC numbers, and search them on the SC scanned coupon thread, or even google them. You can often see an image of the exact coupon and wording.

Good luck

[Giving-Small]

I have sent and received coupons where the fine print did not match up with what was requested.

In the case where I sent the wrong ones, I replaced/sent others and offered to return what I was sent.

On the receiving end, I don't recall what happenned.

I have a question for some of you who are more experienced in trading. I recently set up a trade with someone where i sent them a gift card in exchange for some coupons from my wishlist. They have not yet received my gift card but I have received their coupons. I sent the gift card out a while ago but I am not worried about that mail has been really slow in my area lately.

The thing is I noticed just today that some of the coupons that I received clearly state on the back of them not valid in Quebec which is where I live. Others have a typo on them. In english they state when you buy any of the product while in french they state when you buy any 2. And of course since I live in Quebec most cashiers will read the french part rather then the english part.

I contacted the trader about it and they said they didnt know which is possible. I have myself in the past neglected to read all the fine print on coupons. However i feel kind of disappointed about it. I was really looking forward to using those coupons and now they are basically useless to me and will have to try and arrange to trade them with someone else.

I guess my question is has this kind of thing ever happened to any of you?And what did you do about it? And how did you prevent it from happening again?

[Tbites]

The thing is I noticed just today that some of the coupons that I received clearly state on the back of them not valid in Quebec which is where I live. Others have a typo on them. In english they state when you buy any of the product while in french they state when you buy any 2. And of course since I live in Quebec most cashiers will read the french part rather then the english part.

There was a Dr. Oetker dessert coupon that had a typo; front side didn't match the back side discount. You've got me curious, which coupon has this typo from english to french ?

Sorry to hear you got stuck with coupons you can't use, have you asked the trader is she'd be willing to return the GC if you return the coupons ? I think most traders here trade in good faith but mistakes CAN happen. This is where researching your upcs will serve you.

[SmCoupongirl]

There was a Dr. Oetker dessert coupon that had a typo; front side didn't match the back side discount. You've got me curious, which coupon has this typo from english to french ?

Sorry to hear you got stuck with coupons you can't use, have you asked the trader is she'd be willing to return the GC if you return the coupons ? I think most traders here trade in good faith but mistakes CAN happen. This is where researching your upcs will serve you.

It is a 2$ off any Jergens coupon. I dont know where it came from. I thought it was one from samplesource when i traded because I had gotten one but this one is different. I dont really know much about UPC's Ive never thought to check them before . From now on i guess i will have to lol.
I did not ask the trader because I can not return all of the coupons. 2 of them were for the fiber one fpcs that were valid only on july 24th so Ive already used them as well as a few royale ones also.

The thing about the not valid in Quebec ones is that they are the 3$ when you buy any aveeno/neutrogena/lubriderm coupons which I belive are the ones you can call in and request fom the compagny. I had some before that expired june 30th this year and they did not have the not valid in quebec wording on them so i just figured these were the same but turns out they were not.