Breaking news! The US Postal Service has introduced new measures, violators may be arrested

Last week, the news that UPS was strictly investigating accounts that had leaked goods caused quite a stir in the industry. A large number of illegal goods were investigated and a batch of accounts were blocked, which made the industry shudder.

Before the crisis subsided, another major logistics company also joined the crackdown this week. According to logistics insiders, the US Postal Service has also begun to strictly investigate the accounts that have been leaked. All order information under the associated accounts has been deleted, and multiple accounts will be restricted. Last Friday, the USPS and the Postal Inspection Service launched expanded crime prevention measures, one of the key tasks of which is to crack down on fake delivery orders.

Next, the U.S. Postal Service will intercept parcels with fake shipping labels. It has the right to confiscate or dispose of fraudulent packages, and those who illegally use forged shipping labels may be arrested and convicted. Once violations are found, it will be a heavy blow to the relevant logistics companies and sellers.

In addition, since the implementation of Amazon's new warehousing regulations, terminal delivery is still in chaos. FBA warehouses have concentrated on canceling and rescinding contracts, and multiple warehouses continue to be overwhelmed. Sellers generally complain about the difficulty of delivering goods to warehouses.

In order to increase the success rate of warehouse delivery and avoid violating Amazon's new regulations when appointments are difficult, many freight forwarders have issued notices to sellers, requiring them to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of the goods PO, and avoid problems such as shipments in batches and mixed loading. If Amazon refuses to accept or cannot put the goods on the shelves due to the FBA appointment number, the seller must bear the consequences.

The U.S. Postal Service will confiscate parcels with fake face labels

In the past two weeks, UPS and other American express delivery companies have taken drastic measures to crack down on violations, and have wielded an iron fist against accounts that steal areas, steal weights, and leak money. Fake accounts have been blacklisted, fraudulent goods have been detained, and some overseas warehouses have even been disqualified from picking up goods and are facing investigations.

Starting this week, the United States Postal Service has also begun to strictly investigate fraudulent accounts and fake mailing lists, and the actions have been more severe. Not only the goods that steal postage, but also the related websites and accounts cannot escape the punishment, and fraudsters may even be arrested.

On May 12, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched expanded crime prevention measures. Specific plans include reducing postal robberies and mail theft, preventing address change fraud, and combating fake mailing lists. The latter two have a significant impact on cross-border e-commerce.

In fiscal year 2022, the Postal Administration and the Postal Inspection Service seized more than 340,000 packages with false mailing labels and more than 7.7 million counterfeit stamps, preventing an estimated $7.8 million in losses for the Postal Administration. Expanded operations to combat fraudulent mailing labels now include:

1. Postal authorities will intercept packages with forged labels. The Postal Service will fully exercise its new powers to seize and process packages found to have forged labels.

2. Review of shipments during outreach visits to Postal Service terminals and warehouses.

3. Close the website and shut down the e-commerce accounts that sell fake shipping labels.

4. Engage and collaborate with e-commerce companies to disrupt their activities.

5. Cooperation with Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

6. Promote the Bureau's reward program, which provides a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who illegally uses, reuses, or counterfeit mailing forms, postage stamps, license stamps, or other mailing forms; or uses, sells, or possesses with intent to sell any used, counterfeit, or fraudulent mailing form stamp, etc.

(Measures to combat fake shipping labels)

Additionally, the Postal Service processed more than 33 million Change of Address (COA) transactions in fiscal year 2022, and most COA fraud is driven by identity theft motives independent of the Postal Service. Now, the Postal Service is taking steps to strengthen the verification process for all COA methods—electronic and hard copy formats, whether submitted by mail or in person. Actions to prevent change of address fraud include:

In April, the Postal Service implemented a two-factor authentication service for online change of address transactions to provide enhanced security controls to reduce fraud.

2. Starting May 31, the Postal Service will offer enhanced in-person change of address transactions at post offices and retail stores. COA customers can verify their identity by showing an approved ID to a retail clerk.

3. Postal Service customers seeking a COA will now receive a verification letter at their old address and an activation letter at their new address.

4. As an additional safeguard, the postal service will no longer accept address change requests submitted by third parties.

In the cross-border logistics industry, false waybills and address changes are common operations. False waybills are operated through a water account, with almost zero cost, and are very popular in some Sino-US dedicated logistics companies. Freight forwarders use this to save costs and increase their attractiveness in the market; address changes are often called stealing. Some freight forwarders will shorten the delivery distance by changing the shipping address, thereby paying less freight.

Now, the new measures of the US Postal Service have precisely targeted these two methods of operation - the difficulty of changing the address has increased greatly, and the review and processing of false shipping documents have become more stringent. Fraudsters may not only lose their goods, but also themselves. This is a heavy blow to US logistics.

In fact, the U.S. Postal Service did not come up with this idea on a whim, but had been planning it for a long time.

Due to the surge in fake mailing lists in recent years, the U.S. Postal Service submitted a new plan to the federal government in mid-February this year on how to deal with fake mailing lists and packages, and solicited public opinions in the following month. The revised plan mentioned that the post office would be allowed to dispose of fake mailing list items found.

Prior to this, even if the risk control department of the US Postal Service found fake waybills being used in bulk, it had no right to centrally destroy or open the packages for inspection, and could only return them. However, if the new plan is approved, US Postal employees will be collectively authorized to inspect all suspicious packages and centrally destroy packages confirmed to have fake waybills without individually notifying or obtaining permission from the consignee/sender.

At that time, Li Lin, a senior logistics expert, analyzed, "If the US government agrees to the revised plan, the US Postal Service will obtain law enforcement power and can directly impose fines and destroy false waybills when they are found. This will definitely have a certain impact on the so-called water-laundering accounts in the market, and will also indirectly affect sellers. For example, the price of China-US special lines in the market will rise, which will affect sellers' profits to a certain extent."

Now, the USPS has obtained the authority to intercept and handle parcels with false delivery labels, and the crackdown on false delivery labels is more severe than expected. This will affect all shipping methods using USPS accounts in cross-border logistics, including domestic direct delivery and overseas warehouse drop shipping, etc. Independent sites and third-party platform self-delivery sellers may be affected.

Li Lin told the editor that the United States Postal Service is currently strictly investigating accounts that have lost funds and will delete the information of all order numbers associated with the accounts. This will result in restrictions or losses on accounts that are in transit, not delivered, or delivered but not paid in time.

Logistics companies have already felt the impact. One logistics company has notified its customers that "due to the U.S. Postal Service switching system, there has been widespread confusion, one of the phenomena is that many packages that have been signed for have false postage and other erroneous information." It has taken measures and advised sellers to:

1. Withdraw the platform amount as soon as possible to avoid the platform blocking the account;

2. For customers who only recognize China Post AG tracking numbers on Amazon and other platforms, please replace the AG tracking numbers as soon as possible to avoid further problems. If you agree, they will provide AG tracking numbers;

3. If the USPS order number has been filled in on other platforms such as independent sites, you can directly replace the order number of that company, which will save the entire signing process tracking information.

Logistics companies in the industry are eager to respond, and cross-border sellers also need to pay attention to the logistics process to avoid running into the US Postal Service's major review. In addition, since Amazon warehouses began to implement new policies in May, many warehouses have been overwhelmed, appointments have been frequently cancelled and postponed, and appointments have become difficult, which has made sellers anxious.

Amazon is frantically canceling and rescheduling contracts, and FBA warehouse explosions continue

This week, many sellers complained about the difficulty in making reservations and delivering goods to Amazon warehouses. One seller couldn't help but ask his peers: "Have you all encountered problems with goods on the way, difficulty in making reservations, difficulty in delivering goods, and slow listing? It's better to go to the East Coast of the United States."

Another seller also said that the goods in transit, which were delivered by full container direct delivery, could not be delivered for more than ten days, and now all goods have been delivered by truck; after finally entering the warehouse, the FC operation is also very slow. In order to maintain normal operations, the seller plans to use the warehouse recommended by Amazon and superimpose the multi-destination plan.

There are many sellers who are stumped by appointments. Due to the delay in timeliness, the number of inquiries and urging messages received by freight forwarders has increased sharply in recent days. In fact, facing Amazon's crazy cancellation and postponement of appointments, freight forwarders are the most troubled.

When the editor learned about the FBA warehouse's contract cancellation and modification, Shenzhen freight forwarder Jack Chen said frankly that now the first sentence in conversations with colleagues is "Can you make an appointment?", which shows how difficult it is to make an appointment.

The major warehouses in the West Coast of the United States, such as LAX9, LGB8, SBD1, LAS1, GYR3, and SMF3, are popular warehouses for shipments, but it is very difficult to get an appointment. Due to the difficulty in making an appointment, some freight forwarders have begun to buy appointment numbers at a high price of $1,000, which is shocking.

"This price is definitely high, but looking around, those who do not take contracts for direct delivery are in a worse situation, and the cost and time of changing and splitting the containers will be increased." Jack Chen said, "The most direct impact now is that it is more difficult to make an appointment with a freight forwarder than before. There have been cancellations and changes to contracts before, but not as many as this time. It should be due to Amazon's new regulations and warehouse explosions."

Yesterday, Jack Chen's company just updated the Amazon reservation and delivery time. In terms of pallet reservation:

ONT8: Amazon uses manual appointment release, and there are cases where appointments are cancelled or postponed, and the Pending status will appear;

LAX9: Amazon manually releases appointments. New appointments will be made at the end of this month at the earliest. Currently, the warehouse is in a state of overstocking, with a large number of appointments cancelled or postponed. The warehouse is in a state of not releasing appointments.

LGB8: Manual appointment release. Currently, the warehouse is overwhelmed and there are a large number of appointment cancellations and postponements. The warehouse will reduce the number of appointments released because it is running Amazon's internal projects.

SBD1: Manual release. Currently, the warehouse is overwhelmed. The warehouse will reduce the release volume because it is running Amazon internal projects.

GYR3: Currently, the warehouse is full and it is difficult to make an appointment. The warehouse will reduce the number of appointments because it is running Amazon's internal projects;

LAS1: Currently, the warehouse is still seriously overstocked, and there are a large number of contract cancellations and postponements, making it difficult to get contracts;

SMF3: Currently, the warehouse is full and some products are rejected. It is difficult to make an appointment. The warehouse will reduce the number of appointments because it is running Amazon's internal projects.

In addition, OLM1 is not releasing orders at the moment, and XLX7 is not liquidated, so delivery can be done normally.

Flooring Approx.:

LGB8, LAX9, ONT8, SBD1: Amazon manually arranges appointments, with a small number of appointments, and appointments are easily changed, postponed, or deleted. The earliest appointment is until the end of May.

SMF3, LAS1: Difficulty in approving appointments. Appointments that have been made are deleted. It takes 3 weeks to approve appointments.

GYR3, GYR2, SCK4: 3 weeks after approval;

In addition, OLM1 does not approve appointments. Other warehouses require appointments about 2 weeks in advance.

A freight forwarder lamented that it is a fact that it is difficult to make an appointment, after all, everyone has to use the same process to make an appointment. In the past, sellers did not pay much attention to the progress of the appointment, as long as the warehouse entry time was acceptable. But seeing that there was no time limit for warehouse entry, sellers also began to get anxious.

A freight forwarder said that Amazon’s frantic cancellation and postponement of contracts is not due to the backend’s ability to solve the problem, but is indeed caused by Amazon’s new regulations and warehouse explosions. He reminded sellers to reserve an extra 7-10 days of cargo turnover when preparing goods at the popular warehouses in the western United States. However, judging from the current situation, a week of turnover time is not sufficient.

When it is so difficult to make an appointment, it is crucial for sellers to provide accurate and valid PO numbers. This is also an important matter that many freight forwarding companies have recently informed sellers.

Multiple freight forwarders informed sellers to pay attention to these when shipping

Amazon’s new reservation rules, which came into effect on May 1, are not only a driving force behind the current warehouse explosion situation, but also a means to regulate the logistics industry in the long run.

Some logistics companies have summarized the new policy into several key points:

1. The same PO goods cannot be booked multiple times, and the delivery vehicle must match the reserved vehicle information, otherwise it will be regarded as a defect rate, which will directly affect the reservation account;

2. If you need to cancel or modify an Amazon appointment, you must do so at least 72 hours in advance of the original appointment time. If you need to modify the PO information, you must do so at least 24 hours in advance of the original appointment time. Otherwise, it will be considered a defect rate and affect your appointment account.

3. Amazon requires that the weekly reservation accuracy rate be lower than 5% and no higher than 10%; the PO accuracy rate be higher than 95% and no lower than 85%, otherwise the reservation account will be blocked. When the reservation accuracy rate exceeds 50%, the account will be immediately blocked for 30 days.

At first glance, this is a restriction on logistics companies, but if you look at it separately, it is also a restriction on sellers. After some analysis, some logistics companies have already notified sellers of the changes brought about by the new regulations, and the latter need to cooperate in the delivery process.

One seller said that in order to save time and effort, he often created a batch of shipments and then sent them out by separate tickets, time and freight. He stopped this operation in March, and Amazon began to strictly control the appointment and delivery in May. After receiving the notice from the freight forwarder that "one FBA number corresponds to one ID and must be sent out in full, and partial shipments or less boxes are not allowed", the seller secretly rejoiced.

At the same time, more logistics companies have informed sellers in detail about this matter.

A freight forwarding company stated that sellers must confirm the accuracy and validity of the goods PO before shipment; if the seller or his company finds that there are shipments with expired POs through self-inspection, the seller must apply for activation. If the goods cannot be delivered to the warehouse due to failure to activate in time, the company will take measures to temporarily detain the goods in the overseas warehouse until the seller re-establishes the warehouse and arranges for delivery. All expenses incurred during this period will be borne by the sender.

The company particularly emphasized that it is recommended that the same PO number be delivered by only one logistics company to avoid unnecessary trouble and costs caused by the invalidation of the PO before and after delivery. In addition, it is recommended that sellers plan the cargo volume of each channel in advance, and it is recommended to build warehouses separately for different channels (such as some Meisen, some Yantian, etc.) to avoid repeated appointments and the problem of delivery failure; however, UPS and FedEx do not require appointments or ID numbers for delivery, so express delivery is not affected.

An international logistics company in Shenzhen gave a more detailed explanation. It said that the new regulations require that the accuracy of the PO for each delivery to the warehouse must reach more than 85%, otherwise it will have a serious impact on the customer's store account and may cause the appointment account to be blocked ; the same FBA ID/PO number cannot be warehoused in batches; modifying the PO number, adding a new PO number or canceling delayed delivery, etc., must be completed 72 hours before the original appointment time.

Therefore, in order to meet the requirements of the new regulations and ensure the normal operation of the seller's customers' Amazon store accounts and Amazon delivery appointment accounts, several suggestions and requirements were put forward.

1. Each FBA   The ID must correspond to the exact number of boxes. You cannot use the same total box number for two or more FBAs. When providing invoice information, please include the number of boxes for each FBA.   The number of items corresponding to the ID is provided separately.
2. Please accurately provide a valid FBA number and the corresponding PO number, which must be authentic and valid and match the cargo label.
3. The FBA number/ PO number in each cabinet can only be used once . If the goods with the same FBA number are placed in two or more cabinets, the Amazon system will detect that the FBA has been delivered to the warehouse, causing the FBA number/ PO number to become invalid and unable to be booked. (Unless the PO is still valid or can still be restarted)
4. Cannot be mixed or nested.

In addition, if the goods cannot be delivered normally due to reasons such as PO expiration, multiple uses of PO reservations, different codes between the actual warehouse on the goods label and the warehouse where the order is dispatched, etc., the logistics company will temporarily detain the goods and proceed to the next step after confirming with the customer. If there is any invalid FBA reservation number, the seller needs to reactivate the status, otherwise it will affect the normal dispatch; even if the goods have been delivered to the warehouse, using an invalid FBA reservation number may cause the goods to be unable to be put on the shelf or lost, and they cannot be found.

If Amazon refuses to accept or cannot put the goods on the shelves due to problems with the FBA reservation number, all risks and costs will be borne by the customer. The cost of rejection and return will also be charged to the shipper. This is the position made by multiple logistics companies to sellers. In the subsequent delivery process, sellers need to pay more attention to avoid additional troubles and costs.

In addition, industry insiders pointed out another problem. "Now that Amazon's new delivery rules have been released, it is basically impossible to reduce costs by direct delivery of full containers by truck delivery, but a large number of freight forwarders are still accepting full container direct delivery goods at low prices. When they arrive in the United States, they will incur other costs such as unpacking or renting containers, which will definitely be unbearable. It is expected that this will be the next thunder to be exposed."

In May, Amazon’s new reservation rules disrupted the original reservation operation, hoping to use the new rules to improve delivery efficiency. Short-term reservation difficulties and warehouse explosions were inevitable; then UPS and USPS began to strictly investigate the problems of account leakage and stealing of area and weight, and many overseas warehouses and terminal delivery were caught off guard, and sellers were inevitably involved. The cross-border logistics link is gradually being unblocked amid the pain.