FBM returns – “Carrier picked up the package”

Hey all, I have 3 products sellign on Amazon. One is FBA, Two are FBM. My FBM’s are much lower in volume compared to my FBA product. I have a sub 2% return rate across the board, but I have noticed that my FBM returns consistently do’t make it back to me.

Amazon issues the RMA and return label.

I can check the status but they always default to: “Carrier picked up the package.”

What is odd, is this status is what is shown as soon as the return authorization takes place. For instance, I’ve seen one at 5:30 pm on the east coast. Nobody at USPS is scanning packages at this hour.

I think in my 2 years of selling this product, the majority of them never show up, but Amazon forces the refund. I have reached out to them once before and the Amazon agent told me I have to contact USPS to sort it out, which I don’t know how they would even possibly talk to me about an Amazon generated return label.

Has anyone else seen this and have you found a way to fix it?