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Author
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Topic: Missing Item: STS-1 KSC Tile Lucite #0089
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thisismills
Member Posts: 263
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 10-27-2016 12:18 PM
   
Passing on a bit of unfortunate news. During a recent eBay transaction, the following item has disappeared. As the seller, I am out the item and the funds. Since claims from either side are difficult and time consuming for eBay to process, I am posting this information as an alert. A warning to anyone being offered this item in public or private, the person selling it is not the owner, effective Oct. 6, 2016.The display is a STS-1 Columbia Flown Tile lucite presentation from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), identified with the name June E. Bosbous on the front, and serial number #0089 on the reverse.  |
4allmankind
Member Posts: 1043
From: Dallas
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 10-27-2016 01:01 PM
Sorry to read that. Was it being shipped overseas? Where did the tracking stop? |
thisismills
Member Posts: 263
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 10-27-2016 04:06 PM
Shipped to Texas, w/USPS tracking showing delivered at the buyer's address. |
Apollo-Soyuz
Member Posts: 1205
From: Shady Side, Md
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 10-27-2016 04:40 PM
If you contact the post office, they can determine if the package was mis-delivered using GPS from the carrier scanner. |
Skythings
Member Posts: 243
From:
Registered: Jun 2014
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posted 10-27-2016 07:56 PM
My mail is delivered to a rural community mail box. I once had an item with tracking go missing and it was simply put into the wrong compartment and one of my neighbours received the package instead of me. They did not know me so they put it back in the mail system and it went back to the USA as return to sender. That took over 3 months before the seller contacted me to say he had it back. I had to re-pay to have it shipped again. At no time did any tracking show other than delivered to my address. I reported it missing and the Canada Post Office which stuck to their documented delivery, even though they put it in the wrong locked compartment and it ended up back in the USA. The USPS was notified and they never caught it coming back into the country and delivered back to sender even though it was flagged as missing. I had a package go missing from Russia which never arrived. At the time the tracking number showed it lost in Russia for over 2 months. I claimed a charge back with PayPal and and was refunded. Six months later the seller contacted me indicating the tracking number showed it delivered to my place. He was correct on that point, but I never did see the package. It never came. I hope it comes back to you and I hope it's not the buyer making a wrongful claim. Make sure you report it to eBay and they may have some internal security information on any past history on the buyer. |
Wehaveliftoff
Member Posts: 2343
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 10-27-2016 09:06 PM
I have problems with USPS delivery several times too, though I do not trust any of my neighbors, still believe the blame on USPS. Clearly no international solution to "Houston, we have a problem..." |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 10-27-2016 10:12 PM
From experience, tracking is not reliable. I've packages delivered to me - and shipped from me - where the tracking info didn't catch up until days later. I've had tracking show that a package arrived at a distribution center, then arrive at the destination sort center without a scan of it leaving the distribution center - a neat trick!The only way to be sure of delivery is to send it registered, or Express Mail, either way with a signature on receipt. What I would do is email the Postmaster of the destination Post Office. It takes a bit of sleuthing, but Postmasters and people in distribution centers hate getting emails or phone calls from the public because their email addys aren't that well known. In one instance, a package truly disappeared. But in others, they were able to find the package because all mail is photographed at various points. |
Chuckster01
Member Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 10-29-2016 06:55 AM
As a security professional, everyone should install a high definition camera at the front of your home. Amcrest make a very affordable, easy to install camera that will record several days of video on an SD card.I have had video of delivery damage, packages arriving opened and theft. I have 100% recovery. And it is amazing what happens when you have the video of the time and date they claim a delivery was made and no one was there. |
thisismills
Member Posts: 263
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 11-01-2016 11:10 AM
Unfortunately this is a case where it is my opinion that the buyer is running a scam, using a specific method I'd not seen before. Below is a summary, hopefully a helpful warning for other sellers...The buyer contacted me saying the box arrived, was not damaged, but was empty when they received it. (I shipped the item properly and it was in the box. Besides my word, I provided a receipt with tracking and shipment weight information, which I sent to the buyer and posted to the case. This is where the responses from the buyer stopped.) The buyer then opened a return case and shipped me a box back (empty). The return process triggers the funds to be held in PayPal. At the moment I have not issued any refunds. I am not very hopeful for a positive resolution since they tend to side with the buyer. I have yet to find an option other than to "report the buyer," to inform eBay that they did not actually return the item. (I would be more than happy to refund if it is returned, independent of the reason quite frankly). It's a simple case of dishonesty, which is why I hope this post prevents the future sale of the item... because I don't have it and whoever does is not owner. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 11-01-2016 11:57 AM
Possible box was open mid-transit and item removed? |
capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 11-01-2016 09:46 PM
You said the buyer shipped an empty box back to you ... was it the same box or a different one? If the same box, had it been opened? |
thisismills
Member Posts: 263
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 11-02-2016 11:23 AM
Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate everyone's comments.The box was fully sealed when it arrived according to the buyer. He sent me photos after he opened it, by cutting through the side, so I could see the original seal was still there. He mailed me the box back, I verified that the box at least was not swapped out mid-transit since it had my original hand-written address on it. I know I shipped the item, wrapped carefully with packing material, and verified the weight on my receipt with USPS. Since USPS doesn't weight the package again after it goes out on the route, it could have been carefully opened (by the carrier or someone else) and resealed before delivery. I don't want to believe it is a scam by the buyer... just where I've ended up after thinking through it as the easiest to understand conclusion... and that the box does not look to be tampered with. |
Ben
Member Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000
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posted 11-02-2016 11:31 AM
quote:
Originally posted by thisismills:
The box was fully sealed when it arrived according to the buyer. He sent me photos after he opened it, by cutting through the side, so I could see the original seal was still there.
There is something odd about this description from the buyer. Why would he even think to open from the side, to show you the seal was untouched, without knowing it was empty to begin with? |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 11-02-2016 11:34 AM
Probably a scam, or a postal employee who has done this before. I say probably a scam because the "buyer" was careful to cut through the side rather than just open the box normally. I suspect it is not his first time doing this; either that or he has experienced boxes coming in empty before and maybe a postal worker who was being clever and managed to get in and take it out. Talk to the head of your local post office about it. That person can direct you how to proceed. Perhaps others have reported this as well and they can find out a pattern and who had access to the box. I know they do not like postal fraud.
One last, vanishingly small possibility, have you checked around where you had it and packed it to know for sure it did not fall out? I know you have the receipt, but I once left an item out and had to contact the seller to tell him it was on the way in a separate package. |
thisismills
Member Posts: 263
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 11-02-2016 12:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by fredtrav:
One last, vanishingly small possibility, have you checked around where you had it and packed it to know for sure it did not fall out. I know you have the receipt, but I once left an item out and had to contact the seller to tell him it was on the way in a separate package.
I checked this first thing to make sure I was clear on my end and I don't have it. Luckly, I have a clean work area dedicated to these shipments. I would many times over loved to have made the mistake on my end, so much easier to figure out. The buyer never asked for the item to be shipped if it was forgotten, they immediately proceeded to the refund route. I would have provided the refund straight away with no questions if I had merely left it out.Also, thanks for the advice, early on I followed-up with both post offices and made them aware that it was a possibility of postal fraud, so they have the info to investigate. They didn't make me aware of other similar cases. |
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