Well it happened, the USPS managed to lose my Starmate! Corduroy did his magic on the blade and it was on the way back. Automated machinery tore the top, some bozo lifted the knife from the Spyderco box! Drew is a gentleman, offered me his own Starmate, but I will wait! USPS will find the knife or pay me! BTW, Starmate #313 is lost!
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USPS
- Thread starter copfish
- Start date
- Joined
- May 22, 1999
- Messages
- 1,474
I ordered a custom knife from Steve45 and the box was opened on the corner. The knife was still in there. Whew. My question is can we inspect the box and contents before signing? How do we take action if the contents are damaged or missing?
Sorry to hear that your knife has been lost.
USPS managed also to loose a Cold Steel ready-edge for me. I told them and the were telling me the would look for it, but I wrote it off a year later. I'll know that is nothing compared to loosing a starmate.
In my country you have to sign first. Then you have 24 hours to file a claim. The worst thing to come. The USPS refuses to take any responsibility if something in the parcel has been damaged. And of course the Postal-Service in my country tells me it happend while the parcel was with USPS.
Apart from this I have made many very good experiences with USPS.
Please let us know if the find your starmate (part serrated I guess).
Greetings
red
USPS managed also to loose a Cold Steel ready-edge for me. I told them and the were telling me the would look for it, but I wrote it off a year later. I'll know that is nothing compared to loosing a starmate.
In my country you have to sign first. Then you have 24 hours to file a claim. The worst thing to come. The USPS refuses to take any responsibility if something in the parcel has been damaged. And of course the Postal-Service in my country tells me it happend while the parcel was with USPS.
Apart from this I have made many very good experiences with USPS.
Please let us know if the find your starmate (part serrated I guess).
Greetings
red
- Joined
- May 25, 1999
- Messages
- 973
copfish,
Wicked bummer
. I have noticed recently that USPS has been damaging a lot of the boxes I have been receiving. I am lucky the items didn't fall out of either of them! One had a hole the size of a softball, the other looked like an elephant sat on top of it and jumped a few times...LOL.
Insurance helps, but how can you place a dollar value on certain items
. We will keep an eye out for #313 Starmate for you - it must have been sweet if Drew did work on it, too
.
Ray 'md2020'
Wicked bummer
Insurance helps, but how can you place a dollar value on certain items
Ray 'md2020'
I've got say my recent experience with USPS using priority mail has been very positive. Packages arrive on time in good condition. I recently sent a knife to mjjbecker in the U.K. using a special "small package air" rate and they told me 4-6 days. It was actually closer to three since I mailed it about 7:00 P.M. EDT. Just a reminder to make sure you pack your shipment well. It is possible for a heavy knife to break through its outer container if it is not packed well. I've received several R.E.K.A.T.s in the mail, and though they were well packed for the most part, they were all out of their tubes. I've started stuffing the tubes with cotton balls to prevent the knife from moving within the tube and then wrapping the tube with bubble wrap and taping it.
phantom4
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who dares, wins
phantom4
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who dares, wins
Ah yes, the perils of US Postal. Although it is sometimes difficult to put a dollar value on items that mean a lot, a claim for lost or damage can be made. First, one MUST insure for the value of package ($50 minimum). Secondly, a confirmation # for only .35 more will tell you how the package was left (porch, signed for, a neighbor, physically received, etc.) or if it is still in the local PO. It is however, not a tracking #, such as used by UPS. So one cannot trace the actual travelling path of the package. Minus one for US Postal. Third, one must tape all open edges of any package, as I' ve experience when a photon light "slipped" out of one corner of those nicely made (and freely available)Postal boxes. No way to make a claim. A 30 day wait is required before a claim can be made. Forms are available at your local branch. This is what most don' t know: one must show proof of value of claimed item, either by a sales receipt or a notarized sworn statement declaring its value and some indication, such as from current catalog that reflects its price. There is also a depreciative value system if applicable. IOW, your knife purchased 5 years ago will not receive the value it is selling for now! And finally, there is only _*1*_ processing center for claims in the entire US of A, in St. Louis!!
It just goes to show that both partys involved in a transaction should agree to insure packages. And this should be made clear at time of agreement.
OK, I' ll take a breather now. Hope this was of some help.
L8r,
Nakano
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"To earn a million is easy, a real friend is not."
It just goes to show that both partys involved in a transaction should agree to insure packages. And this should be made clear at time of agreement.
OK, I' ll take a breather now. Hope this was of some help.
L8r,
Nakano
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"To earn a million is easy, a real friend is not."
Well I suppose I should step up in the Postal Office's defense. They have delivered hundreds of items to me and have only mangled three. The clerk who brought the box also brough a claim form, so they knew there was a problem. The box was torn across the top (Spyderco box was visible), then the corner of the USPS box was torn open and the end flap of the Spyderco box torn open. But, this stuff happens, still seems to me less than 2% get damaged. My magazines ofetn are shredded, so a small annoyance, my missing Starmate, a big annoyance, but life goes on! Drew insured the box, so I will be looking for another Starmate in a month or so. UPS had lost/damaged more for me than USPS, so I will stay with USPS.
I'm very shook-up over this. The PO has been helpful on this end as well, and I'm sure the insurance will be paid in time, but that can't entirely fix the situation with a serial-numbered item.
From now on I'm going to make sure labelled boxes and such are wrapped in brown paper bags before packing - it seems that a mechanical error opened up this package, but removing the knife from its box was a deliberate act. I can only speculate that if its label had been concealed, perhaps it would have been left alone. I'm very sorry to learn this the hard way (rather, it would be a hard lesson to lose a knife coming to me; worse still that it should be someone else's), and I hope others can take heed and avoid a similar situation. A little camouflage on the interior contents of a package might make the difference between a beat-up box and an empty one.
-Drew
From now on I'm going to make sure labelled boxes and such are wrapped in brown paper bags before packing - it seems that a mechanical error opened up this package, but removing the knife from its box was a deliberate act. I can only speculate that if its label had been concealed, perhaps it would have been left alone. I'm very sorry to learn this the hard way (rather, it would be a hard lesson to lose a knife coming to me; worse still that it should be someone else's), and I hope others can take heed and avoid a similar situation. A little camouflage on the interior contents of a package might make the difference between a beat-up box and an empty one.
-Drew
Fish, although I was and still am adamant about the insurance thing I do use the Postal system exclusively since the closest UPS shipping house in my town closed down several years ago. It' s my experience that a few times during past transactions, some partys did not insure their packages as agreed. If it gets lost or damaged in transit, then there is going to be a problem. Fortunately, it has only happened twice and luckily both times those packages were insured. Overall, I' ve had a pretty good success rate with the PO. No PO bashing intended.
L8r,
Nakano
L8r,
Nakano
- Joined
- May 25, 1999
- Messages
- 973
USPS Priority is much faster than UPS Ground. Worse case USPS Priority takes 3 days coast to coast - you can't beat that for a $100 insurance for a mere $5.00
. I have access to UPS at work, but I still prefer to use USPS. You can buy money orders for $0.85, too. UPS is still KING for damaging shipments
.
Ray 'md2020'
Ray 'md2020'
Like others have said, You have to make sure that you really take the time to properly seal the boxes.
I use USPS 95% of the time and luckily have never had a problem. I use their Priority Mail boxes, and after I seal it I wrap pretty much the entire box with packing tape, making sure to get all the sides, corners and the flap.
If a box opens up, it will no doubt have to be human and not mechanical error.
Also remember, that even if a postal employee tampers with a package, it is still a Federal crime if he/she is caught.
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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
I use USPS 95% of the time and luckily have never had a problem. I use their Priority Mail boxes, and after I seal it I wrap pretty much the entire box with packing tape, making sure to get all the sides, corners and the flap.
If a box opens up, it will no doubt have to be human and not mechanical error.
Also remember, that even if a postal employee tampers with a package, it is still a Federal crime if he/she is caught.
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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "