+sheltiedogshowlover Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 So I got home yesterday to find a mailer on my front porch (my mailman doesn't use the mail box so my front porch is my mailbox). I was confused since I haven't ordered anything recently and I know it's too quick for the math trade mailers.. so I picked it up and took it inside. Well I flipped it over to open it and gasped when I saw a big rip in the back of the envelope. I quickly ripped it open and read the beautiful card.. from Sivota who thought of me when she got a coin in a trade that she graciously thought would fit into my collection and sent my way. Sadly there was no coin in the envelope. It escaped somewhere between the USA and the Netherlands Thank you so much for thinking of me! I don't even know what coin it was! (don't know if I want to now I might just be sadder to know what was almost mine! ) Quote Link to comment
+The Moop Along Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Well, that certainly is a bummer. But depending on how much work you want to put into it, you might be able to retrieve it. US sort facilities have rooms where they keep the stuff that rips out from packages. Not permanently mind you, but for a while (I seem to think a week?). When I had a really important coin rip out of a package that a friend sent me, I went immediately to my local PO branch. They gave me the number of my local sort facility, and I called them. The person there told me to report to a counter with a picture of the item I lost. So I did, and then this counter clerk called over an operator from this "room". They took my photo, and in 10 minutes they were back with my coin. yeah! They also told me that if it wasn't there, I could do the same thing over the phone with the next sort facility backwards, which might have been Atlanta. I could fax them a photo of the coin, and they would send someone into the room and try and find my item. Just a thought . . . TMA Quote Link to comment
+mamoreb Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I'm so sorry about that, sheltiedogshowlover, I hope the tip from The Moop Along will help! In fact I'm having a sad mail day too. I received an USPS customs declaration, with no envelope attached. I have contacted the post service to see if anything can be done. Quote Link to comment
+yanagi Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Oh my god, what a pity. I can imagine how you feel because I once I got a torn up mystery coin envelope with no mystery coin inside. In my case I had a happy end because the mystery coiner sent another one und I keep my fingers crossed that your things turn into a happy end too. Keep us informed please. Quote Link to comment
+sheltiedogshowlover Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 I called my post office and the guy basically laughed at me.. said it could be anywhere. I tolk him I know it's a long shot and he said he couldn't give me the number to the sorting station.. but he did take my info and said he'd call the nearest one. I told him roughly what it was (what I thought it was anyhow) so we'll see. Quote Link to comment
+blazerfan Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I think the post office just keeps that stuff for themselves. I know they have a handful of wooden nickles and a couple of hand turned wood wands that were sent to me. Quote Link to comment
+GATOULIS Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I am so sorry!!! Well it happent to me some times too! A great mystery coin that I never got, some geocoins 3 or 4, and a banknote that I wanted so much but the letter was stollen twice!!!! IT was a Confederate states, Original banknote! the first letter was stollen... so the friend who was sending it to me as a gift send an other one.... his last! it was stollen again!!!! Quote Link to comment
+Eartha Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) I called my post office and the guy basically laughed at me.. said it could be anywhere. I tolk him I know it's a long shot and he said he couldn't give me the number to the sorting station.. but he did take my info and said he'd call the nearest one. I told him roughly what it was (what I thought it was anyhow) so we'll see. If he was not the postmaster, ask to speak to the postmaster. Tell him what you need. edit to add: And do it soon, don't wait, don't hesitate. As the Moop says, they may not hold these items long. But you hear stories of dead letters being delivered many years later. There's still an address available in this situation. Perhaps if people started putting the recipient's address right on the flip, when shipping, as an added precaution, more coins that fall out might make it through. Edited June 29, 2011 by Eartha Quote Link to comment
+keewee Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 ... Perhaps if people started putting the recipient's address right on the flip, when shipping, as an added precaution, more coins that fall out might make it through. I now put the coins between two bits of thin cardboard (or one folded over) and sellotape the cardboard to hold the coin in. I then put my address sticker on the cardboard so that if the worst happens it will hopefully make it back to me. I then sellotape the cardboard "pouch" to the inside of the bubble mailer so that it doesn't move around during shipping. Quote Link to comment
+Fianccetto Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) I called my post office and the guy basically laughed at me.. said it could be anywhere. I tolk him I know it's a long shot and he said he couldn't give me the number to the sorting station.. but he did take my info and said he'd call the nearest one. I told him roughly what it was (what I thought it was anyhow) so we'll see. I think that is outrageous behaviour from the post office worker, personally. I would have asked to speak to his boss. Of course they don't have jurisdiction over what happens overseas, and the value of the one package might be small, but it could help. Maybe, as Sivota has mentioned this has happened before a couple of times, it would be worth her contacting her mail service providers. A long whiles ago I had a few packages disappear (at a different address) one being about £100 worth of fabric I ordered to complete a huge patchwork quilt for someone. The fabric shop kindly sent me more and took the hit on their insurance but insisted I contact Royal Mail and make a formal complaint, which I did. Several months later I read in our local paper that police had been working undercover at our local sorting station collecting evidence against workers who were stealing goods and letters they thought contained valuables! (The offenders went to prison for a few years, too!) I'd recommend that anyone sending coins puts thick, clear packing tape all around the edges and flap of the mailers they are in, as sometimes the little bags do get rattled around a lot. (Now I am going to take my own advice and put a bit more tape around a mailer returning a faulty coin to the shop - thanks!) Edited June 30, 2011 by Fianccetto Quote Link to comment
+sheltiedogshowlover Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 All the mailers I sent out for the math trade had the coin wrapped in bubble wrap with the name and address of the person it was going to printed out on computer paper and packing taped to the bubble wrap. I then taped the coin inside the envelope and had a battle with the packing tape to put 4 pieces all the way around it. Hopefully it keeps them safe, and if they escape then they have the address on them.. Quote Link to comment
+Fianccetto Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 All the mailers I sent out for the math trade had the coin wrapped in bubble wrap with the name and address of the person it was going to printed out on computer paper and packing taped to the bubble wrap. I then taped the coin inside the envelope and had a battle with the packing tape to put 4 pieces all the way around it. Hopefully it keeps them safe, and if they escape then they have the address on them.. That is a very good idea too. Quote Link to comment
+Sivota Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 My third thorn mailer and I'm very sorry about it for sheltiedogshowlover Every time this sort of thing happens (thorn mailer, lost mailer etc.) I go out and fill in a form at the post office. I will do so now too. Calling does not help and gets me nowhere. Experience learns me; Lost mail or coins are not recovered, at least not in the Netherlands. It happened twice that a mailer and a package traveled to the US and it took about two months to get there. One being a Christmas present, arriving on one of the last days of January Those two really slow travelers never really were lost, I was told when I tried to trace their travels afterwards. It happens the other way around too once in a while. That being said, maybe I'm lucky but it didn't happen more than about ten times all together and I've dealt with hundreds of mailers over several years. Really valuable packages or a lot of coins I sent track and trace. That is reliable. Because the coordination and strength in my hands is bad, I never tape coins inside the mailer and I always have a big job getting taped coins out of mailers that were sent to me. It is a very good idea however. Quote Link to comment
+Fianccetto Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I guess sometimes these things just happen. It's sad though. I think I might start taking a photo of coins with their tracking numbers that I buy to send out on missions, so if they go missing in the post at least there is a photographic record of which one it is in case someone finds it and activates it, or alternatively the number could at least be reusable to make another object trackable after a certain time! Quote Link to comment
+sheltiedogshowlover Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 I was thinking about that.. Sivota- Thank you Thank you Thank you again for thinking of me!! You don't happen to have a picture of the tracking number do you? (either from you or the person before you that sent it to you?). If you did we could activate it in hopes that maybe someday someone will find it and check the site! Could be an interesting story if it does happen! Quote Link to comment
+Sivota Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I was thinking about that.. Sivota- Thank you Thank you Thank you again for thinking of me!! You don't happen to have a picture of the tracking number do you? (either from you or the person before you that sent it to you?). If you did we could activate it in hopes that maybe someday someone will find it and check the site! Could be an interesting story if it does happen! I'm sorry, no. I only keep records of trackingnumbers of the coins I own. I don't want to mix up things and end up accidentally activating a coin that is not my own. Making a photo of those trackingnumbers seems a good idea though..... On the other hand, I'm to disorganized to keep that up to date. Quote Link to comment
+Fianccetto Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I was thinking about that.. Sivota- Thank you Thank you Thank you again for thinking of me!! You don't happen to have a picture of the tracking number do you? (either from you or the person before you that sent it to you?). If you did we could activate it in hopes that maybe someday someone will find it and check the site! Could be an interesting story if it does happen! I'm sorry, no. I only keep records of trackingnumbers of the coins I own. I don't want to mix up things and end up accidentally activating a coin that is not my own. Making a photo of those trackingnumbers seems a good idea though..... On the other hand, I'm to disorganized to keep that up to date. I was thinking that too..I would have to make sure to label the photo 'coin sent to xxxx' before transferring to computer. Quote Link to comment
+sheltiedogshowlover Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 I was thinking about that.. Sivota- Thank you Thank you Thank you again for thinking of me!! You don't happen to have a picture of the tracking number do you? (either from you or the person before you that sent it to you?). If you did we could activate it in hopes that maybe someday someone will find it and check the site! Could be an interesting story if it does happen! I'm sorry, no. I only keep records of trackingnumbers of the coins I own. I don't want to mix up things and end up accidentally activating a coin that is not my own. Making a photo of those trackingnumbers seems a good idea though..... On the other hand, I'm to disorganized to keep that up to date. No problem. It's a long shot anyhow! I really hope you know that this was in no way a dig on you!!! I am so thankful that you sent me that coin!!! I was just sad that it didn't make it to me. I have several photo's of coins I've gotten and posted photo's of in the mail box or trading threads and then blurred out the tracking numbers but still have the photo of the intial coin... I think I'll make a file folder for those ones just in case. :-) Quote Link to comment
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