3-in-1: Another "Should I Open This?" thread. AND another "pet misbehavior" thr
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've got this box that sits near the desk. More of a plastic bin, really. In it I put all the used mailers I get when people send me stuff, 'cause I recycle them. I reuse them by cutting them in half and using the recycled halves as inner padding when I put a coin into a new mailer to send.
We have two relatively young indoor cats named Tater and Lily. They like to play around the computer desk.
Unfortunately, one of them took it upon himself (or herself) to leap up onto the cabinet and knock down that recycled mailer bin last night. It's near a window, and everybody knows kittehs like a high perch where they can see out a window.
Which one looks guiltier?
So anyway, there were old envelopes and mailers scattered all over the floor.
OK, well, it could've been worse. It could've been the kitchen trash can, right? Not too bad to have to pick up a bunch of old bubble mailers.
Hey... wait!
What's this? This mailer is heavier, somehow.
Oh... man! This thing is still SEALED!
THERE'S SOMETHING INSIDE!
And it feels like... A SLAB!!!
The sealed mailer is postmarked March 15, 2011.
That means I got something in the mail, and never opened it... and it got mixed into the recycled mailer bin somehow!
Hmm... d'you think I should open it?
Ha, too late. I already did.
Now- here's the thing. After waiting three or more weeks for the coin to show up, I contacted the eBay seller- sometime in April, probably- and he gave me a refund on it. I was bummed out not to get it, because it was a nice original coin in a PCGS holder and I'd won it at a fair price. I got my money back, but no coin. But now I DO have the coin. So it wasn't missing after all. Not in the mail, anyway. It was right here next to me all along.
Now we have ourselves an ethical situation. See the poll above. I've already pretty much decided what to do- and the fact that I'm discussing it in a public forum should give you a hint as to which option I went with- but, what would YOU do?
And while we're at it, I'll let you guess what the coin is. (Hint: it is for a collection I was working on back in March. It was a semi-key for that collection. And I won it for something in the neighborhood of seventy bucks, which I thought was a good price.)
Anybody who nails the correct type and date gets to call themselves Sherlock and wear a deerstalker cap.
Anybody who nails the correct type, date/mint, AND PCGS grade gets a mystery gift coin (& fossil) package.
We have two relatively young indoor cats named Tater and Lily. They like to play around the computer desk.
Unfortunately, one of them took it upon himself (or herself) to leap up onto the cabinet and knock down that recycled mailer bin last night. It's near a window, and everybody knows kittehs like a high perch where they can see out a window.
Which one looks guiltier?
So anyway, there were old envelopes and mailers scattered all over the floor.
OK, well, it could've been worse. It could've been the kitchen trash can, right? Not too bad to have to pick up a bunch of old bubble mailers.
Hey... wait!
What's this? This mailer is heavier, somehow.
Oh... man! This thing is still SEALED!
THERE'S SOMETHING INSIDE!
And it feels like... A SLAB!!!
The sealed mailer is postmarked March 15, 2011.
That means I got something in the mail, and never opened it... and it got mixed into the recycled mailer bin somehow!
Hmm... d'you think I should open it?
Ha, too late. I already did.
Now- here's the thing. After waiting three or more weeks for the coin to show up, I contacted the eBay seller- sometime in April, probably- and he gave me a refund on it. I was bummed out not to get it, because it was a nice original coin in a PCGS holder and I'd won it at a fair price. I got my money back, but no coin. But now I DO have the coin. So it wasn't missing after all. Not in the mail, anyway. It was right here next to me all along.
Now we have ourselves an ethical situation. See the poll above. I've already pretty much decided what to do- and the fact that I'm discussing it in a public forum should give you a hint as to which option I went with- but, what would YOU do?
And while we're at it, I'll let you guess what the coin is. (Hint: it is for a collection I was working on back in March. It was a semi-key for that collection. And I won it for something in the neighborhood of seventy bucks, which I thought was a good price.)
Anybody who nails the correct type and date gets to call themselves Sherlock and wear a deerstalker cap.
Anybody who nails the correct type, date/mint, AND PCGS grade gets a mystery gift coin (& fossil) package.
0
Comments
<< <i>Which one looks guiltier? >>
Tater.
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
And it was the yellow cat for sure.
Keep it but pay the USPS for it if you find out the seller claimed the insurance.
Force-feed the coin to the cat to punish it for knocking over the recycling bin (IF you can figure out which cat did it.)
Drunner
<< <i>I would guess it was a Barber half, and at 70$ it might have been a VG10 1897-O...stab in the dark. >>
LogPotato's "stab in the dark" is eerily accurate. Right type, right grade, right mintmark, even... just one year off!
Tightbudget took the more scientific approach and just checked my eBay history and was able to find the auction, guessing it correctly.
(Odd- I wasn't able to do that myself- couldn't access it. Oh, well.)
I guess either or both qualify for a mystery package, if they like. (If it has airholes, y'all, open carefully- you'll probably find an angry cat inside).
LogPotato definitely gets to wear the virtual deerstalker cap and is henceforth to be addressed as "Sherlock".
Here 'tis.
A nice coin to add to the set I'm no longer collecting and sold in September.
Here is the auction..
I've already contacted the seller and asked him what he'd like me to do. I'm secretly hoping he'll say, "Ah, I already collected the insurance so just keep it and don't tell Uncle Sam about it", but we all know that ain't gonna happen. (If it did, I'd really have to battle my conscience, since the USPS ripped me off on a $170 package once and refused to give me my money back even though I had the receipt.)
So naturally I'll pay him for it (again), but this time at least I don't have to pay the shipping. I'm no longer collecting these, but heck, that's a nice coin and I think the price was good, so I'll just plop it into my BST. I'm keepin' it, but my conscience forces me to pay for it. Besides, the seller was a good guy.
As far as the cats go, it's a no-brainer...the orange Tabby is the guilty party because it is covering the gray Tabby's mouth so it won't tell anyone who did this mischievous deed.
- Jim
Had something like that once but with a friend - finally decided to recycle the box and popcorn and found the missing item.
I would have preferred it happened with a stranger.
Ron
<< <i>
Which one looks guiltier?
>>
They both look guilty to me.
As for the coin, I think the seller owns it and you should to send it back. Once insurance pays out, the insurance company now owns the insured property. In this case, the seller paid, so the property is rightfully his.
This should be ok for you since you no longer collect the series anyway.
<< <i>I would definitely do something about the cat infestation. >>
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>This isn't an ethical question... it's beyond clear that you have to repay the seller. >>
What are the chances that he will pay back the USPS for the insurance money they gave him?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
As far as the 'issue'... I have no doubt at all what you have done.
Cheers, RickO
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Maybe your wife tossed the package in that bin thinking that's where you put all those bubble mailer packages waiting to be opened? Of course if you have her trained right, that wouldn't happen in the first place.
Both cats look guilty to me. There's never just one involved.
You did the right thing with the payback, but it sure is hard knowing you still have something broken off in your rear end from the USPS from a while back.
Too many positive BST transactions with too many members to list.
<< <i>This isn't an ethical question... it's beyond clear that you have to repay the seller. >>
Yes, there's not really any question of that. I guess this was a fake ethical poll.
I do have to confess that the little devil on my shoulder was whispering for me to just shut my mouth about it. But the little white winged one on my other shoulder would never have let me sleep at night or look in the mirror if I'd done that.
So I contacted the seller before I even posted this. He's gonna be paid back, no worries there.
<< <i>send the ebay seller a cat and call it even >>
Hey, now THAT is a great idea!
BTW, for those of you who suspected it was the orange cat, Lily (short for "Tiger Lily"), you're a good judge of character. She's the bad one. She's a food snatcher and an occasional floor-pooper. She means well, usually, but we have our issues with her. In fact, as soon as she's fixed, she's gonna join the barn cat contingent and become another outdoor kitteh.
Tater, the grey tabby, is a sweet marshmallow of a guy who just likes to lounge around and be petted. He's ladymarcovan's favorite.
In this circumstance, however, I think the good cat might have done it. Tater likes to sprawl out on places like the cabinet where I had the recycle bin. He was probably the one who knocked it over.
<< <i>I'm surprised that the seller did not have Delivery Confirmation included in his postage. If he did and it scanned delivered, why did he refund your $$? If the seller filed an insurance claim, you would have received an inquiry from the PO requesting that you confirm non receipt. Did you purger yourself by claiming no? >>
I have sent and received quite a few packages from USPS that weren't scanned so delivery confirmation is NOT bullet-proof. I once contacted a buyer because the item never showed delivered and thankfully the buyer said he was pleased with the purchase. After thinking about it though I decided to no longer follow up on packages that don't show delivered as I'm essentially tipping off the buyer to the fact that they could screw me over via paypal if they feel so inclined. If something truly doesn't show up, the buyers will definitely let you know...
I actually had the same scenario happen to me that happend to LMC and the seller was thoroughly pleased when I made the situation right a couple months later when I found the package in my junk room.
No question about the right thing to do. Pay the seller and keep the coin, or send the coin back.
Lance.
<< <i>I'm surprised that the seller did not have Delivery Confirmation included in his postage. If he did and it scanned delivered, why did he refund your $$? If the seller filed an insurance claim, you would have received an inquiry from the PO requesting that you confirm non receipt. Did you purger yourself by claiming no? >>
There were no Delivery Confirmation stickers on the package.
And no perjury on my part, of course. Nobody from USPS ever contacted me about it, to my knowledge, unless it was via email and the email got lost in the shuffle when my Hotmail account was hacked earlier this year.
Relax, y'all. The seller's getting paid back.
Here. I'll copy and paste the eBay messages- hopefully he won't mind, since it's complimentary to him.
(Just like email, the most recent message is at the top, so read this exchange from the bottom up.)
<< <i>Dear tchild2,
Hi, Tyler.
The collecting goes well, though I sold off the Barber half set I bought this coin for.
The post office didn't steal this one- it was my own clutter and disorganization. My wife or daughter could have put the sealed mailer in with the recycled ones, though.
I'll absolutely make good on it.
If you prefer it go to charity, just name the charity. Otherwise I'll zap you the money.
You're quite the gentleman, sir, and I thank you. But I couldn't look myself in the mirror knowing I'd taken advantage of you that way.
Thanks for being understanding, and I apologize for the hassle this caused.
- lordmarcovan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: tchild2
To: lordmarcovan
Subject: Re: lordmarcovan has sent a message
Sent Date: Dec-13-11 00:02:37 PST
Dear lordmarcovan,
Hello Rob. No, the post office would not refund my money. They said that the coin had been delivered and that insurance would not cover it. I also had an 1895 Fine that sold for about $150.00 that went missing during that same auction and I was beginning to wonder if someone at the post office was stealing my coins. LOL
Anyway, I was in the process of selling off my collection and the dollar loss wasn't significant to me.
Please don't worry about it. It is long gone and done. If you want, you can donate some portion of the $69.44 to a favorite charity if you like and bring a little bit of good Karma to me and you.
Thanks for the update Rob. How goes your collecting? You are still collecting holed coins right?
Tyler
- tchild2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: lordmarcovan
To: tchild2
Subject: lordmarcovan has sent a message
Sent Date: Dec-12-11 15:34:52 PST
Dear tchild2,
Hi, Tyler. Rob Shinnick here. I won a PCGS VG10 1896-O Barber half from you on 3/13/11. (Item # 250784643391, closed for $69.88.) It went missing. You refunded my money. I'm wondering if you ever collected the insurance for it? The reason I ask is, I have this bin by my desk, where I put used mailers for recycling. The cat knocked it over and I found one in there that was heavier... and still sealed! From you, postmarked 3/15/11. Guess what was inside? Yep. Wondering how to proceed from here. Call me at 912-261-8408 if you like. Or respond here, but I'm having some computer issues at the moment, so who knows how long I'll be able to use this connection. You know, I'm grateful now that you wrapped the coin up in a printed copy of the eBay auction page. I want to keep the coin, BTW.
- lordmarcovan >>
also never trust a red haired kitteh. or woman for that matter.
If I can't find a local food bank, I guess I'll go with the Humane Society, since it's one of our cats that "found" the missing coin.
(Hey, maybe they'll take a certain little orange cat as a donation, haha.)
<< <i>"Keep it and keep your mouth shut. (Hey, the seller claimed the insurance- let Uncle Sam eat it, since they made you eat a $170 package by refusing to honor the insurance on it once.)" >>
I figured the Gods were trying to tell me something since the PO renegged on exactly $170 with me.
Of course I'd make sure the seller wasn't out anything first and make him whole if he were. I'd honor
the original agreement whatever it was but might offer a return of the merchandize instead or the mer-
chandize plus whatever he deemed fair.
<< <i>Never trust a cat. If they were big enough or you small enough they'd play with you a bit then eat you. >>
Even I, a certified (or certifiable) cat lover, must admit this is true. If we were all six inches tall, we'd be their playthings... and then lunch.
<< <i>Personally, I think you're lucky your thief-in-the-night-package-tearing-slab-chewing-slobbering-digger-dog-Max didn't get to it first! >>
You mean THIS hellhound? (Link for those who missed the Halloween horror story.) Yeah, you got that right!
(He's been hacking and coughing and puking up long strings of doggie mucus all day. Eeew. Poor fella. I fed him a quarter of a stick of butter in hopes of loosening up whatever he swallowed. No tellin' what he ate. Ugh. Watch it be another slabbed coin.)
ANYWAY, as instructed by the seller, tchild2, who ended up eating the seventy-ish bucks on this deal, I have donated an appropriate matching amount to charity.
He suggested maybe it will bring good karma to both of us, and I hope it will. I think it was very gentlemanly of him.
Once they have your name they are on you every week. They do, send nice preprinted return address labels for you. Happy New Year!
<< <i>Once they have your name they are on you every week. >>
Ugh. As long as they don't start calling on the phone. I've stopped giving to charities (even worthy ones) that call on the phone. Made the mistake of saying "yes" in an unguarded moment a few times in the past, and now I get called all the freakin' time. Makes me feel bad to say "no" to veterans organizations and such, but heck, I've got a family to feed, too. Whatever happened to that national "do not call" list? Is it still around? Maybe I should get back on it.
<< <i>We might have even exposed a cat hater or two... >>
And a ravioli lover or two, also. (That's where I voted.)
I have found that most collectors, and the hobby in general, is full of honest people. I bought and sold coins on Ebay for ten years. In those ten years, with more than a few thousand transactions, overall, I had a great run of fortune. I bought a half roll of mercs' that were lost (back when silver was $8 or $9 an ounce) and the two Barber halves at the end of my collecting run, and that was about the extent of it.
I now feel even better to learn that 1/3 of my lost transactions were not due to fraud, but nothing more than an honest human error.
Tyler
Good on you, mate.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
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