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Lost/Stolen UPS Package

Hello!

A few weeks back we shipped an overnight UPS package to Canada containing some very expensive unopened boxes. The package was scanned for the next morning at 9:00 AM and then
completely vanished from earth. UPS security is looking at video and cannot explain where it went. Now after nearly 2 weeks, its not looking good. The items consisted of:

1973 Topps baseball 5th series wax box
1974 Topps baseball wax box
1976 Topps baseball rack box
1978 Topps baseball rack box (marked from sealed case)
1976 OPC baseball wax box
1977 OPC baseball wax box
1978 OPC baseball wax box
1979 OPC baseball wax box

If anyone happens to see a group like this for sale in our shrinkwrap and labeled (especially in Canada?), please contact us.

Thanks! Steve

Comments

  • DboneesqDboneesq Posts: 18,219 ✭✭
    MAN, that sucks. If you or the intended recipient do not get the package, I'm sure you will have MANY eyes from these boards looking out for the items. Best of luck Steve.
    STAY HEALTHY!

    Doug

    Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
  • jfkheatjfkheat Posts: 2,745 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I really hate to hear this. I'm not sure how next day air packages sent to Canada via UPS are handled but could it be tied up at customs? I hope the boxes are found.
    James
  • miwlvrnmiwlvrn Posts: 4,266 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I hope it is just a customs slow down and the lucky buyer gets his order. That 1976 OPC box sounds fun.
  • OAKESY25OAKESY25 Posts: 4,726 ✭✭✭
    that sucks Steve, hopefully it was highly insured.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That is very disturbing to say the least. I know with USPS customs can take a couple of weeks, so hopefully that is the case. A box like that does not get lost.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • RookieHOFersRookieHOFers Posts: 733 ✭✭✭
    Wow, I would be sick. Was the contents declared with customs?
    Matt
    I collect: 80’s Rookies and 86 Fleer Basketball
  • LarkinCollectorLarkinCollector Posts: 8,975 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Now that's an order worthy of hand-delivering with balloons.
  • lahmejoonlahmejoon Posts: 1,759 ✭✭✭✭
    Even if it was insured, that sucks. I'd hate to lose that product. Here's to hoping the package gets found!
  • MisterBungleMisterBungle Posts: 2,308 ✭✭✭

    Sorry to hear this, Steve. I hope these boxes turn up soon.

    ~


    "America suffers today from too much pluribus and not enough unum.".....Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

  • PorkinsPorkins Posts: 615 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Sorry to hear this, Steve. I hope these boxes turn up soon.

    ~ >>



    Ditto
  • psychumppsychump Posts: 1,378 ✭✭✭
    NO WAY! I just threw up a little in my mouth. Alerting my peeps around the Bay Area in California. So many horror stories about UPS!
    Tallulah Bankhead — 'There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare.'
  • mikelowell25mikelowell25 Posts: 1,252 ✭✭✭
    Has anyone checked Gary's garage????
  • 1neatstuff1neatstuff Posts: 1,156 ✭✭✭
    sorry to hear that steve I will be on the lookout over here also and also alert a lot of the dealers here..hope it gets found..terry
  • gemintgemint Posts: 6,121 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sorry to hear that Steve. I recently had a PSA 9 (ST) Tom Seaver RC disappear from the USPS. That was back in early March. It tracked from my town to the San Jose main branch and then disappeared after scanning out of there. No trace since and I've cashed in my insurance. I hope they show up as those are some tough boxes to replace these days. Do you have any photos of the rack packs? With those, we can track if any show up with the same cards showing.
  • cpamikecpamike Posts: 5,566 ✭✭✭
    Steve, really sorry to hear this. Hopefully, it turns up, but I'll keep an eye out for them.
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep."

    "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

    Collecting:
    Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
  • OckhamsRazorOckhamsRazor Posts: 207 ✭✭
    I thought UPS had chain of custody procedures for packages with a declared value over $5K. The package has to ride up front with the driver when picking up from the shipper. The package is kept in the high value cage at a hub. The package is loaded up front with the driver when it is scheduled for the delivery. UPS instituted all of these procedures to prevent this exact circumstance. UPS should know exactly when the package "disappeared".
    Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all "right-thinking" people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

    This is known as “bad luck.”
  • tsalems1tsalems1 Posts: 3,454 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I thought UPS had chain of custody procedures for packages with a declared value over $5K. The package has to ride up front with the driver when picking up from the shipper. The package is kept in the high value cage at a hub. The package is loaded up front with the driver when it is scheduled for the delivery. UPS instituted all of these procedures to prevent this exact circumstance. UPS should know exactly when the package "disappeared". >>



    This is not correct....

    Nothing rides up front with the driver and there is no high value cage
    opcbaseball.com
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Does UPS have an insurance cap on collectibles or loss like Fed Ex does?


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • tsalems1tsalems1 Posts: 3,454 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Does UPS have an insurance cap on collectibles or loss like Fed Ex does? >>



    Now that is a good question, I don't know

    opcbaseball.com
  • I am sure BBCE has their own 3rd party insurance that governs this. As should everyone...
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,742 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I am sure BBCE has their own 3rd party insurance that governs this. As should everyone... >>



    True, forgot about that.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.


  • << <i>I am sure BBCE has their own 3rd party insurance that governs this. As should everyone... >>



    General question? If an insurance company pays out a claim for something like this don't they then own the item? Can someone collect an insurance claim and then also get the product back?
  • You can collect if you sell an item and it gets lost when shipping because you will be out money (you'll have to refund). If the item is recovered, you can't keep the insurance money. But, that probably never happens because there is a good bit of waiting between lose and insurance payout. At that point, chance of recovery is slim.
  • That makes sense!
  • jackstrawjackstraw Posts: 3,783 ✭✭✭
    Somebody knew what was in there. It wasn't a random box that "fell" off the truck..
    When I was at DHL any high dollar item always went into a secured cage and had to be signed
    for by the driver. I don't know how the customs works but we had our own agent that checked
    everything at the terminal so that would speed up the process. It didn't give it a free pass
    at customs though. Nothing ever rode in the cab but you could easily get to the cargo from
    the cab...
    Collector Focus

    ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,106 ✭✭✭✭
    That assumes that is was identified as a high-value item, and insured.

    Customs duties into Canada are 15% I believe, and that list of items would have resulted in a multi-thousand dollar bill.



    Dave
  • esquiresportsesquiresports Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭
    Will keep an eye out. There are several boxes in that list that you almost never see these days, which definitely helps in a search. Hopefully just caught up in customs. As noted, that's a huge tax/duty bill.
    Always buying 1971 OPC Baseball packs.
  • jfkheatjfkheat Posts: 2,745 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>That assumes that is was identified as a high-value item, and insured.

    Customs duties into Canada are 15% I believe, and that list of items would have resulted in a multi-thousand dollar bill. >>



    Would that still apply if the owner shipped the boxes to BBCE for authentication? If he has proof that he already owned the boxes would he have to pay duties?
    James
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,106 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>That assumes that is was identified as a high-value item, and insured.

    Customs duties into Canada are 15% I believe, and that list of items would have resulted in a multi-thousand dollar bill. >>



    Would that still apply if the owner shipped the boxes to BBCE for authentication? If he has proof that he already owned the boxes would he have to pay duties?
    James >>



    I would think that scenario would exempt the owner from any duties. However, I would also think that the Customs people would probably want to
    inspect the contents and proof of ownership documentation (e.g. bills of sale) to substantiate the claim. Otherwise, one could simply ship a box of
    rolled up newspapers weighing approximately what they wanted to have sent from BBCE and then purchase practically anything duty-free.


    Dave
  • fergie23fergie23 Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭✭
    Truly sucks for the buyer. Hopefully UPS finds the package though my experience with UPS and missing high dollar packages has not been good.

    I want to know how to get on the list to purchase those kinds of items image

    Robb


  • << <i>I would think that scenario would exempt the owner from any duties. >>



    I don't know the exact details, but Canadians are definitely exempt if they own an item and mail it to the U.S. for a period without it changing possession. Same for Canadians who send cards to PSA for grading. No duties upon return.
  • LarkinCollectorLarkinCollector Posts: 8,975 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I would think that scenario would exempt the owner from any duties. >>



    I don't know the exact details, but Canadians are definitely exempt if they own an item and mail it to the U.S. for a period without it changing possession. Same for Canadians who send cards to PSA for grading. No duties upon return. >>


    I know buying US cards from a foreign seller, no duties are due for 'repatriation'. I would think something similar would apply for Canadians with OPC, no?
  • Hopefully everything turns out well for Steve. This really is a nightmare for both buyer and seller. You wouldn't wish
    something like this on your worst enemy.

    Question......What if these things turn up at a national a year from now. The guy trying to sell these claims he's from Canada and
    traded a high grade 1951 Parkhurst PSA set and a game worn Gretzky uniform a year ago from another guy in Canada for these boxes.

    The seller of these boxes at the national claims he has no info on the guy he got these boxes from, as it was just a straight up trade.

    Who legally owns these boxes ? Steve ? Or the guy who traded for them ?

  • mtcardsmtcards Posts: 3,340 ✭✭✭
    I would think that at some point there would have to proof of ownership either way. I know the old saying "possession is 9/10ths of the law" usually doesnt apply, but in a case like this, I would think the person who had possession would not be the one to have to bear the burden of proof of showing actual ownership.

    I had a bunch of cards stolen from me about 20 years ago, most of it isnt worth anything now, but back then, it was. They showed up a few years later and I recognized the cards as the group stolen, but at that point there was no way to ever show proof that I owned them. Years later I was finally able to track down who originally stole them....that person now rests in a state prison for other crimes and I hope he rots.
    IT IS ALWAYS CHEAPER TO NOT SELL ON EBAY
  • flatfoot816flatfoot816 Posts: 2,194 ✭✭✭
    Steve and the Buyer

    so sorry to hear--as mentioned it's a nightmare for both. Unlike a priceless piece of art--where stealing then selling it is very tough because of the rarity of the item-this was probably not earmarked for a regular collector.

    Good chance it will end up on the market--though probably not in its intact form

    Who legally owns these boxes ? Steve ? Or the guy who traded for them ?

    presumably there is insurance so Steve or the buyer will be compensated for some of it depending on the coverage--once they are made "whole" the carrier retains the rights to the goods if found

    In the case of a "buyer in good faith" the buyer who traded for the stolen goods may be entitled to them so long as he can show he bought the goods in good faith and paid valuable consideration

    But that would not stop a carrier from trying to recover the goods. Happens all the time
  • tsalems1tsalems1 Posts: 3,454 ✭✭✭✭
    I don't know anything about this deal but I'm guessing this was not a sale but a BBCE wrapping/Authentication job.

    Hope these boxes show up. I would hate to be in this position
    opcbaseball.com
  • belzbelz Posts: 1,217 ✭✭✭
    Steve, So sorry this happened. Hope it turns up. I just can't believe this kind of stuff happens and hope you're both covered. Keep us updated.

    Best,
    Steven
    "Wots Uh The Deal" by Pink Floyd
  • RookieHOFersRookieHOFers Posts: 733 ✭✭✭


    << <i>With technology nowadays, I am surprised a company has not developed a small reusable GPS tracking device for shipping. Imagine being able to know the location of packages through the entire system or the location where it went of course. One day, I expect this to become commonplace. Just the possibility of these devices would likely deter most lost packages / thefts. >>



    It exists. They are called RFID tags. Primarily used in the military for the most part. The tag itself always has the ability to be located. The tags are not expensive at all, but this is primarily a technology our military is using, so there are not many companies out there commercially that actually have the tracking capabilities to go along with the tags. Thats where the technology at this point is relatively expensive, at least on the commercial segment.

    Matt
    Matt
    I collect: 80’s Rookies and 86 Fleer Basketball
  • LarkinCollectorLarkinCollector Posts: 8,975 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>With technology nowadays, I am surprised a company has not developed a small reusable GPS tracking device for shipping. Imagine being able to know the location of packages through the entire system or the location where it went of course. One day, I expect this to become commonplace. Just the possibility of these devices would likely deter most lost packages / thefts. >>



    It exists. They are called RFID tags. Primarily used in the military for the most part. The tag itself always has the ability to be located. The tags are not expensive at all, but this is primarily a technology our military is using, so there are not many companies out there commercially that actually have the tracking capabilities to go along with the tags. Thats where the technology at this point is relatively expensive, at least on the commercial segment.

    Matt >>


    I think WalMart requires them of all suppliers and maybe Amazon too, but not on packages shipped to customers.


  • << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>With technology nowadays, I am surprised a company has not developed a small reusable GPS tracking device for shipping. Imagine being able to know the location of packages through the entire system or the location where it went of course. One day, I expect this to become commonplace. Just the possibility of these devices would likely deter most lost packages / thefts. >>



    It exists. They are called RFID tags. Primarily used in the military for the most part. The tag itself always has the ability to be located. The tags are not expensive at all, but this is primarily a technology our military is using, so there are not many companies out there commercially that actually have the tracking capabilities to go along with the tags. Thats where the technology at this point is relatively expensive, at least on the commercial segment.

    Matt >>


    I think WalMart requires them of all suppliers and maybe Amazon too, but not on packages shipped to customers. >>




    It's cheaper than most people think.

    tile app

    Edit to add: This app/device is only the beginning. Give them time and the range will be where it needs to be.
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