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Need help finding a lost package of vintage baseball cards...

Hi everyone...

It was suggested that I might have better response reaching out...if I start a separate thread rather than include my misfortune in the roll-call thread.

Back in June 2013...I made my first submission to PSA to have a few high grade vintage baseball cards reviewed by PSA. When I mailed the package of nine (9) baseball cards off (USPS Priority Mail insured) ...I mistakenly transposed the 2nd and 3rd digits of the PSA zip code. Unfortunately...this is a valid zip code, but to an APO in South Korea! Because it is a military post office in another country...I have had no success in getting the package back or receiving reasonable reimbursement for my loss. I filed a claim with the USPS...but only received the amount that it would have cost to have the cards reviewed...not the true value of the cards. I tried multiple times explaining and documenting the value of the cards...but had no success with my argument. I admit that I made a mistake and own up to that...but feel at least 50% reimbursement would be fair since it seemed little to no attempt was made to return the cards to me. What I learned from this experience with the USPS is that only the zip code is matched to an area before a closer look is made at the address. When it arrived at the APO in South Korea (arrival and/or received was acknowledged in the tracking info)...it was immediately recognized that the package did not belong there and had been missent. I am assuming that any missent mail to an APO...just might sit there in a big pile for a long time. Besides contacting my local Postmaster...I have reached out to my local congressman (Steve Chabot) in attempts to get this package back with no luck...or even receiving a response from the people at the APO in South Korea! I assume they would be US military personnel at the APO. I do recognize the possibility that if the package gets into the wrong hands...the cards could have a new owner. I have watched Ebay and most major auction houses for these cards to show up for sale based on their PSA serial number...and they haven't been sold.

If anyone has a suggestion or advice or information on retrieving the package or maybe more accurately how to get the military to act...I would appreciate your help.

In fact...to show my appreciation for information or suggestions leading to the package of 9 cards being returned to me safely, I would allow you to choose one card of your choice (except for the Nolan Ryan Rookie) from this set of cards "lost" and listed below w/serial numbers. Here are the lost cards...each PSA-8 before PSA had implemented the 1/2 point grading system...hence why I was sending to be reviewed.

1955 Hank Aaron card #47 serial #09039666
1960 Carl Yastrzemski card #148 serial #30066351
1960 Willie McCovey card #316 serial #30419069
1962 Roger Maris card #1 serial #02107418
1963 Frank Robinson card #400 serial #02479975
1965 Pete Rose card #207 serial #09078502
1967 Mickey Mantle card #150 serial #40204213
1967 Tony Perez card #476 serial #11211309
1968 Nolan Ryan Rookie card #177 serial #50030894
mint_only_pls

Comments

  • OAKESY25OAKESY25 Posts: 4,726 ✭✭✭
    this is a nightmare, it has been so long already I would figure it would have worked out if it was going to.
    I hope by some crazy miracle this works out for you. What an awful scenario.
  • PM sent.
  • DboneesqDboneesq Posts: 18,220 ✭✭
    Damn ... what a shame. I hope some how, some way, you get back your cards. Best of luck.
    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.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,480 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Dboneesq

    Damn ... what a shame. I hope some how, some way, you get back your cards. Best of luck.




    +1



    I can't believe how unhelpful everyone has been to this point. You would think that such an obvious error could be very easily rectified by anyone with a modicum of a conscience.


    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.
  • packCollectorpackCollector Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭
    this sounds terrible.

    one thing I can not understand is why the insurance only covers the amount of the review? Did you underinsure the package? If you have a documented value of what was in the package, I can't see how they could deny your insurance claim even if you transposed the zipcode. It is still the post office's responsibility to deliver the cards to the appropriate address, send it back to you as undeliverable , or reimberse you for the value of the contents. This does not make much sense to me
  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Unfortunately...the value of the package was greater than the allowable insurance by USPS... which I believe is $5000. (my mistake again...this time not to insure my baseball card collection through an outside insurance company)

    As far as reimbursing me...it took me awhile...but I finally realized the amount awarded equaled the cost of reviewing the cards by PSA. I pointed that out when I disputed the reimbursement...but my dispute was denied.

    Once the USPS delivered it to the APO in South Korea...it was out of its hands and then in the hands of the military. I have learned that the military apparently does not have to answer to anyone. As I recall...the USPS stated it had delivered the package to the "correct" zip code (the zip code on the package)...an APO in South Korea. End of story as far as the USPS is concerned!

    If I had used Fed Ex (do now!!!!)...the package would have never arrived there since Fed Ex does not deliver to an APO.
    mint_only_pls
  • mlbfan2mlbfan2 Posts: 3,115 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: mintonlypls

    As far as reimbursing me...it took me awhile...but I finally realized the amount awarded equaled the cost of reviewing the cards by PSA. I pointed that out when I filed a disputed claim...but my dispute was turned down.





    How did the USPS even know that dollar amount?
  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I provided to the USPS a copy of the PSA submission form as part of the claim.
    mint_only_pls
  • KbKardsKbKards Posts: 1,782 ✭✭✭
    In 2013 I think the point requiring a signature for delivery of insured mail was around $250. If the package was insured for $1000's then it would have required a signature for delivery. A signature would not have been obtained because the package was obviously undeliverable and the USPS would remain accountable for the package. If the package was insured at a very low level to where it did not require a signature then you can't try to get back more than what it was insured for. If the package was insured for thousands of dollars then the time to fight this through the legal channels was in 2013. I do believe when you accepted the payment from USPS that title to the cards passed to the PO, so if the cards should pop up in the future you would not have any legal claim to them.
  • This IS terrible. One thing I dont get though is that even if you wrote the incorrect zip code, wouldnt the post office TELL you "hey, its going to Korea" or maybe "Ummm, you have the wrong zip code on here". Plus, wouldnt the charge have been outrageous and I believe you even have to fill out an extra form when shipping overseas anyways? I know I had to with something back in 2013.
  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I spoke to a lawyer...and the legal costs would have exceeded the value of the cards (or the amount that they were insured for). Therefore...I did not pursue that avenue. Plus...the lawyer pointed out that I might not have been awarded the full amount for which I was seeking since I had mistakenly written the zip code.
    mint_only_pls
  • BatpigBatpig Posts: 460 ✭✭✭
    The shipping to an apo is basically the same as any location in the U.S., so there wouldn't have been a noticeable difference in price, if any.
  • I thought i asked some pretty good questions but you skipped right through them image

    Or even everytime I send something out - I ALWAYS look at the date of arrival - especially when shipping to PSA due to the anticipation. Sending out something to Korea, the receipt would have told me it was going to be a much longer waiting time until arrival. Like a week or more than the standard 2-3 buisness days from within the US. Looks like everything that could have gone wrong happened. What a shame. If this happened to me, I think i would have been done with cards or at least for a while. This is a big one to recover from.
  • cardcountrycardcountry Posts: 569 ✭✭✭
    Marc- I could be wrong but I believe that APO's are not considered international, rather they are considered domestic. If that is the case, the shipping rate would not have reflected international shipping.

    Monte- I remember when you told me about this. It's really such a shame. I really hope you get them back

    Jeff
    Jeff Foy/Dave Foy
    Card Country
    Graded stars 1950's-1980
  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The postal clerk did not blink an eye that the package was going overseas. He just took my money and the package.

    The shipping cost did not red flag me that something was not right since it fell under domestic shipping presumably because it is a United States military base (shipping was $66.10)...and another red flag was not raised because the weight of the package was 1 or 2 ounces less than a pound (the threshold weight for a form to be filled out if shipped overseas).

    Unfortunately...I also did not look at the receipt and just stuck it into my billfold (my fault again). When I learned how close the weight was to having to fill out a form which would have definitely alerted me...it seemed to me that this package had a destiny...to be lost. As someone on here said...anything that could go wrong...did.
    mint_only_pls
  • jay0791jay0791 Posts: 3,508 ✭✭✭✭
    I hope you get the cards back.

    To bad that many PO employees could care less about anything. They are paid whether they make mistakes or not.

    Recently a fellow board member sent me a $100 card. A PO employee must have put it in the wrong PO box.

    Card tracking # said delivered. No insurance so we are out the $100.

    In regard to a comment for the above situation......:I spoke to a lawyer...and the legal costs would have exceeded the value of the cards (or the amount that they were insured for)."

    The PO knows this. That's why when you deal with them...they are ALWAYS RIGHT and you are ALWAYS WRONG.

    The zip was wrong...but it didn't match up with the rest of the info on he box. A smart monkey could figure that out

    which odiously is smarter than many PO employees.

    I would send a letter to the address APO you actually addressed explaining the situation. Maybe that recipient got the box or knows what happened.

    Offer a reward. Nothing to lose.
    Collecting PSA... FB,BK,HK,and BB HOF RC sets
    1948-76 Topps FB Sets
    FB & BB HOF Player sets
    1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
  • miwlvrnmiwlvrn Posts: 4,222 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Are the certs registered to your name on the registry? Are they registered to anyone else or are they unregistered? If PSA is made aware of the situation, they have the contact info for anyone who adds them to their registry. Which means, if the person holding the cards has registered them, PSA has the means to make this right. If the person with the cards has not registered them yet and the certs can be added, then if the cards are sold, the new buyer may try adding the certs to their registry and then you can find them that way.

  • packCollectorpackCollector Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭
    Totally sucks , I have to think that a mislabeled box sitting in korea with a postage and insurance sticker of $66.10 is going to get "lost" 10 out of 10 times. As previously said , I would probably be out of the hobby for a while if this happened to me.

    I once received a box that was empty, it was a psa box that someone , most likely in the postal system, neatly cut the tape on one end and removed the contents. It was a bunch of psa 8 64 stand ups , clemente , drysdale , mays and a couple others. about 1500 worth at the time. even though I got reimbursed by the seller, I was so disgusted that I quit building the set.

    I still have the certs registered so if someone tries to put them into the psa database, I will be alerted
  • KbKardsKbKards Posts: 1,782 ✭✭✭
    While 9 PSA cards well packed in a box might have narrowly missed the weight requirement for a customs form, the high insured value definitely would have required a customs form. It all would have automatically come up on the computer screen after the PO person entered the zip code and entered the parameters of the package and insured value. It's really unfortunate that you waited nearly 3 years to ask for help on this. The PO screwed up big time both in preparing and maintaining control of the insured shipment, and many balls were apparently dropped during the attempted recovery, claim process, and maintaining title should they ever pop up in the future.
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