adventures in shipping

[Doug Watson]

I thought I would start a thread where we could share our most ridiculous shipping stories. Maybe it dies here with me but I bet there are some other doozies out there.

I just had to share this since it is almost too ludicrous to believe. I thought our Canadian postal service was crazy but the USPS just upped the ante. I just won a couple of auctions on eBay and right now they are both in transit. One is coming from Allentown Pennsylvania which is 397.8 miles due south of me where I am in Canada. I was checking the progress online and whoops guess what USPS facility it is in today?......... Anchorage Alaska which is 4,111.5 miles due northwest way on the other side of Canada. Those of you may not be familiar with our geography but Alaska is a US State stuck way up on the northwestern tip of Canada. I swear they couldn't have found a more distant spot in the US to move it too. Heck San Diego way on the south west of the US would have only been 2,851.9 miles away. I guess they didn't think of Hawaii that would have added another 600 miles. No wonder they said it could take a month to get here. I could have walked there and back faster. Now I eagerly wait to see where my other package will end up, it started in Haverhill, Massachusetts which is only 408.7 miles away, they don't have a USPS facility in Antarctica do they?

[laticauda]

That's kind of a funny story as long as it all arrives all in one piece.  I wonder why they flew it so far away, just to bring it back.   

My sister in law is from Germany, and when she was living there, she would send us an amazing assortment of german chocolate for the holidays.  One year we received an empty and torn box in the mail.  When I notified her, she said she had sent us chocolate and she was going on the warpath to find out what happened.  She followed the tracking, and according to the german mail service, the box was perfect when it placed on the plane.  According to USA, it was damaged when it came off the plane. She wanted her money back because the she paid for an insured package.  Nobody took credit for it.  On the German side, they said they only insure it till it gets on the plane.  The USA said they are only responsible when it comes off the plane.  SO who is responsible when its on the plane, both countries pointed at eachother.  She never got her money back, I missed out on some lovely chocolate, and whoever open it on the plane, had a nice tasty snack while flying.

[Doug Watson]

That's kind of a funny story as long as it all arrives all in one piece.  I wonder why they flew it so far away, just to bring it back.   

My sister in law is from Germany, and when she was living there, she would send us an amazing assortment of german chocolate for the holidays.  One year we received an empty and torn box in the mail.  When I notified her, she said she had sent us chocolate and she was going on the warpath to find out what happened.  She followed the tracking, and according to the german mail service, the box was perfect when it placed on the plane.  According to USA, it was damaged when it came off the plane. She wanted her money back because the she paid for an insured package.  Nobody took credit for it.  On the German side, they said they only insure it till it gets on the plane.  The USA said they are only responsible when it comes off the plane.  SO who is responsible when its on the plane, both countries pointed at eachother.  She never got her money back, I missed out on some lovely chocolate, and whoever open it on the plane, had a nice tasty snack while flying.

I am guessing there was a baggage handler either in Germany or the US with sticky fingers. Typical that no one would take responsibility.

[Newt]

Wow. I thought USPS' financial problems were due to congressional mismanagement of funds, not sending packages thousands of miles out of the way. Actually, I've had pretty good luck with USPS (other than the fact that my mailman can't seem to close my mailbox door, so sometime my mail is soggy), while FedEx and UPS, on the other hand, often refuse to deliver packages to my house (I guess they're scared of my half-mile-long gravel driveway), and then don't even bother to communicate to me that they have a package for me. I have to hound them to get my stuff.

It's been in the news lately that the US somehow accidentally shipped a Hellfire missile to Cuba. We've really got to get our act together...

[stargatedalek]

Quite some time ago I bought a AAA monitor off of eBay, just after they introduced their eBay tracking center thing which makes extra charges for non-Americans. I inquired if he could ship it normally and he said it would be more expensive and this was his first time using the eBay courier thing. So it goes through the eBay thing, they give it the go-ahead, and then it gets denied at Canada "because it wasn't being shipped directly from the sender and they felt it had been tampered with". So either someone at the eBay warehouse goofed up or someone at the border goofed up. About three months or so later I get the package and a message from the guy saying they sent it back to him the week before so he went ahead and shipped it normally.

EBay ripped that poor guy off by about $30, I doubt either of us are going to use their courier thing ever again.

[Doug Watson]

Wow. I thought USPS' financial problems were due to congressional mismanagement of funds, not sending packages thousands of miles out of the way. Actually, I've had pretty good luck with USPS (other than the fact that my mailman can't seem to close my mailbox door, so sometime my mail is soggy), while FedEx and UPS, on the other hand, often refuse to deliver packages to my house (I guess they're scared of my half-mile-long gravel driveway), and then don't even bother to communicate to me that they have a package for me. I have to hound them to get my stuff.

It's been in the news lately that the US somehow accidentally shipped a Hellfire missile to Cuba. We've really got to get our act together...

If they want to send me the Powerball cheque by mistake I am fine with that. My brother said it sounds like some U.S. postal worker said, "Canada?  Oh ya, that's the country next to Alaska"
If I don't leave a note on my door saying I am in, I am sure UPS only waves their hands over my bell and then leaves a no answer note. I can't tell you how many times I have found those notes on my door when I have been in the house. Then I have to go pick up the package at a UPS outlet the next day.

[Doug Watson]

Quite some time ago I bought a AAA monitor off of eBay, just after they introduced their eBay tracking center thing which makes extra charges for non-Americans. I inquired if he could ship it normally and he said it would be more expensive and this was his first time using the eBay courier thing. So it goes through the eBay thing, they give it the go-ahead, and then it gets denied at Canada "because it wasn't being shipped directly from the sender and they felt it had been tampered with". So either someone at the eBay warehouse goofed up or someone at the border goofed up. About three months or so later I get the package and a message from the guy saying they sent it back to him the week before so he went ahead and shipped it normally.

EBay ripped that poor guy off by about $30, I doubt either of us are going to use their courier thing ever again.

The Global Shipping program is the biggest money grab on eBay. I never used to pay customs on toys, there are very few items that customs charges are applied to and those are considered luxury items like watches and jewelry. So since I was never charged customs on toys who is pocketing the money? My guess is eBay.

[tyrantqueen]

I have been lucky. Rarely have I ever lost anything in the mail.

I have heard horror stories about stuff arriving from China though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPyxwpzAfA

Employee of the month right there

[ceratopsian]

I've bought a few things from Hong Kong and no problems at all - apart from the time the seller sent to the USA instead of UK by accident!  Clearly just a slip of the pen.  To give the postal services their due, it eventually made its way to the UK, just took a couple of weeks longer than usual. 

My big gripe is with Fedex.  Like Doug, I'm sometimes in when they "tried to deliver".  Especially annoying is going on-line or going through their interminable phone menu to request a specific day for re-delivery.  It's a complete waste of time, as they totally ignore the request and just try again the next working day.  It really sends my blood pressure up! 

Another UK courier service called Hermes seems consistently unable to find my house.  (It's not tucked away or anything.)  One package turned up at a neighbour's, despite them leaving me an e-mail saying it had been delivered to me; the second package "left in my outhouse" (which we don't have accessible at the front of house) never turned up.  Then they claimed they had left it at 38 instead of 48.  I had to break the news to them that 38 is a gated property and the deliveryman would have had to scale locked electronic gates around eight foot high - and still no outhouse for him to use!!  Goodness knows who ended up with the Triceratops I was hoping to house.  I hope they are treating it kindly!

[Doug Watson]

Another UK courier service called Hermes seems consistently unable to find my house.  (It's not tucked away or anything.)  One package turned up at a neighbour's, despite them leaving me an e-mail saying it had been delivered to me; the second package "left in my outhouse" (which we don't have accessible at the front of house) never turned up.  Then they claimed they had left it at 38 instead of 48.  I had to break the news to them that 38 is a gated property and the deliveryman would have had to scale locked electronic gates around eight foot high - and still no outhouse for him to use!!  Goodness knows who ended up with the Triceratops I was hoping to house.  I hope they are treating it kindly!

Now wait a minute, is an "outhouse" in the UK the same as an "outhouse" in North America. Over here it is what you might call the "loo" or a "privy"" In that case did you look down the hole? That way you may have a Three Horn Face in your Two Holer.

[Newt]

That reminds me of another one!  I couldn't find a package that FedEx swore up and down they had left on my porch. I was ready to believe it had been stolen when, a few days later, I noticed the door to the screened porch of the empty house up the road was ajar. Sure enough, there was my package.

Now, this house hasn't been occupied for decades and looks it. It's falling apart and surrounded by high weeds. I am flabbergasted that the driver could have thought that that was where the package was supposed to go.

[Doug Watson]

That reminds me of another one!  I couldn't find a package that FedEx swore up and down they had left on my porch. I was ready to believe it had been stolen when, a few days later, I noticed the door to the screened porch of the empty house up the road was ajar. Sure enough, there was my package.

Now, this house hasn't been occupied for decades and looks it. It's falling apart and surrounded by high weeds. I am flabbergasted that the driver could have thought that that was where the package was supposed to go.

Wow! I have had packages delivered to the wrong house but never to an abandoned house.
Not a package but years ago when my wife and I were contract employees with the museums our cheques used to come to our home. The mailman delivered my wife's to the wrong address. Time went by and she told the museum she hadn't been paid and they said she had. The returned cheque showed a very shaky attempt to sign my wife's name. Amazingly the woman who got the cheque even cashed it at my wife's branch and the teller never caught on. After costs for affidavits and months without her money she finally got paid and the museum had the police go after the forger. All because our postie couldn't read. And what ever you do don't complain about your mailman or woman. In an other location we kept getting other peoples mail and since we were still getting our cheques by mail I complained and the Post Office thanked me so much for bringing it to their attention....we didn't get any mail for two weeks.

[ceratopsian]

[/quote]

Now wait a minute, is an "outhouse" in the UK the same as an "outhouse" in North America. Over here it is what you might call the "loo" or a "privy"" In that case did you look down the hole? That way you may have a Three Horn Face in your Two Holer.

[/quote]

Ah no, not the same.  At least it might have meant that 100 years ago but these days it simply means "garden shed"!!  I really don't like the thought of the poor Carnegie beast coming to such an inglorious end!

[PaleoMatt]

I really like reading these stories! Luckily all my shipping is perfect except Haliocheires (probably spelt wrong) is having problems with UK shipping, we had a conversation the other day about my Safari Yangchuanosaurs. I'm hoping it arrives safely!

[Doug Watson]

Now wait a minute, is an "outhouse" in the UK the same as an "outhouse" in North America. Over here it is what you might call the "loo" or a "privy"" In that case did you look down the hole? That way you may have a Three Horn Face in your Two Holer.

Ah no, not the same.  At least it might have meant that 100 years ago but these days it simply means "garden shed"!!  I really don't like the thought of the poor Carnegie beast coming to such an inglorious end!
[/quote]

You are lucky I never asked to use your outhouse!

[Dinomike]

I once ordered a figure from the UK - in fact it was my first ever Battat so it was quite precious to me.  The shipping to Finland usually takes about 3-4 days via regular air mail. After three weeks of patiently waiting I contacted the seller who was equally puzzled.  When the figure finally arrived after a month it had a postal stamp on it from Australia! Speak of a detour! Lol!

[PaleoMatt]

I once ordered a figure from the UK - in fact it was my first ever Battat so it was quite precious to me.  The shipping to Finland usually takes about 3-4 days via regular air mail. After three weeks of patiently waiting I contacted the seller who was equally puzzled.  When the figure finally arrived after a month it had a postal stamp on it from Australia! Speak of a detour! Lol!

LOL btw talking about Finland I have a friend named Finn and his nickname is Finland. Finland is cool I want to go there.

[Doug Watson]

Just so the Post Office doesn't get all the grief back in 2012 I was working on a life size bronze of a WWI fighter pilot. To hasten the project I decided to do a maquette and have that digitally enlarged in high density foam that I would then finish. I used the same company in California that enlarged the dinosaurs for Stan Winston when he made The Lost World , Jurassic Park. I crated it up in a wooden box and dropped it off at UPS. I send it ground and started to watch its progress online. First it went to Plattsburgh, NY where I received a call from customs saying it was being held until I could explain what I meant when I said there was some wood in the sculpture. The wood amounted to a small piece of 1/8" hardboard that I put under the base for a flat surface. They were afraid of bugs, heck the box it was in had more wood!.....I digress. Anyway with that cleared up it started to make its way west. After a few days I saw it was in California and getting ready for delivery then *poof* my shipment disappeared from the record. I contacted the UPS office and they had no clue where it was. There were no more entries until another day or so passed and it said it was delivered in .....wait for it....Plattsburgh, NY. It had made its way all the way to its destination on the West coast only to be called all the way back to where it started on the East Coast by Customs because they said UPS released it before Customs was finished with it. I mean really don't they have a Customs office in California! After some interesting exchanges between me and UPS it was finally cleared and started its second trek across the US. It finally made it and all was well which was a relief since it was the original and I hadn't made a mould since I thought what could go wrong!

[Roselaar]

I once received a package that wasn't meant for me. The seller accidentally shipped a lot of dinosaurs my way (so no shipping service's fault, but still a shipping adventure) after I gave her my address for calcualting shipping costs. I didn't actually win that eBay lot though, so the actual buyer had to wait a bit longer for his/her package to arrive safe and sound. I did after all reship the package of course (though only when the seller refunded the costs to me), even though it contained dinosaur figures I then highly coveted (but found for myself soon afterwards). Oh, to be honest and good, what sweet balm for the soul 'tis!

[Doug Watson]

I once received a package that wasn't meant for me. The seller accidentally shipped a lot of dinosaurs my way (so no shipping service's fault, but still a shipping adventure) after I gave her my address for calcualting shipping costs. I didn't actually win that eBay lot though, so the actual buyer had to wait a bit longer for his/her package to arrive safe and sound. I did after all reship the package of course (though only when the seller refunded the costs to me), even though it contained dinosaur figures I then highly coveted (but found for myself soon afterwards). Oh, to be honest and good, what sweet balm for the soul 'tis!

Good for you! You bought yourself some good karma.