STOLEN

[Michaelr]

Today is not a good day for me. After a week of trying my best with the USPS, that really doesn’t give a s***, they just informed me that my package is lost. I purchased this Tanto and Book from on of our members here on the forum in Germany.  The package was sent to the USA via DHL and arrived in NY in 4 days. At that point DHL turned it over to USPS to deliver it, I still don’t know why DHL didn’t just deliver it themselves. I am in NJ and when I was informed that the package went from NY, one hour away to Indianapolis, 12 hours away I began calling the USPS. They didn’t care. SO NOW ITS GONE, AND THEY DTILL DONT GIV A S****. So here are the pictures I have and can only ask my fellow members to keep a eye out for this Beautiful Tanto and let me know if it shows up somewhere for sale. I wouldn’t normally do this but because I am devastated about this I am including my phone number and can be called at any time. I am not a wealthy person and have to choose my purchases wisely and this is very disheartening and a large hit to end and my finances. Please be on the lookout. This was originally post in the for sale section by Volker if you want to look at the complete description.

  Thank you all so much.  Mike Roberts

[Brian]

Damn, I HATE to see that topic heading.
Holding thumbs Mike. I've had similar issues before, and I think you have a good chance of it being found somewhere. You need to keep the pressure on them. Keep phoning....email the managers and even corporate heads. Keep pushing...remind them this is a one of a kind item and cannot be replaced. Ask them for their investigation results. Open a police case for stolen property if you have to.
"Report suspected mail losses to Postal Inspectors by calling 877-876-2455 or at www.uspis.gov"
I would pester USPS at this point...but also keep up with UPS. I get very evil when stuff goes wrong. But it has served me well. You have nothing to lose, so go all out.
Good luck!

[PietroParis]

Infuriating. I would pester DHL as well, after all they should take responsibility for the delivery.

[Bugyotsuji]

Agreed. 
Sometimes these things do later suddenly turn up.
Coincidence, or because someone could not stand the heat? 

[John A Stuart]

It is getting worse. Today a tsuba arrived in a box containing a repaired box (tape) with the tsuba rattling in part of a wooden tsuba box. Obviously crushed, tsuba not scratched phew! Fedex. Last week I got a package that sat waiting for taxes and duty payment for two weeks no notice. DHL Hope yours is found as lost not stolen. John

[cju777]

Lost status is slightly better than "delivered" but not to you. As Brian said, keep up the emails, online inquires, and pressure on USPS--I had a nihonto in shipment recently with USPS that disappeared for about a week. Once I put some pressure on (maybe they cared because it was insured via USPS) I actually got some decent customer support who located it and got it where it needed to go-- still took another week or so. Anything that has to transit a customs point or exchange with 3rd party vendors, like UPS and DHL, has been a mess the past year. Even routine Amazon shipments worth nothing have disappeared for weeks getting to me.

 

Good luck, and will still keep an eye out on the markets in case somebody did swipe it, but I hope it's just USPS taking its time.

(Realize my location says Bangkok, I have access to a USPS mail point and rely on it a lot more than the local mail)

[vajo]

Michael i have a small hope that they will find your package and deliver it to you. I had this 2 times with a tsuba. The first one arrives me 8 weeks later, the second came after 3 month to me. Nobody could help me. I bought a Wakizashi in Japan too and after one month i start searching it. Some weeks later it came back to the sender in Japan. So maybe with luck it will come to you.

[Alex A]

Postal services these days dont know what day it is!!, im hoping its just sat in a warehouse waiting for someone to do something about it.

 

Best of luck.

[Michaelr]

Thank all of you for your kind words and support. I hope it is found and in the condition it was sent and makes it’s way to me. Delays now days are expected and I am ok with that. Even it it makes it’s way around the whole country as long as it is handled with the care WE all take with items we we respect and they kept me informed of it’s journey. I still wouldn’t be happy but just the fact that it was being tracked and on its way to me would be assuring. That’s not the case as of yet. I will keep you all informed and will post a picture of me doing a Thank You Dance if it arrives. Again thank you

   MikeR

[sabiji]

Michael, please let me give you hope as well.
I have been addicted to the hobby for 30 years. I have already experienced a lot of adventurous things regarding payment and shipping to and from foreign countries. Especially in the earlier times.
Unfortunately, the reliability of shipping has deteriorated again in recent years and just by the pandemic. Last year in February, a tsuba from Grey (here in the forum) took a whole 2 months from him to an airport for export, making a nice USA round trip (which others can only dream of). Arrived in Germany it went then fast. Personally, I had long since given up on the shipment.
BUT, so far everything has always arrived somehow with me! Always! Even a package, which had simply disappeared for 2 weeks at the German customs and was then claimed as a loss, suddenly reappeared.
I keep my fingers crossed for you!!!

 

[ken kata]

Hello Michael,  

Postal Service Exclusive Carrier of Packages to the Last-Mile for DHL

Maybe this is why? ( Link Below) ...

 

Was the items/package Insured?

Do you have your DHL Tracking Number?

Try using that in the USPS Tracking System.

Use that for tractability and accountability and documentation for now and later to file your claim.

 

https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2008/pr08_062.htm

 

Just trying to help.. 

Alton < Insures everything 

 

SHOUT OUT!!! >> Shohei Ohtani is Pitching today. Ohtani is the " Samurai of MLB Baseball " 

Added 8 - 12 - 2021 9:46 p.m. :

 

https://japantoday.com/category/sports/ohtani-hurls-6-innings-doubles-in-angels'-6-3-win-over-jays

[Stephen]

SHOUT OUT!!! >> Shohei Ohtani is Pitching today. Ohtani is the " Samurai of MLB Baseball " 

 

 

And home run leader!! At 38 now.

 

[Stephen]

Just now, Stephen said:

SHOUT OUT!!! >> Shohei Ohtani is Pitching today. Ohtani is the " Samurai of MLB Baseball " 

 

 

And home run leader!! At 38 now.

 

Sorry back to org post. I feel it will show up.

[Volker62]

Michael

 

please check your mail today

 

its on the way to you, last update from today says its on the way to you.

 

its also fully insured

 

please be patient

[Volker62]

not a good idea to post something like this early.....

 

 

hopefully you wan't wake up sleeping dogs!

[Jean]

3 examples:

 

I sent Grev (France ==>England) two tsuba at the end of last year, the package disappeared  after 10 days of the tracking system, I did inquiries, it seemed they were in England. The package was « lost ». Grev did a reclamation, the package was insured, I did the same with French Chronopost, they had 30 days to find it, otherwise they had to pay. A week later, Grev was at home when he heard the door bell, and here was the package. It seemed tha someone had step on it. The package was for three months in a no man’s land, somewhere between France and England.

 

Same thing with Germany but for a juyo sword, the package disappeared between French post and Bundespost, Same thing, disappeared from the tracking system. Same path, reclamation from both the sender (myself) and the sendee. It reappeared 3 weeks later, the package had a nice koshi zori. By chance, the sword did not suffer from the post mishandling.

 

Last example, I order in England a fly fishing spare spool for one of my reel. The store send it to me at once by register mail with tracking. It arrives in France and then disappeared from the radar. The store reimbursed me last week after receiving the package in return after a fake delivery at my address saying there was nobody at the address, that they have noticed me this attempted  delivery and tha I did not come to fetch it at the PO.

 

so there is a great chance, your package will reappear along the line, but the sender as well as yourself must raise hell.

[Mark]

i mailed 2 swords and 3 tsuba to a customer here in the U.S. Priority insured marked "fragile"  took 3 weeks instead of 3 days and when it arrived the box was smashed and torn open and the tsuba gone. i guess they could not get the swords in their pockets.  It was a nightmare

[Michaelr]

Thank you all again. I would like to clarify my post: Volker has been a pleasure to deal with and very stand up and generous with the purchase of this Tanto. Volker sent the Tanto out via DHL from Germany and that only took 4 days to reach NY, USA. It was only after DHL turned it over to the USPS that the nightmare began. As of today 8-12-2021 I was informed by the USPS via email that they could no longer track it. By posting the stolen post I never intended to compromise my friendship with Volker nor suggest that he is at any fault here, I also never intended to condemn DHL shipping from Germany to the USA. It was only here in the US that things went bad. My main reason for the post was to be pro active. If indeed the package went missing then it was my thought that I had many members/friends watching out for the Tanto to surface. I hope it makes it to its new home with me as it already has a resting place waiting. Again Volker is a great person to deal with and I hope to do business with him again in the future. I will keep everyone informed. Brian if you feel that I have jumped the gun with my posting or that it is better removed please feel free to do so 

[Bryce]

G'day Mike,

As others have said there is a very good chance it will turn up again. I have had similar things happen to me on several occasions now and in all cases the swords did eventually get to me. I once had a sword disappear off tracking for 6 months, before turning up again.

Cheers,

Bryce

[Brian]

No worries, there is nothing here to suggest that Volker was anything other than a decent seller. No-one would take anything negative out of this. It is all on the shipping companies.
I have no problem with a lookout being posted. Sometimes it takes a post like this to make it suddenly turn up. Keep us updated.

[Alex A]

Tracking at a few well known couriers is terrible these days, such things as 

 

"we dont recognize the tracking number", even when typed in correctly

 

As mentioned here, fine until it reaches the destination country then goes blank for weeks on end then just turns up, had it twice over recent years.

 

Not just other countries, its gone bad just within my own country. Special delivery next day has took 3 days on some occasions lately.

 

They get there, eventually.

[BjornLundin]

Terrible, when this happens. I hade a tsuba sent from Japan sent early this year and got it 4-5 month later. So there is hope.

 

As a tip with a bit more expensive orders is the possibility to add an Apple Air tracker to the package. 29 USD for an extra eye in the sky.

[Volker62]

Michael

 

thank you for the praise regarding my person.

 

I sent the package as premium and its fully insured and based of my many years of experience

 

this time/ periode is not unusual.

 

This was also confirmed by my inquiry  to DHL.

[Volker62]

we keep in touch !