Stolen sword, Fujiwara Masayasu katana, 74.1cm nagasa

[Gerry]

I just came back from my local USPS office to confirm that a Fujiwara Masayasu shozen katana that was shipped via EMS from Japan to me has been stolen.

 

The USPS tracking showed that the package went missing for a day on Thursday, and then suddenly the tracking showed that  a delivery was attempted yesterday, but no one was home, so a notice was left. I was home the whole day waiting for the package, and there was no USPS delivery person who came by at 5.40om as the tracking stated, and no one was recorded on my Ring doorbell. There was also no notice left on my door. I'm suspecting that whoever made the fake attempt to deliver is implicit in the theft.

 

I've received a few swords via EMS from Japan lately. so I am assuming that the USPS delivery person got wise to what's inside the long boxes coming from Japan. I'm trying to file an insurance claim now.

 

Here are details to the sword if it ever shows up on the market. It has a unique koshirae that has two seppa that are almost the same size as the tsuba. It ahs a nice gunome hamon, and 2 mekugi ana.

 

 

[Brian]

Make sure to open a police case. This is the only way these guys will eventually get what they deserve.

[ChrisW]

Will keep an eye open for it! If it pops up on eBay, I'll notify you.

[Lewis B]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Make sure to open a police case. This is the only way these guys will eventually get what they deserve.

It also might get flagged if the thief sells it to a Pawn Shop if you have a police report. 

[John C]

3 hours ago, Gerry said:

and no one was recorded on my Ring doorbell.

Just curious if there is a similar address on a parallel street where you live? I have had packages delivered to a house with the same house numbers one street over from ours on several occasions. Fortunately, those folks are honest.

But I certainly would not put it past a crooked USPS employee either. I would also contact the postal inspector and file a report.

 

John C.

[Gerry]

Thanks everyone for your words of support. I actually treat it as a probability issue, and was expecting that as I get more swords shipped over, this was bound to happen. The only upside is that it didn't happen to a higher value sword.

 

What really set off my suspicions was that the tracking website showed that the sword went missing for a day going between the regional USPS center and my local post office.

 

It then got "scanned in" yesterday morning at 4.38am, after leaving the regional post office the previous day at 8.38am. All the other swords I've received lately, made the trip from the regional center to the local post office within 2 hours, because it's a 10 mile journey. So my assumption is that the sword was stolen before getting scanned into the local post office by someone there, and this person somehow continued the tracking of the package to make it seem like the package was still en route.

 

And good idea on making a police report, for which I've so already. Now my problem is, I still have a few swords waiting to get the paperwork done to be sent over, so I don't want to risk it going through my local post office any longer. I'll have to figure out where to send these swords instead.

[Schneeds]

Dealers should start using/offering Airtags. The cost is very little and they're extremely accurate.  U-Haul started putting them in the cargo vans because theft and re-VINing has gotten out of control and law enforcement simply doesn't have the man power and time to deal with it. 

[atm]

1 hour ago, Schneeds said:

Dealers should start using/offering Airtags.

AOI Art included them in my two most recent EMS shipments from them. Thankfully, we did not need to track them. Including an Airtag is a good idea, especially if a sword’s value exceeds the EMS insurance limit.

[Brian]

Yeah, I think a well hidden airtag or similar device is a must have nowadays with any expensive shipment. You can remove the beep noise, and most opportunistic criminals aren't yet looking for them.
Wonder how many year it will be before we start seeing airtags as the menuki on swords

[Alex A]

Was thinking of stating "air tag attached" on last package, i didn't but it was just a thought.

 

Seems a lot of bad news lately with USPS, would a better choice for you guys be UPS?

[Lewis B]

"Was thinking of stating "air tag attached" on last package, i didn't but it was just a thought."

 

 

 

Not sure that would be a deterrent, more like a heads up. 

[Alex A]

Yeh, get that, it was just a thought. 

 

If someone was in two minds and a bit nervous about making a theft, just thought it may put them off.

 

Maybe i overthink stuff.

 

PS, the biggest attraction i think would be the declaration price, so its already attractive.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Wouldn't that just let them know to get rid of the tag and get away scott free....?

[Alex A]

To be honest, I'm unsure about how much the police would take into account any evidence involving air tags.

 

Maybe I'm disillusioned by police efforts in the UK, they don't even turn up for burglaries.

 

So im already at the "they will do nothing" stage.

 

Hope things are better elsewhere, just wouldn't expect air tag evidence to be any kind of Sherlock Holmes miracle reveal.

 

Good thieves will check anyways.

 

Bad thieves, maybe seeing an alert to air tags on the box will put them off.

 

Sending stuff abroad, your dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.

 

 

 

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

There have been quite a few reports of people using airtags or other GPS tracking systems to lead police on search warrants.

 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-26/apple-airtags-are-helping-cops-catch-thieves-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself

[atm]

3 hours ago, Alex A said:

Seems a lot of bad news lately with USPS, would a better choice for you guys be UPS?

UPS offers a higher insurance limit, but I still prefer EMS/USPS. Every sword I have received from Japan via EMS required a signature, and my local USPS carriers honor that. My local UPS, on the other hand, has left high value items outside my front door, despite a signature requirement and me being home to receive the package. I think porch pirates are a greater risk than internal USPS theft. 

[Gerry]

16 hours ago, atm said:

AOI Art included them in my two most recent EMS shipments from them. Thankfully, we did not need to track them. Including an Airtag is a good idea, especially if a sword’s value exceeds the EMS insurance limit.

Ah, that's good to know, because I'm expecting a few swords from them in the next 2 months.

 

[Gerry]

51 minutes ago, atm said:

UPS offers a higher insurance limit, but I still prefer EMS/USPS. Every sword I have received from Japan via EMS required a signature, and my local USPS carriers honor that. My local UPS, on the other hand, has left high value items outside my front door, despite a signature requirement and me being home to receive the package. I think porch pirates are a greater risk than internal USPS theft. 

I actually had a USPS person just drop off a daisho at my front door when I wasn't home that was sent via EMS, and faked my "signature" on it. I had to get my neighbor to grab it before anyone took it off my porch.

[Char]

1 hour ago, Gerry said:

I actually had a USPS person just drop off a daisho at my front door when I wasn't home that was sent via EMS, and faked my "signature" on it. I had to get my neighbor to grab it before anyone took it off my porch.

Seems like it's a big problem in California with the smash and grab if it's under a certain dollar amount now moving into the mail service be cautious of late evening deliveries when they do a drop off and no one is home in some cases you may notice it isn't your regular carrier and delivered from the main facility.

[Tensho]

Just an FYI, in order to use the postal scanners an employee has to scan in their I.D. when you scan a package, it also records the GPS location where it was scanned and they're pretty darn accurate unless you live out in the sticks. 

 

Basically what I'm saying is the postmaster should be able to see where it "disappeared" and who scanned it. If it disappeared at one of the hubs though its a whole other can of worms. 

[Lewis B]

17 minutes ago, Tensho said:

If it disappeared at one of the hubs though its a whole other can of worms. 

If it's anything like Fedex, the employees have to walk through metal detectors entering and exiting the facility. Bit difficult absconding with a sword if there are checks at the Hub. 

[jawob]

You said that you went to USPS and they confirmed it stolen? I'm curious as to what they said, when you explained that your Ring showed no one delivering. A possibility, which has happened to me, several times, is that tracking will show delivered, and it will show up a day later. Probably forgot it on the truck. 

[Gerry]

22 hours ago, Tensho said:

Just an FYI, in order to use the postal scanners an employee has to scan in their I.D. when you scan a package, it also records the GPS location where it was scanned and they're pretty darn accurate unless you live out in the sticks. 

 

Basically what I'm saying is the postmaster should be able to see where it "disappeared" and who scanned it. If it disappeared at one of the hubs though its a whole other can of worms. 

Ah, that's very useful information to know, thanks. This way, they can verify who made the fake delivery for my package. Unfortunately, the USPS is closed today because of Columbus Day, but I've already filed a theft report with them, and also a police report, so we'll see how they respond. I'll call BS on them if they try to tell me they lost a 3 foot long package.

[Gerry]

18 hours ago, jawob said:

You said that you went to USPS and they confirmed it stolen? I'm curious as to what they said, when you explained that your Ring showed no one delivering. A possibility, which has happened to me, several times, is that tracking will show delivered, and it will show up a day later. Probably forgot it on the truck. 

Actually, I meant that I went to the USPS to confirm myself that the sword was stolen. I already had bad suspicions when it took a day to go the 10 miles from the distribution hub. The previous 8 swords I received always made this trip in 2 to 3 hours.

[Gerry]

What really gets me is that the whole customs declaration system is causing this issue, IMHO.

 

When you receive swords from Japan via EMS, the darn customs paperwork is pasted to the box for everyone to see, including the contents and value. I've taken to getting the contents described as "Japanese nihonto in mounts" to make it as ambiguous as possible, but Aoi Art likes to list the contents as "Antique Japanese Swords". My ambiguous description has gotten through US customs every time.

 

So anyone with half a brain and bad intentions will easily see what's inside the package, and how much it's worth. It's really such an outdated and stupid system, and I cant see why the customs information can't be sent electronically instead to protect the value and contents of the package. If there was no description on the outside of our packages, people would think I'm ordering curtain rods from Japan.

[raynor]

I never use USPS now either for sending or receiving. When I lived in Florida during the pandemic I was shocked how they stole as ravens, mostly my wife's shampoo and beauty products for some reason but I have never encountered another organization where it was treated as normal and how hard you have to work to get someone to do something about it. Once had an open package with opened products "found" and delivered after a couple months with about half a bottle of shampoo used  Never had any problems with any other US shipping companies, they usually came through as good if not better then the couriers I'm used to here in Europe.

[Alex A]

1 hour ago, Gerry said:

What really gets me is that the whole customs declaration system is causing this issue, IMHO.

 

When you receive swords from Japan via EMS, the darn customs paperwork is pasted to the box for everyone to see, including the contents and value. I've taken to getting the contents described as "Japanese nihonto in mounts" to make it as ambiguous as possible, but Aoi Art likes to list the contents as "Antique Japanese Swords". My ambiguous description has gotten through US customs every time.

 

So anyone with half a brain and bad intentions will easily see what's inside the package, and how much it's worth. It's really such an outdated and stupid system, and I cant see why the customs information can't be sent electronically instead to protect the value and contents of the package. If there was no description on the outside of our packages, people would think I'm ordering curtain rods from Japan.

 

Parcelforce here made you declare the value so everyone could see, which was annoying.

 

Recently used UPS online to send a knife to the US, the only way someone could have seen a price was if they opened the plastic wallet with the invoices for customs (which i suppose is easy enough)

 

Though the package left my home without any visible price, which was kind of reassuring for a change. 

 

I guess all the info available could be pulled up via the barcode by UPS, as it was booked online.

[Mushin]

Please keep your eyes out on government auction sites as often the stolen swords will end up here. A trick that seems to be employed by criminal postal workers and their contractors is that the delivery label is intentionally destroyed and then the package is placed in a bin ready to go to auction. In reality, a package with a damaged label is supposed to go to a special office where it should be inspected to find information about the shipper and/or the recipient so the package can get back on its way. The USPS has 90-days to do this. After that period of time, the package is considered "lost" and becomes the property of the Post Office and can be auctioned. But what we are finding is that the packages end up in bins that are heading for auction in less than 30 days and are picked up by assumed accomplices for a song. You will find police and agencies like the FBI will not touch these cases because the only U.S. law enforcement agency with jurisdiction is the U.S. Postal Inspectors, and from my experience, I have found them to be absolutely not interested in these cases, especially if there is insurance coverage. The other place to keep an eye out for stolen swords is on the Reddit Katana pages as I have discovered that on several occasions  the purchaser of the sword from the USPS auction will post stolen blades here, asking for information about the value of the swords for resale. From what I hear from custom brokers and Japanese dealers, these crimes are on the rise and as I said there is zero interest in combating them. When it comes to very very rare and valuable pieces, I urge you to ask the dealers to ship your swords from Japan by UPS. It is more expensive and will almost always involve extra charges for inspections by CBP and Fish and Wildlife inspectors, but in terms of peace of mind, it is money well spent. Hope this helps.

[Gerry]

20 hours ago, Mushin said:

Please keep your eyes out on government auction sites as often the stolen swords will end up here. A trick that seems to be employed by criminal postal workers and their contractors is that the delivery label is intentionally destroyed and then the package is placed in a bin ready to go to auction. In reality, a package with a damaged label is supposed to go to a special office where it should be inspected to find information about the shipper and/or the recipient so the package can get back on its way. The USPS has 90-days to do this. After that period of time, the package is considered "lost" and becomes the property of the Post Office and can be auctioned. But what we are finding is that the packages end up in bins that are heading for auction in less than 30 days and are picked up by assumed accomplices for a song. You will find police and agencies like the FBI will not touch these cases because the only U.S. law enforcement agency with jurisdiction is the U.S. Postal Inspectors, and from my experience, I have found them to be absolutely not interested in these cases, especially if there is insurance coverage. The other place to keep an eye out for stolen swords is on the Reddit Katana pages as I have discovered that on several occasions  the purchaser of the sword from the USPS auction will post stolen blades here, asking for information about the value of the swords for resale. From what I hear from custom brokers and Japanese dealers, these crimes are on the rise and as I said there is zero interest in combating them. When it comes to very very rare and valuable pieces, I urge you to ask the dealers to ship your swords from Japan by UPS. It is more expensive and will almost always involve extra charges for inspections by CBP and Fish and Wildlife inspectors, but in terms of peace of mind, it is money well spent. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the suggestion to post this on Reddit/Katanas, and also on the USPS auction site. I'll keep a lookout for my sword on it.

[Lewis B]

How's the insurance claim going. Any pushback from USPS?

 

Did you pay with a credit card? If yes, you may have some protections against theft for online purchases. Worth inquiring.