Stolen MGZ40 (from me!) Now offered on ebay!!

[Schnee]

The Label Baby Junior...classic episode.

Link to post office auction dates, might be worth the trip to Atlanta, I have a zwillingsockel en-route from Germany to the USA. I am only kidding though, it is in the hands of a more capable shipping company.

http://www.usps.com/auctions/

More fun facts...the USPS although privatized is protected under federal law from lawsuits. If I want to go after them it is federal court, which will cost money, sadly, more than a MGZ40 is worth. I could try small claims court but it will get thrown out and sent to federal court.

I ship 20-25 packages a week through my two businesses, one on gunbroker and the other through our own website, all of which goes through USPS. Thursday I look into FedEx and UPS rates. I spent close to 30k last year at the post office. I'll be damned if they get anymore of my customers hard earned shipping money.

[salt6]

I'm going to call bull (Try a different word.) on this. A registered letter has a tracking number on it. I don't care where its from, it has to be accounted for at all times.

The final guy, the carrier has to SIGN for it before he leaves to the route. How do I know? I deliever registered letters every day. I'm a lettercarrier.

Put a crappy lable on something and it falls off, who's to blame? Next time put contact info in the box, such as an invoice. Then the package will find you. The're opened in an effort to find someone to send it to before it goes to auction.

[Bil]

As far as postal services in foreign countries,I am surprised anything ever gets here.In Italy,I needed to mail something,so I went to the post office.I could pick up a package[but not send one],I could pay my phone bill,I could collect my pension check,Or have electrical service installed in my house.All differant doors and lines.No stamps.They sent me to the train station,and the guy that sold candy and cigarettes had them under the counter [where we keep the porn magazines,they have them in the coin boxes like newspapers] Then it got worse-the stamps kept falling off! The guy laughed and told me of course,there is no glue on them!The desk clerk at the hotel gave me a glue roller,and I think the stamp fell off when I dropped it in the box.{at the train station].2 weeks later the letter showed up in the USA,postmarked,but no stamp.I try not to complain about the US mail too much. ---bil

[Schnee]

You can call bull on it but it is the truth. Ask at work, you will discover the same thing I have. I have wasted the better part of 4 days on the phone. Registered letters that originate in the USA are accounted for at all times under lock and key. In regards to foreign registered mail, I have been told by my postmaster, two of the counter workers, the consumer affair lady and the lady at the USPS inspectors office in Billings that the USPS officially no longer handles foreign registered letters as if they were of US origin. Reason being, they do not get paid by the foreign country to handle them. That being said, my letter carrier makes me sign for every single one that comes. Starting last year registered tracking numbers from Germany always work in Germany, almost always show up on the east coast when the enter customs and rarely show up once they clear customs as they are now distributed into the regular mail. They usually reappear (scanned) in Missoula before they are brought down to Hamilton. Rarely anything in between. The letters are getting stolen right after customs somewhere back east, most likely the Bethpage Sorting Center.

The tracking number on the package sent by bergflak is listed on the USPS website a few times. Origin, entering custums, clearing customs and going to the Bethpage New York sorting station where it vanished on January 26th, 2009 only to appear a month or so ago at a USPS auction in Atlanta Georgia.

There is the possibility that a postal worker decided to steal whatever was in the box and decided after it was open he did not want whatever he thought it was and decided to just throw it in the undeliverable mail and it ended up at auction. I have received boxes from bergflak before. The labels they use do not come off easily.

Funny you should mention Italy Bill. Our ebay account had over 1500 positives with no negatives until this past fall. I sold 8 MG34 photos to a guy in Italy over a few weeks time. He never got any of them. 3 different letters all vanished in Italy over the course of 6 weeks.

You would think with all the trouble that maybe somebody here in Hamilton was stealing the letters but the MGZ40 never even came close to Hamilton.

[Matt]

do any of you have kids? if not you now know or have a small insight into a custody battle can be like. best of luck to you guys. seems like the po is to blame. but what can be you do? - matt

[noonxnoon]

I can speak from personal experience sending & receiving international packages.

I have sent packages to Japan, Thailand & the Philippines...registered...but once it got to the foreign PO, I was unable to track it...and the people on that side ended up paying 'postage' on it.

Also the other way around...packages sent to me were not trackable because it didn't originate from the US post office.

Don't know if there IS some way to get into the USPS systems from another country, but never had a way to track it.

FedEx, UPS, etc DO have international tracking.

Even with a package I got from Canada...it showed up until customs and sat there for the longest time and then it showed up at my door...the tracking never was updated.

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I'm still waiting for a pair of handmade leather jackboots to arrive from Subic Bay, Philippines where I shipped them to home. It's been 17 years now . . .

[Bil]

You should sit on your front porch,so if they show up you will be home to sign for them. Cold,ain't it!? ---bil

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

*Brrrr!*

[noonxnoon]

Were you in PI, DA?

I was in Batangas, Manilla, Baggio(sp?) about two years ago.

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Were you in PI, DA?

I was in Batangas, Manilla, Baggio(sp?) about two years ago.

Nope. I didn't do it (whatever it was).

I was in Subic Bay years ago. We were loading up and taking what was left of the base out of the country.

[Bil]

Did it ever get here,or should we be looking for it? ---bil

[noonxnoon]

DA,

Check out the USPS auction to see if your custom made boots are still hanging around there!!!

[cipollinaj]

Here is what happened to Mgz40 that didnt meet reserve
the first time.
It was relisted at lower reserve and sold
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

[cipollinaj]

For what its worth Ryan,
I sent her a PM on her ebay site..

Hi,
I just want you to know this sale is a topic of
a big discussion on one of the military websites.
I understand you bought it at auction, but the
original buyer who owned it before you, is really taking a beating.
Cant you find it in you heart to give him the rest of the items in the box.
I know you dont have to, but I think you know it is the right thing to do.
I think everyone would be happy and could sleep better at night.
John

[Genocide]

Best of luck to you both, damn shame.

[Lima]

If you have not already found address and/or contact info, for <$20 could you not buy one of the other items the seller has listed to get more info about them for the next steps?

[Schnee]

That is exactly how I found the contact information for the ebay seller. I bought some junk watch with buy it now.

Good news, bad news. Bad news is I had to pay 2 grand on ebay to get back the MGZ40 that I already bought in the first place. Good news is that Post Office is cooperating and is probably going to reimburse me for what I had to pay to get back what was mine in the first place. The other bad news is that all the accessories that I bought along with it are missing. No doubt, tossed aside when the package was opened at the Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta and prepared for auction there.

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

All's well that ends... well,.... badly.

[noonxnoon]

The PO will pay you back 2k?