USPS ruins a gem/ Davidssportscards
 

so, I recently purchased a 1928 yuengling Gehrig PSA 7 from davidssportscards (is he on the site?)

David was excellent, provided good tracking, fast shipment after payment, no complaints... then the card arrived and USPS just murdered it. Wish Dave had budbble wrapped to prevent this from happening... I'm sure he'll issue a refund, but I'm unbelieveably pissed that this gorgeous and rare card was basically ruined (it's upper right corner is dead, and the broken slab scratched the card like crazy,)

waiting for a response from Dave on how he wants it shipped back... I assume he'll want it removed from the slab to prevent any further damage.

Just wanted to share a really depressing moment of the morning.


Edited for my full name, since I did mention his business (though not in a negative way i hope) - Joe HE.RNE

ouch! poor Lou!

That is really unfortunate :(

Uhhhh man! That is awful to hear (and see). Sorry you had to experience this. What was the card shipped in? And can you tell it was a damaged package? That card should have definitely been bubble wrapped, I never ship without bubble wrap and usually with hard cardboard taped around it if I have it available. Man that is tough to look at :eek:

it came in #00 bubble mailer, which had clear tears/punctures from shipping. But the slab inside was unwrapped. and that bubble mailer was just put in a flat rate envelope. Such a waste. ruined a beautiful card. I know I'll be made whole, but Dave gets a big loss unless he insured at full value, which I hope for his sake he did

USPS incidence of damage has to be incredibly low based in their huge volumes. Still, every time I ship or receive...I say a little prayer .

Unacceptable. Bubble wrap and cardboard is always a must when sending valuables. My two cents!!

Man that sucks. With such a high value card I would use bubble wrap and a box.

That's a shame, hopefully it was insured.

I generally use #000 and #00 bubble mailers for cards <$150. It's a risky business sending something that valuable in such a flimsy envelope.

Sorry to hear! Hopefully it was fully insured!

+1 :)

Hope the package is fully insured otherwise I am not sure who should pick up the tap.

Send it back fully insured, and then say that's when the damage happened..:eek::eek: J/k I wouldn't do that. Karma has a way of coming back on you.

Such a beautiful card though. It's a shame..

well, it won't be me...

But, I'll provide dave with whatever evidence he needs/testimony etc to get his money from USPS... he absolutely should've packaged it better (bubblewrap, cardboard, and in a box) but he paid for priority 1-day shipping scheduled for 3/4 it arrived destroyed on 3/5.

Without going into any details
 

As to who did what; I had an interesting chat yesterday with my friend who does my shipping

Rick M mentioned how he sent him a box which was destroyed, yet the cards came through just fine. While normally I just dropped off the boxes in his office and never see him he was actually working yesterday and as we had not talked for a while I brought up Rick M's comment

He showed me cardboard and bubble wrap he uses as well in a 5000 Ct box how he puts cardboard in each side to keep cards from moving. Next (and this is a box I'm shping to Canada early next week, he takes cardboard and wraps that around the 5000 Ct box. I will tell Richard A, the box he is getting is well preserved and the USPS should not be able to hurt this in any way.

Being a former store owner, he understands the importance of proper shipping which is why I drop off all my items at his office and leave him a check.

Rich

For any card with a value over $500, I always use a Priority Mail Small Flat Rate box. The card inside the box is bubble wrapped. That's probably what the seller should have done instead of just mailing in a bubble mailer.

That is precisely why I triple wrap cards in bubble wrap before I put them in the bubble mailer. Sorry for your loss.

+2

At least Lou was able to save face.

Sorry...bad pun. :o

Amazing card before the damage, hope it works out for everyone. With that damage I seriously doubt cardboard or extra bubble wrap would have made any difference.

Dang!
 

That sucks, Joe. Seeing Lou all beat up laying on the ground, looks like a crime scene photo. :(

so... just got off the phone with Dave, sounds like he wants to talk to USPS and open a case with them. Asked me to wait 2 days to let him get that process started.

If it were you and you were sitting on a $2500 damage, would you wait the two days, or would you open a case right away if he doesn't issue an immediate refund?

How would you all handle? This is the first time I've actually had this happen so I'm a noob in the world of getting my money back

Since he got back to you and is only asking for a couple days I would give it to him.

This^

Give him the benefit of the doubt to try and make it right with you. Then take it from there when he gets back to you.

I've never been in this situation, but this advice seems the most reasonable.

that's what I was thinking... I already sent photos through ebay messaging of the damage, and the guy has 10,000 positive feedback. I have to assume he's an upstanding guy and will get the refund issued.

I basically have turned to only using the Priority Flat rate boxes. They are FREE at the P.O. ,So Why Not??? And it only cost 5-6 bucks i think. And plenty of room for packing materials. And if its highly valuable, like 250+ I try and usually get insurance and thus makes the buyer sign for it at the door.

+1

+1

That thing got torqued pretty damn hard. There's no way more cardboard would have saved it. Looks like it got jammed in a sorting machine or something. Either way, two days to sort it out is a very reasonable request. You'll get your refund, just be patient.

I recently filed a claim with the USPS for a small item that was damaged by the mail carrier. It took a couple of weeks, but they sent a check to the buyer for the full auction amount. As previously said, be patient.

If he has done all he can to help you until a few days have passed, then accept the answer and wait a few days.

That SUCKS! I can't believe a guy sent a $2500 card unprotected in a bubble mailer though. That's not a very intelligent way to ship a card like that. I ALWAYS put cardboard around ANY card I ship. Why risk it?

I can echo what everyone is saying about using a small flat rate box. They're free and with some bubble wrap give some stability to the cards inside. I've had cards valued at more than the Gehrig shipped in a lot less and it's scary to open the package and see how many pieces the case is in.

Agreed!! A card that expensive should have been sent in a small 8x6x4 box and sent Registered Mail. No if's, and's, or but's.

...

I had a SGC slabbed E121 I sold to another board member and even wrapped in bubble and USPS cracked the slab. Fortunately the card was not damaged. This is why I now ship between two sheets of corrugated cardboard to protect the cards. So far no issues.

That sucks...Who sends a $2500 card in a bubble mailer? That's sheer stupidity.

That is a shame. Hope everything works out for you. :(

Packages
 

Hey guys, you need to remember everything is automated. These packages are handled by machines, sent down long chutes into hampers that are loaded with dozens and dozens of small packages. The machines are processing 1000's of packages per hour. The only time a human touches these packages is when they are handed to a clerk at the counter and when they are delivered by your carrier. The same goes for UPS and Fed Ex. In the last couple of days our PO has received items from both of those companies that were totally mangled because the packaging was cheap and flimsy.

If you have a slabbed card, which doesn't have any flexibility, you need to protect it. Plan on having this card sitting at the bottom of a hamper with 200 other small parcels sitting on top of it. Plan on having this card fall from a conveyor belt into a chute and landing at the bottom of a plastic hamper. Plan on having this package ferried in the belly of an airplane where the temp is well below zero. Plan on having this package riding in the back of a transport truck where the temp is 10 below zero and the roads are rough. Plan on having this parcel in the bottom of a mail carriers satchel with catalogs on top of it while he is walking his route. Don't be lazy. Don't be cheap. Package it correctly and it will get to it's destination every time.

Rick :)

...

Seriously, I was shocked when this was stated. IF you choose to send an item valued this high in a bubble mailer, it takes 15 extra seconds to put between two cardboard pieces, and it is free as well. I put 10$ graded cards between 2 cardboard pieces. Over $250, I think that you simply have to put it in a box...

Looks like it got caught in one of the rollers, which if that was the case no piece of cardboard or anything short of steel would have protected it. I've worked around enough mail sorting facilities to see stuff like that happen from time to time. Anything caught in those gets instantly chewed up. A box is always a good way to go but I have seen those get flattened like a pancake too. Registered mail takes a lot longer and is handled completely separate from the general mail. Complete accountability along the way and a guarantee of arrival with insurance. It costs a pretty penny but if it's important that's how it should be sent.

+1

A few years ago, I won a 1933 Sport Kings Red Grange on ebay. When I got it in Texas (from Alaska), the package (one of the padded yellow bubble mailers) was mangled. I opened it up, and the card had been put between cardboard, and wrapped in bubblewrap. Even with that, the PSA holder was broken right across the card. Luckily, the card was undamaged, and PSA later regraded it at the same grade.

Just sayin' that with valuable cards, if you want it to get there undamaged, you have to start at the minimum with a box and plenty of bubblewrap, and if possible, plenty of styrofoam peanuts also.

Steve

Omg poor lou

Joe, I'm so terribly sorry.

hey, it happens. Like I said, im not concerned financially, that will get resolved... such a tragedy seeing a great exemplar go from NM7 to Fair2/VG3 based on just carelessness.

I think everyone on these boards treasures the history, the art, etc... it's like someone folded a Masterpiece. should send PSA a note to update the registry. Other mint examples just went up a little in value

This just makes me sad.

For high-value insured items, registered mail is actually the least expensive USPS alternative - for me, anything over $2K gets shipped registered.

As far as other thoughts regarding bubble-mailers, boxes, cardboard, etc., it's like anything else in business - cost vs risk. Business owners have to make these informed decisions. I can tell you for certain - if ten uninsured $50 slabbed cards in bubble mailers got eaten up by the rollers today, my decision to ship cheap slabbed cards that way would still have been a good financial one. But I don't sell such items anymore.

I used to use registered USPS for expensive items then I had a box delivered empty and you could see the finger holes where the postal employee ripped it open. He knew something expensive was inside. Collectibles lost though insurance was paid. No investigation at all even though registered needs to be signed for by everyone that touches it.

Now it is priority with signature confirmation and a 3rd party insurance so that an employee is not tempted to steal it.

Hey Dan - Why would that method lessen the employee's temptation for mischief?

BTW - I owe you a ball game. Time to start checking the schedule.

Ken

Hi Kenny!

You don't owe me a thing but it would be my pleasure to attend another game with you this year.

A registered package or even insured clues the employee in that something expensive is inside.

A priority package with just signature confirmation does not necessarily hold a valuable item.

Dan

How does one go about getting this??