when do you give up?

[whoever]

Hi there,

After reading through the forum lately I realized how many watches fall out of radar and never come back from their trips through international postal services.

Something about 3 months ago I went through a very smooth and great deal with a very well known member here, and the watch never arrived. It was conus to Eu, so I knew whats in stake, and I accepted the risk, nothing to blame about original seller or myself.

Tracking stopped at sorting facilities in conus, then nothing....

But I always ask myself what happened? Stuck in customs, lost somewhere in another part of the world or a [censored] walking around with it.....

Point is, I still hope it'll turn up one day, but feel foolish to do so.

Am I foolish?

[maxman]

No... you are not foolish whoever. As a matter a fact you have taken a very healthy stance on the matter. You could start blaming the selller or postal service or the gods up above. But Instead you seem to understand that [censored] can happen and will happen from time to time.

My guess is that the watch will eventually turn up. PM me If you would like.

Mike

[cc33]

I had a watch sit in a depot for a little over a month and a half until one day I got a knock on the door and there it was. Also worth mentioning that the sender might get it back.

[jcrob]

Maybe you can call the postal office and find out what happened. They should have a record.

[freddy333]

I would have begun checking with the postal carrier, daily, once the tracking system stalled for 2 weeks. If they are unable to locate the package within 24 hours, I would request they begin a formal trace, which will either locate the package or result in it being declared lost.

[whoever]

No... you are not foolish whoever. As a matter a fact you have taken a very healthy stance on the matter. You could start blaming the selller or postal service or the gods up above. But Instead you seem to understand that [censored] can happen and will happen from time to time.

My guess is that the watch will eventually turn up. PM me If you would like.

Mike

Hey Mike, thanks for your encouragement! i actually do blame postal services!!

I had a watch sit in a depot for a little over a month and a half until one day I got a knock on the door and there it was. Also worth mentioning that the sender might get it back.

well....3months is getting a bit loooooong ......

i think it won't come back, since seller didn't write his address on it. At least i don't do it when it comes to reps ( i don't know if this is considered is normal or not?)

Maybe you can call the postal office and find out what happened. They should have a record.

we done everything we could do i guess. Seller checked from his side, i did on my side, where they told me they had no freaking idea....since the package never showed up in the system.

Again, no blame on the seller, i absolutely trust him, no question.

If the customs have it, am i automatically informed, or do they sometimes just destroy it without notice?

[whoever]

I would have begun checking with the postal carrier, daily, once the tracking system stalled for 2 weeks. If they are unable to locate the package within 24 hours, I would request they begin a formal trace, which will either locate the package or result in it being declared lost.

yep, thats what we did, and tracking worked inside US, then, into a black hole....so there was no possibility to check anything inside EU....

[ExtraExtra]

Oh boy...i hope there was insurance? I know a full value is not typically declared but maybe it came with a default amount? at least?

If the customs have it, am i automatically informed, or do they sometimes just destroy it without notice?

I think the process would be to contact the recipient through mail that they have something of yours. You get to see them in person to provide info to get it back or tell them to destroy it over the phone.

[maxman]

You do blame the Postal service. I can't fault you there. But keep a cool head and I have a feeling that this issue will be resolved.

Mike

[whoever]

the item was not assured, ....even if it was not a high end rep, was a bit of money for me. But not sth life threatening though!

[Jkay]

Point is, I still hope it'll turn up one day, but feel foolish to do so.

Am I foolish?

I posted about this a few months ago. The USPS has two huge warehouses where they keep undeliverable mail. One by one, the packages are broken open and searchrd for a way to deliver them (an address inside the package) .. then the value is guessed. Packages under a certain value are destroyed. Packages over that value are held for a number of months, then auctioned off.

If you contact your local post office, they can start the search for your mail piece. Every lost package in those two warehouses are cataloged for contents.

[Ronin]

If the watch is a high value, must have situation-- When shipping outbound from the US, use EXPRESS service. Chances are it will be to EU in under 72 hours.

PRIORITY service seems to be not much better than First Class.

On the flip side, I had a package sit in NY processing center for 45 days, and it magically appeared (France to US).

[panerai153]

I have said many times, the only thing consistent about the USPS is it's inconsistency!. Packages are SUPPOSED to be scanned at every point where they land. however the USPS is in complete disarray, morale is low, bosses are demanding more, sorting centers are being closed, so the ones remaining are doing the work of several.I know several of the folks who work in our local PO, both the main office and the branch near my work. All of them are unhappy.When you have this sort of environment, bad things are bound to happen. In their defense, often times the problem is not with them, but the sender. I have received packages that the address is so illegible it's a miracle the package got to me. Print the damn label!! How much time does it take to print a label. I use the free Avery Design Pro software, it prints one label on the sheet., six blank labels per sheet. Printed labels are a lot easier to read than chicken scratch!. I work with surgeons, I know how bad handwriting can be. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why you wouldn't use a return address label. If you are shipping overseas, your name and address is on the customs declaration. One problem is the customs declarations are inside a plastic packet, they can get torn off, or the form can be removed from the packet., so use a printed label, don't let the PO person put the customs envelope over the printed label, Print your return address on the label as well. also, as a weapon of last resort, put something inside the package with your name address and phone number on it, just as you should with your checked baggage when you fly.None of this will protect you from outright pilferage, or mail that gets mis- posted to God knows where, but if you do all the steps you can to insure that there are identifiers in and outside the package, at least it stands a better chance of getting to the recipient or back to you in the event of a postal screw up.

AFA customs, I don't believe that they always notify folks here in the USA if packages are confiscated. I have never had a watch confiscated or lost, but I have had several packages with cigars not show up. The sender, in Australia normally sent them Airmail, which is cheap, but fraught with all sorts of problems. One, it's at the absolute bottom of the delivery priority list, so it often takes a while to get packages, the second thing, tracking is not available. So if it goes missing, it's anyone's guess as to what actually happened to it.

So what can we do? The safest way, which is entirely unfeasible is to hand deliver the package to the buyer. Now everyone knows that it's safely in the hands of the buyer. Of course this is only reasonable if you were selling to a local buyer or a 100- 250K vintage gen,. buyer pays for business class to his airport, you turn over the watch, in a safe place, etc.

Second most secure, ship UPS or FedEX, this is certainly feasible within a country. I pretty much use either of them to ship genuine watches within the CONUS. I have heard enough horror stories that I take the watch and packaging to my local UPS store, they pack it in front of me, and I take a few Iphone photos of the process. Great tracking, and pretty much more conscientious personnel, except during Christmas season!!

Third, USPS Express mail with insurance and delivery confirmation.

Fourth USPS Priority mail, This used to be really good, 2-3 day delivery to most of the CONUS. Not as good any more, delivery from one coast to the other is now over 5 days not including weekends or holidays. again Insurance and delivery confirmation.

Some folks use registered mail with some success, I've had pretty mixed results, usually slower than priority, and while it's supposed to receive special handling, I wouldn't bet on it with the USPS like it is today

If you have ever bought genuine watches that were shipped to you, you might have noticed that the watches are often in boxes that are about twice the size you would expect, lots of packing peanuts and a small watch box..m y feeling is the seller feels like a bigger box is much less likely to be misplaced, stuck in a corner or under something than a small box. Just a lot harder to lose! So that's another tip, pack it in something larger, It may cost a couple of dollars more, but more likely to get where it's going.

[hambone]

No foolishness here at all. You have handled this with a patient , balanced perspective. No need for machine guns, pepper spray,

bazookas or silly string. This will work out fine.

[whoever]

Gentlemen, thanks for your thoughts!

I'll recheck the post office of my area and try to push the search a bit, we will see what happens.

I thought i/we had done what we could, so i didn't think about it anymore, but it came back to my mind a couple of days ago, forgive me for that.

It's the first time for me something got lost too, so even if i've been around for almost 2 years, it sucks, and in that way, yeah i'm a noob

Had several shipping to and from international without any problems, (CONUS, South America, eastern europe etc etc)

AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO BLAME ANYBODY, just wanted to ask if there is something else to do left.

As Ronin said, i'll try Express next time!

Have a nice weekend you all

cheers and thanks