#1/1 LOST IN MAIL; LISTED AND SOLD ON eBAY; WHAT TO DO?

[Russ S.]

1. Get a written statement notarized by the seller on FCB that he shipped that card to you, with the tracking info on the statement. Also he should put a scan of the card on the paperwork, and ID the card in the auction.

2. Print off the ebay sellers info, and the completed auction.

3. Take it all (the written statement from the seller, the torn envelope, and the ebay sellers info) to the ebay sellers police department. He may or may not be the one that stole it. Just because he said he bought it from a couple at a flea market, doesnt mean its true. Let the police do all the investigating. If the seller is in fact innocent of the theft, technically, he did receive stolen goods. a visit from the local PD may jog his memory a bit more than a faceless guy messaging on ebay, or a random weirdo fussing at a flea market.


It doesnt matter that its just 12 bucks. mail fraud is a felony.

^ THis ^

 

[cartersprings]

While I admire you tenacity in getting to the bottom of the situation, I think you are totally wasting your time and dragging on your frustration over the entire deal.

I also think it's quite a jump to come to the conclusion that this mail fraud. A more plausible explanation...

Who's to say the card didn't actually fall out during the shipping process? Envelopes are machine fed if I'm not mistaken and your case is a perfect example of why you don't send cards in a PWE. Not to mention they can be bent, damaged, or in this case, torn envelope, where the card falls out completely. It could very well have been the case that the machine ate the envelope and spit the card to the floor, only later to be found with no way to match it up to who sent it. Your package could have been long gone before the Pedro was found sitting there on the sort floor, and could very well have been sitting there with 10 other items that fell out from other packages.

I don't know what postal regulations are on what they do with stuff like this, but I mean really, what are they expected to do in a situation like this? There is no way they can be expected to solve the issue and match the item back up with the envelope.

I think it's a bit over the top to jump to the conclusion of mail fraud, especially when there is a much more plausible explanation.

It is supposed to be sent to a dept responsible for trying to match up the separated items with their envelopes (where the "We're sorry..." envelope came from). Policy does not allow for someone to take possession of the items. Most likely a worker at the sort facility passed the envelope to the dept & kept the item or someone took the item from the dept. It is a felony for whoever took the item, but obtaining proof may be difficult.

I would recommend contacting the local Postmaster with the information of this issue and hope they rightfully forward it on to the Postal inspectors.

 

[A_Pharis]

To everyone saying "It's $12. Move on."

It's about more than that. No matter the value - stealing mail/contents is a federal crime. Doing so as a postal employee is a SERIOUS issue. I applaud the OP for putting his thumb down.

 

[cartersprings]

To everyone saying "It's $12. Move on."

It's about more than that. No matter the value - stealing mail/contents is a federal crime. Doing so as a postal employee is a SERIOUS issue. I applaud the OP for putting his thumb down.

Right on. I wouldn't want a thief handling my mail. It's not likely for this to be the first, nor last, time the individual has committed this crime.

OP - you can view more information here:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/cont ... laint.aspx

and file a complaint with the Postal Inspection branch here:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/mlntrcvd.aspx