The case of the missing Half Cent

Some of you may recall an FA post I made a few weeks ago where I
listed a colorfully toned AU half cent. The coin sold at what I
thought was a cheap price, even though the coin had an old dip. I
shipped the coin out on Nov 12 and hadn't heard from the buyer until
yesterday. The buyer sent me an email stating he had received the
invoice but no coin. He gave me his phone number and asked me to
call.

I immediately tried to figure out what happened. Maybe I really did
forget to put the coin in the envelope. No, I am very careful when I
ship coins and I certainly don't have the volume to get things messed
up. Then I thought maybe someone ripped it off at the post office. I
had that happen to me once a few years back. I received an envelope
that was torn open at one corner and the peace dollar was gone. I got
reimbursed for that one, but I wasn't looking forward to messing with
an insurance claim. But the email from the buyer didn't mention
anything about damage to the envelope. I packed it pretty well in a
bubble mailer and taped it up with packing tape.

The next thing that occured to me was that I was being scammed. Here
it was, eleven days after I shipped the coin, and I was just now
hearing from the buyer. If the coin was missing, why did it take a
week for him to let me know? How was I going to deal with someone
trying to scam me? I had already left positive feedback but have no
feedback from the buyer.

What was I going to do? Well, I did exactly what he asked me to do in
the email. I gave him a call. Right away he seemed like a nice guy
and my fears of being scammed melted away. As we pieced the clues
together it became clear what most likely became of the missing half
cent, and it wasn't pretty. You see, the address he had me ship the
coin to is his business address. When mail comes in it doesn't go to
him, but to someone else who opens and screens the mail. I had put
the coin in a 2x2, placed the 2x2 in a cardboard safety mailer (you
know, the kind that's sticky and folds over the merchandise), wrapped
the invoice around the carboard and stuffed it into the bubble mailer.
What showed up in the buyers in-box was just the invoice stamped as
being received Nov 15. Being a musy man it took him a few days before
he realized it was an invoice from a package and not simply a fax.

What likely happened was the person who opened the package thought the
safety mailer was just a piece of cardboard. A coin in a 2x2 is thin
and wouldn't have really made a bulge in the safety mailer. What
happened to the coin is still not known since this person is out of
the office for the holidays and won't be back until Monday. The
chances are high that the "carboard scrap" went in the trash. The
surviving population of 1835 half cents just went down. You may want
to snatch up some before this impact hits the market.

All is not bad though. I had a really nice long talk with him about
coins and collecting. He is one of those boyhood collectors who was
brought back to collecting by the state quarter series. He seems to
have learned quite a bit quickly and is building a nice collection. I
even told him about RCC, but I don't know if he will have time to look
us up. I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

"Randy Thompson" reported:
I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

I'm really sorry to hear of how this worked out, Randy. I can see how this
could have happened in the way that you outlined it. Life is not always
pleasant...

Larry
'a numismatic bummer, for sure'

"Larry Louks" writes:
"Randy Thompson" reported:

I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

I'm really sorry to hear of how this worked out, Randy. I can see how this
could have happened in the way that you outlined it.

It is likely that it did happen the way you two suspect, and that bites.
But the person who opens the mail in that company should have checked the
envelope. I've worked in two departments at my current company (and my
hubby worked in the mail room) and people are trained to check any large
envelopes carefully.

Stacia

That story shakes me up. I can easily see how it could happen and that is
what's scary.

Bill


"Randy Thompson" wrote in message
om...
Some of you may recall an FA post I made a few weeks ago where I
listed a colorfully toned AU half cent. The coin sold at what I
thought was a cheap price, even though the coin had an old dip. I
shipped the coin out on Nov 12 and hadn't heard from the buyer until
yesterday. The buyer sent me an email stating he had received the
invoice but no coin. He gave me his phone number and asked me to
call.

I immediately tried to figure out what happened. Maybe I really did
forget to put the coin in the envelope. No, I am very careful when I
ship coins and I certainly don't have the volume to get things messed
up. Then I thought maybe someone ripped it off at the post office. I
had that happen to me once a few years back. I received an envelope
that was torn open at one corner and the peace dollar was gone. I got
reimbursed for that one, but I wasn't looking forward to messing with
an insurance claim. But the email from the buyer didn't mention
anything about damage to the envelope. I packed it pretty well in a
bubble mailer and taped it up with packing tape.

The next thing that occured to me was that I was being scammed. Here
it was, eleven days after I shipped the coin, and I was just now
hearing from the buyer. If the coin was missing, why did it take a
week for him to let me know? How was I going to deal with someone
trying to scam me? I had already left positive feedback but have no
feedback from the buyer.

What was I going to do? Well, I did exactly what he asked me to do in
the email. I gave him a call. Right away he seemed like a nice guy
and my fears of being scammed melted away. As we pieced the clues
together it became clear what most likely became of the missing half
cent, and it wasn't pretty. You see, the address he had me ship the
coin to is his business address. When mail comes in it doesn't go to
him, but to someone else who opens and screens the mail. I had put
the coin in a 2x2, placed the 2x2 in a cardboard safety mailer (you
know, the kind that's sticky and folds over the merchandise), wrapped
the invoice around the carboard and stuffed it into the bubble mailer.
What showed up in the buyers in-box was just the invoice stamped as
being received Nov 15. Being a musy man it took him a few days before
he realized it was an invoice from a package and not simply a fax.

What likely happened was the person who opened the package thought the
safety mailer was just a piece of cardboard. A coin in a 2x2 is thin
and wouldn't have really made a bulge in the safety mailer. What
happened to the coin is still not known since this person is out of
the office for the holidays and won't be back until Monday. The
chances are high that the "carboard scrap" went in the trash. The
surviving population of 1835 half cents just went down. You may want
to snatch up some before this impact hits the market.

All is not bad though. I had a really nice long talk with him about
coins and collecting. He is one of those boyhood collectors who was
brought back to collecting by the state quarter series. He seems to
have learned quite a bit quickly and is building a nice collection. I
even told him about RCC, but I don't know if he will have time to look
us up. I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

(Glitter Ninja) wrote in message ...
"Larry Louks" writes:
"Randy Thompson" reported:

I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

I'm really sorry to hear of how this worked out, Randy. I can see how this
could have happened in the way that you outlined it.

It is likely that it did happen the way you two suspect, and that bites.
But the person who opens the mail in that company should have checked the
envelope. I've worked in two departments at my current company (and my
hubby worked in the mail room) and people are trained to check any large
envelopes carefully.

Stacia


I am wary of sending ebay items to business addresses since you don't
know
for sure who might be signing for them if the package is insured. A
small
one or two person business is not that big a concern but large
companies with
100's or 1000's of employees and a big mailroom could be a problem.
Where I work there is a policy of no personal mail or packages (UPS
etc.) allowed to be delivered at work. I think it is a good policy.

This time of year, the Postal Service hires temporary employees to help with
the holiday crush. So, now we know where the dismissed airport screeners got
new jobs. Exactly as I had expected!
tuppence

"Randy Thompson" wrote in message
om...
Some of you may recall an FA post I made a few weeks ago where I
listed a colorfully toned AU half cent. The coin sold at what I
thought was a cheap price, even though the coin had an old dip. I
shipped the coin out on Nov 12 and hadn't heard from the buyer until
yesterday. The buyer sent me an email stating he had received the
invoice but no coin. He gave me his phone number and asked me to
call.

I immediately tried to figure out what happened. Maybe I really did
forget to put the coin in the envelope. No, I am very careful when I
ship coins and I certainly don't have the volume to get things messed
up. Then I thought maybe someone ripped it off at the post office. I
had that happen to me once a few years back. I received an envelope
that was torn open at one corner and the peace dollar was gone. I got
reimbursed for that one, but I wasn't looking forward to messing with
an insurance claim. But the email from the buyer didn't mention
anything about damage to the envelope. I packed it pretty well in a
bubble mailer and taped it up with packing tape.

The next thing that occured to me was that I was being scammed. Here
it was, eleven days after I shipped the coin, and I was just now
hearing from the buyer. If the coin was missing, why did it take a
week for him to let me know? How was I going to deal with someone
trying to scam me? I had already left positive feedback but have no
feedback from the buyer.

What was I going to do? Well, I did exactly what he asked me to do in
the email. I gave him a call. Right away he seemed like a nice guy
and my fears of being scammed melted away. As we pieced the clues
together it became clear what most likely became of the missing half
cent, and it wasn't pretty. You see, the address he had me ship the
coin to is his business address. When mail comes in it doesn't go to
him, but to someone else who opens and screens the mail. I had put
the coin in a 2x2, placed the 2x2 in a cardboard safety mailer (you
know, the kind that's sticky and folds over the merchandise), wrapped
the invoice around the carboard and stuffed it into the bubble mailer.
What showed up in the buyers in-box was just the invoice stamped as
being received Nov 15. Being a musy man it took him a few days before
he realized it was an invoice from a package and not simply a fax.

What likely happened was the person who opened the package thought the
safety mailer was just a piece of cardboard. A coin in a 2x2 is thin
and wouldn't have really made a bulge in the safety mailer. What
happened to the coin is still not known since this person is out of
the office for the holidays and won't be back until Monday. The
chances are high that the "carboard scrap" went in the trash. The
surviving population of 1835 half cents just went down. You may want
to snatch up some before this impact hits the market.

All is not bad though. I had a really nice long talk with him about
coins and collecting. He is one of those boyhood collectors who was
brought back to collecting by the state quarter series. He seems to
have learned quite a bit quickly and is building a nice collection. I
even told him about RCC, but I don't know if he will have time to look
us up. I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

(Glitter Ninja) wrote in message ...
"Larry Louks" writes:
"Randy Thompson" reported:

I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

I'm really sorry to hear of how this worked out, Randy. I can see how this
could have happened in the way that you outlined it.

It is likely that it did happen the way you two suspect, and that bites.
But the person who opens the mail in that company should have checked the
envelope. I've worked in two departments at my current company (and my
hubby worked in the mail room) and people are trained to check any large
envelopes carefully.

Stacia

Yes, it's difficult to understand how someone would open an insured
(over $50) 8x10 inch bubble mailer and think the piece of paper inside
was the important part and trash that "bit of cardboard". The buyer
said he would update me after he found out more next week.

We ship coins in the cardboard Safe-T-Mailers that you fold together
with the sticky side in, that say MERCHANDISE ENCLOSED on both sides
of the outside. Even so, I once got an angry call from a customer that
he had received an Insured package with an invoice in it but no coin.
I asked him if there was a cardboard mailer in the package, and he
said yeah, I threw it out. I asked him if he had opened it up first,
and he said no, should he have? Fortunately it was still in the
garbage can next to him.
Sigh.
Tom DeLorey

(Randy Thompson) wrote in message . com...
Some of you may recall an FA post I made a few weeks ago where I
listed a colorfully toned AU half cent. The coin sold at what I
thought was a cheap price, even though the coin had an old dip. I
shipped the coin out on Nov 12 and hadn't heard from the buyer until
yesterday. The buyer sent me an email stating he had received the
invoice but no coin. He gave me his phone number and asked me to
call.

I immediately tried to figure out what happened. Maybe I really did
forget to put the coin in the envelope. No, I am very careful when I
ship coins and I certainly don't have the volume to get things messed
up. Then I thought maybe someone ripped it off at the post office. I
had that happen to me once a few years back. I received an envelope
that was torn open at one corner and the peace dollar was gone. I got
reimbursed for that one, but I wasn't looking forward to messing with
an insurance claim. But the email from the buyer didn't mention
anything about damage to the envelope. I packed it pretty well in a
bubble mailer and taped it up with packing tape.

The next thing that occured to me was that I was being scammed. Here
it was, eleven days after I shipped the coin, and I was just now
hearing from the buyer. If the coin was missing, why did it take a
week for him to let me know? How was I going to deal with someone
trying to scam me? I had already left positive feedback but have no
feedback from the buyer.

What was I going to do? Well, I did exactly what he asked me to do in
the email. I gave him a call. Right away he seemed like a nice guy
and my fears of being scammed melted away. As we pieced the clues
together it became clear what most likely became of the missing half
cent, and it wasn't pretty. You see, the address he had me ship the
coin to is his business address. When mail comes in it doesn't go to
him, but to someone else who opens and screens the mail. I had put
the coin in a 2x2, placed the 2x2 in a cardboard safety mailer (you
know, the kind that's sticky and folds over the merchandise), wrapped
the invoice around the carboard and stuffed it into the bubble mailer.
What showed up in the buyers in-box was just the invoice stamped as
being received Nov 15. Being a musy man it took him a few days before
he realized it was an invoice from a package and not simply a fax.

What likely happened was the person who opened the package thought the
safety mailer was just a piece of cardboard. A coin in a 2x2 is thin
and wouldn't have really made a bulge in the safety mailer. What
happened to the coin is still not known since this person is out of
the office for the holidays and won't be back until Monday. The
chances are high that the "carboard scrap" went in the trash. The
surviving population of 1835 half cents just went down. You may want
to snatch up some before this impact hits the market.

All is not bad though. I had a really nice long talk with him about
coins and collecting. He is one of those boyhood collectors who was
brought back to collecting by the state quarter series. He seems to
have learned quite a bit quickly and is building a nice collection. I
even told him about RCC, but I don't know if he will have time to look
us up. I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.

On 24 Nov 2004 12:28:00 -0800, (Tom DeLorey) wrote:

We ship coins in the cardboard Safe-T-Mailers that you fold together
with the sticky side in, that say MERCHANDISE ENCLOSED on both sides
of the outside. Even so, I once got an angry call from a customer that
he had received an Insured package with an invoice in it but no coin.
I asked him if there was a cardboard mailer in the package, and he
said yeah, I threw it out. I asked him if he had opened it up first,
and he said no, should he have? Fortunately it was still in the
garbage can next to him.
Sigh.
Tom DeLorey

This story could have ended that way had he noticed it the day it came
in. But eight days later I'm afraid their is no hope.

--
Randy

A long time ago I worked in a corporate photo lab as a summer job in
college. We ordered a bunch of photographic paper and the purchasing
department opened all the packages and counted the sheets of paper
before delivering them to us. DUH!
--Tom

Randy Thompson wrote:
Some of you may recall an FA post I made a few weeks ago where I
listed a colorfully toned AU half cent. The coin sold at what I
thought was a cheap price, even though the coin had an old dip. I
shipped the coin out on Nov 12 and hadn't heard from the buyer until
yesterday. The buyer sent me an email stating he had received the
invoice but no coin. He gave me his phone number and asked me to
call.

I immediately tried to figure out what happened. Maybe I really did
forget to put the coin in the envelope. No, I am very careful when I
ship coins and I certainly don't have the volume to get things messed
up. Then I thought maybe someone ripped it off at the post office. I
had that happen to me once a few years back. I received an envelope
that was torn open at one corner and the peace dollar was gone. I got
reimbursed for that one, but I wasn't looking forward to messing with
an insurance claim. But the email from the buyer didn't mention
anything about damage to the envelope. I packed it pretty well in a
bubble mailer and taped it up with packing tape.

The next thing that occured to me was that I was being scammed. Here
it was, eleven days after I shipped the coin, and I was just now
hearing from the buyer. If the coin was missing, why did it take a
week for him to let me know? How was I going to deal with someone
trying to scam me? I had already left positive feedback but have no
feedback from the buyer.

What was I going to do? Well, I did exactly what he asked me to do in
the email. I gave him a call. Right away he seemed like a nice guy
and my fears of being scammed melted away. As we pieced the clues
together it became clear what most likely became of the missing half
cent, and it wasn't pretty. You see, the address he had me ship the
coin to is his business address. When mail comes in it doesn't go to
him, but to someone else who opens and screens the mail. I had put
the coin in a 2x2, placed the 2x2 in a cardboard safety mailer (you
know, the kind that's sticky and folds over the merchandise), wrapped
the invoice around the carboard and stuffed it into the bubble mailer.
What showed up in the buyers in-box was just the invoice stamped as
being received Nov 15. Being a musy man it took him a few days before
he realized it was an invoice from a package and not simply a fax.

What likely happened was the person who opened the package thought the
safety mailer was just a piece of cardboard. A coin in a 2x2 is thin
and wouldn't have really made a bulge in the safety mailer. What
happened to the coin is still not known since this person is out of
the office for the holidays and won't be back until Monday. The
chances are high that the "carboard scrap" went in the trash. The
surviving population of 1835 half cents just went down. You may want
to snatch up some before this impact hits the market.

All is not bad though. I had a really nice long talk with him about
coins and collecting. He is one of those boyhood collectors who was
brought back to collecting by the state quarter series. He seems to
have learned quite a bit quickly and is building a nice collection. I
even told him about RCC, but I don't know if he will have time to look
us up. I still feel a bit sick about the coin though.