BAD- Received Rocks vice Rockstead

[Cap’n Smudge]

...in case the conspiracy theorists here continue...

Other than that one idiot saying it was the Colonel I haven’t seen much in the way of conspiracy theories here. Mostly just people stating the possibilities.

Although the seller/sender didn’t directly confirm this was a reused flat rate box I think we can surmise that it is.
The indications being the “Lu Lu” on one end that is under the tape. This is the sender/sellers nickname or name and was put there by the person who originally used the box to send luh1202 something. Also the white piece of paper with seller and buyers addresses which was put there to obscure the original addresses from the box’s first use. These things explain why the box has tears and cut tape under new tape making it more difficult to determine if the package was tampered with in transit or otherwise.
The only thing that could shed some light on what happened would be to get the weight of the package “as received” and compare it to the “as shipped” weight. If somebody has the same knife with original box, a flat rate box and some packing paper and can get the weight of that, it might also be helpful.

I still think the Colonel did it!

 

[Peter Hartwig]

he is undergoing major surgery today

Wish him well and a fast recovery

 

[golden_dragon]

wow!

 

[Lone_Wolfe]

Thought I would add, I know the OP fairly well. Never in person, but have dealt with him for years. But to alleviate some of the recent concerns, he lives off base, and he is undergoing major surgery today. So I doubt he will be on for a few days, in case the conspiracy theorists here continue...

^^^ This. He's under the knife today, and we all wish for the best possible result.

 

[Gastonknife]

This whole thing has hit a brick wall. Until the OP and/or seller have some details to add or answer some Q's. Otherwise it's just speculation from all of us based on no new facts or information.
I do wish the OP well for whatever procedure is going on.

 

[luh1202]

Not meant as a complaint of AZ's charges, but it will likely cost you much more in the long run than any losses. Situations like this are pretty rare on BF. I think a few extra precautions mentioned in the thread will help, and you could always use a different carrier(they can even pack it) or registered mail.
My belief is this happened in transit and I certainly feel for the OP. He certainly got a raw deal, but that was going to fall on someone.
IMO the OP should have be refunded the money. Not because luh is dishonest or did anything wrong, but simply because the OP didn't get the knife he purchase. It is a sad situation made even worse by the value involved.

Yeah 25% on AZ is crazy, but they don't lie.

 

[Peter Hartwig]

Yeah 25% on AZ is crazy, but they don't lie.

Are you contending that the buyer is lying rather than it was switched in transit? He looks pretty solid from his history and those sticking up for him.

 

[KELAMA]

Seller: luh1202
Events: after a short email exchange with seller I agreed to pay 850 via G&S and sent him the payment. I opened the package and found a ziplock full of rocks wrapped in paper. I have opened a dispute in PayPal and I'm awaiting resolution.

^ First & foremost: I'm hoping/praying, that your surgery & impending recovery, proceed without any problems. Secondly, & as always: I thank you, for your service on behalf of our Country.
As for this case/ thread: I honestly believe, that you are a victim here, & FWIW, I stand behind you 100%!

Postal theft is real and could happen to any of us, There is a fair 33% chance that is what happened here.
Am I the only one who is disheartened to see how quick people are called thieves in this thread?
Before All the facts are even in?

Any of us could be the buyer or seller here,
Open for a Dogpile of accusations, before the investigation is started..

^^^ "disheartened" < +1

To see the OP; an otherwise trustworthy, reputable member here with a 100% solid reputation on every knife related forum he's participated in (active duty military- not that this is an excuse for bad behavior), be treated by fellow member's/so called "brother's, in this manner, is beyond pathetic!!! All by people trying to CSI his video taping, analyzing his every action/narration, as he made this unboxing video literally a few feet from his Superior Officer, then concluding he's either guilty, or acting suspicious.
Some of the reckless, obscenely absurd, far reaching aspersions being posted here (directly or indirectly), were extremely disappointing to read.

My decision sometime back, to not to buy/sell on this forum anymore (quit while I'm ahead), was just validated as being a wise one, after reading some of the post's in this thread.
All I can say, is "Thank God," I dodged a bullet & never had to face the wrath of this GBU court of pubic opinion, during my 500+ +++transactions here.
Quite some "brotherhood" you guys got going on here, a word so many of you preach & carelessly throw around, but in reality, don't have a continental clue what this word truly means.

^^^ This. I;ll also say that the buyer is known to me, and is someone I trust.

+1

Also to note: my demeanor in the video is because I work 15 feet from a full bird Colonel and in an office next to a few dozen Marines. If I jumped around cussing and hollering like I wanted to it would have caused even more trouble.

Here's the timeline:

Monday 340pm: wife signed for package and put it on my desk. No one else is home and she does not touch the packages I receive or open any mail of mine (she knows I record all openings).

Wednesday around 2am: I get home from the airport, I was out of state for a wedding. I immediately went to bed.

Wednesday at 740am: I leave the house in a rush to drop my son off at school and get to work, box was grabbed and put in my gym bag.

Wednesday 1032am (according to video timestamp): I unbox the Rockstead package. My suspicion arose once I was sitting at my desk and grabbed it from my bag and actually paid attention to the feel of the box. Package went from my desk to gym bag, and carried to my access controlled office in which no one is there unless I'm in it too.

^^ OP: I wouldn't waste another second of your valuable time, dignifying a response to some of these poster's, & their ridiculous, comments.

Regardless of whether PP decided in your favor or not, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure the buyer gets the knife he purchased from you. Until that happens, you have not fulfilled your end of the bargain (even though in this case it may be through no fault of your own). My point is simply that you owe the buyer his $800 back. Are you going to pay it back or do you intend to keep it?

^ +1 I think the seller intends to keep it.

Rocksteads come in a wooden box. If you saw or grabbed something that went crunch, and was pliable, basic logic would tell you something was not right. I don’t think it would take above average intelligence to figure that out immediately.

^ Unfortunately, Sleeper80, many of the responder's here, aren't dealing, with "above average intelligence."

I don't often do this commenting in these types of threads and haven't been online here for some time. Personal/family issues- Just about done there.
I have done deals with the buyer and multiple occasions elsewhere. Have never had an issue- That is where my "Tanked" Sebenza came from that is pictured in the CRK sub. Not unusual for a collector to find other avenues to fill what they are after. In this case, facebook sales groups. He is in alot of them and has done many deals from what I have seen. Those same groups are also quick to call out people that scam or steal. Not sure I have seen him in any of those but then again, I have been out of many things for the last several months.
Also, filming openings isn't all that unusual anymore..there is a really big market out there other than the BF exchange- BF is still the best in my opinion, we look after each other..but people do adopt different strategies for protecting themselves. Choose to believe it or not.. Not personally my issue. I film outgoing packages of high value and if I don't know the seller but filming openings isn't out of the question either. IF everything went OK the quick video can be deleted- Why would you keep all of those? Pretty sure I read a few asking for proof of that..to prove that you got what you paid for at some undetermined time? That would be weird.

Some things I can say about the buyer- That photo he uses as a profile pic? Pretty sure that is what he pilots in the Marine Corps.
I don't know- The vid does seem a bit odd, but perhaps not too odd given that he is a pilot and used to being under alot more stress than a box of rocks and 800.00
This brings up another point- Being an officer in the military, I would imagine that the number of people willing to flush all that away for 800 is immeasurable as far as common sense goes. Ruining your name that is also well known for a part-time biz on sharpening and possibly a black mark in the future as a pilot? Seems pretty unreasonable.

These are my ramblings while I had a few minutes- I say nothing of the seller because I don't know them at all and I am definitely not posting this to say he send a box of rocks either..I do humbly admit that I got a chuckle out of Rockinstead- needed the laugh- they have been few and far between.
Anyway, there is alot of hands the packages go through between buyer and seller. Always plausible that neither had a hand in this.

^ This. The most thoughtful, sensible post in this 12 page derailment.

Thought I would add, I know the OP fairly well. Never in person, but have dealt with him for years. The OP is having major surgery today. So I doubt he will be on for a few days, in case the conspiracy theorists here continue...

^ Wishing the OP well. FWIW: I admire & respect, you, & many of the other's here, who've shown the ability, to be reasonable, & wait for more facts to come in.

but they don't lie.

^ And your point is?

In conclusion, I'd like to also add:
It's quite pathetic, seeing so many member's here having a grand old time hooting it up, posting several pages not at all related to this unfortunate unresolved situation the buyer/seller are presently facing. Some of the post whore, narcissists here, really should think about taking a good look in the mirror & get over yourselves...
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but BladeForums, will always be much bigger, than any you, & your massive ego's.....& will always take center stage.

I'll be holding out hope, that somehow, someway, there will be a positive resolution to this case.

 

[91bravo]

^ First & foremost: I'm hoping/praying, that your surgery & impending recovery, proceed without any problems. Secondly, & as always: I thank you, for your service on behalf of our Country.
As for this case/ thread: I honestly believe, that you are a victim here, & FWIW, I stand behind you 100%!



^^^ "disheartened" < +1

To see the OP; an otherwise trustworthy, reputable member here with a 100% solid reputation on every knife related forum he's participated in (active duty military- not that this is an excuse for bad behavior), be treated by fellow member's/so called "brother's, in this manner, is beyond pathetic!!! All by people trying to CSI his video taping, analyzing his every action/narration, as he made this unboxing video literally a few feet from his Superior Officer, then concluding he's either guilty, or acting suspicious.
Some of the reckless, obscenely absurd, far reaching aspersions being posted here (directly or indirectly), were extremely disappointing to read.

My decision sometime back, to not to buy/sell on this forum anymore (quit while I'm ahead), was just validated as being a wise one, after reading some of the post's in this thread.
All I can say, is "Thank God," I dodged a bullet & never had to face the wrath of this GBU court of pubic opinion, during my 500+ +++transactions here.
Quite some "brotherhood" you guys got going on here, a word so many of you preach & carelessly throw around, but in reality, don't have a continental clue what this word truly means.




+1





^^ OP: I wouldn't waste another second of your valuable time, dignifying a response to some of these poster's, & their ridiculous, comments.



^ +1 I think the seller intends to keep it.



^ Unfortunately, Sleeper80, many of the responder's here, aren't dealing, with "above average intelligence."



^ This. The most thoughtful, sensible post in this 12 page derailment.



^ Wishing the OP well. FWIW: I admire & respect, you, & many of the other's here, who've shown the ability, to be reasonable, & wait for more facts to come in.



^ And your point is?

In conclusion, I'd like to also add:
It's quite pathetic, seeing so many member's here having a grand old time hooting it up, posting several pages not at all related to this unfortunate unresolved situation the buyer/seller are presently facing. Some of the post whore, narcissists here, really should think about taking a good look in the mirror & get over yourselves...
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but BladeForums, will always be much bigger, than any you, & your massive ego's.....& will always take center stage.

I'll be holding out hope, that somehow, someway, there will be a positive resolution to this case.

Aspersions??? Come on now, that's a bit much. You sound so sure of yourself, yet nobody knows for SURE what's really going on. Do you? Enlighten us...

 

[r8shell]

KELAMA ,
You have, in one post, declared with certainty who is at fault in this situation, then stated that everyone should show restraint and wait until all the facts are in, and then generally insulted anyone who asked questions seeking to help clarify and determine the truth.

Let's calm down and wait for further information.

 

[trevitrace]

Aspersions??? Come on now, that's a bit much. You sound so sure of yourself, yet nobody knows for SURE what's really going on. Do you? Enlighten us...

KELAMA ,
You have, in one post, declared with certainty who is at fault in this situation, then stated that everyone should show restraint and wait until all the facts are in, and then generally insulted anyone who asked questions seeking to help clarify and determine the truth.

Let's calm down and wait for further information.

You both dare question the wise and all-knowing Kelama?

 

[bonky]

KELAMA ,
You have, in one post, declared with certainty who is at fault in this situation, then stated that everyone should show restraint and wait until all the facts are in, and then generally insulted anyone who asked questions seeking to help clarify and determine the truth.

Let's calm down and wait for further information.

Honest to goodness, that's good. Thank you for bringing some sense to this thread.

To anyone who happens to read this:

None of us spectators know anything about the situation beyond what has been presented by the buyer and seller, and there are many possible explanations.

Given what has been presented so far, I think that it's way too early to be accusing anyone until more information can be presented. Both parties involved are upstanding BF members, and I don't believe that speculation by uninvolved parties serves any good purpose.

The truth will out.

In the meantime, consider the possibility that neither party involved had anything to do with this, and how you would feel if you were in their position.

Thank you R8shell.

 

[Fonedork]

^ First & foremost: I'm hoping/praying, that your surgery & impending recovery, proceed without any problems. Secondly, & as always: I thank you, for your service on behalf of our Country.
As for this case/ thread: I honestly believe, that you are a victim here, & FWIW, I stand behind you 100%!



^^^ "disheartened" < +1

To see the OP; an otherwise trustworthy, reputable member here with a 100% solid reputation on every knife related forum he's participated in (active duty military- not that this is an excuse for bad behavior), be treated by fellow member's/so called "brother's, in this manner, is beyond pathetic!!! All by people trying to CSI his video taping, analyzing his every action/narration, as he made this unboxing video literally a few feet from his Superior Officer, then concluding he's either guilty, or acting suspicious.
Some of the reckless, obscenely absurd, far reaching aspersions being posted here (directly or indirectly), were extremely disappointing to read.

My decision sometime back, to not to buy/sell on this forum anymore (quit while I'm ahead), was just validated as being a wise one, after reading some of the post's in this thread.
All I can say, is "Thank God," I dodged a bullet & never had to face the wrath of this GBU court of pubic opinion, during my 500+ +++transactions here.
Quite some "brotherhood" you guys got going on here, a word so many of you preach & carelessly throw around, but in reality, don't have a continental clue what this word truly means.




+1





^^ OP: I wouldn't waste another second of your valuable time, dignifying a response to some of these poster's, & their ridiculous, comments.



^ +1 I think the seller intends to keep it.



^ Unfortunately, Sleeper80, many of the responder's here, aren't dealing, with "above average intelligence."



^ This. The most thoughtful, sensible post in this 12 page derailment.



^ Wishing the OP well. FWIW: I admire & respect, you, & many of the other's here, who've shown the ability, to be reasonable, & wait for more facts to come in.



^ And your point is?

In conclusion, I'd like to also add:
It's quite pathetic, seeing so many member's here having a grand old time hooting it up, posting several pages not at all related to this unfortunate unresolved situation the buyer/seller are presently facing. Some of the post whore, narcissists here, really should think about taking a good look in the mirror & get over yourselves...
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but BladeForums, will always be much bigger, than any you, & your massive ego's.....& will always take center stage.

I'll be holding out hope, that somehow, someway, there will be a positive resolution to this case.

No, reading and believing one post and refusing to be curious is not the only way

 

[fishface5]

I haven't read all the posts but if a postal worker sees a high value item and wants to steal it they would do the replacement of weight and re-taping to be avoid the damage being detected at the package's next stop in the delivery chain, because if it was that would potentially bring attention to them as the last handler of the package.

 

[Ajack60]

I haven't read all the posts but if a postal worker sees a high value item and wants to steal it they would do the replacement of weight and re-taping to be avoid the damage being detected at the package's next stop in the delivery chain, because if it was that would potentially bring attention to them as the last handler of the package.

How would someone know it's a valuable item other than the cost of the shipping that's stamped on the label ? I always black out the total cost before shipping.

 

[OilMan]

Seems like re using boxes makes it easier to cause scam issues, how would anyone know which layer of tape was supposed to be the current one? And they are free boxes at the PO..

 

[LastRodeo]

Seems like re using boxes makes it easier to cause scam issues, how would anyone know which layer of tape was supposed to be the current one? And they are free boxes at the PO..

Not only free boxes, but they will tape it up for free with their priority mail branded tape (making it even more tamper proof).

 

[PeteyTwoPointOne]

Seems that buyer and seller both have at least a few very reputable <to me, at least> members vouching for them ...

not a single member <unless I overlooked something in this tome> has had a bad experience with either ...

this is strong circumstantial evidence <to me> that both members are primarily honest ...

The only fault I find is with the seller recycling boxes on high dollar transactions-- it's not criminal, nor should it adversely skew any "judgment" out of his favor-- but it is incredibly lazy and/or moronic to repurpose a box that was "free" to begin with and several billion more "free" MINTY NEW ones easily and readily at your disposal.

 

[bhyde]

The only fault I find is with the seller recycling boxes on high dollar transactions-- it's not criminal, nor should it adversely skew any "judgment" out of his favor-- but it is incredibly lazy and/or moronic to repurpose a box that was "free" to begin with and several billion more "free" MINTY NEW ones easily and readily at your disposal.

I reuse boxes on occasion if they are in good shape. Laziness has nothing to do with reuse in my case and really, I'm sure I am not the only one that does it.
The difference is, i'm not changing my packaging habits.. I still tape every edge like I would a new box. Most would be hard pressed to tell it had been reused.
Mostly, the only thing I do is remove anything that might confuse the postman..like an old label or barcode. I also try to tape the goods inside the box to keep them from moving around and to kindof ensure that the box would probably have to be destroyed to get the knife out. If it's a problem in the mail system (USPS or otherwise) that package simply disappears..but at least you know where the fault is.

 

[Lapedog]

How would someone know it's a valuable item other than the cost of the shipping that's stamped on the label ? I always black out the total cost before shipping.

They can see that there is 800$ of insurance on the package. Something worth 800 in a box that size is a tempting target for a thief.

If it is a postal worker who has done this before they may not be the dumbass people suggest. I also agree that they may want to refill the package with something of equal weight so that way the package will move through multiple post stations without it being obvious where the item disappeared.

Particularly if this is something they do more than a one time crime of opportunity thing it doesn’t take much foresight to see that if valuable packages keep going missing they can track the location more easily. Combine that with the fact that they may be working out of different post offices and an investigator could have two clues based on location packages are going missing and who is working at those locations at the given time.

I think if it is a postal worker behind this they likely know the system and knows how to insulate themselves by making it not apparent where the theft took place. To assume criminals are all retarded or that this was a one time theft of opportunity isn’t correct either.

Again just speculation but it is in answer to why a postal worker would go to the trouble of refilling the box.