Bonehead (shipper) of the day - Post your encounter

Part of my last job was packaging and shipping firearms, mostly shotguns. We wrapped them in multiple layers of bubble wrap and used the strongest tape we could buy. UPS still managed to rip the end of a box off losing two custom shotguns going to a bailiff in Texas. The empty box was delivered. Fortunately, the guns were found and returned to us with only slight damage. We learned to tape every seam that someone could get their fingers into.

Before we got a UPS account I would take them to UPS myself. It was amazing to see what people tried to ship. Large heavy boxes sealed with about 2" of Scotch tape or a little piece of masking tape. The clerk would usually give them a tape gun and point them to a table.
 
With all of the horror stories on here, I am surprised I haven't heard of someone trying to ship a child instead of paying for a flight...
 
LEGION 12 said:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brief-history-children-sent-through-mail-180959372/
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I think I have just lost hope in humanity.
:(

Eta: Upon reading the actual post, I do have some things to say.
At the time in which these occurred, the post office (along with the country as a whole) was "closer knit" than it is today. Though I do not condone it, I can understand that the child would likely be taken care if moreso by the post office than the parents that thought this was a good idea.

If this happens in modern times, the "parents" should be sent through the machinery at an airport sorting facility that is about to close for good, so they don't mess up further packages.
 
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NJBillK said:
I think I have just lost hope in humanity.
:(

Eta: Upon reading the actual post, I do have some things to say.
At the time in which these occurred, the post office (along with the country as a whole) was "closer knit" than it is today. Though I do not condone it, I can understand that the child would likely be taken care if moreso by the post office than the parents that thought this was a good idea.

If this happens in modern times, the "parents" should be sent through the machinery at an airport sorting facility that is about to close for good, so they don't mess up further packages.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_mail
 
austexjg said:
I doubt this needs to be said, but after yesterday my faith in mankind has diminished. "Tape the box closed."

I bought a "grail to me" knife - Blind Horse Knife custom mini Bushbaby with lime green liners, black pinstripes with polished bone handle (one of a kind, I think) from the LTWK forum "Pout House" - and the guy did not tape the USPS priority box closed. Received an empty box - only air.

"Never crossed my mind" was his response. Add the fact that the other members felt sorry for the guy, and it was a double kick to the groin. Coddling a grown man that handles sharp objects over a bonehead move is confusing.

Sure he refunded my money, but this one will hurt for a long time. It was a grail knife for my small and humble BHK/LTWK collection. I have a weird thing with the number 3 and this one would have been #3 in (3) separate categories - a perfect score.

So please know that every box needs to be taped on all openings.

Anyone beat this one for shear lack of common sense?
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I am embarrassed to say, that I have never taped a UPS Priority box closed. I ship all kinds of stuff, all the time and never had an issue. It totally makes sense that this extra insurance would be worth the 30 seconds and $.002 worth of tape. Lesson learned, luckily, not the hard way.
 
Kevin McGovern said:
I am embarrassed to say, that I have never taped a UPS Priority box closed. I ship all kinds of stuff, all the time and never had an issue. It totally makes sense that this extra insurance would be worth the 30 seconds and $.002 worth of tape. Lesson learned, luckily, not the hard way.
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Technically speaking it is USPS as opposed to UPS which offers the Priority Mail service. Shipping an expensive little knife / folder in a small flat rate Priority box exposes you the seller to all kinds of potential issues. Taping the box is added extra assurance but best to tape that box and then put it inside one of these which every USPS retail office should already have in stock, but you've got to ask for it:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse/uspsProductDetailMultiSkuDropDown.jsp?productId=P_EP14PE

It's called the Padded Flat rate Envelop and easily accommodates the small flat rate box and the next size up. I think the retail price is circa $7.95 but since I print through PayPal, my price has been $6.30 this year with the online label printing through PP. You can order those supplies from the USPS free of charge by opening an account with them. Do it!
 
Ok, story time. I know you guys are going to get a kick out of this.

It was late November I believe and a friend in the USA was sending me a USPS medium flat rate box. It was full of locks and other heavy items, weighed almost 20 lbs. He paid postage online, applied the labels and taped up the box with a ton of tape.

He dropped it off at the USPS and gave me a tracking number. I checked it after a few days and it did not update. A week and it did not update. 2 weeks and it did not update. 3 weeks and it had not arrived and tracking still had not updated. Now 3 weeks is uncommon but not unusual for a flat rate box to Canada. The usual is 2 weeks, rarely 10 days.

So my friend gets some time off to go into the post office and ask about where the box is. As he is waiting in line he notices they have a little tree set up with some boxes under it..... and one of those boxes is covered in tape and looks very familiar. At this point he is absolutely steaming. When he gets to the counter he asks about the boxes and the really snotty clerk tells him that they are all empty display boxes and not anything he would have shipped. He "insisted" that she bring over the one with all the tape on it.

She picks it up and brings it over. He points to the full letter size mailing label attached and asks again why the package he mailed 3 weeks ago was sitting under their display. I am not sure what happened after that, but he did say he lost his cool and "talked" with the Post Master at that location.

They got it on the next truck out and it still took another 22 days to arrive. Still not sure if he ever got a refund for that one or not.
 
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