Stolen Knives!

Neil Ostroff

Neil Ostroff

Joined
Oct 6, 2001
Messages
677
To the community.

As many of you know, I am not very active on this, or any other forum. I am a full time knife dealer, work alone, and spend most of my waking hours just working my business. However, I do enjoy Bladeforums and spend some time here daily.

I need your help. A shipment of 5 custom knives has been stolen. I have been in the knife business for 6 years- this is a first for me.

I hope that perhaps if some of these knives can be identified by you and the thieves tracked down that we will all benefit. Certainly for me from a financial point of view I will be very grateful - but also if we can stop the crooks, even one at a time, this is a good thing for us all. I would imagine that the thieves knew what they were stealing….

I sent a box of knives to a regular customer in Omaha, Nebraska on 2/26. There were five custom knives in the shipment- the value of the shipment was US$3,525.00.
I have been selling this man knives for over 5 years.

The carrier was UPS. Evidently, the UPS driver, instead of ringing the bell and having the fellow sign for the package (which is the standard practice), decided to just leave the box at the front door- no signature and no attempt to have the package handed to the consignee. This happened on 2/28. BTW-- this was the regular UPS driver.
I guess you all know the rest of the story- the package had disappeared.

Without going into all the gory details, UPS is doing their very best to deny my insurance claim - so far, they offered me $500.00- my loss is $3,525.00.
I am making good to my customer in full for his $3525.00 and will have to fight it out with UPS and their insurance people.
Trust me, I will never give up; this is now my problem to resolve.

Now, here is where I need your assistance. I am posting below the pictures of the 5 knives in question. Perhaps they may show up on eBay or some knife forum for sale or at a show in the Omaha area? Any tips will be greatly appreciated. I have deliberately waited these almost 2 weeks before posting this- I wanted to let the thieves feel comfortable that they got away with it and perhaps start to try and sell the knives. Had I done this the day after 2/28, they would have clammed up, possible for too long.

The knives are- in order.

BOB TERZUOLA; EBONY ATCF WITH DAMASCUS BOLSTER
TER6802.jpg

BRIAN TIGHE; ABSTRACT TIGHE BREAKER
BT6663.jpg

DARREL RALPH; AFTERMATH AXD SAO (Semi- auto)
DR6825.jpg

KOJI HARA; SNAKEWOOD FIGHTER
KH6769.jpg

BRIAN TIGHE; TIGHE STICK BREAKER
BT6647.jpg

I look forward to hearing from anyone who can possible shed some light on the subject.

My best regards to all,
Neil Ostroff
 
Sinking feeling. And I' m glad I don' t use UPS very often. But will keep an eye out for those blades. Good luck.

N.
 
that's ******. this is why i hate UPS as well. i've had stuff stolen from my door too.

maybe you should email one of the admins to sticky this thread
 
How can UPS get away with offering you $500.00 for a $3500.00 loss? Is this a standard practice for UPS? Btw, I know you and your customer are plain sick, as those are some beautiful knives.
 
This really sucks Neil. I will keep a lookout for these knives, but I fear that chances aren't good that they will be found.

As far as getting $3525.00 from UPS is concerned, that will have to be your cost for the knives. Shipping companies will never pay the selling price. At the maximum, they will only cover the amount you paid for the them.
 
That really sucks!

It is also one of the reasons that I try to avoid using UPS. They almost NEVER ring the bell. I will be sitting aorund waiting for something, and see them just drop the package on the door step. WTF, I am home and waiting, but they don't even attempt to give the package to an actual person.

That is in addition to never delivering a package early, even if possible. I have had packages shipped from other parts of NY just sit around waiting because they think the delivery time should be longer.
 
Hi All-

Terrible news...hopefully the dirtbags will be caught and punished.

As an aside, what is the deal with UPS no longer ringing doorbells or knocking? I thought it was just me. Heck, one time they even left boxes with computer equipment out in the torrential rain. Can't those mental midgets carry waterproof plastic garbage bags in their trucks for the slightest attempt at customer service?

Bumping back to the top. Good luck to you and the customer in getting the knives back.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
years ago, I remember UPS ringing the bell and waiting a few minutes if they see cars in the driveway. But it seems like in the last several years they don't. It doesn't take too much time to wait to see if anyone comes.

I was visiting my parents over the holidays and a package came. I was out in the family room playing one of my dad's guitars. I saw the truck pull up, it was obvious that someone was home... I drive a Thunderbird, it's hard to miss. So I'm on my way to the door, thinking he'll have just rang the bell by the time I get to the door. Nope. Doesn't ring, doesn't knock... just leaves the package and goes back to his truck. When I opened the door, he actually started moving a little faster.

But I remember long ago going to the door and being greeted by a rather friendly UPS guy... are they scared? Are they not allowed to talk?
 
I imagine that in the competitive environment that UPS works in, that to lower their costs they found it necessary to get more packages delivered, hence the drop and run.

I buy a lot of products via the internet and/or catalogs and I always have everything sent to my office, rather than home. At least I know that there will be someone there to receive the package (as well it let's me smuggle in those 4 new boxes of cigars and 3 new knives without the wife knowing).

I also suspect that UPS got bitched at all the time when they wouldn't leave the package, just the sticker saying no one was there to accept delivery and would try once again tomorrow. They can't win either way.

Also, it I were to ship something UPS valued at $ 3,500 I would spend the extra money to buy the insurance. I also belive that you can request that a "Signature Is Required".

I have never met a UPS Driver who wasn't very pleasant....they all seem to be great guys and enjoy their work. Maybe, here, its just a Mid Western Friendly thing.

I hope you recover your merchandise.
 
I used to work for UPS as a jumper during the holiday season, and my driver told me to practically toss the package on the doorstep, and run back to the truck because we had packages to deliver! Working inside the depot the next year, I was severely scolded for giving packages marked FRAGILE care. This is the same at USPS, FEDEX and other shipping companies. I do not believe that the driver deliberately left it on the porch without a ring or a hey hows it goin, they had a shift to complete. I have not had to worry about UPS, I live in a rural area, and most of the packages I receive by UPS are sent to my fathers business, where they are safely signed for and placed in his office. Unfortunately, some kid who doesn't know any better probably has either sold them for some gas money or drug money, or they are being abused by whoever has stolen them. What type of area does your customer live in again?
 
Look for a buncha broken folders soon...
=/ Sorry Mr Neil. I hope SOMETHING good happens.
UPS is better than USPS for me. USPS just leaves me a pink slip forcing me to pick up stuff my self (isn't a problem), but then it takes DAYS to retrieve it. ("mail man isn't back yet, he didnt leave it here, it's somewhere in the storeroom and I'm bz...etc")
 
GarageBoy said:
Look for a buncha broken folders soon...
=/ Sorry Mr Neil. I hope SOMETHING good happens.
UPS is better than USPS for me. USPS just leaves me a pink slip forcing me to pick up stuff my self (isn't a problem), but then it takes DAYS to retrieve it. ("mail man isn't back yet, he didnt leave it here, it's somewhere in the storeroom and I'm bz...etc")
Click to expand...

One of the reasons I got a PO Box.
 
If the contract between you and UPS was that a "signature" was required to pick-up the package and the package was "insured", then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter what UPS says and it's not for them to decide if you should be compensated or not, that is for a judge to decide!
You can easily resolve this issue without any further stress to you by simply going to your local small claims court ASAP and paying the $50 fee to summons them to appear in court and have a judge decide on this matter. You can only sue them for the actual cost you paid for the knives. Trust me, UPS knows they are in the wrong and they are trying to bully you and make you go away. Once they see the summons to appear in court, they will not want to pay a lawyer to defend themselves cause they have absolutely no defense as shown by the contract between you and them. They will call you and offer to compensate you for your actual cost after receiving the summons. And if they are stupid enough to appear in court, you will prevail.
I have been thru similar bullying by companies several times and I haven't had to appear in court at all. I was paid promptly after they had received a summons from me to appear in court :D

If you are in the "right", you will not lose.
Good Luck!
 
I can't stand UPS for delivery, to me or from me. They are more expensive than USPS and they generally take twice as long, and they do the drop and run at my door also. The only way I know that I have a package is if I hear a light "thud" outside my front door. The dipwads just drop it on the porch and off they go. They have lost several packages for me also, very disappointing. Therefore, I always send or ask to receive any shipments by USPS, and I've never had any problems from them. Won't buy from people who insist on sending by UPS...period.

Very sorry for the loss to yourself and your customer, Niel. They were some beautiful knives.
 
When you send by UPS and get ins. they will always get a signature. I don't feel comfortable sending knives through the US mail especially from N.Y.
 
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