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Here's a first: received an EMPTY package!


sixersfan105

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I purchased a lot of 14 TI-99/4A manuals on eBay a couple weeks back. It took the seller a week to get it mailed out, which of course is ridiculous but they apologized saying it was a miscommunication with their spouse. Ok fine. A week after that, it arrives, with a plastic bag around it with a note from USPS apologizing for the damage incurred during transit. Oh, and it's stamped on the front: "received without contents." Yup, it's ripped open at the top and there are no manuals - or anything - inside. 

 

Has anyone experienced this before? I've never seen it in all my years of using the Postal Service. Yes, it was Media Mail, but I receive Media Mail packages all the time without issue, so I don't think it's related to that. Needless to say, I have already submitted a full refund request through eBay. I feel bad for the seller, but obviously a full refund is the only solution here. I'm bummed, as I was looking forward to receiving the manuals. 

 

Here are some pics...

 

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5156CE8F-6F12-4925-AE59-FE1091528340.jpeg

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If they were game manuals your not allowed to send them by media mail.....maybe the usps is fed up and tossing unallowed contents? Wouldnt surprise me as they get really pissy about media mail and seem to take it very personally. 

Sucks they are gone though :(

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They are supposed to hold them and collect additional postage from the recipient. 

But they also open them to check for mefia mail violations and that creates a step for stuff to go missing for whatever reason.

They very well could have just punctured the end of the pouch too. I always tape edges sending stuff like that.

 

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I have had this happen.  I learned to tape the package very securely when using bubble mailers on both ends and around the package to prevent this after I received my first empty bubble envelope (three early issues of retro gamer mag).  This is 75% postal issue, 25% seller issue as they should have provided more resistance to prevent the mailer from being opened.  I have received about 5 packages of all types ever through the USPS that have arrived with this message (about 5,000 received, 15,000 shipped) so the rate is not high.

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7 hours ago, sixersfan105 said:

I removed the pictures with addresses, but what's somebody going to do? Come to my house and steal my empty envelope? :P

It has more to do with security for you and the person whom mailed you the package. Everything in these forums is public searchable through the internet so just trying to protect the innocent here.

 

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3 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

It has more to do with security for you and the person whom mailed you the package. Everything in these forums is public searchable through the internet so just trying to protect the innocent here.

 

I hear ya, but in the digital age it would take all of three minutes to find anyone's address!

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7 minutes ago, sixersfan105 said:

I hear ya, but in the digital age it would take all of three minutes to find anyone's address!

Not if they don't have your actual name making it easier...

 

Like I said, just trying to help so I will step out now.

 

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56 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Not if they don't have your actual name making it easier...

 

Like I said, just trying to help so I will step out now.

 

No it's all good, I appreciate it. Just playing devil's advocate. Now who wants to raid some USPS facilities between Michigan and Pennsylvania to find my 14 missing TI manuals?! ?

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In the past concerning medial mail,I checked with a few different post office's about gaming contents to get a correct answer of course and I was told INSTRUCTION MANUALS,INSTRUCTION BOOKS qualify as READING MATERIAL and are fine to go media mail,although magazines are not covered under medial mail since they have advertisements,books are reading material certainly,concerning CD's-CD based games are not media mail

this is what i was told,so manuals should have been perfectly fine

Edited by orrko8791
forgot a sentence pertaining to topic
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You would ride a fine line shipping video game manuals alone by media mail.

Media mail for written items is only for books, which must be bound and be a minimum of 8 pages.

This can include manuals if they meet those specs, but must also be for educational purposes and not include any advertising.

Videogames are strictly not counted as media mail as they are for entertainment and not education.

So manuals for them would also be considered for entertainment and not education. 

Also if the manuals shows even a video game companies name and address this could additionally count as advertising.

So techincally they have good reason not to allow them and would fall to the individual inspectors determination....and they tend to be very picky on media mail being abused.

And any media mail is allowed to be inspected at any time which gives a chance for things to be lost or damaged or not properly repacked.

To me its never worth it if you risk having the items lost or discounted for that service.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/23/2020 at 6:04 PM, koolmoecraig said:

Sellers that use Media Mail to save all of a couple bucks are cheap and deserve to be dinged.

I have used media mail on a few auctions I've sold before because sometimes it really is the most cost effective option.  Mind you, I've only used it for books and records. Never had an issue. 

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