Missing Hamilton

[tucson_whistler]

Yes, right now it is on a "police hold." I'm trying to find out what that means... but it seems in the short term it means he can't sell it. I'm not sure it means I can get it back, but the postal inspector told me they are going to press charges.

[Toonboog]

Good to hear there's still hope of getting your flute back.

You're in real need of some good luck, since the Murray episode.

Hope this works out well for you.

[tucson_whistler]

Ok, for anyone still interested, I got the Hammy back today

It took numerous calls the the police, a friend called the postal inspector for me, and I emailed the Columbus PD detectives through the process at least once a week, but today I went and paid $20 to a pawn shop to get my Hammy back.

[Geoffrey Ellis]

Well done! Way to stick in there. I wonder if they'll ever figure out who stole it...

[Akiba]

[crickett]

As the person who sent this flute, I can't tell you how happy I am that this turned out okay in the end. It was definitely time for t_w to have something go his way with a flute situation!

Thanks to the folks on this board who offered advice as we worked on getting this flute back, and especially to TWO TOOTS for initially alerting us to that ebay ad. What a great community this is.

Finally, there are a couple of things that I've learned through this ordeal that I want to mention:
First, if you planning on sending a flute somewhere, make sure that you have serial numbers recorded, or short of that, take some really good pictures of the flute--pictures that might help you prove to the police that someone is in possession of your flute. It can be nicks in the flute or unusual grain patterns or coloring around the embouchure, etc. But make sure you have some record of that sort. (BTW, t_w did have serial numbers, I think.)

Second, if you ship USPS, you should absolutely get tracking with signature confirmation. They screwed it up even though we had this, but without it we would have been even more ignored about the loss or the item.

Third, once USPS loses something they are supposed to be tracking, they become even more incompetent than they might ordinarily be (or they simply shift into covering-their-butts mode). I was told at various different points in my inquiries that (a) the recipient (i.e. t_w) had terminated the search and (b) that it had definitely been sent back to me--both of which were false. I can't be sure but it at least seemed as if they were lying to cover their butts and to avoid paying the $50 that tracked packages are insured for. So if you find yourself in a situation like this, do not assume that they are telling you the truth; keep pushing for what really happened as best you can. For example, if they say that it was definitely shipped back to you, ask them for evidence of this.

I should note that I have sent many flutes via USPS over the years without incident, and I am sure I will do so again. But I will be much more careful than I have been in the past about making sure I have ways to identify a flute that winds up on ebay or craigslist or wherever. And I will go into my dealing with USPS with much more skepticism that I might have in the past.

[plunk111]

I don't understand why you had to pay the pawn shop, even if it was only $20... Shouldn't they be in trouble for accepting stolen merchandise?

Pat

[Nanohedron]

I don't understand why you had to pay the pawn shop, even if it was only $20... Shouldn't they be in trouble for accepting stolen merchandise?

Pat

At $20 I'd easily have done the same thing, just to secure the flute first and foremost. Then I'd turn my mind to prosecuting. If things go right, you'd get the $20 back, too.

[crickett]

Yes, when you are looking at a loss of roughly $900, $20 seemed inconsequential. I told t_w at one point that I would be happy to pay the pawn shop $100 just to get the flute back and be done with the saga. But plunk111 is right that it seems unfair that t_w would have to pay anything. If anything, the pawn guy should be grateful at only losing $20. He after all did in fact receive stolen property. And it is very hard for me to imagine that he did not know that it was stolen, at least once he looked up the value of the flute. Maybe his knowledge that it was stolen is harder to prove, though....

[Sirchronique]

Yes, when you are looking at a loss of roughly $900, $20 seemed inconsequential. I told t_w at one point that I would be happy to pay the pawn shop $100 just to get the flute back and be done with the saga. But plunk111 is right that it seems unfair that t_w would have to pay anything. If anything, the pawn guy should be grateful at only losing $20. He after all did in fact receive stolen property. And it is very hard for me to imagine that he did not know that it was stolen, at least once he looked up the value of the flute. Maybe his knowledge that it was stolen is harder to prove, though....

If it was on "police hold" then how was it even available for sale to you? Maybe I am confused, but I thought that "police hold" would mean that you don't do anything with it until police get the situation sorted. I'm overjoyed to hear that you received your flute back, but, as a matter of principle, I would not let the issue drop there, both in regards to the pawnshop, as well as the thief.

[LewisC]

Great to read the flute made it to the destination finally.

Inside the US it is worthwhile to insure a such a package for the full replacement value. In this case the USPS employee may not have sneered at the loss because $900 is way more than $50 (the min which is applied to all packages).

When shipping internationally, the insurance value is used to set tax / customs value so might result in unexpected extra fees.

If you are comfortable with this, I also recommend putting a phone number for the destination on the outside of the package. This has saved one of my shipments which in spite of very clear address label, was sent to the wrong place.

In North Carolina, the pawn shops by law must check and record the ID of the seller. In this case it would allow the police to track back at least the first party in the fraud / theft. Some thieves here now sell through a 3rd party (with a cut of the action) who actually walks into the pawn shop, but those 3rd parties are located pretty quickly. So most stolen goods go through craigslist, flea markets, in person sales, etc. Not the best place to sell a fine Irish flute.

All the best for joyful flute-playing on the new arrival.
L

[an seanduine]

A little more background information about Postal Inspectors. If there is a chance this is suspected to be a "fidelity" loss, that is, a postal employee is suspected, the Inspectors will be extremely close mouthed. They will however be busily sending 'test' pieces by the suspected employee, some with radio transponders, at the same time subjecting the employee to intense video surveillance. Not a word will be said until clinching evidence is produced. I am told once a folder is opened on an employee they will keep it open for years. The theory is once crooked, always crooked.

Bpb

[tucson_whistler]

Sorry to keep resurrecting this thread, but for those who might still be curious, the final determination by the postal inspectors/police was that it was stolen off my porch. Crickett paid for signed for delivery, but when I wasn't home the mailman left it on the porch anyway without a signature and somebody stole it off my porch.

The law in Ohio is evidently that you have to reimburse the pawn shop owners for their loss. The postal inspector was pretty frustrated by it; it was obvious to everyone that the pawn shop owner knew that the flute as stolen. But I'm trying to be philosophical about it; if the pawn shop owner hadn't have been a crook he would have paid the guy more for my flute which would have just ended up costing me more money. Also, if he hadn't posted it to ebay I never would have found it. So thanks, Mr. crooked pawn shop owner!

[Steve Bliven]

Just out of curiosity, did the USPS ever pay the $50 insurance that comes with Priority mail? That would at least cover what you had to pay Mr. Pawn Shop Owner.

Glad, at least, to hear that the flute eventually to to where it was supposed to go.

Best wishes.

Steve