Anybody had anything stolen by UPS?

[Carbonita]

Oh, c'mon. Bike shop? More of this story puleeeeze!

Originally Posted by sg8357

Used to have gold delivered to the shop, it was in sheets, 4"x6"
packed in unmarked padded envelopes, never had a problem.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

I'm in the "sitting in a lost packages area" side of things.

Not UPS, USPS, I shipped a relatively large item (car part) from CT to PA. It was about 4 feet long, maybe a foot wide in the package, and weighed about 30 or 40 lbs. So it was't light, and it wasn't small.

I think it was supposed to take 3 days. Took maybe 3 months. It got to PA in a day or two but after going to one or two places in PA it sort of disappeared. The receiver went to different post offices, the hub where it was supposed to be, etc, and no one knew where it was. Tracking number and everything.

Then out of the blue it showed up at his house. It was still packaged the same as I packaged it, address was on there, mailing label, everything. I asked because I figured I maybe didn't do something right. Apparently it sat in some hub somewhere for a couple months. I'm guessing it fell off some conveyor rollers on some long stretch of rollers, fell under/behind, and no one bothered picking it up or no one noticed.

Anything that isn't a small to medium sized rectangular box that can't go through the autosorter and requires human intervention is most bound to get lost.

Same goes from the OP.

[mdeth1313]

I had something shipped by UPS from overseas - bike stuff - I can't remember what - I do remember following tracking and then it disappeared. After contacting UPS they opened an investigation - the retailer shipped me a replacement that made it. About 3 weeks later UPS called and found the original, I told them it was replaced and they should return it to the retailer. Never thought anyone stole it though.

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

.... We also stopped putting our logo on the box and then all our issues ended.

One bike company, I can't remember which, puts a picture of a large flat-screen TV (is there any other type now) on the side of their bike boxes. Funny that we now are in a time when 65" TVs are so cheap that they are less of a theft risk than a bike that probably doesn't fit.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by avalonracing

One bike company, I can't remember which, puts a picture of a large flat-screen TV (is there any other type now) on the side of their bike boxes. Funny that we now are in a time when 65" TVs are so cheap that they are less of a theft risk than a bike that probably doesn't fit.

Eh, tall tale.

This company did it but to reduce damage.

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a2002...damaged-bikes/

[merlinmurph]

Wait - rare skis?

Gotta know what those are, never heard of rare skis.

[RacerJRP]

Purchased an item recently on eBay, and what showed up was not what I ordered. Per the seller, items were stolen in transit based on "added tape" on one side of the box.

Seller backed out and shipped trash or item stolen in transit? Who knows... But I got a full refund.

[tkbike]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Shipped a pair of rare skis to a friend in Denver. My bad, screwed up the address, couldn't deliver, sent back to where ever they park a bad address. Fixed the address, but now I'm being told they are officially lost, and an investigation is under way. That was four days ago. I suspect theft at this point, but still have hope. Could somebody actually get away with this inside the system? Final address is a UPS store, so, no porch thieves involved.

STOLEN is a tough accusation when you admit you screwed up.

[unterhausen]

I would only ship skis via ups. Fedex ground can't handle it either, in my experience. But with any shipper, sending it to the wrong address is going to cause problems. I have watched a ups package that I needed to get somewhere in a week bounce around the U.S. like a ping pong ball. I can only imagine the trajectory of something going back to the sender.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

Wait - rare skis?

Gotta know what those are, never heard of rare skis.

Small manufacturer powder skis with a lot of carbon fiber. Manufacturer is out of business. Very desirable among the in crowd.

[Mr. Pink]

Well, thanks everyone. I feel better. Maybe they'll show up soon, but, no rush. Ski season is months away. Bought the insurance, enough for new skis, so, whatever. Still, loved those things.

[oldpotatoe]

IWatch, gift for son..delivered, no sig required. From Apple...Driver handed it to me....Driver left and about an hour later noticed the seal was broken....and box was empty. Called UPS, got the 'thousand yard stare' on the phone..Called Apple, they sent a new watch immediately.

YMMV...

[zmudshark]

Theft can happen anywhere. I was a UPS driver for almost 30 years, and did see a few instances of theft. It’s not that common, but it does happen.

One thing I have been hearing a lot of, is people buying expensive items at Lowe’s or Home Depot, or even Amazon ending up with a brick or bag of sand.

I just saw where someone bought a generator at Home Depot, didn’t open it for a few days and when they did, it was a bag of sand. Same with tools and getting a brick.

If you are buying an item at the store, ask them to open it before you leave.

[Tony T]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

....Could somebody actually get away with this inside the system? Final address is a UPS store, so, no porch thieves involved.

Possible

NYT: "...postal employees are accused of stealing checks at sorting and distribution centers, FinCEN’s report said."

Thought I suspect it would be harder with skiis than stealing checks.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Small manufacturer powder skis with a lot of carbon fiber. Manufacturer is out of business. Very desirable among the in crowd.

That's hilarious. The only reason they are highly desirable is because they can't get them. They look cool in the tram line, though.

Are these backcountry boards, so they want light weight?

Still, it sucks having something stolen - always. You feel violated.