Missing/lost or stolen photos from the post

[OSS]

I too have continued to experience losses of photographs from Germany in the mails, to the point where I have practically suspended purchases, mainly because the loss and possible destruction of these things makes me ill. I should say however that over many years I have been very favorably impressed with the integrity of German sellers in general and I would not like to see them blanketed with bad reputations due to a couple of bad eggs. My suspicion is that the real culprits are in the postal system here or abroad.

[jmark]

Seems like this is only happening in the US. If Deutsche Post can track registered mail until handed over to USPS, at which point it goes missing, then clearly the problem is in the US.

Mail from Germany to the US would go through one of five international service centers (ISC). They are located in Chicago, New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Is German mail routed through a specific ISC? Or does it just depend on which commercial airline the mail sacks are loaded in Frankfurt?

From what I can see, our 4 American friends who have lost mail are from:
Southeast
California
Two from Texas

Is there a pattern to be found? A WAF forum member called "mailman" works for the post office, so perhaps he can provide some information.

This is a disgraceful situation. Surely something can be done. Pool information to find out where the problem is, then take it from there. For the moment, find another solution. For example, ask a friend in Europe or Canada to receive the photos on your behalf, and then send them via Fedex or UPS.

Jason

[David B.]

Lost Photos

Greetings,
The problem is NOT in the US! I've had an issue with one of the sellers mentioned where He claimed He never received the photos I sent to Him, then He got a full refund from Pay Pal. I was able to track My package all the way to customs in Germany. Then, a Great Friend of Mine notices the seller with My photos that he never received at a show in Kassel (?). I was able to get one of the photos back in a later purchase. I did confront the seller and He gave Me some sob story about how He had to pay a fine to get them from German Customs. This was because a Swastika was visible. To make a long story short, I did get a refund but it would appear that some of these Guys have "Friends" in Customs or the Post. If You can have and can afford to have items sent FED EX I was told that was the way to go because they "Walk" the items through customs. Otherwise it is a matter of "Buyer Beware". Hope this helps. Sincerely, DJB

[mailman]

Hey all, registered mail has a barcoded delivery number that should be tracked everytime that article goes from one p.o. to the next. The seller should have that number and can track it until it leaves his country. When it shows up at USPS, we also track it from that time on. I know that the distribution clerks at my office have to sign for and scan it, then I have to sign for it. If I dont deliver it, I sign it back in and scan it. This happens all the way back to the sender, so it shouldnt be hard to track.
Basically, we sign for and scan it every step of the way. Whenever the last time it was scanned at a facility as leaving but not arrived at the next facility, is where the break is. And we're held accountable for this, so someones got some explaining to do. Shouldnt be too hard to track things down.
Thanks for your time.

[jmark]

Greetings,
The problem is NOT in the US! I've had an issue with one of the sellers mentioned where He claimed He never received the photos I sent to Him...

With all due respect David, we're talking about registered mail from Germany to the US, not the other way around. I know the reputation of the seller must come into the equation, but mail from several different sellers is disappearing. I've bought many photos from both Darius Werner and Enrico Bethge over the years and every single envelope has reached me here in Australia, so based on my experience, they're both fine, upstanding gentlemen! To you, one of them is a lying piece of scum. It's not helpful to make a sweeping statement based on one personal experience... information and facts need to be pooled to figure out where the problem is.

For those whose photos have gone missing, it would be helpful to get the following information:

1. The name of each seller and how many of his envelopes failed to arrive;
2. Final destination of registered letter.

With this information, a pattern – if it exists – should not be too difficult to see.

Jason

[WWIIBuff]

Quite honestly I do not blame the sellers for my missing parcels. Parcels have gone missing from several different sellers, and yet I have also received several parcels from the same sellers over the years.

The only reason I mentioned the two sellers in my previous post is because they clearly accepted refunds from Deutsche Post for pictures I paid for but never received, and then they took the refund instead of returning the money to me. There is NO EXCUSE for that, I've sent them both MANY emails and also messages through Ebay, so unless they are dead, they should have responded.

Mailman thank you for jumping in, and I agree that it should be easy to track these things, but your information is based on the assumption that someone at the USPS or Deutsch Post actually cares. THEY DON'T.

The US Postal Inspector take the report and says thank, but don't expect any results. I spoke to Deutsche post again today and all they keep saying is only the seller can request an investigation. And what about sellers who fraud the system by keeping the refunds themselves, oh well, Deutsche Post doesn't care.

To me, the worst thing of all is not the lost money, but the lost historical images. I agree with you OSS, it makes me ill too.

[David B.]

Lost Photo's

Greetings,
I get the part about items sent from Germany to the USA, "Not the other way around" I have had several parcels with more than $1000 worth of photos go missing from Germany to the USA. Each time a dispute has been filed I get a from letter from the Post Office asking about the status of the Parcel. In every case, I have had to sign the form with the reply: "The Parcel has not been received". The only times I have been able to get a refund has been when the item was purchased via Pay Pal and in some cases from the Dealers themselves. I wasn't trying to make a "Sweeping Statement" about all of the Dealers in Germany and the rest of the world for that matter. See WWII Buff's post in this thread #56. I never mentioned a Dealer by name. I know both of the Dealers mentioned. I have had a problem with one going back to 2011. See this thread I started: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=572862
If these Guys continue to ruin the Hobby for others by their actions, I just quit looking and purchasing items from them via the Internet. I have had many Great Dealings with the Collectors in Germany and elsewhere, and I still do to this day. They know who they are-I still deal -trade with them. The only reason I was able to confront the Dealer that tried to steal photos from Me was because another dealer I know from Germany bought one of My Stolen Photos and I was able to identify it and contact Him. I don't know about You guys but I don't have money to burn. This Crap is getting old! Sincerely, DJB

[seekwhence]

I had several high value, registered packages stolen while en-route to the USA. From what I and the German senders could determine, the packages were traced to "Arrival in Destination Country" but they could not be located any further. I complained to the US Post Office department that handles thefts and was told that the investigation(s) had to originate from the sender's postal investigation service. This is analogous to me visiting Germany, having my wallet stolen there and then being told that I had to travel back to the USA to have my local police initiate the search!
I grilled my town's postmaster about sending packages with registered mail and tracking. He confessed that that process was a joke - especially with international shipping. There is no true package security to speak of, postal investigations after loss or theft are totally ineffectual (I'm still waiting for resolution after 2 years), and consequently insurance payments are completely non-existent. This postmaster further said that sending a package with registration and a high declared value is just like placing a flashing neon sign over it with the words "Steal Me". My last question to the postmaster was about what method he would employ to send a high value item. He replied the best way is to use the "stealth technique". Just have the package sent with no registration, a very low declared value and no insurance. With the extremely high volume of mail being sent, there is little to no chance of such a package being noticed by the thieves (who are primarily focused on the registered, high declared value packages). Also, an unregistered package will travel faster and if by remote chance it is lost, the outcome is the same as if it were a stolen registered item - you are simply SOL - it's gone forever; and you will never be compensated anyway!

seekwhence

[Mil-Archive]

I've bought many photos from both Darius Werner and Enrico Bethge over the years and every single envelope has reached me here in Australia, so based on my experience, they're both fine, upstanding gentlemen!

I have also bought many, many items from Darius Werner spread out over the course of a few years, also the seller who marks his photos with the Red Demo sign (can't remember his name) and also 'Koelsch333'.

I sometimes get several letters/packages per week from Germany and in the last several years I have only had one single envelope go missing (touch wood!!) and it was not valuable and not from someone that I regularly buy from.

Reading some of the accounts here the problem looks to be very prolific. It's almost as if the photos are being deliberately targeted somewhere states-side.

I know many German sellers use a return address 'typed stamp' on their envelopes, If I was the buyer losing this volume of pictures I'd ask them not to do that, or use a handwritten one and see if the unmarked ones arrive. Another option would be to have them sent to a friend in Europe then forwarded from a different country.