Not even 2 weeks at the new house and I've already been robbed...

[WesW]

Sorry to hear this , in my experience it is always someone you know (hopefully not) or a neighbor .

[AnkurJ]

I'm sorry to hear this too.

 

For what it's worth, I'd never leave packages for pick up on a porch. That's just trouble looking for a time to happen.

 

Find a better solution - even behind the house would have been better, but under lock and key in a pick up box or just behind the front door are really your best options.

 

Same here. I would rather make a trip to the post office.

Did you have private insurance?

[jools&jim]

 

I would never ever leave anything out to be picked up...

This. And no matter where you live, unless it's on the moon.

 

It's an unpleasant reality, but a theft like this is preventable. A trip to the PO to drop off the packages and get a receipt may be inconvenient, but it's worth the hassle to avoid a much bigger one...

 

 

[Buzzetta]

I would never ever leave anything out to be picked up...

This. And no matter where you live, unless it's on the moon.

 

It's an unpleasant reality, but a theft like this is preventable. A trip to the PO to drop off the packages and get a receipt may be inconvenient, but it's worth the hassle to avoid a much bigger one...

 

 

I have remained steadfast on this position for years. I leave nothing to be picked up. I drop off.

[BeachBum]

Sorry this happened but I have a quick question - Is this a regularly scheduled pickup? Maybe another postal worker picked up your scheduled pickup and the substitute carrier only delivered your mail. Back in Cali multiple carriers would usually pick up parts of a vacationing carriers routes to pick up the slack.

[Comicopolis]

Sorry to hear this.

[revat]

i didn't even know I could leave packages for pickup. I knew I can hand it off to them personally (even schedule a pickup!), but didn't know they'd pick it up if I left it.

 

learn something new everyday...

[shadroch]

Whenever I schedule a pickup, I have them ring the bell and I hand it to them. If that doesn't work , time wise, I drop it off. When its picked up, I get an email rather quickly saying they were picked up. My only complaint with this is it loses almost a day. My box got picked up at 10AM and wasn't scanned in until 730PM

[Columbia Comics]

Did you have private insurance?

 

Insurance is to cover accidental damage or loss. It doesn't cover stupidity.

 

There's no way to prove they even existed. An easy denial for an insurance company.

 

learn something new everyday...

 

Hopefully you've learned not to leave packages on the front porch.

[F For Fake]

Sorry this happened but I have a quick question - Is this a regularly scheduled pickup? Maybe another postal worker picked up your scheduled pickup and the substitute carrier only delivered your mail. Back in Cali multiple carriers would usually pick up parts of a vacationing carriers routes to pick up the slack.

 

Coming in to ask the same question. I leave inexpensive shipments on my porch to be picked up by USPS, and this has happened to me before: another carrier picked them up and my "regular" carrier didn't know about it until later. Not trying to get your hopes up, but it may be worth checking with your local postmaster just to be 100% sure.

[Comicdey]

Did you have private insurance?

 

Insurance is to cover accidental damage or loss. It doesn't cover stupidity.

 

There's no way to prove they even existed. An easy denial for an insurance company.

 

learn something new everyday...

 

Hopefully you've learned not to leave packages on the front porch.

 

 

Kick him while he's down why don't you.

[F For Fake]

i didn't even know I could leave packages for pickup. I knew I can hand it off to them personally (even schedule a pickup!), but didn't know they'd pick it up if I left it.

 

learn something new everyday...

 

It's an awesome service. As long as you have one priority package shipping in the lot, USPS will pick everything up from your house, for free. I can't believe how many years I schlepped carts and crates off to USPS when I could have been doing this. It's a lifesaver. Now, for expensive books, sure, I still hand deliver to the post office, but for a foot-high stack of $5 books? The postman can pick those up.

[Chip Cataldo]

It was a pickup I scheduled. At the old place I'd schedule it and have the packages inside so the carrier would ring the bell to get them. I figured since we were in a new home in a nice neighborhood with the doorway not visible from the road and about 50 steps from the curb (including a sheltered walkway to the actual doors), plus the fake camera and surveillance stickers on every window they would be safe left out for the carrier when I scheduled a pickup. I believe there were 5 daily pickups here at the new place before this one was taken. Now I'll just go back to the old way so when I schedule one he'll just ring the doorbell and I'll hand him the packages.

 

Turns out it was $517 in losses but I'm in the process of #1 - trying to get refunds on all the shipping costs and #2 - compiling a list of the books along with some telltale indicators that made a few of them unique. I have scans of every book as well. I write the grades on the back bottom corners of the bags in marker so that would be another way if people try and quickly dump them. Most of the local shops know me and are on Facebook so I can get them lists by tonight.

 

Thanks to everyone (except Brock, obviously) for the support and well-wishes.

[Wally's Comics]

Did you have private insurance?

 

Insurance is to cover accidental damage or loss. It doesn't cover stupidity.

 

There's no way to prove they even existed. An easy denial for an insurance company.

 

learn something new everyday...

 

Hopefully you've learned not to leave packages on the front porch.

 

 

Kick him while he's down why don't you.

 

ol' Brock is just ribbing him...

 

I'm sure 'peaches will retort back!

 

 

 

 

[shadroch]

i didn't even know I could leave packages for pickup. I knew I can hand it off to them personally (even schedule a pickup!), but didn't know they'd pick it up if I left it.

 

learn something new everyday...

 

It's an awesome service. As long as you have one priority package shipping in the lot, USPS will pick everything up from your house, for free. I can't believe how many years I schlepped carts and crates off to USPS when I could have been doing this. It's a lifesaver. Now, for expensive books, sure, I still hand deliver to the post office, but for a foot-high stack of $5 books? The postman can pick those up.

 

 

My only complaint is that sometimes they come at 9AM and sometimes at 430PM, or anytime in between. You can pay $20 a pickup to set a specific time, but that's a non-starter for me.

[kav]

It's been a few days-quite possible they have already been sold to a LCS

[jools&jim]

It's an awesome service. As long as you have one priority package shipping in the lot, USPS will pick everything up from your house, for free.

...unfortunately, you'll sometimes get what you pay for.

 

RULE OF THUMB: The longer a package is in the hands of the postal service (and that includes a carrier and his or her vehicle), the greater the risk that it will be lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed.

 

In general, risks which can be minimized should be. When electing to use the pick-up service, I guess one needs to weigh the time, inconvenience, and expense of a trip to the local PO to drop off packages against the time, inconvenience, and expense of lost, stolen, or damaged shipments.

 

If the shipper lives in a rural/remote area, or if the local PO is just too far away (= time lost + gas) or is in a bad neighborhood, I can easily see why traveling there might not be worth the effort, financially and otherwise. In all other cases, I say make the trip...

 

 

 

[Timmay]

If the shipper lives in a rural/remote area, or if the local PO is just too far away (= time lost + gas) or is in a bad neighborhood, I can easily see why traveling there might not be worth the effort, financially and otherwise.

 

In all other cases, I say make the trip...

 

yep

 

You can claim the mileage for the trip to the PO too.

[Scturo]

I play it safe when I ship comics. Take them to the Post Office, and have them give me a scanned receipt. So far, no problems.

[kav]

I always mail myself with my comics-no problems yet.