Head Hunters Needed....

Before i start on my rampage i just want folks to know that normally my life is quite mundane. Very little drama...peaceful, happy, quiet...small town living at its best. Having said all that...i had just about relaxed myself to the "damaged mando repairman" experience when i found out that a beautiful F5 i've been waiting on for a while was in the process of being sold on Ebay. Having been stolen at some point in route from the builder to myself. I'm somewhat reluctant to "name" the builder since after speaking to the individual Ebay seller I know she has been to our mando cafe community at least once(her own admission) while searching for information about said builder. Those of you who know me a little bit may know who this builder is and yes he is from a Non American background(sorry Dale).......so if you don't mind could you please not bid on my mandolin as I'm in the process of trying to determine the best means of increasing the small likelihood of seeing this mandolin someday. On the other hand, if there are those amoung us who would like to form a "Mando Mob" in a large Southern City I would be happy to drive over to said seller's address which I have thanks to fellow mando cafe members assistance and calmly request the return of my instrument....which although brand new has sustained a small amount of damage. Well....thanks for your time today. Thats my week.....gee...and its only Wednesday. In closing....my son did enjoy his 5th birthday yesterday and it was a glorious celebration....greatly assisting me to remember the important things in life remain in spite of the darker side of Human nature.

Dennis, if it was stolen in transit or shipping wasn't it insured?

[Lee]

Hey Spare Change,
How about you ask the builder to send you a certified letter stating who is the rightful owner of this mandolin. The Atlanta police might take over from there.

[Lee]

Dale, if I had known that EMS doesn't offer insurance, I would not have slept for a week and a half.

Who is EMS ?

[mandofiddle]

Hey Dennis,
What about sending emails to all the bidders mentioning that it is a stolen instrument, and that if they bid on it they are liable to lose it anyhow after they take possession?

[Scotti Adams]

..and she wont end the auction early..Ive already tried to "buy" it.....she turned me down. Hey lady...if your readin this...your close to being busted...do the right thing....

[lownote]

I think I found it on ebay. #I say we treat the auction as if it's a rare 9 string Monteleonapine, report it to ebay and run the price out the roof. #I can only imagine how this person got your mandolin. Great catch on your part.
Oh yeah, I'd call the police as well.
Lee

This really makes me mad. #I'd also save a copy of the ebay auction, just in case the person tries to get cute and cancels the auction and makes a claim they've never seen the mando.

By the way, I'm currently winning this proposterous auction.

[mandofiddle]

..and she wont end the auction early..Ive already tried to "buy" it.....she turned me down.
She may not be selling it early because of the fact it might be stolen... Maybe she's waiting for details on that???

I sent her an email that said...
---
Dear letsene,

Isn't this mandolin the one that was stolen while in transit from the Czeck Republic to its rightful owner who ordered it from Pavel?

To view the item, go to: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3717553064
---

I have yet to hear a response.

[jom]

I'm in Atlanta, and will join your mob.

[duuuude]

Sure is a looker, worth fightin' for, IMWO. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[Charlie Derrington]

Lee and Scotti have it right.

All it should take would be a phone call to the police (with proof of serial # and ownership) and she has to give it back. Stolen property will be returned to the rightful owner. It may have to set in an evidence locker for a little while, but you'll get it back.

Charlie

[sbarnes]

if indeed you have the serial number and description from the builder......and i assume at least some documentation showing it was stolen.....correspondence between you and the builder, carrier, police - something.....
AND
if you have some kind of proof that the seller lives at the address you have,
i would not let the sun go down unless/until me and a possee would get that thing back.....
possee should probably be 'legal' at this point...
maybe call your lawyer and ask for advice on how to proceed....
if all legal channels fail - unleash (*^%&
anyway - don't wait around - if you do, i guarantee it'll disappear yet again.....
let us know how it turns out

[Lane Pryce]

If you have proof its yours contact the police and email all of the bidders and let them know it is stolen property.

[Mandobar]

dennis, if you did not report it missing or stolen you need to do that now. if you don't you will have no claim to it.

if it was stolen coming usps call the postal inspectors. they do not take these things lightly and will show up at her door as long as you have proof that it is yours.

Well....the latest news may be good hopefully. This lady now indicates that she purchased the mandolin with other musical items at a USPS auction on 3/31. This would make it one week after the instrument was shipped which is about the time it takes to recieve a package from the Czech Republic. I assume thats the truth. I have contacted the local Police department in the area and have faxed some verification paperwork to the office. I'm in the process of contacting the builder for further information including the "tracking" paperwork that was initiated about two weeks ago. Hopefully....everything will turn out ok for all those involved. Little bit odd why the auction has not be stopped at this point. Sorry for the drama. I guess I was a little uptight this morning when i wrote my comments. I am hoping for a phone call from the police so i'll be off for awhile. Last thing is that the seller refuses to send any additional pictures of the mandolin which is "odd" as well.

[sailaway]

she should be forced to produce proof of the USPS 'auction' story -- how did the mando go missing while in possession of the united States postal Service ? do you have the shipping labels etc so the US postal inspectors can track this? if it was stolen or 'lost' while in possession of the US postal service it is now a FEDERAL CRIME -- and the US postal insepctors can interview the lady personally to verify her story. Go to it !!http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

How did it get to a USPS auction if it was just a week after shipping? Her story sounds fishey. I do not think the USPS or any other shipping company would auction off items that was just lost or broken after only a week.

Surely the builder shipped it to a address that required a signature?

And if the USPS delivered it to the wrong location in which it was even the wrong state than they have some responsibility with this situation also.

[justwrite]

I can't imagine the USPS auctioning an item as unclaimed the same week it should have been delivered to you. That makes no sense.

I had a check stolen in the mail once, and if memory serves me right, the police or the postal inspectors told me it was the sender's loss and not mine -- they still owed me the money, and it was up to them to file a report with law enforcement. Also, if I'm not mistaken, there's a pretty strict statute of limitations on such, so time is of the essence. Unless I'm remembering all of this wrong (and that's a possiblity), the mandolin lost in shipment could be considered the maker's loss. In other words, they still owe you a mandolin whether you get this one back or not.

[Staramouche]

SpareChange,
You should be careful of the feedback ie:

Neg: Bid on Item that sent me to the Pokee on a Fed Rap

It's near IMPOSSIBLE to get Negs removed, even if the other party is a scumbag!

Seriously good luck...I'll be in Atlanta in May if'n....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Joe

[Scotti Adams]

...hmmm..maybe she works for the Post Office..or UPS....the plot thickens.....

[futrconslr]

HEY!!!
I would suggest having the builder send you the information in Affidavit form, then the D.A. in Hotlanta can use it in court to prosecute should it come to that. Also, an affidavit will get the cops attention a little more than just a "letter" from the builder.

[lownote]

If the post office couldn't deliver because of an unclear address they would return it to sender. Something is fishy. By the way I'm still the high bidder on your mando, just for fun, you know. Here's a email I got from the seller.

"Hi. Very interesting - how did you find out that it was "stolen"?

I got it from a post office auction. It was not stolen. This guy who had one stolen, as he says, or maybe it was lost in the mail & then the USPS took ownership of it after so many days/however that works.

But I may have to pull it, clear this up, & relist. I've contacted a Postal Inspector but he's out til Friday. Hopefully they keep good records & can document whatever the story was with this mandolin. It was maybe undeliverable, or they hung onto it for a while & it was not claimed. Either way, they took possession of it, & when that happened, it ceased to be anyone else's property but the USPS.

I hate that someone lost their mandolin, but I bought it legitimately from the U.S government of all places!

But I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me where you got the info that it was stolen.

Thanks. I'll probably relist later, when I can produce a paper trail of my ownership of it, etc.

-Jennifer"

[Scott Tichenor]

To the group at large here: you're welcome to discuss this topic, but using the board to gather a group of individuals to show up at someon'e door is not appropriate for this forum. eBay's enforcement needs to be contacted, some documentation needs to appear fast, and the police should be contacted.

[Scott Tichenor]

I've received information that the eBay seller is receiving threatening emails and phone calls. This needs to stop, folks. This is not appropriate under any circumstance. The facts aren't known and I'll repeat that this needs to be handled by eBay and the police only.