Stolen Silverangel

Hello to all. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do. I sent this mandolin to Kansas City almost two weeks ago and apparently it has been stolen. I sent it USPS priority. As far as the postal service can tell, it left my town of Morehead Ky and made it to the sorting facility in Lexington Ky. At lexington there is no more scans or records of it. It is assumed to have been stolen from the facility. No sign of it! I'm just asking for everone to keep an eye out especially in The Lexington area pawn shops. If seen , please notify me and I will notify the authorities.
Thanks,
Ken Ratcliff:(

Perhaps a model and serial number would further help with ID, in case a Cafe member stumbles across it? Although, that is certainly a beautiful instrument that just about an mandolinist couldn't help but have catch their eye!

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by MikeZito

Perhaps a model and serial number would further help with ID, in case a Cafe member stumbles across it? Although, that is certainly a beautiful instrument that just about an mandolinist couldn't help but have catch their eye!

Good luck.

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Well right, it's number 404 dated 2018

Potentially just lost in the USPS system. I hope you insured it for full value and can make a claim. That sometimes gets the USPS more interested in finding your parcel so they don't have to pay out on the insurance.

I agree with Colorado_Al. Possibly just lost in the system. A couple years ago I ordered a part for a repair from eBay. The seller was only 5 hours away from me. I got the part a month later. Should have taken 2-3 days. Turns out, something was spilled and smeared on the address label and they could not read my address, so it was returned to sender, then the sender relabeled it and sent it again and I received it fine. But, I was worried for a minute. Things move slowly at USPS.

OTOH, if it was actually stolen at a USPS facility, I would assume there are cameras everywhere. Getting someone to spend the time reviewing the video and following through is another story. Checking the pawn shops is a good idea. Also, I would check Craigslist.

Good luck, Ken.

Sorry to read this. I always get antsy about shipping and receiving valuable stuff through any available parcel service, not just USPS. That's a real shame if it ends up stolen. Hopefully it's just been misplaced by USPS.

Sorry to hear that Ken. But I would think that would be near impossible to sell, what with it being so distinctive. Anyone advertising any Silverangel would be taking a risk, although there are always those who would buy out of a trunk for cash. Hope it turns up in the system sometime soon. Let us know. I enjoy #335 every day.

Also, if the box wasn't marked "super cool valuable mandolin" how would one target for theft?

I had plenty of packages disappear for a few days in tracking for USPS , most of the time they eventually arrive, wishing you the best, if been thinking of getting one

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Originally Posted by kyken

Hello to all. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do. I sent this mandolin to Kansas City almost two weeks ago and apparently it has been stolen. I sent it USPS priority. As far as the postal service can tell, it left my town of Morehead Ky and made it to the sorting facility in Lexington Ky. At lexington there is no more scans or records of it. It is assumed to have been stolen from the facility. No sign of it! I'm just asking for everone to keep an eye out especially in The Lexington area pawn shops. If seen , please notify me and I will notify the authorities.
Thanks,
Ken Ratcliff:(

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Ken, you should put a classified ad in the Stolen category. We have a bunch of programming rigged up to get it all over the web when it appears there. Here it's not going to get seen by that many in comparison.

Hope this shows up for you!

Man what a bummer!

Beautiful instrument too!

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Originally Posted by colorado_al

Hope this shows up for you!

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I get the feeling that USPS isn't even trying!

Our local postmaster recently told me the story of when they painted the post office interior, they moved the main counter and there was a bunch of letters behind it, some had been there for years........no packages, though!

OTOH, if your package had $4-5K worth of insurance, they should have ample motivation to find it. In my experience of sending 8000+ packages over the last 35 years, NOTHING has ever been lost by a carrier and that includes USPS, FedEx, and UPS, and also includes international shipments. I have even had international packages returned months later, stating "not at that address." Keep in mind I try to make the box large enough that it "can't get lost." Even if I am sending a small screw to a customer, I put it in a small box rather than an envelope, so it is harder to lose. My guess is that your mandolin is temporarily lost in the system, rather than stolen, which would be an inside job, putting someone's job at risk, and that seems unlikely. (especially if there was no way to know what was inside the package) Packages do get stolen from mail trucks while the postman is making a delivery, but again the risk of being spotted is huge. (retired ladies watch for the mail everyday behind curtains and know the postman's every move, my Mom is one of those ladies!) Unless, the package was left at its destination on a porch and stolen, I'm saying the chance of that is small if it was still in transit, which appears to be the case. My two cents, FWIW. Again, good luck and I hope for the best, Ken. Keep in mind, things move very slowly at USPS.

I had a pkg go astray (disappeared into the maw of the USPS, no action or movement once it entered a sorting facility).
Sent from Israel Jan 8, arrived in NYC Jan 11; despite hassling the USPS about it, no luck until it arrived Jan 29. And it was sent via registered post.

So hang in there, hope for the best.

Same experience here, I mailed one of my armrests USPS just from the Atlanta area to Chattanooga and it showed up a week or so later than the intended delivery date. I think it was one or 2 failed delivery rotations.

I have had packages delivered to the wrong address, something worth checking out. Neighbors.

A delivery driver, or the people in the regional post office, may have memory of it. Worth getting in contact with the local (to the delivery address) post office to check.

Mandolin found!! Showed up in Kansas City finally. What a relief. Thanks to all who advised.
Ken Ratcliff

Very pleased for you, Ken. And for the new owner!

Huzzah! Glad to hear it!

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Mandolin found!! Showed up in Kansas City finally. What a relief. Thanks to all who advised.

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Glad to hear! I know how this goes! :)