They Took My Freaking Pipe!

[ashdigger]

I've read some unsubstantiated reports that the shipper in question re-sells the goods they confiscate.

Not rumor. They sell confiscated items in a lot to a jobber who then pulls them apart and sells them individually.

Same as buying knives from TSA or pallet packs from Amazon

 

[sablebrush52]

though shouldn't the seller be aware?

Perhaps you kissed this:
AND EBAY DOESN'T WARN YOU!!!
eBay could give a shit. Sellers have no idea. And, most of them can't be bothered to redo a listing to same their necks.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have bought plenty of pipes via global shipping from the US.
The ony one I had a problem with was when a pipe got lost after tracking showed leaving the US,it never tracked as arriving in Europe.

I have had items stopped 2 times when buying from the UK,both were not pipe related

One was some nails for a nail gun,Global shipping stopped them,I reordered from the selller sent R Mail no problem.
The other was a spray cleaner,the same thing ,I reordered via R Mail

Going out from the US is probably handled differently than going to the US, since shipping policies are country dependent. Complaints about Global Shipping seizures have been posted for years, by a number of individuals. They've upped their game. They used to just destroy the pipes and tobaccos on discovery.

 

[FurCoat]

Sounds like an act of war to me.

...and how do otherwise mellow, laid back, and friendly pipesmokers deal with such things?

Rather sternly when pipe theft is involved. [grrrrrrr]

Tell 'em to send the goddam pipe within ten minutes or say hello to Mr. Hundred Million Degrees Celsius.

Like, 5000 of them. Every village, town, and city on the island.

It's the only way to be sure.


View attachment 203726

I was satisfied with roughing them up a bit, but after reading how deceptive these fucktards are, I like your idea better.

 

[sablebrush52]

So sorry to hear you lost that special pipe

There are a lot of dickheads running the postal services (worldwide) making ad hoc decisions that defy logic.

Prior to Christmas I wanted to send a few cigars to @tklee
(In Malaysia)
I was told at the Sydney GPO (main Sydney PO) that they won't accept the parcel as it would most likely be impounded by Aust Customs.

This is despite there being NO restrictions on cigar imports from any corner of the globe into Australia.
And no restrictions sending or receiving tobacco within Australia
It just does not make sense

Thankfully a friend was returning to M'sia and was happy to carry them in his luggage.
The package artived safely.

We have the same issue here in the US with the USPS. They occasionally seize shipments of tobacco from ouside the US and send them back. That happened to me and when I spoke with a USPS rep she informed me that they were doing this because of Customs. So I called the Customs department and spoke with an agent who explained that this had nothing to do with Customs, explained the protocols and how they worked, and added that Customs never ships items back, they simply impound them and after a few weeks either sell or destroy them. USPS was doing this on their own.

 

[paulfg]

I've read some unsubstantiated reports that the shipper in question re-sells the goods they confiscate.

I think you will find their are people on here who can confirm that,having seen the item relisted by another seller

 

[paulfg]

We have the same issue here in the US with the USPS. They occasionally seize shipments of tobacco from ouside the US and send them back. That happened to me and when I spoke with a USPS rep she informed me that they were doing this because of Customs. So I called the Customs department and spoke with an agent who explained that this had nothing to do with Customs, explained the protocols and how they worked, and added that Customs never ships items back, they simply impound them and after a few weeks either sell or destroy them. USPS was doing this on their own.

Yes,@ssjones sent me a pipe with a customs label stating tobacco pipe,it was returned when it reached NY airport.He relabeled it briar pipe and it arrived no problem .
It did cost him a second postal cost though.
Nothing to do with customs,it never got that far

 

[ashdigger]

Here are two pipes that were confiscated, then rescued.

1898 BBB with three stems. This was rescued with one stem. Ryan Alden made more for it

This 1896 BBB Donkey Nut was also rescued and reworked for me by Ryan Alden

 

[anotherbob]

Perhaps you kissed this:
AND EBAY DOESN'T WARN YOU!!!
eBay could give a shit. Sellers have no idea. And, most of them can't be bothered to redo a listing to same their necks.

yeah I read that as they don't tell buyers. Mainly because the idea of not having a list of commonly rejected and sent objects. This to me reeks of the not quite legally o.k. but sort of is because the people being screwed aren't big enough to do anything about it. My bet is there is some vague language they claim covers this, despite the fact it doesn't but lawyers cost so much more then a few pipes. Some things really are ludicrous enough to be hard to believe. And that's one of them. If nothing else it would save them headaches.
I am also getting a vibe of contracted out to the lowest bidder. Which is not in any way an excuse. Like the place that would never hire illegal workers but none of the very nice people who clean the place speak any English... Oh wait they hired them through a company and couldn't figure out the math that would indicate they couldn't make a profit if they paid people minimum wage. Mainly on the the way they're acting like it's not their problem and not their fault.

Here are two pipes that were confiscated, then rescued.

1898 BBB with three stems. This was rescued with one stem. Ryan Alden made more for it

This 1896 BBB Donkey Nut was also rescued and reworked for me by Ryan Alden

I commend your choice of pipes. Both being distinct enough even a none pipe smoker could tell you they're in fact the same and that you don't see pipes like that often.

 

[Zero]

I was satisfied with roughing them up a bit, but after reading how deceptive these fucktards are, I like your idea better.

I have 2 pipes lost in the sauce right now, via UPS 2nd Day Air. Should have received them on the 10th of Feb , the UPS access point that I used logged them in as received and ready for pickup... nope. UPS & USPS have botched my deliveries in the past, and I have a feeling of dread every time that I order something. Get your shit together people! The world seems to be degrading.

 

[theloniousmonkfish]

I think you will find their are people on here who can confirm that,having seen the item relisted by another seller

I've given up after the second attempt. Saw it relisted using Royal mail and took a chance, then it was sent to the same Global shipping center as before. It'll be up again in a month or so if anyone wants a try. Waiting on another refund...

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

Have had bad experiences with both UPS and USPS. Back when I subscribed to Rolling Stone magazine, every time a scantily clad woman was on the cover, my copy of that issue failed to arrive. Had a package from South Carolina bypass me in Tennessee and travel to Wisconsin and back before USPS delivered it.

 

[FurCoat]

I have 2 pipes lost in the sauce right now, via UPS 2nd Day Air. Should have received them on the 10th of Feb , the UPS access point that I used logged them in as received and ready for pickup... nope. UPS & USPS have botched my deliveries in the past, and I have a feeling of dread every time that I order something. Get your shit together people! The world seems to be degrading. View attachment 203900

That's a nice way of putting it

 

[Deano]

That's a nice way of putting it

UPS can be a nightmare. My last item recieved from them, an air rifle, was beyond rough handling. It was beat up so badly the air rifle barrel was cracked and the sight was broken. The shipping box and rifle box were destroyed.

 

[runscott]

I'm wondering if this can happen for USA sellers selling to GB?

No, Pitney-Bowes is taking advantage of the wording of a British drug paraphernalia law regarding exports. This pipe will be given to a collaborating ebay seller, along with the original auction pictures, and will be sold with Royal Mail shipping, in a few months. This has been the situation 100% of the time for around a year now.

 

[FurCoat]

UPS can be a nightmare. My last item recieved from them, an air rifle, was beyond rough handling. It was beat up so badly the air rifle barrel was cracked and the sight was broken. The shipping box and rifle box were destroyed.

I had a fender bender last year and had to have the fender and hood replaced. Shop ordered a hood that shipped UPS. The hood was literally stomped on. There wasn't a square inch that wasn't damaged. I think the shop was more pissed off than me. Set repairs back two weeks.

 

[FurCoat]

UPS can be a nightmare. My last item recieved from them, an air rifle, was beyond rough handling. It was beat up so badly the air rifle barrel was cracked and the sight was broken. The shipping box and rifle box were destroyed.

Back to the subject of the air gun. What did you get? I've got a Benjamin NP2 Trail. Pretty good rifle though I need a better scope. It's one of my bug out guns. Pellets are light and you can take thousands in a small space compared to bullets. This thing will take out small game with ease and not give away your position. Anyone who is into survival should invest in a decent air rifle.

 

[Deano]

Back to the subject of the air gun. What did you get? I've got a Benjamin NP2 Trail. Pretty good rifle though I need a better scope. It's one of my bug out guns. Pellets are light and you can take thousands in a small space compared to bullets. This thing will take out small game with ease and not give away your position. Anyone who is into survival should invest in a decent air rifle.

Got a Daisy pellet rifle for my grandson.

 

[bpipes]

Reading this post got me cold sweats!
I just purchased a beautiful Unsmoked old Oom Paul from a UK seller...
I rushed to check, and thankfully is being shipped by Royal Mail.

 

[Briar Tuck]

I say we call the boys and go kick some GSP ass.

We ride at dawn.