Frank Menser Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) Ok ..after getting burned by the USPS for a fossil I aquired from the UK (Int Registered Mail) which the Post Office claimed they lost and then refused to answer my calls. Recently I purchased another fish from the UK. I have followed the tracking. OK, I live in eastern North Carolina. The fish is presently being held for inspection in Louisville, Kentucky by the Freshwater Fish and Game dept. Why send it hundreds of miles west? Who knows. Last time this happened I had to carefully explain that what a fossil was to some teany bopper clerk. Edited January 9, 2011 by Frank Menser Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear-dog Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) Sorry to hear about your experience with the mail,but join the crowd.I have had numerous fossils lost or broken with no resolve.I checked out what Brown could do for me,and they seem to be doing a better job. As for the fossil being held up,thats not the first time I've heard of that but cant give advice to get around that one. Edited January 9, 2011 by bear-dog Bear-dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Since the package-bomb incidents, international air freight deliveries have gotten much more frustrating. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwin Ahoy Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I'm lucky that so far, nothing has been a complete lost cause. I have had some mineral specimens broken, which is frustrating. I've had some fossils broken, too, but those are easy enough to repair. Though I do currently have some amber that is being held up somewhere for some stupid reason, I do at least know WHERE it is, so I don't consider it lost yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Yeah I had a Moroccan turtle smashed so I had to rebuild it (below). But that was from an American source. The only good news was it was in so many pieces that I could tell it wasn't a fake. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Yeah I had a Moroccan turtle smashed so I had to rebuild it (below). But that was from an American source. The only good news was it was in so many pieces that I could tell it wasn't a fake. Fossils broken in transit must be expected unfortunately. Especially when you consider that packages are often subjected to treatment much like a rugby ball in the middle of a scrum of handlers and sorting machines. I'm relieved when they arrive intact but my emergency room for fossil crash repairs is always at the ready. The worst ever for me was my large amphibian from Germany. Imagine the horror to uncrate it and discover three fractures through the matrix and fossil? A few bone fragments were strewn about for added dramatic effect. Fortunately these are typically backed with a fiberglass mat. The fossil stayed in place more or less and the bone fragments luckily went back together like jigsaw puzzle pieces. That was a close one! Here's a ginkgo from Canada that was obliterated .... before and after. The ginkgo and sclero are my best repairs ever .... at least I'm confidently ready for anything .... except an earthquake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Good repairs there--especially the Ginkgo. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) UPS just called. I had to explain to them what a fossil is. This is getting to be a habit... Edited January 10, 2011 by Frank Menser Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeloiVarden Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I have never order internationally, but your stories have definetely discouraged me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Fish finally arrived last night--in three pieces. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the jeff Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 That's gotta be heartbreaking. I don't know why this could happen. Mustn't it be poor packing? I have received 2 so far from Germany to Australia which is quite a distance. My last one included 2 fish and it took 7 weeks to get here. I actually emailed the dealer mentioning the packing. It would have survived a plane crash I reckon. Hard case, very well packaged. And another previously from Germany was on quite a large fragile piece of shale with no reinforcement at all. Got here no problems and again due to the great packaging I think. That one would have survived a crash too. Just passing it on Frank. Was it packed well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 UPS just called. I had to explain to them what a fossil is. This is getting to be a habit... Unbelievable. I had no idea there were any people who didn't know what a fossil was. Perhaps they do know but their brains haven't engaged before they say "what is that?" I wonder if the US customs is the only place where problems occur (ignorance/paranoia)... Scott - that McAbee material can be quite fragile as you know. I'm contemplating trading some of it with someone in Spain.. Guess I better first reinforce it with glue where it looks like it needs it, and package it well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastoid Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 The problem with shipping stuff like this is the combination of weight and fragility, compounded by the shippers' innocent expectation that his parcel will be lovingly hand-delivered by employees that love their job. The amount of time, materials, and money required to properly package stuff can be remarkable. When buying from overseas, you must explain to your source that the specimen has to be packed so it will not shift, is nowhere near the edges or outsides of the box, and if he doesn't think it would survive a vertical drop of ~3 feet, don't ship it. Common packing materials like foam peanuts and bubble wrap are generally not suitable for anything heavy, they'll pop and compress (down as thin as paper!) and the specimen will be rolling around. Another absolutely key element is double boxing, with at least an inch of something like hard styro between the boxes. Taping all corners and edges, and taping over the address label, and including address info on the inside, are also good. Thin plates must be backed with plywood to avoid flex. Etc., etc., I could lecture all day on this, long story short is that you MUST make it very clear to the seller that he has to pack the box so that it will survive a fall down a flight of stairs. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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