Steelbooks opened and damaged by post offices?

[brake]

Hi guys,

I received a shipment from Canada from a forum member of some steelbooks and somewhere along the line the package was opened and inspected by someone.

Whoever it was actually opened a few of the steelbooks which were sent to me sealed. They removed the bubblewrap which was taped up nicely, removed the plastic seal, opened them and threw them back in the box as is without the plastic wrap and bubble wrap! So I opened the box and a few of the steelbooks were just floating around loosley in the box with nothing to protect them (the bubble wrap and plastic wrap were in the box too all scrunched up)

The steelbooks were mint when sent to me, but the open ones have some damage/dents on them on the edges and front/back covers.

They were sent from Canada to Australia and I think it was at the Canadian side that they were opened because I have NEVER had anything like this happen before in all my packages from other places (FWIW this is the first package from Canada I have received)

I'm pretty pissed off and this is alarming because what if it were a sealed, I was going to open them anyway but the damage is annoying. What if it were a rare and OOP steelbook that was sent to me like Iron Man or something?

So, has anyone had this happen to them before?

Also, what could you write on the box to stop this from happening again?

I would hate to read that someone who wanted to keep something sealed, especially something rare, was opened by someone and damaged as a result!

EDIT: Also, is there a way to remove dents from steelbooks without damage them?

[Nommag]

Had a situation like this happen to me, I sent a metal slip TDK to Germany as part of a trade and customs there cut the package open with a knife and completely destroyed the front of the case. They cut through the cardboard and bubble wrap and the case had a giant and deep scratch right down the middle of the front.

[lgans316]

Sorry to hear that.

It could also be Customs as they are entitled to inspect the contents for suspicious items. Was every Steelbook opened or just one or two of them? I believe Australia customs are extremely strict when it comes to sniffing packages. Maybe, the dog picked up something funny that prompted customs to inspect every item. If they had inspected then there should be some sort of message or a seal that it was opened for inspection. At the worst case they should contact the recipient and not manhandle it. This shows how careless people are and it shows the kind of life they lead by having no regards for others possessions. If not customs, it could be the postie.

I would request both parties to file damaged claim with post office to carry out investigation and try getting compensation provided seller has taken pics of the items and the package prior to posting and insured the package, which I do for every single package that goes out and comes in.

[brake]

Originally Posted by Nommag

Had a situation like this happen to me, I sent a metal slip TDK to Germany as part of a trade and customs there cut the package open with a knife and completely destroyed the front of the case. They cut through the cardboard and bubble wrap and the case had a giant and deep scratch right down the middle of the front.

Man that sucks :|

Originally Posted by lgans316

Sorry to hear that.

It could also be Customs as they are entitled to inspect the contents for suspicious items. Was every Steelbook opened or just one or two of them? I believe Australia customs are extremely strict when it comes to sniffing packages. Maybe, the dog picked up something funny that prompted customs to inspect every item. If they had inspected then there should be some sort of message or a seal that it was opened for inspection. At the worst case they should contact the recipient and not manhandle it. This shows how careless people are and it shows the kind of life they lead by having no regards for others possessions. Otherwise, it could be the postie.

No message inside and 3 out of 7 were opened and just left in the box like that.

No message on the box or in the box.

I've never had this happen to me before and I've had HEAPS of boxes sent, if it was the Australian side I will complain.

[chipvideo]

Sounds like customs to me. Nothing you can do about it. Its just part of the % game. Your gonna have a certain % of damaged steels every year that you buy. Thats why I always buy multiples of every title.

[Yautja]

when customes Australia opens a parcel they put yellow sticky tape around the parcel which clearly states "opened by customs" you cannot miss it!
it seems your parcel was opened along the line, this may have happened anywhere, here in Oz or Canada, maybe a dishonest employee opened the parcel???
who knows unless you have proof

[GreatGreg]

Canada Customs usually (always?) leaves a note saying that the package was inspected and opened. They also re-seal the package with Canada Customs tape.

I've had this happen to me on occasion, but not to the horror story that you are speaking of. It is usually a little messy, but all of my stuff was there.

US Border inspections, on the other hand, took my digital camera from my checked luggage from LAX to YYZ.

[crystal_sun]

the dent could have been under the slipcover in the first place...I see those all the time...

[boba_fett300]

This same thing happened to me too. Bought a mint sealed Tron SB from Europe but arrived with custom tape all over it. I thought it was okay, customs just going to open it and take a look at it and put it back the way it was. But no, they opened the plastic seal and put the plastic seal back into the package. I was so freaking mad when I found out they did it like that. Why would they need to open the plastic seal? Do they have no idea what is inside a movie case? The thing is, there is nothing you can do about it even if you complain. Cause they will just give you some bs about inspection.

[crystal_sun]

They need inspect inside the case so they have to open it up... If they are not going to open the seal, then there is no point in opening the box in the first place.

Originally Posted by boba_fett300

Why would they need to open the plastic seal? Do they have no idea what is inside a movie case? The thing is, there is nothing you can do about it even if you complain. Cause they will just give you some bs about inspection.

[LuFeng]

ive only had this happen once but this is why i always get insurance on stuff if its valuable like steelbooks cause if you dont they will do nothing for you without it.

[T-1000]

Well guys...many of you know me and I could tell you evening stories about german customs

I would say you cannot do anything about this, other than try to have correct paperwork, don't declare a 2Kg package as $10 value and work even with some messages inside the Box.

In my Collector life, customs did open many of my imported stuff and 4x times it did happen to me, that they use razor knifes and cut into the bubble wrapped items. I ended up always having Steelbooks with deep knife cuts worst case on the front site!

This is all part of the dirty game if you import stuff. What works best for me, is if I get several items sent, have the Paypal receipt placed outside the Box, so with some luck, customs are charged based on the paypal receipt and no one does even open up the Box.


But I had all kinds of things. Some customs officers did "force" me to open (unseal) ALL Steelbooks in front of their eyes to see the inner content of the Steelbook.

So speaking for Germany, this is a bad game!

Cheers

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

I had a really bad experience with customs in Germany last month. I wasn't in Germany but when I sold my Independence Day steelbook on ebay for $68, it was supposed to go to Germany but it never showed up (according to what the buyer told me). They filed an "item not received" claim and I was forced to refund their order. Does that suck or what?

Also, a buyer from Canada won an steelbook from me on ebay and they claimed they never received it but I think they were lying through their noses. So now, I don't ship overseas anymore; just in the US.

[jw]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Fanatic

I had a really bad experience with customs in Germany last month. I wasn't in Germany but when I sold my Independence Day steelbook on ebay for $68, it was supposed to go to Germany but it never showed up (according to what the buyer told me). They filed an "item not received" claim and I was forced to refund their order. Does that suck or what?

Also, a buyer from Canada won an steelbook from me on ebay and they claimed they never received it but I think they were lying through their noses. So now, I don't ship overseas anymore; just in the US.

you just learned a valuable lesson about ebay, always ship with tracking and declare the true value for customs(sucks for honest guys), that way if they lie its documented twice. Germans are one of the worst offenders for saying they dont receive stuff, based on my past sales. Brazil is #1

[tsgee]

Originally Posted by boba_fett300

This same thing happened to me too. Bought a mint sealed Tron SB from Europe but arrived with custom tape all over it. I thought it was okay, customs just going to open it and take a look at it and put it back the way it was. But no, they opened the plastic seal and put the plastic seal back into the package. I was so freaking mad when I found out they did it like that. Why would they need to open the plastic seal? Do they have no idea what is inside a movie case? The thing is, there is nothing you can do about it even if you complain. Cause they will just give you some bs about inspection.

I had a buddy that works at Canada Customs, this was his job. He would be randomly sent shipments containing DVD/ Blu-rays (usually not from retailers). He'd open them and have to view what was on the disc for illegal videos (basically outlawed porn) from start to finish. If they were ok they'd be repackaged and sent on their way, if they were illegal they'd be confiscated and destroyed and a letter would be sent to the sender.

[brake]

Originally Posted by crystal_sun

the dent could have been under the slipcover in the first place...I see those all the time...

One of the other steelbooks that was sealed had a dent on it behind the slip, sucks but can't do much about that. But, the other ones were shipped mint condition, opened and the bubblewrap and plastic left in the box and the steelbook just rattling round inside the box.

I rechecked the box and NO customs tape of notes of any kind

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Parcels only get opened like this by customs at the receiving end of the shipment. It would have been Australian government doing in this case.

Question: Was the item shipped and marked as "a gift?" That usually keeps customs out of it. If it wasn't marked as "gift," they could have opened it to get closer look at alue sothey could charge duty fees accordingly as well.

No matter what, it is inexcusable that items of this nature get handled in such a manner.

[sschen]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Parcels only get opened like this by customs at the receiving end of the shipment. It would have been Australian government doing in this case.

Question: Was the item shipped and marked as "a gift?" That usually keeps customs out of it. If it wasn't marked as "gift," they could have opened it to get closer look at alue sothey could charge duty fees accordingly as well.

No matter what, it is inexcusable that items of this nature get handled in such a manner.

I import a lot of my movies from overseas and have had Australian customs opened my packages on a few occasions, and they have ALWAYS left a note either inside or outside stating the package has been opened.

I don't think you can say with certainly that it is Australian customs that did this.

EDIT: Blake, sorry to hear this bad news. Now not trying to stir the pot or anything. Are you 100% certain the seller didn't SCAM you????

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by sschen

I don't think you can say with certainly that it is Australian customs that did it.

The country that the parcel is leaving has no reason or care to open the package. It's LEAVING. Therefore it has no threat to its citizens.

However, I will say that it could have been an intermediate agency between origin and destination. If the parcel were spending a significant amount of time in another country en route to Aussieland, they have the right to inspect more thoroughly as well. However, the country of origin wouldn't care if the parcel is leaving.

[sschen]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

The country that the parcel is leaving has no reason or care to open the package. It's LEAVING. Therefore it has no threat to its citizens.

However, I will say that it could have been an intermediate agency between origin and destination. If the parcel were spending a significant amount of time in another country en route to Aussieland, they have the right to inspect more thoroughly as well. However, the country of origin wouldn't care if the parcel is leaving.

What you said does make sense. I did assume that when you said "Australian government", you meant "Australian Customs"

My response based on my experience is it may not have been "Australian Customs" that opened it. Some idiots at "Australian Post" might have opened the package with the intention of watching the movies, hence why there was no Australian Customs pamphlet or sticker both inside or outside the package stating they have opened it

Brake, if I were you, I would certainly take this up with your local Australia Post to file a complaint. I would cite that Australian Customs usually leave a note to indicate the package was opened for customs inspection. And because none was present, you suspect it is their employees that opened the package.