TOPIC: Utaku Soto / Saved the Day with Great Result

Good News,

We were able to resolve the situation. Matt wrote me a very thoughtful response and is actively working on solving the issues to help out.

Thank you again to the community who cares about doing what is right about a game we love.

Best,

Joel

I will say I had no issue receiving my tokens from Matt, but if he offered a priority shipping option and price, and you paid that, and he didn’t send it priority …. then I simply say wtf

Did he say the $10 was for priority or did you assume? In my 8k auction I ran I offered three shipping options. First class was $5, and Priority small flat was like $9.45 or something.

I paid 10 dollars for shipping, so I assumed things would be shipped Priority Mail.

For that much, shipping, the box, and tracking are offered at a higher level of service.

Instead, I know that 4.80 was spent on First Class.

Joel

Joel Fogelson wrote: I paid 10 dollars for shipping, so I assumed things would be shipped Priority Mail.

I think that assumption is more than fair. Most people would agree with that, me included. I just wanted to make the facts clear.

I received a flat rate with my tokens from Matt just a few days ago. If your package is being returned to him for some reason, he probably does not have it yet. I understand your frustration but would recommend giving it some time.

Daniel White wrote: I received a flat rate with my tokens from Matt just a few days ago. If your package is being returned to him for some reason, he probably does not have it yet. I understand your frustration but would recommend giving it some time.

I also had no issues with my shipment. Given this holiday season odds are it will show up somewhere in a week or two. Best you can do is wait and hope that physical damage did not occur. I know I have a USPS package that took 3 wrong turns so far and I'm still waiting on from an ebay auction.

Glad people got their shipments.

My shipment went out early on the 10th. The USPS lost it, admitted this, and then said go away.

Part of their attitude toward me is because things were shipped First Class, not Priority Mail.

There has been little support for me from the seller over the last two weeks.

Joel

some of this situation is why my auction winners are not going to get their winnings mailed to them until after the 1st of the year.

$10 for first class only makes sense if the package us in excess of 3 pounds.

I’m not sure I’d go as far to says don’t do orders unless it is priority mail. Ultimately, that comes down to how much are you willing to lose in case it is lost. For example, sending tinker/slayer bits via first class isn’t a big deal. Shipping a legendary, priority (at least) should be assumed. For most people, that line is probably at a couple ultra-rares.

Personally, I’ve only had one trade or sale have the package lost in the past 10 years. As the seller, I wrote it off and just sent a replacement at no charge. The original package eventually showed up (a month later) and the buyer just shipped it back to me. I wouldn’t assume insurance would make a difference as the process is cumbersome and time consuming.

In general, the TD community tends to step up and do the right thing. I suspect Utaku will as well. If not, repost something like this for others to be aware.

Hey Joel,

I recently had an issue where I was concerned that I may had a lost package. Utaku was the sender, and I reached out to him for help. My experience was that he always responded within a reasonable timeframe, and I found him helpful.

Different from you, my issue was with the mailbox service I use (UPS Store) had lost the package not USPS. Fortunately they were able to find the package on my third attempt with them.

I hope some of that info is helpful to you or others.

I've always assumed that the onus was on me to make sure tokens got where they were going when I was the sender, be it in an auction or a trade. If I'm sending something I can't or don't want to have to pay to replace if it doesn't get there I generally pay for insurance out of pocket. I always assumed that was the general rule that everyone followed, though I admit I don't think I've ever read that anywhere.

I've shipped close to 200 token orders now and I've had only 1 go missing. It was a very expensive order. I use Pirate Ship and buy extra insurance from Pirate Ship, not the USPS. The trouble we had was that it required a resolution statement from the USPS before they would process the claim. 6 months after the loss, USPS canceled the shipment with no official statement. Insurance was denied. I made a stink, demonstrated that I had all supporting documentation, and begged them to reconsider. Thankfully they did and "settled" with us. It was such a long and stressful experience I vowed to never send tokens again without insurance if I was not comfortable with paying out of pocket. As a seller, it's my responsibility. I've since asked buyers if they want to purchase insurance and recommend it if I am not providing it myself. Honestly, I don't think I could ever send a shipment over $100 in value without supplemental insurance. Priority mail only includes $100, you need to buy supplemental insurance if you want to cover the entire amount.

I did not know or even realize that First Class does not matter. I can buy supplemental insurance with First Class and again, it's not with the USPS. I will know to specify that in the future.

For anyone sending tokens to another, I highly recommend printed, and even visual documentation of all items being sold/shipped. It will be required and if they can find a way out of paying for a lost shipment they will. You will need to buckle down and fight it. Just be sure to have all your ducks in a row.

Utaku (Matt) is 100% genuine and has good integrity. With the mess of the holidays and the massive storm last weekend, disruptions are all over. Travel has been, and still is a mess so it's possible he is in the middle of trying to just get back home.

FWIW, the USPS customer service is a joke. Don't rely on them. Use a 3rd party shipper and know the risks. But bottom line, document, document, document.