US Customs and OMG, what did they do to my cel??!?

Gonzai · Post by **Gonzai** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:15 am

Well, I have heard back from Stephen, and good news - he
says the studio can get it re-made. ^_^ It was also insured,
so I will have to run down to the PO and make a claim. I
still have all of the packaging, and you can see where they
cut right through his packaging with what I am assuming was
box cutters. O_O Now the only problem is that I leave early
tommorrow morning and I am gone for the week. Won't
be back until Saturday afternoon. @_@ I guess I will call
my local PO from the airport in Chicago, but I wonder if it
will cause problems since the package came already last
Tuesday. *_* I have proof that I have been out of town
the entire time. -_-

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:38 pm

Yes, I count my blessings every day.

vampyreshoujo · Post by **vampyreshoujo** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:30 pm

That's wonderful they're going to remake it! I'm glad Stephen was able to give you happy news.

What a horrible fate for the first one though. Just awful! It's a wonder customs isn't careful with opening packages; especially since there's no telling what might be in them.

Good luck with the claim. Hope you're able to get a full refund back.

pixie_princess · Post by **pixie_princess** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:01 pm

Gonzai wrote:Well, I have heard back from Stephen, and good news - he
says the studio can get it re-made. ^_^ It was also insured,
so I will have to run down to the PO and make a claim. I
still have all of the packaging, and you can see where they
cut right through his packaging with what I am assuming was
box cutters. O_O Now the only problem is that I leave early
tommorrow morning and I am gone for the week. Won't
be back until Saturday afternoon. @_@ I guess I will call
my local PO from the airport in Chicago, but I wonder if it
will cause problems since the package came already last
Tuesday. *_* I have proof that I have been out of town
the entire time. -_-

Wow this happened at the Chicago one? I just had 3 packages go through there in the past couple weeks (Japan France and Germany). Was your package EMS? Sorry if that was asked already. Wow.

Princess Nadia · Post by **Princess Nadia** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:30 pm

Yikes!!!!

I'm so glad there is ultimately a happy ending to this story!!!

*hugs* I feel so bad you've had to go through this as I understand this pain first hand.
http://nadia.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv ... mID=143895

I'm really happy Stephen had possitive news for you! She is a truely beautiful cel

Maiko · Post by **Maiko** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:45 pm

That is easily one of the most horrifying cel-related stories I've heard in awhile. I'm so sorry you had to endure that aggravating and frustrating event; but wonderful news that the cel is going to be remade. If there is a bright side to all of this, at least it was a rilezu cel rather than a production cel, so that it can be remade for you. I'm so glad that Stephen and Madoka are so considerate as to do that for you.

Now to get it covered by the lousy Postal Service/Customs that are responsible for this in the first place. Good luck!

tex-chan · Post by **tex-chan** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:01 pm

Good luck with your claim, Gonzai! I hope you are able to get all of your money refunded. I'm also glad that you found out such wonderful news about the cel being remade for you ... and before you had to leave on your trip. It would have been horrible having to go out of town not knowing what would happen.

syan · Post by **syan** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:00 pm

I'm sorry that happened to your cel!! It is/was a pretty one too! Glad to know that it can be remade though! Hopefully the insurance claim will go through so you can get your money back for the ordeal you've had to go through.

Not Sir Phobos · Post by **Not Sir Phobos** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:52 am

Wow, I can't believe they just...destroyed it like that and sent it on like nothing happened

birdie · Post by **birdie** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:31 am

I can't believe they were able to cut through the taro board Stephen packs everything in.

Dreadful stuff. Thank the heavens you'll get a replacement. Still I hope they don't start cutting open flat packages with artwork written on them willy-nilly and excercise a little care....

RoboFlonne · Post by **RoboFlonne** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:18 pm

birdie wrote:I can't believe they were able to cut through the taro board Stephen packs everything in. Dreadful stuff. Thank the heavens you'll get a replacement. Still I hope they don't start cutting open flat packages with artwork written on them willy-nilly and excercise a little care....

I bet they saw the taro boards and said! BANZAI! And then dug into it with their box cutters! /wah

Ms. Poe · Post by **Ms. Poe** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:53 pm

OMGZ....It must be a trend. I just got a Mandy package today that arrived open, the cel bag torn to shreds, and the lime green US CUSTOMS tape sticking to everything inside -_-!

THANKFULLY nothing was damaged. As far as if anything is mssing from this huge sketch set...I don't know yet til I have time ot count it after I get back from work -_-! I hope to gawd the original Yami storyboards I have coming won't arrive in the same state @_@!!!

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:32 pm

I wonder what might be done to lessen the chance this happening to others? If anything.

majinuub · Post by **majinuub** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:56 pm

That's horrible!

I don't understand why they had to cut so deep into the box.
It's good to know that a new one is being made for you though.

I realized the more I collect cels, the more I start to dislike th PO since that is how I obtained the majority of my cels. It's bad enough they're giving me such a hassle for one of my packages lost in the mail and still cannot find it(which is the 1st time this has ever happened to me), but the thought of someone mailing a well packaged cel/s only to be damaged by someone who sloppily checks the contents and crams it back inside the package as if nothing happened is just frustrating.

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:47 pm

Ocassionally I see some of the people in the cargo facility(which is where the foriegn packages land) around the airport. I can talk to them and let them know that, if the box has a big ol' "Mandarake" sign printed on it, chances are it's going to be art-related and to be a tad more careful with it.

This is only for the San Francisco facility, though. If it goes through Los Angeles, Anchorage or any other facility, then there's nothing that can be done on my end...and that's, if they choose to listen. Some of them are rather 'gung-ho' about the job, with a "must find bad merchandise"(that's our term for it) mentality.