Goodbye Sealed Pokerman

[Tulpa | 3,526]

7 hours ago, Tyree_Cooper said:

Though it looks like they gave themselves immunity - obviously. It would be good to see an official letter where they say this clearly, just so we all know there's nothing we can do and save our energy next time it happens.

It's called sovereign immunity. It's a basic tenet of government that you can't sue them unless they say you can sue them. Not just for customs, but basically anything.

[DarkTone | 987]

Jesus. That's messed up. 

[tidaldreams | 654]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:22 PM, inasuma said:

seriously now? we're cheering on customs shredding games now? there's basically no scenario where customs destroying personal property should be acceptable. for shame.

US customs lets you file a claim in the event of destroyed property. also it's not $10.5k, closer to $2k based on recent sold comps.

 

nuh uh you can quote the reliable source that is IGN and get the full 10.5k

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Can you imagine trying to explain to the government about how your perfect condition childs toy that is un-useable is actually worth 500x the original price because you cant use it

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

14 hours ago, RH said:

Insurance should make no difference in how an item is handled by customs.

And I, good sir, agree with you.

What would have made the difference is if they used a shipping company like DHL or FedEx. Granted that it costs more going into Canada, as there are custom charges ahoy. But both also have me experience zero issues when I have either ship my items from either Hong Kong or Japan. Versus my time using EMS, which resulted in a few packages looking like they were inspected.

All insurance will do is cover a percentage of the graded game's estimated value. Which should help buffer some of the "injury" this did while USPS was responsible for the package.

I mean... It's not like anybody here is expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

6 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

Can you imagine trying to explain to the government about how your perfect condition childs toy that is un-useable is actually worth 500x the original price because you cant use it

Yeah, I can, just like I imagine them understanding how money that they issued that's similarly encased so it can't be spent is worth more than the face value that's printed/stamped on it.  The government absolutely understands what collectibles are, they just try to cheap out when they're on the hook for the value, just like insurance companies.  When they want to take something from you, however, they're suddenly experts in the field regarding rarity, value, etc.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

4 hours ago, darkchylde28 said:

Yeah, I can, just like I imagine them understanding how money that they issued that's similarly encased so it can't be spent is worth more than the face value that's printed/stamped on it.  The government absolutely understands what collectibles are, they just try to cheap out when they're on the hook for the value, just like insurance companies.  When they want to take something from you, however, they're suddenly experts in the field regarding rarity, value, etc.

Who is “they”? The customs agent that gets paid minimum wage? 

”They” don’t understand anything but bureaucracy lol not a nerds perceived value. 
 

Do you know what imminent domain is? The government can literally take your house. The idea that they are “cheaping out” or even remotely care about a collectible coming through customs (that can still serve its intended purpose after inspection)  is pretty funny. 
 

Keep fighting the good fight against the collectible inspection industrial complex though. Im with you

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

35 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Who is “they”? The customs agent that gets paid minimum wage? 

”They” don’t understand anything but bureaucracy lol not a nerds perceived value. 
 

Do you know what imminent domain is? The government can literally take your house. The idea that they are “cheaping out” or even remotely care about a collectible coming through customs (that can still serve its intended purpose after inspection)  is pretty funny. 
 

Keep fighting the good fight against the collectible inspection industrial complex though. Im with you

The government in general, just like you specifically mentioned.  Like I said, when it comes time to take your stuff, they suddenly understand that those things have value, typically rating it as high as possible.  When it comes to paying out, though, they're suddenly clueless, much like most insurance companies who are happy to accept premiums but usually reject all claims the first time so they don't have to pay out.

Do I think Johnny Customs Inspector knows diddly about collectibles?  Only if he's into them.  The higher ups in that organization?  Most likely, but only because they've had complaints and threats of people suing them over similar situations before.  I believe everybody would know, and quickly, if citizens we're able to take action directly when these things happened instead of having to jump through departmental hoops or seek Federal approval for a lawsuit.  I also think that such a suit would help establish a baseline on what such collectibles are actually worth in the real world, outside of collector's circles, but I can't say if that would skew high or low on the value scale.

As this point virtually everyone has seen or heard of graded items I'd some type, typically sports cards, and as such, the customs agent(s) most likely recognized what it was they had, and that someone felt it held value, but didn't understand what that value was.  Nor care.