
You would probably think twice before sending hundred-dollar bills to someone internationally, but is sending collectible trading cards in the mail as risky?
A reader said two packages he sent overseas were tampered with - his international buyers reported receiving his packages but with different cards inside than those they had ordered.
"One package to Israel was received with a totally different set of cards inside," the seller said. "The correct cards were mailed and double-checked before the package was mailed, and the customs form on the package indicated the correct number of cards inside."
However, when the buyer in Israel got the package, "it was a different number of cards and they were all totally different from what was ordered."
A second package to a customer in France was missing 24 cards out of 115 cards that the seller had mailed.
"Since the packages were to two different countries, the odds are the problem is within the US customs inspection in NY," the seller surmised, "but there's no place to report issues with customs and no one to contact to complain," he said.
The tampering could have happened before the packages reached customs, however.
In that case, the perpetrator was alleged to have stolen the package; tampering can be more devious, since buyers and sellers are more likely to point the finger at each other than go looking for postal or customs employees.
We hope this is not a new trend. If you've had items stolen or tampered with between the time you mail them and the time they're received, let us know.