Someone stole my mic transformers…

[EarthTone]

Man guys… I just need to vent a little. I tend to get a little obsessive when I get really into something, and I had 6 new microphone DIY builds planned for this year along with a pair of upgrades for some DIY KM84’s I made a long time ago so I’d ordered 8 really high end custom made Neumann clone microphone transformers for all of these projects. So, the package finally arrived from Serbia on Monday, and some low life porch pirate immediately steals them from the lobby of my NYC apartment building after Fedex just left them there on the floor out in the open in front of the mailboxes for some reason instead of knocking on my *ground floor* apartment door to hand them to me… (I was home!) When I saw tracking said they’d been delivered I went out to check the mail but they were already gone. And you know the guy probably opened the box, took one look inside, and threw them into the garbage!! So frustrating… Package not insured for a particular reason… The cops don’t care so $1,500 just totally evaporated… Hoping Renter’s Insurance might help out a bit but… Man. I’m really bummed. I ain’t rich and that amount of dollars is a significant loss. Anyway. Feeling deflated but hopefully this works out with a positive spin somehow. I just can’t see it yet…

 

[rock soderstrom]

That really sucks and I hope you get it sorted out somehow! I'll spare you the question of why the parcel wasn't insured...you're always wiser with hindsight

 

[EarthTone]

That really sucks and I hope you get it sorted out somehow! I'll spare you the question of why the parcel wasn't insured...you're always wiser with hindsight

Thanks. Yes- I know it’s an obvious question. Well… I don’t know how much I should say on the forum, except that you can’t insure an international package when you are trying to also avoid… Certain… Extra charges of a particular governmental origin... If you happen catch a particular drift… In hindsight, indeed that is a risk I won’t ever take again.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Sorry to hear that. You get the government you (or the majority of your neighbors) vote for. Remember that in November.

 

[chrispbass]

Man guys… I just need to vent a little. I tend to get a little obsessive when I get really into something, and I had 6 new microphone DIY builds planned for this year along with a pair of upgrades for some DIY KM84’s I made a long time ago so I’d ordered 8 really high end custom made Neumann clone microphone transformers for all of these projects. So, the package finally arrived from Serbia on Monday, and some low life porch pirate immediately steals them from the lobby of my NYC apartment building after Fedex just left them there on the floor out in the open in front of the mailboxes for some reason instead of knocking on my *ground floor* apartment door to hand them to me… (I was home!) When I saw tracking said they’d been delivered I went out to check the mail but they were already gone. And you know the guy probably opened the box, took one look inside, and threw them into the garbage!! So frustrating… Package not insured for a particular reason… The cops don’t care so $1,500 just totally evaporated… Hoping Renter’s Insurance might help out a bit but… Man. I’m really bummed. I ain’t rich and that amount of dollars is a significant loss. Anyway. Feeling deflated but hopefully this works out with a positive spin somehow. I just can’t see it yet…

Forgive me if I’m stating the obvious, but are you 100% certain they were physically delivered to your address, and not just the parcel tracking suggesting they were?

I was in a similar position a short while back. I’d kept an eye on the international tracking over several days so knew roughly when my parcel was arriving and whilst I was out, the online tracking said it had been delivered. Got home, no package, no calling card, no email etc. Checked with my immediate neighbours and nothing. Checked all around the outside of the house (sometimes left in random places) and nothing. This was over a few hours and began to fear the worst. I checked the online tracking again, hoping for a system update…the package had been delivered to my address and that was that! I then double checked the tracking info again and went on the website of the last courier (there had been several different ones listed throughout its journey) and input the original tracking code not expecting it to be a recognisable format for that courier. Anyway, up popped a photo of my parcel delivered to a house several doors up the road to someone I don’t even know. Now, I’m sure they would have popped round and bought it to me, but without me going the ‘ electronic route’, (pretty obvious now )they would probably presume I had a card pushed through the door to tell me they had it and were waiting for me to collect.

 

[JohnRoberts]

This week I had a 40# package of garden manure/compost/potting soil delivered. The carrier just left it in my carport by the kitchen door. I wasn't ready to use it right away but was nervous to just leave it sitting out there. That would be another disappointed porch pirate.

Good luck, check your neighborhood dumpsters.

JR

 

[Anthon]

Forgive me if I’m stating the obvious, but are you 100% certain they were physically delivered to your address, and not just the parcel tracking suggesting they were?

I was in a similar position a short while back. I’d kept an eye on the international tracking over several days so knew roughly when my parcel was arriving and whilst I was out, the online tracking said it had been delivered. Got home, no package, no calling card, no email etc. Checked with my immediate neighbours and nothing. Checked all around the outside of the house (sometimes left in random places) and nothing. This was over a few hours and began to fear the worst. I checked the online tracking again, hoping for a system update…the package had been delivered to my address and that was that! I then double checked the tracking info again and went on the website of the last courier (there had been several different ones listed throughout its journey) and input the original tracking code not expecting it to be a recognisable format for that courier. Anyway, up popped a photo of my parcel delivered to a house several doors up the road to someone I don’t even know. Now, I’m sure they would have popped round and bought it to me, but without me going the ‘ electronic route’, (pretty obvious now )they would probably presume I had a card pushed through the door to tell me they had it and were waiting for me to collect.

Yes, the tracking is sometimes just wrong.
It might have been delivered to a wrong address. You should ask around.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Back in the 70s/80s I ran a mail order business and dealt with all kinds of delivery issues. I recall one missing package that didn't show up until spring when all the snow melted. A driver had thrown it over a fence into the back yard.

Another lost package of low noise transistors coming to me was missing for months. This was a problem because it was the entire inventory of those unique parts in the US. They were in a very small box and apparently fell off a package belt. It was only discovered months later during a clean up.

Now all the web tracking gives an appearance of control but sh__ still happens.

JR

 

[chrispbass]

Yes, the tracking is sometimes just wrong.
It might have been delivered to a wrong address. You should ask around.

Well it was a happy outcome for me but certainly feel for the OP. Not too long back, a card was usually left to tell you if a parcel was delivered to a neighbour or returned back to the depot, but that is getting rarer now with electronic tracking and the sheer volume of parcels many of the couriers have to deliver in a day.

 

[pucho812]

I had a similar event with Amazon recently. I ordered 4 x db25 - db25 cables. I received noticed they were left on my doorstep. They were nowhere to be found. I found my shipping box a day and a half later in the stairwell empty. Why someone would steal such stuff that is basically useless to them is beyond me but then again some folks are mean.
Luckily Amazon replaced it all without incident and when they left the box on my doorstep a second time, I got it.
It’s not the first time I have had folks steal when packages are left. It sucks people do that. I am just trying to be kind to the world, wish others would do the same.

I feel for you and hope this has a happy resolution.

 

[crazydoc]

I had a package delivered to the wrong house, but was able to find it because a photo was taken of the delivery that I was able to access and recognized the house a half mile down the road. You can try to see if a photo was taken by the delivery company (I know UPS and Fedex do this).

 

[Speedskater]

In olden times, our regular UPS driver would walk up the driveway and hide packages in the side door.
Now all the delivery people just throw the packages on the front porch. But some do take photos.

 

[EarthTone]

Forgive me if I’m stating the obvious, but are you 100% certain they were physically delivered to your address, and not just the parcel tracking suggesting they were?

I was in a similar position a short while back. I’d kept an eye on the international tracking over several days so knew roughly when my parcel was arriving and whilst I was out, the online tracking said it had been delivered. Got home, no package, no calling card, no email etc. Checked with my immediate neighbours and nothing. Checked all around the outside of the house (sometimes left in random places) and nothing. This was over a few hours and began to fear the worst. I checked the online tracking again, hoping for a system update…the package had been delivered to my address and that was that! I then double checked the tracking info again and went on the website of the last courier (there had been several different ones listed throughout its journey) and input the original tracking code not expecting it to be a recognisable format for that courier. Anyway, up popped a photo of my parcel delivered to a house several doors up the road to someone I don’t even know. Now, I’m sure they would have popped round and bought it to me, but without me going the ‘ electronic route’, (pretty obvious now )they would probably presume I had a card pushed through the door to tell me they had it and were waiting for me to collect.

Yes 100% sure, as I received a delivery photo of the package from Fedex, as well as security camera footage of the masked and hooded perpetrator who does not live in our building picking up and walking out of the doorway with the same exact shaped, colored, and marked package. The police accepted the evidence and made me a police report in hopes my renter’s insurance will help out partially.

 

[EarthTone]

Yes, the tracking is sometimes just wrong.
It might have been delivered to a wrong address. You should ask around.

No, I have a photo of it being delivered from Fedex as well as security camera footage of the same package being stolen. The police accepted this as evidence for my report.

 

[EarthTone]

I had a package delivered to the wrong house, but was able to find it because a photo was taken of the delivery that I was able to access and recognized the house a half mile down the road. You can try to see if a photo was taken by the delivery company (I know UPS and Fedex do this).

Yes it was. It matched the security camera footage I was able to obtain of the same package (visual ID) being stolen. Unfortunately the perpetrator was masked and hooded so pretty much impossible to identify

 

[EarthTone]

In olden times, our regular UPS driver would walk up the driveway and hide packages in the side door.
Now all the delivery people just throw the packages on the front porch. But some do take photos.

Yes, it’s gotten to be this way pretty much everywhere… Too bad.

 

[pucho812]

I have contemplated getting a door camera for my place. but what good is video footage of someone being a jerk when police will not do anything about it. After all I don't have stuff that is too expensive shipping to my place.

 

[chrispbass]

Yes 100% sure, as I received a delivery photo of the package from Fedex, as well as security camera footage of the masked and hooded perpetrator who does not live in our building picking up and walking out of the doorway with the same exact shaped, colored, and marked package. The police accepted the evidence and made me a police report in hopes my renter’s insurance will help out partially.

Well that really sucks and sorry to hear that.

 

[scott2000]

And you know the guy probably opened the box, took one look inside, and threw them into the garbage!!

Unless there was an invoice in there. May try to hock them somewhere if so...
Sorry you have to deal with this.

 

[EarthTone]

Unless there was an invoice in there. May try to hock them somewhere if so...
Sorry you have to deal with this.

True… Yeah. Thanks for the consolation… It actually helps.

I gotta say, almost equally frustrating has been trying to get a copy of the police report in NYC. Cops at the scene tell me wait three days then go to their precinct about 4 miles round trip from my apartment to get the report #. Tried to call several times as I figure there must be someone who can just tell me the number and they even have a dial-tone to select for that option, no one ever picked up, no public subway or bus really goes directly there and my bike is broken & no car so I walked it. Police give me this mysterious number handwritten on a piece of official NYPD letterhead note paper and tell me to go to this 24-hour office called One Police Plaza in lower Manhattan. No phone number is listed for this place, but Google Maps confirms what the police said which is that it is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. So after gym time tonight I decided to trek over there on the subway and see about it. I get there around 10:30pm, and of course the entire place is totally locked at the gate. An officer saw me standing there looking confused and came over with a piece of paper and a handwritten note of instructions telling him what to regurgitate to anyone who asks about getting copies of police reports. He gives me a number to call to make an appointment to get the police report printed during office hours which are of course not 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and a link to a website where he said I could request the police report but also would not be able to print it out myself so would still need to make the appointment and come back to One Police Plaza again to pick it up which is literally an hour away from my apartment in each direction. I visited the website he gave me which did not seem to pertain to police reports, more like a way to request civil records or something, although I did submit a request for… Something??

Is everything everywhere else as screwed up as it is in NYC, or is living in NYC really just as awful as I think it is at this point? This is my 20th year living in this town. I really think it might be my last… I mean it’s 2024 and the NYPD is making it borderline impossible to obtain something as a simple police report about a package theft… I mean this is some archaic 1980’s pre-computers crap I am encountering trying to simply interact with them on their terms.

And oh yeah, State Farm will not consider a theft claim on renter’s insurance without a police report. So you have to get one.

Sorry guys I just have to vent about this to someone… Figured some of our like minds may be able to relate.