A Morning Story of Fail

So I recently did something rather stupid. I don't know if this has ever happened to anyone else.
I almost don't want to talk about it but I feel like I should share.

I know that being a blogger/collector involves trading with others and that, sometimes, I send out multiple envelopes/packages at a time. When I send out envelopes, whether trades or TTM requests, I prefer to use the kind that are already sticky as opposed to the ones that you need to lick. Like I said, since I occasionally send out five or ten at a time, I prefer to avoid all of that licking glue. Maybe I liked to do that in grade school, but no longer...

I sent out four or five trade envelopes on Monday and on Wednesday received an email follow up from a fellow Orioles collector that I have successfully traded with in the past. He received my envelope; great success, right? Wrong. It was empty.
The post office had placed it in one of those clear mailers which signifies that something got screwed up between point A and point B; if you've never had the pleasure to receive one, be happy. The adhesive backing was still on the envelope I sent meaning that dumb-dumb here forgot to seal it. Nice one me! Way to go, now that's how to send out a trade package.

Luckily for me, this story seems to have a happy ending. I was able to somehow track down the cards at the main Baltimore post-office. I got the number to call from the USPS website and was transferred a few times before reaching the claims department. The very helpful lady asked what I was looking for and I listed the missing cards. She seemed a little confused that I was trying to track down signed baseball cards but I doubt it's the strangest request she has ever received. After stepping away from the phone for a minute, the woman told me that she had the cards and would mail them back to me. Truly amazing! For all of the complaints that we have about the postal service and it's shortcomings, this is a story of it's triumph. Now the condition of the cards remain to be seen, as does my ability to seal future envelopes but for now, things are coming up Ryan!



Disclaimer: envelope picture is not mine