The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => MLP Nirvana => Topic started by: SoSilver on February 20, 2012, 01:54:54 PM
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I am actually crying right now.
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:yikes: OMG that's horrible! :yikes: Did that happen in customs?? :yikes:
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Wow, that really sucks :( At least the pony looks ok, just pop her head back on :) Still, that's just wrong.
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OMG what happend!!!!
Poor little pony and poor you! You must be so sad.
You have to make a claim to the one how did that! They can't just break your stuff and give them to you in such shape! That is criminal!
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! That's awful. If they really needed to look inside the pony, did they really need to destroy the box??? :argh:
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What the blink? :blink: I'm so sorry, Silver. I can imagine you feel gutted right now.
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Oh no not Venezuelan Cherry! I'm so sorry, bet you are devastated right now : (
I'm horrified that they ripped the boxes apart too, truly awful. I had a package ripped apart by customs, it was taped back together really carelessly and the package was open when it got to me... Sending you big hugs x
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Oh no!!
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Wow her hair looks beautiful... but that is terrible =/ i bet you don't even get an appology.
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I'm so sorry sosilver...
I don't see why they are so harsh on any sort of packaging, especially vintage packing. even more, don't we have technology good enough where they don't need to be popping off the head of these things.
I hope there is something you can do....
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And that is why I don't ship to Italy
freaking idots at customs
wow sosilver this is just terrible
so sad for you...... :cry:
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Poor cherries.. Did you write the seller to let them know what happened? That is absolutely terrible.
Does her head go back on easy enough?
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oh no sosilver!!!!!!!! :(
love pkw xxx
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Sending you lots of love!
Those pictures make me want to cry! :(
She is still a beautiful pony. <3
File a claim and give customs all kinds of noise!
<3<3<3<3
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Hey everyone...
I'm pretty devastated now...
The boxes are at my parents right now and i wil see them tomorrow.
The thing is that there was another pony with Cherries...a blue Cotton Candy that now does not have a head anymore.
Gosh, i am starting to cry again.
Only tomorrow i will see them and see if Cherries is damaged and what i can do with the boxes.
The thing is that they were coming from Venezuela and the seller did not wrote a description on the shipping form apparently..
And those idiots at the custom searching for drugs ripped all the poor ponies and boxes...
I am really devastated...
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OMG!
I so feel with you!!
Was there at least a note from customs?
Normally they can also scan things to make sure there is nothing inside the ponies... oh man!
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They just add a note telling the box was open for a check...
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REALLY?????????
:enraged: :enraged: :enraged:
Sorry ffor the caps, but, this is so horrible!!! I'm so sorry about this, hun.
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They didn't gave back the head of blue cotton candy?!
Omg that makes me so mad! How can they just be so wreckless with stuff from other people and get away with it?! If i was you i will call them and explain and demand a solution for your loose. Espacialy when it is woth that mutch! Pffff i just want to shake that people amd jell at them 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU'
I am so sorry for you :hug: :hug: :hug:
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They kept the head of Cotton Candy too??!! :yikes:
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Yep, i now have a headless CC...
Going to sleep...or at least i will try...
Hugs and thank you all for the support.
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Oh my goodness darling, I'm so sorry! That's horrible! I don't even know what I would say... Poor Cotton Candy - how could they have kept her head?! And the seller is partly at fault for not writing a description on the box, though that in no way gets customs off the hoof for the grotesque treatment of collectable items. Was there any type of insurance purchased for the package?
{{{hugs}}} Hope most of it is salvageable. Please keep us posted. :hug:
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OMG! That is insane =0. I've heard of how Italy can be strict about what comes into the country, but never imagined they could be that careless with packages at customs! I'm so sorry SS! Hope you can get Cotton Candy's head back at least. I'm glad you got your South African CC in one piece. Yikes!
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You poor, poor thing! I would be in tears, too. That's so awful...I can't imagine :( You'd think if they were going to open something to look that they'd be much more careful! How thoughtless and careless! I don't know what rights you have with the customs people - but that is sooooo ridiculous! Hugs to you, sweetie!
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Why do customs officials always tear apart the Venezuela ponies?! I remember something similar happening to a US collector who bought the yellow and reddish version of Venezuela CJ several months ago. At least that one was loose, but the head had been removed from a display-only pony. I said the same thing back then: Don't they have drug-sniffing dogs for this sort of thing?! Sorry, Silver. Go raise some h*ll with customs.
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*Big hugs*
Bigmlpfan xx
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oooooooh Noooooooo!!! :-( there just are no words
sending you huge hugs, hon = I am so sorry and I hope that the seller can set things right for you!
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OMG. That is horrible! :(
Alot of drugs do come out of Venezuela, but that is no excuse for ripping off a pony head!
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Dear Italy customs;
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Sosilver, that sucks :( and they kept cotton candy's head? WTF, why?! :blink: :cloud: :sad: :yikes: here, you need a hug :hug:
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:yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes:
aww sosilver, that's terrible! :hugs:
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!!! I am so sorry this has happened!!! I would be so upset too :( Have you tried contacting the seller to ask why they didnt write a proper description on there?
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Oh my god. That is AWFUL. You need to write a MAJOR complaint to customs - they need to reimburse you for the cost of what they destroyed and for what they TOOK. That is absolutely unacceptable.
I'm SO sorry, honey. :( *HUGS*
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*big hugs*
That's terrible!! Me in your place will rise H*LL against customs!!
WHAT DOES THEY THINK?! That people is stupid enought to send drugs in the mail?! And in a collectible over $100.00 and IN BOX?!
I'm so sorry for this, SS, I hope you can do something against customs ;_;
What does they think ripping boxes apart?! And not returning your full package?!
But even if the seller DID NOT write a full description, a lot of time the most we write is a "toy collectible", where's the full reason to ripping a package without the owners knowing?
I feel your pain, SS.
Edit to correct writing =P
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The thing is that there was another pony with Cherries...a blue Cotton Candy that now does not have a head anymore.
:dropjaw: completly out-rage-ous... and my rage is OUT!!
unbelievable
total shock
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I keep having horrible visions of the customs officers sitting in their office laughing with Cotton Candy's head stuck on a pencil at their desk. :yikes: I'm going to have pony nightmares tonight... :sad:
Oh SoSilver, again - I'm so sorry!!!!!
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omygosh!!! this is so horrible!!! I am sooo sorry!!! If there is anything we can do to help let us know! I'd bake you a bunch of cookies but i think the customs guys would eat them!!! O gosh i hope that's not what happened to her poor head!!! :< Cotton candy is not real CANDY!!!! they probably would be that stupid. :/
much love to you! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
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Seeing your new ponies like this is breaking my heart. I am so incredibly sorry this happened to you SoSilver. Knowing how upset you are is making me cry. I wish there was something I could do to fix this for you. Someone needs to answer for what they did to your beautiful ponies. This is just devastating, and so unnecessary. I am so sorry SoSilver, there are no words.
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There certanly are no words.... Just horribly, and I am really sorry that this happened to you! :cry: I would be in tears as well if I were you. I hope you somehow can at least get Cotton Candy's head back...
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I just can't believe this, it is too upsetting, I would be crying too, it is so awful. How can they possibly do that?!! *hugs for you*
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I'm so sorry sosilver...
I don't see why they are so harsh on any sort of packaging, especially vintage packing. even more, don't we have technology good enough where they don't need to be popping off the head of these things.
I hope there is something you can do....
THIS. How dare they!? If it were me, I would sue them for damages. And you know what? You should. You'd be within your rights, and you'd WIN too. They had NO reason to do that, it was TOTALLY uncalled for, and a simple XRAY scan would have showed that there was nothing offensive in that box. I am SO sorry they did that to you. At least the pony looks undamaged past being beheaded...pop er head back on and give her a hug. May as well now that she's free, right? :hug:
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Why do customs officials always tear apart the Venezuela ponies?! I remember something similar happening to a US collector who bought the yellow and reddish version several months ago. At least that one was loose, but the head had been removed from a display-only pony.
Yep, that was me. My yellow CJ arrived with her head off, but she wasn't in an original box so popping her head back in wasn't a big deal.
SoSilver, I'm so sorry!! :hug: Is there any sort of insurance protection to make up for the loss? I can't understand why they would keep the head of a pony... that's just beyond ridiculous. I hope you can get some sort of resolution with this. :hug:
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WHAT DOES THEY THINK?! That people is stupid enought to send drugs in the mail?! And in a collectible over $100.00 and IN BOX?!
Unfortunately, yes. All the time. Especially coming out of countries bordering Colombia (#1 exporter of coca products), so our customs agents are especially suspicious of packages coming in from those countries. I guess the War on Drugs has claimed another victim :huh: This is the unfortunate risk of dealing with the trade rules and reputations of certain countries. The seller in this case should have filled out the shipping form, of course, but customs agents on our end will rip something apart at the seams if they get a false positive reading on a trace chemical test or a hit from a dog.
I'm so sorry that this happened :( I would be livid!
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At least the pony looks undamaged past being beheaded...pop er head back on and give her a hug. May as well now that she's free, right? :hug:
if you read his later post you will see that he also had a blue CC (not pictured) in the package who is now missing her head
a total and utter tragedy
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ugh, Customs should know what drugs and what not look like by now. Maybe there's some sort of compensation you can get? Blame customs and those people customs have to keep an eye out for. Customs are suppose to know what's what, especially with ponies being around for so long they should figure it's a collectible and not a vessel for drugs... Mostly.
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WHAT DOES THEY THINK?! That people is stupid enought to send drugs in the mail?! And in a collectible over $100.00 and IN BOX?!
Unfortunately, yes. All the time. Especially coming out of countries bordering Colombia (#1 exporter of coca products), so our customs agents are especially suspicious of packages coming in from those countries. I guess the War on Drugs has claimed another victim :huh: This is the unfortunate risk of dealing with the trade rules and reputations of certain countries. The seller in this case should have filled out the shipping form, of course, but customs agents on our end will rip something apart at the seams if they get a false positive reading on a trace chemical test or a hit from a dog.
I'm so sorry that this happened :( I would be livid!
Too true, I am so sorry this happened to you So Silver. I do hope you get some satisfaction from them.
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I can't imagine how awful you must feel. Is there a chance that you can file a claim with Italian customs?
{{{SoSilver}}}
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*huge hugs* I'm so sorry! D: I hope that there's something you can do, something that can be done. At the very least some kind of monetary compensation. T___T Ughgggghhh. I feel so sick just reading this. ;_____; I can't believe it!
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This makes me SO ANGRY!!!! First off those ponies must have cost a fortune! Did you pay with paypal? Can you file a claim? I am so very sorry this happened to you SoSilver. This makes me so MAD!!!! You have got to try to pursue a refund!!!!!!! Pony hugs Darlin'. I can't imagine what you are going through!!! :enraged: :yikes: :enraged: :yikes: :enraged: :yikes: :enraged: :yikes: :enraged: :yikes:
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This is horrible! I hope you find some way to get your money back. Those ponies are priceless. Why in God's name did customs keep Cotton Candy's head. I hope they give back Cotton Candy's head. I wish I could do something to help you. This is just...so..sad. :/
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I doubt that the customs officials kept Ven CC's head as a trophy; I really think they were just being completely careless. Look at the way they ripped apart the packaging. Even if they felt compelled to open it to check for smuggled items, they could have been much more careful and done much less damage. That's no excuse, of course; I'm just trying to understand how it happened. My guess is that poor Ven CC's head has been lost and/or thrown away. Such a waste and a shame.
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I actually feel physically sick right now.
You should definitely file a claim, and explain the value of it all.
Would they smash an old artistic sculpture too, just to check for drugs? I doubt it.
They could have done so many things, that didn't involve this massacre.
I am so so so sorry for what happened to you, and your ponies.
I hope a nasty, painful disease hits that customs office.
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The same thing happened to someone from New Zealand, I think? I remember the thread on the old board.
This is horrible :( There is no excuse for the carelessness, looking for drugs or not. I will never understand why they need to take the heads off? Don't they have scanners and like someone else said, dogs and other things. Do they arbitrarily open destroy a certain percentage of packages? It seems like such a waste of time to me, on their part. And then there is the fallout of what they do :(
I'm so sorry :hug:
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I am so sorry this happened to you, it makes me so sad. I hope that CJ is salvageable and that maybe by some miracle Cotton Candy's head can be found. Poor ponies :(
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That's absolutely awful!! I suppose I can understand if the seller did not write a description that they would perhaps open the boxes and have a drug dog sniff them or put them through X-Ray or some type of substance detection scanner but RIP THE PONIES OPEN? THEN NOT EVEN PUT THE HEAD BACK OF THE OTHER ONE???
OH GOD. D: I actually felt a little nauseous reading this. It probably shouldn't affect me that much but I just feel terrible.
I would totally be crying too if that happened to me, I totally get it!! It's awful :( I hope you can at least put in an angry phone call and ask for them to try and look for the head of it, but they probably would just be like 'lolsry'. Just keep pestering them or something, don't give up!!
Now I understand even more why people refuse to deal with Italian customs. They're absolutely brutal and seem to have no care for anyone's items... I'm so so sorry and I hope you can at least talk to the seller or something. :hug:
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I will never understand why they need to take the heads off? Don't they have scanners and like someone else said, dogs and other things. Do they arbitrarily open destroy a certain percentage of packages? It seems like such a waste of time to me, on their part.
Sorry, I should clarify. They will scan the box or its contents with a trace chemical scanner or they will have a dog sniff it. If either test indicates that there *might* be trace elements of drugs or explosives, the customs agents will take the item apart looking for whatever they think is in there. I have no idea why x-rays won't suffice for the job, I guess they assume that they can't always see hidden contraband. I don't mean to get into the details too much, but I study criminology and deviance :P First world countries illegally export weapons and import drugs/trafficked humans & animals. Sadly, legitimate mail gets caught up in this stuff when it shouldn't :( This is why insurance is really important. The missing pony head is just cruel on the part of the customs people and I think an official complaint would be totally warranted.
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SoSilver my heart is breaking for you, this is so terrible! :hug:
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Sosilver I am SO sorry for this! :( This is awful!
Even if the test had come back sketch, they need to be careful with opening the packages! I feel they just tore the crap out of it! Obviously it's going to someone, so someone has spent money on it. The item does not belong to them, so they should treat it with the up most respect! There HAS to be something you can do to fight this! I feel you are entitled for them to cover your loses!
[Slight edit for language --- Thanks, LadyG]
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WHAT DOES THEY THINK?! That people is stupid enought to send drugs in the mail?! And in a collectible over $100.00 and IN BOX?!
Unfortunately, yes. All the time. Especially coming out of countries bordering Colombia (#1 exporter of coca products), so our customs agents are especially suspicious of packages coming in from those countries. I guess the War on Drugs has claimed another victim :huh: This is the unfortunate risk of dealing with the trade rules and reputations of certain countries. The seller in this case should have filled out the shipping form, of course, but customs agents on our end will rip something apart at the seams if they get a false positive reading on a trace chemical test or a hit from a dog.
I'm so sorry that this happened :( I would be livid!
*speechless* I don't know how it works in other countries, but at least in Mexico a lot of times it's required to close the box/package AT the office to check there's nothing illegal on it ;_; (With envelopes there's no problem usually, but with boxes sometimes). Not always is required a custom note when declared at the office as gift (in fact, I think I've only needed one..., and because I was asked for insurance).
I knew about people sending with other methods less secure to ID the person could receive illegal products (arriving to a PO box), but not at the address...
And shouldn't custom officers open the package in the presence of the package receiver so to 'arrest' if he was receiving something illegal instead of just ripping apart completely safe products without the owners knowledge? ;_; (Maybe I'm a hopeless dreamer with customs and drugs agents doing a decent job...). And even if they WERE doing a good job... then why so much drug and weapons passes in the eyes of officers with them doing nothing? Isn't that way too fishy to not find out drugs/weapons and instead rip apart and destroy completely legal stuff? I can't understand it ;_;
This whole thing is making me really angry and sad and afraid to want to send things ;_;
And have to learn to write on the package what's inside always ;_;
I still will not call the seller an idiot, how do we know all the customs rules in all the different countries of the world to know all the requisites at each country? And more if you weren't required to fill a custom fill on your country while sending it?
Careless, yes. It is an expensive sale and should have taken more caution and writing down all about the package content, in a way of "I prefere to exagerate on this than have problems..., even if it can means package detained at customs and buyer have to pay custom fees...", but also maybe he never had problems before and went sending the package the usual way he did, believing everything will go smooth -as always-.
Did he filled a custom form from Venezuela? Or was a plain 'gift' package with nothing written and no custom form attached?
Again SS, I'm so sorry this have happened to you *big hugs*
BlackCourtains, I remember something like that, wasn't it with a MOC Greek Pony?
Can't remember who it belonged to, nor the end of the story, but unfortunately it seems it's not something rare to just destroy collectibles at customs ;_;
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I'm crying because of what happened to you, Sosilver. It's so terrible that this happened. =(
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I am sorry SS, that is HORRIBLE! And BARBARIC! :cry: Did you talk to customs yet and see if they can look for Cotton Candy's head? I just don't understand why it is so dang difficult to open the package nicely, slide it out, check the ponies if they must then put them back together. I mean Good Grief, no pride there, no integrity and no care whatsoever!
Which seller was it that sent the ponies? Maybe they can help you out?
I always write down what is in a package, when I send it overseas! maybe I need to write more now I am thinking now for myself and my own protection cause usually I write "kids toy" or Childs toy on my customs form, what do you all think? I have heard horror stories about putting the word pony on a customs form too, so I am confused, do you put down "Plastic horse in box?"
Gosh SS I am just so sorry that happend to you :huh: Big hugs my friend :hug:
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Oh SoSilver, that is absolutely heartbreaking, I'm so sorry for you :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Angelponies - I was wondering this too, what does everyone think is best to write on a customs form for an item like this? Would it be safer to ask a seller to remove the pony from the box and pack it separately in the box?
SoSilver - When you receive the ponies take tonnes photos of EVERYTHING, every angle of the damaged boxes, the packaging they arrived in and photos from the seller of what they looked like before the damage. You need to gather your evidence to fight back...
And I so agree with the person that said pop Cherries back on and give her an almighty hug xxx
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Oh Silver! This is completely horrific! I am so sorry you must be devastated...
A formal complaint - re the damage but specifically the missing pony head is a must - its horrible that they would treat an item this way in any situation but to be so careless as not to return all the pieces is disgraceful
Wish to luck getting some kind of recompense from them
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Couldn't sleep thinking of the money i've lost and the ponies i've sold to get them.
Today i'll take a day off from work and i will try to get some more information and possibly a solution even if i really doubt it.
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Don't give up hope!
The squeaky wheel always gets the grease!!
<3<3
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Couldn't sleep thinking of the money i've lost and the ponies i've sold to get them.
Today i'll take a day off from work and i will try to get some more information and possibly a solution even if i really doubt it.
:hug: :hug: :hug:
Good for you to try and think of a solution, I hope you can make a complaint. Do you have PayPal records of how much you paid so you can evidence how much of a loss they have caused you?
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Can someone clarify - is this something the venezuela customs did, or the italian customs?
Did the seller do anything wrong?
Or don't we know any this yet?
If an official note was left from the customs it should be possible to see if it was venezuela or italy...?
If it's italy customs messing things up again, I guess sellers will be even less willing to ship to italy now.
If it's venezuela customs, that will affect us all. I fear we will hear more stories like this as many people have packages in the mail right now containing venezuela ponies...
I keep having horrible visions of the customs officers sitting in their office laughing with Cotton Candy's head stuck on a pencil at their desk.
..
That's what I was thinking. :lookround:
Or, that poor head lying around in a corner of the dirty floor among general litter and clutter in some godforsaken customs back room.
:|
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Oh no, that's terrible! :( I've just bought a boxed pony from Venezuela, and I was already worried about customs. I've heard of it happening with other South American ponies as well. I really hope you are able to get some kind of resolution from customs, but I'm guessing they're not easy to work with.
I don't think they'll be laughing and using the head as a trophy - I suspect they were just really uncaring and it probably rolled off on the floor somewhere. Not that it helps though; it still isn't with the pony!
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i thought it was bad when i first saw the thread last night and now i look again and see more it is WORSE!
i am SO sorry sosilver :(
i am also very sorry to say similar things have happened before, someone had a very expensive MOC greek pony ripped off the card and the pony's head ripped off :( i know some on who had a pony sliced with a knife by customs and the heads ripped off.
i understand customs doing there job to protect us, but for goodness sake this is too much.
love pkw xxx
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I am so sorry to read and see this *hugs* I hope you get some sort of refund/apology from customs and I'm wishing and hoping CC's head shows up too xxx
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I am so sorry SoSilver to hear what an awful thing happened to such beautiful ponies. i hope you can get something good out of fighting back! :hug:
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I always write down what is in a package, when I send it overseas! maybe I need to write more now I am thinking now for myself and my own protection cause usually I write "kids toy" or Childs toy on my customs form, what do you all think? I have heard horror stories about putting the word pony on a customs form too, so I am confused, do you put down "Plastic horse in box?"
I would put 'Vintage collectible toy' or something similar, that at least implies its worth.
Good luck, SS. Let us know if there's anything we can help with! (Any Italian lawyers lurking?)
*hugs*
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I'm so sorry SS! It's horrifying to see/hear about this especially since those nirvanas were rare and priceless! I hope you have luck fighting back!
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wow...i have no words...such a treasure and they just killed it....i am so sorry for you sosilver, i know it doesn't help you anything.... just..wow.... :(
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:cry: This is sickening! I'm so sorry and I hope you can get some kind of compensation. :cry:
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I am so sorry that this has happened to you. This is horrible! Why did they have to destroy the contents of your packages? And they lost Cotton Candy's head?! It is sickening. I hope you can find some kind of resolution. :hug:
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Hi everybody,
I never thought I would have to write these lines, but unfortunately, as I am a responsible and honest seller and collector, I'm doing it.
Sadly, I am the seller of the Sosilver destroyed ponies. I have ten years collecting, buying and selling toys, and this is the first time something like that happened to me.
But you know that this is not my fault, you know that no seller is responsible for the damage done by customs. Do you think that having placed a full description or declared them by a lower price would have prevented the destruction?
I have sent a lot of ponies to several forum members and all arrived safely, but I don't know what's going on right now. I even took several pictures from the shipping progress on the Fedex office. Maybe the customs heard about a drug-filled pony?
Even so, I'm offering to him all the help I can bring. I'm even offering to replace one of the ponies for free. If that's not enough help and support, I don't know what it is.
I've heard horror stories about the Italian customs. I even have some fellow collectors that simply don't send stuff there because of the way they treat the packages.
I feel very bad about this whole situation.
Thanks,
Juan Carlos
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Thanks for letting us know.
It's not your fault though. Like you said, the italian customs are notorious for problems like this.
I hope the buyer can work things out with the customs, they are the ones responsible.
But it's very nice of you to offer.
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That is soooo nice of you to offer to replace one of the ponies. I think that sosilver will greatly appreciate that.
As a fellow collector I am sure you can understand the grief that we can all feel by seeing a MIB pony destroyed.
I think the only safe way is to have the items insured for damages in shipping.
It looks like anything out of the south american countries is now being suspected for drugs.
Terrible thing for both the buyer and seller to experience for sure.
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Figurasdeaccion - I don't think there would have honestly been anything you could have done. It wasn't your fault that customs tore open the boxes and took apart the ponies, losing the head. *shudder* That treatment has nothing to do with the seller, and honestly I don't know if it's even preventable sadly.
Was the package insured? I don't know how it works to insure a package internationally, but I've learned the hard way that if the package has a value of at least $50, insure it. Even then, it's a pain to get the postal services to cover the expenses lost.
I'm so sorry for both of you in this situation. I hope that there is something that customs is willing to do to cover the damages, but sadly I fear that Cotton Candy's head is lost for good. :cry:
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Oh my gosh that is horrible SS!
I just wanna cry looking at her because I can only imagine how you feel... :(
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OMG! poor little pony! :yikes:
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So Silver, I am so truly sorry for you. Hugs xxx
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Still here to figure out something but it's a mess of a situation...
Figurasdeaccion, i've never thought it was your fault.
Thank you.
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I'm so sorry. I really hope you can get some sort of compensation . Poor ponies :(
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I am late to read this, but SoSilver I am sorry beyond words to hear about what happened. To both you and figurasdeaccion, it is truly sad that people who are innocently sending a toy collectible are penalized due to drug smugglers out there. I hope you get some kind of response from customs. BIG HUGS.
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Still here to figure out something but it's a mess of a situation...
Figurasdeaccion, i've never thought it was your fault.
Thank you.
Are you feeling any better SoSilver? :hug:
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Hi everybody,
I never thought I would have to write these lines, but unfortunately, as I am a responsible and honest seller and collector, I'm doing it.
Sadly, I am the seller of the Sosilver destroyed ponies. I have ten years collecting, buying and selling toys, and this is the first time something like that happened to me.
But you know that this is not my fault, you know that no seller is responsible for the damage done by customs. Do you think that having placed a full description or declared them by a lower price would have prevented the destruction?
I have sent a lot of ponies to several forum members and all arrived safely, but I don't know what's going on right now. I even took several pictures from the shipping progress on the Fedex office. Maybe the customs heard about a drug-filled pony?
Even so, I'm offering to him all the help I can bring. I'm even offering to replace one of the ponies for free. If that's not enough help and support, I don't know what it is.
I've heard horror stories about the Italian customs. I even have some fellow collectors that simply don't send stuff there because of the way they treat the packages.
I feel very bad about this whole situation.
Thanks,
Juan Carlos
First of all, I cannot BELIEVE that customs treated the ponies so horribly! I'm assuming that the customs slip had at least some approximation of the value...so why would these people be so horribly careless and destructive?
Secondly, Figurasdeaccion, it's great that you came on to the board to comment on this thread. I agree with you that regardless of what you wrote on the customs slip (unless it was 'drug filled pony', LOL), the customs agents would still treat the ponies with the same amount of disrespect. It's very nice of you to offer to help fix the problem, though!
:hug: Figurasdeaccion and SoSilver
It would be great if you could find a way to make customs pay for damages!
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Can someone clarify - is this something the venezuela customs did, or the italian customs?
Did the seller do anything wrong?
Or don't we know any this yet?
Italian customs did this, as the item arrived into their custody. Customs agents don't really check up much on outgoing packages from their countries.
The seller did not label the pony on the customs form, but even if he had, this still could have happened. Labels don't mean anything to customs agents.
And no matter what, if you're receiving a pony from another country, you must be prepared for customs agents to open boxes. But taking the ponies' heads off and then losing one of them and not putting them back on is just unacceptable destruction of property.
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Hi everybody,
I never thought I would have to write these lines, but unfortunately, as I am a responsible and honest seller and collector, I'm doing it.
Sadly, I am the seller of the Sosilver destroyed ponies. I have ten years collecting, buying and selling toys, and this is the first time something like that happened to me.
But you know that this is not my fault, you know that no seller is responsible for the damage done by customs. Do you think that having placed a full description or declared them by a lower price would have prevented the destruction?
I have sent a lot of ponies to several forum members and all arrived safely, but I don't know what's going on right now. I even took several pictures from the shipping progress on the Fedex office. Maybe the customs heard about a drug-filled pony?
Even so, I'm offering to him all the help I can bring. I'm even offering to replace one of the ponies for free. If that's not enough help and support, I don't know what it is.
I've heard horror stories about the Italian customs. I even have some fellow collectors that simply don't send stuff there because of the way they treat the packages.
I feel very bad about this whole situation.
Thanks,
Juan Carlos
juan,
thank you so much for posting :hug: we all know that this is in no way your fault and we are all very sad to see what has happened to sosilver ponies and we are sad for you too. it is very hard for both you and sosilver as you will both be dissapointed and upset :(
in our time as collectors we have all had to face customs fee's, packets being held and customs opening boxes from time to time. i know i have had to pay customs fees and had packets held in the past myself, but i have never had a box opened. as reguards opening boxes, i think they either pick one at random or open one in however many. i don't think whatever you had put on the customs form would have made any difference, on say that i strongly urge you all to lable your customs forms correctly with the correct value!
the only upset here is with what customs have done :( they have been -very- careless in the treatment of the ponies and to loose a ponies head is very bad on their part! as i said before i don't think things like this happen very often but when they do it is very upsetting for all parties involved.
your offer to replace the ponies is a -very- kind gesture on your part juan :heart:
love pkw xxxx
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Wow. I have no words......
*moment of silence for CC*
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OH!!! OMG! OMG! I'm about to start crying, too, SoSilver. That is absolutely devastating. ;;
Juan, you are great for posting to this thread. We know how horrible customs can be. :hug: Thank you for trying to help SoSilver with this awful situation.
:hug: s to you both.
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SoSilver I'm still so crushed for you, so many hugs coming your way from both ponymonsters xxxxxx
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Sorry guys for the crummy comment I posted before. I erased it. There was really no need for me to be so darn harsh without knowing the whole story. My apologies. =( And Juan you are wonderful for trying to fix the situation as much as you can!
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MAJOR HUGS for Both the Buyer and Seller!
SoSilver, I know customs has always given you issues, and I am sorry to see they haven't figured out that you are just and honest collector.
Juan/Figueras: You are BEYOND WONDERFUL for even offering to replace a pony for free. Especially since this was not your fault.
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That is incredibly nice of you to offer to replace the pony for free, Juan! Be sure this time to fill out the customs this time form just in case!!
I do hope if SoSilver decides to take you up on the offer that they handle the package with a bit more care and that it gets to him safe and sound. :hug:
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Figueras...gosh thats an amazing offer considering its not your fault! Just goes to show there are some amazing sellers out there...I hope you and SoSilver can work something out.
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I am so so sorry to hear this sosilver! I have sold a few of my loved ponies to buy grails recently so it must be really horrible to have something like this happen to the ponies you sold them for! xx
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How distressing for both of you.
I really hope that something good can come out of this. I can't believe the carelessness that customs used in "handling" that package. :(
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This is just so awful. Really honestly because of others we suffer so much sometimes. I hope this works out for you. Its so not fair at all.
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That's so awful,
I had a neck seal ruined by customs on some mexican ponies.
*huge hugs*
I hope you can make some sort of claim to get your money back..
xx
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So sorry that that happened SoSilver!!! What a horrible experience!! I feel so outraged on your behalf, that I feel like filing a complaint with them myself! (although, I don't think that would help since I wasn't the buyer...might make me feel better though)
I'm floored by incompetence of the customs person who handled your packages. Why rip boxes that can be opened normally, and how can they possibly LOOSE the contents!?
I wonder how many other people's belongings do they completely WRECK everyday? If this is a known problem then why haven't they fixed it, where are the standards?? arrghh...
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I'm so blown away by this, it's so devastating!! I really hope you can at least gain some compensation from the custom's office. I know they probably cover their @aa' with legal jargon that you don't ever read when you sign away your package, but honestly that is really ridiculous! I will cry with you
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Hi.
I got home.
The package seems it was open by VENEZUELAN police or whatever as you can see here:
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But good news, the head of CC was in the box wrapped in adhesive tape, that i've carefully removed.
That is relieving but still the boxes are completely crashed.
Fed Ex told me that since it seems it has been opened in Venezuela they cannot do anything, but the claim is still on and they will continue to investigate.
I'd like also to thank you EVERYONE for the support to me and Figurasdeaccion.
Thank you from the deep of my heart!
I will keep you all updated if i can get something from Venezuela.
Hugs!
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Yay for CC's head being found!! <3<3
:D
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I am SO glad her head was there!! :lovey: It sucks that they completely destroyed your boxes, but at least the ponies themselves are in one piece! ..Well, two..But at least not broken! So happy for you that you don't have to worry about the missing head like we all thought, but sucks that they basically forced them to no longer be MIB ponies. :(
Please do let us know if you find out more from the Venezuelan customs!
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What a relief that the head was in the package. I was traumatized thinking of a poor pony's head hidden under a desk somewhere at customs, possibly covered in dust!
It really sucks about the packages but since I don't really like MIB ponies, I can't help but think that now you'll be able to hold them, comb them and play with them... And since it seems like there are way more MIB Venezuelan ponies than there are loose ones, maybe yours will be more special :)
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This. Add me to the list of outraged folk. One question: someone mentioned issues when "pony" is put on a label. Is there a specific reason for that? Like it's some weird slang term as well as "lil' plastic horsey"?
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I've never had issues when it was put on the label. Most of the time the seller wrote "Pony toy horse" "Baby pony toy" or something like that and I didn't have issues.
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Yay! I'm so glad you found her head! That's such a huge relief. Can you put the boxes back together? Are the inserts still in there?
I really hope you can get ahold of customs and work something out for a partial refund. :hug:
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Yay! I'm so relieved that this seems to have at least ended well. It's sad that the boxes are now in terrible shape and they've been deboxed, but at least Cotton Candy has her head... and the ponies will be able to live a life outside of their box... not forced to the same fate as so many other MIB ponies! At least that's a positive way to look at it. It's a shame for the price paid for MIB. ;_; But I hope that something can be arranged! <3
Someobody needs to teach those people how to open boxes carefully. Like you know, take a box cutter, carefully cut the tape, slide cardboard out, investigate, and put back in. Don't destroy it! D:< Ugh!
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Oh thank goodness her head was found! There was some discussion last night on the Shout Box about getting someone to custom make a new head for you. SoSilver, again I'm so sorry that this happened to you. Can I ask about your new ponies? Are they ok?? I'm willing to bet they are going to be the most spoiled ponies in your collection:) After all they've been through, they can use a little extra love and attention! If you're up for it, can we see some pictures of your new beautiful girls?
I have to say how absolutely wonderful this community is. SoSilver, you are truly loved by everyone here. Figurasdeaccion, you are amazing for coming forward and offering up a rare pony.
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Omg!
I didn't know that!
Thank you so much again for all the love and support!
I really really really love you all!
Tomorrow i will try to take some pics:)
P.s.: in the meantime, to cheer me up, another venezuelan friend has atrived from the States:) this time in pristine condition:)
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Yay! For found head!!! No headless ponies runnin' 'round!!!! :frolic: :frolic:
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Ohh, who arrived now?? Do tell! :D
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SoSilver, I want to say that this sucks meatballs for sure, but I'm so glad all the heads are accounted for now! I just read this thread and I couldn't agree more with the sentiment that this is an awesome community. You all gave me the goosebumps with your kindness. I wish that more people in this world shared the heart and compassion for others that this board has. Go Pony People!!!!!
:lovey:
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Now that's strange, if Figurasdeaccion closed the box AT FedEx... then... why does the national guard had to open the package? Do they do not trust Fedex? =S
Big hugs to both SS and Figurasdeaccion for all this headache.
And at least you find out CC head =)
Juan, what they asked for you to send the package? Now I'm really curious as to what they could have used to open a package =P (asking because in Mexico I've only have to close the package at the PO and by luck have no troubles, only really slow time to arrive at their destination. Maybe was the price declared of the package?
About your questions...
Unfortunately I don't think declaring a lower value will help to protect the package, I stalk a BJD forum, and there's a lot of threads where EU catches a BJD with lower declared price and it's hell for the buyers because they have the papers of the REAL price of the doll, and the price declared is different and to get the correct custom fees is a problem (at least as how the forum threads post it).
I'm sorry if my last comment sound really stupid, I have no idea how it was posted, and always knowing about a damaged thing makes me loose my brain and can't write what I really want to...
Sorry for not explaining myself and for talking -writing- without knowing your part on all this.
But still... I can't understand any customs, nor Venezuelan nor Italian (so... Italian customs did NOT open the package? Or is it still a mistery?).
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i am so glad that the head was found! :)
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Wow...that's horrible. It's not the seller nor the buyers fault. Venezuela customs owes you the money. Which is probably impossible to get o_o'' At least if it were Italian customs you could walk up to them and hold them the package under their eyes....
Really sucks.
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THE HEAD HAS BEEN SAVED!!!!! LIFE TO YOUR PONIES!!!! :3 so excited for you reading this actually made my crappy day alot better! :3 I agree! spoil those girls silly! they deserve it! and i am so glad their sister arrived safely! Just so happy for you!!! *happy dance*
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I am SO glad the head was returned to you Sosilver! I still hope they will make the claim in your favor and help replace the funds spent! Keep us posted friend!
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So happy to hear the head had been found!!!! :frolic: :cheer: :frolic: :cheer:
Now at least CC is complete. Still very sorry for the boxes. As is said before (well i think i said) there was really no need to wrip the boxes apart.
But congrats on finding the head and give the 2 a big hug from me :hug:
:hug: to SoSilver and Figurasdeaccion
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Yeah! A tiny little ray of sunlight! Now CC has her head!
How odd that considering we all know the issues with Italian customs that it was opened even before it left Venezuela...I looked at the "prohibited export" list for Venezuela...clearly plastic toy ponies does not appear on it
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At least CC will have her head.
I hope you can get any refund back with the claim.
Oh wow . nobody expected that the parcel was already opened in Venezuela - all thought that was happened at Italy customs.
I hope the Venezuelien side can help to find a solution.
**Hugs**
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I have referred everything to Figurasdeaccion and i will qait to know from him.
Hugs everyone!
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OMG SoSilver I only just saw this as I haven't been on here for a couple of days. I'm SO SORRY this has happened to you, you poor thing! I'm so relieved CCs head was in the package, at least you have the complete pony, thank god! That's just arrrotious what they have done, I don't know how they can get away with ruining peoples things like that! I hope you get a good resolution to this honey :hug:
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SO glad CC has her head back! Can't wait to see the pics of your new girls and the newest arrival!
I am once again reminded what an amazingly supportive community we have her at the arena x
Hugs to everyone xxx
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I'm still trying to figure it out why the package was opened by the Venezuelan National Guard... Pretty weird and suspicious...
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I'm still trying to figure it out why the package was opened by the Venezuelan National Guard... Pretty wird and suspicious...
I thought she was opened by the Italian customs office? :what:
***EDIT*** Nevermind, I caught up. :P
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Extremely glad to hear CC's head was in the package!
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WOW Thank heavens. That is a relief! Wow Venezuela is the culprit opening the boxes
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:hug: what a heck of a horrible shock :( So very glad that CC has her head though.
I still don't understand why customs had to open the parcels with such violent disregard of someone elses' property though. I know customs do have to check but c'mon do it carefully :(
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Ugh, seeing those photos just makes me feel sick. :(
How could they be so careless? Even if they didn't know anything about the value of the pony, the only other assumption is that it's a child's toy and the fact that they left it in such a mess makes me so angry. How can people be so mean and thoughtless?!
*hugs for sosilver and ponies*
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Yay, Cotton Candy's head is found! Fingers crossed for a solution for you :hug:
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thank goodness cotton candy's head has been found!
love pkw xxx
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oh my... this is terrible, but I'm glad to read that at least her head has been found, so at least you have both ponies, although the boxes were destroyed. :'( hopefully you guys will get some response from the venezuelan customs...
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Wow, that's just awful. I have never heard of customs opening something LEAVING the country. I can't figure out why they had to be so careless about it.. Surely they could have opened the parcel, without tearing open the boxes and the ponies. I hope you get a partial refund at the very least.
In any case, you have some BEAUTIFUL ponies there!!
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That Sucks :( and is why I hate shipping internationally....
I wonder what posessed them to open the pacakge? Then again, I wonder why US customs insisted I was smuggling drugs into the US from Canada last month?
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I'm glad to hear the good news about the head being found! This feels like I'm following a developing news story (because that's what it is)! Hopefully you'll find out some answers, although I don't know how helpful the venezualan national guard/customs/whatever will be - always worth a shot! It does seem rather odd that they would be the ones to destroy your package. Perhaps they knew it was a My little Pony, which we all know, is just as addictive as drugs :)
Hope things start looking even more up for you, SS! Hugs!
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Yay, glad Cotton Candy's head has been found! Best of luck to you and figuras to hopefully get more of a resolution :)
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Thank you again so much to everyone.
I really don't have words to describe how i am proud to be part of this family.
Here's the latest news.
FedEx has confirmed it has been opened by Guardia Naccional and will refund a little money to Figurasdeaccion.
Figuras is goig to do a wonderful thing for me, but i will keep you updated!
Thank you again os much, there are no words for all this love!
Hugs!
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i'm so sorry this happened to you. i hope that at least the ponys are nice. i know how hard it is to get a rare pony damaged while shipping. :hug:
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i am glad to hear that there is going to be a happy out come for you both :hug:
love pkw xxx
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The only guess I have as to why they so thoroughly mangled the ponies and boxes, was for drugs. That was clearly not the case, thank heavens!
I believe children's toys get red flagged on suspicion as they'd in theory be the least obvious method of smuggling drugs. I guess the customs agents got the "brilliant" notion into their heads that someone must have stuffed something into the pony. Given the fact that ponies are hollow I do admit it's a warranted suspicion. However, completely destroying the packaging and damaging the item in question is ridiculous. They certainly should have let both Juan and SoSilver know that they had to open the packages.
I'm really sorry this had to happen to you two. :( I hope some justice comes from this for the both of you.
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I just got caught up on this whole thread and it was a roller coaster of a read! I felt so sick to see the pictures and to think that CC had lost her head, I'm glad that has been found now. Its still awful that the packaging was treated so poorly, but right now I'm mostly relieved for the ponies <3
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What?! The Venezuelan National Guard is responsible for this? I am baffled. But once the shock and dismay subsides, I think it might look pretty funny in hindsight. The National Guard freaking out over toy ponies, to the point that they had to pop off heads to subdue the threat XD
The only explanation I can think of is they got a tip that a large amount of contraband was being shipped out in toys, so they went through every toy being shipped and took it apart. Still don't know why they didn't just x-ray everything though. That would have been much more efficient.
Glad to see CC's head was found, but again, the actions of the National Guard people confuse me. Wrapping it in tape was necessary, why?
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All of my support for you!! I am so sorry you had to go through this. I hope progress continues and a solution is found for your loss.
:hope:
-Em
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Oh my gosh, I just finished reading through this thread! I am so glad to hear that everything is being worked out. There is no excuse for the way they treated the ponies... and poor CC... I'm glad her head was found!
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I'm glad you're getting some compensation for this hun and intrigued to hear what else they're going to do for you too :) x
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oh yay = just caught up on this = SO GLAD that poor pony's head has been found! and so glad things are looking to get better = totally hope for a happy ending here :-)
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Glad her heads found!! What a relief!! so sorry about the damage to ponies and boxes though, glad you are being compensated ><
What?! The Venezuelan National Guard is responsible for this? I am baffled. But once the shock and dismay subsides, I think it might look pretty funny in hindsight. The National Guard freaking out over toy ponies, to the point that they had to pop off heads to subdue the threat XD
The only explanation I can think of is they got a tip that a large amount of contraband was being shipped out in toys, so they went through every toy being shipped and took it apart. Still don't know why they didn't just x-ray everything though. That would have been much more efficient.
Glad to see CC's head was found, but again, the actions of the National Guard people confuse me. Wrapping it in tape was necessary, why?
Sorry but nooo one is going to laugh about damage to goods that cost like over 1k >< I'd cry!
People smuggle drugs in seemingly innocent items like plastic toys, teddy bears, sealed inside of book covers, toothpaste, food, electronics and jwellery all the time...I don't think it was specific pony discrimation, just the fact they were hollow toys...still no excuse to cause such damage though!
I saw this program about customs (but it was austrailian, so different) they would scan items before cutting them up, but not always bother to scan items that could be opened by hand (I suppose they thought putting heads back on ponies would be a simple task)
Yeah wrapping her head in tape was totally unecessary, maybe they were just trying to be mean and attempt to pull off her eyepaint eeurgh
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SoSilver, I've just read this whole thread, and was so angry and sad at the same time! I'm so glad that they found CC's head! The boxes me be damaged, but at least you have your lovely ponies :)
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Hi SoSilver, how are you doing? Has your week gotten any better? I'm really hoping that this nightmare is ending for you. I can't wait to see pictures and hear your exciting news:). I'm glad that Fed-ex is offering a partial refund to Figura! I hope that out of this tragedy comes some good for the both of you!
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Good god... that's awfull SoSilver D: *hugssquish*
I'm glad that the head is back though and I hope it turns out *somewhat* okay :/
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nnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so sorry!
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Wow... just read through this. So sorry :(
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wow i am glad the ponies are ok it makes me wonder sometimes how could you possibly smuggle anything by means of a toy that is 20+ years old and MIB as well
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I'm assuming the guys at customs had no idea it was 20 years old, they probably just do random checks :(
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When paying for ponies by cash (back in the day, before paypal was quite so international!) I knew of collectors that would send cash through the post by putting it inside a pony (usually a fakie). I guess it's a similar sort of thing.
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I'm still just on page 7 of this, and plan to continue reading. But I am *so happy* that at least Cotton Candy's head was found! <3
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Maybe customs thought "pony" was some sort of tongue-in-cheek drug reference? I mean isn't heroin called "horse"?
Just a thought. Certainly no excuse for ripping apart MIB ponies! Even if they had no idea of the value, it's not their job to destroy things. Whether it was $5 or $5000, it doesn't belong to them!
Rose
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oh my goodness thats so awful :sad: :sad: :sad: I'm happy that the head was found, but wow , what a horrible stressful situation :( I hope you are feeling a bit better now SoSilver :hug: :hug: :hug:
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*hugs* i hope it works out......it is heart breaking when the post keeps you from a pony you really wanted
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Thank you so much to everyone again.
Had some health problems the last few days, but tomorrow i will finally upload my new lovely ponies:)
As i've said, fed ex, will refund some money directly to Figurasdeaccion, and Figuras promised me a great solution:)
Hugs!
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Do we get to see pics of them in all their glory? Puuulease???
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Hi everyone!
Posted some pics here:
http://mlparena.com/mlp/index.php/topic,289115.new.html#new
Hugs!
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Those are amazing ponies, SS!!!