A man was left devastated after splashing out $13,000 Pokémon card only for it to get lost in the post.
Collector Paul Gallagher, from Atlanta, buys and sells Pokémon cards and says he can earn $10,000 or more a month.
He bought the rare Charizard card to sell on, but after he posted it out to the buyer in December it got lost in the post.
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Speaking to WSB TV, he said: “We’re talking thousands of dollars, that card we’re talking about cost me $13,000 to buy it.”
He added: “Not only did I lose my initial investment, but I lost the money that that customer spent. They refunded him that money.”
Last week the United States Postal Service got in touch to tell him the card had disappeared.
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He explained: “They didn’t get back with me until March 25 and declared it was missing, and ‘here’s $200 for your $13,000 card and good luck’.”
Gallagher told the news outlet that he isn’t alone when it comes to his post getting lost or misplaced by USPS.
Back in 2019, another buyer said USPS lost their rare Pokémon card that was worth around $60,000.
The postal service has said ongoing staff shortages are the cause of missing post.
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In a statement to WSB TV, USPS said: “As a matter of standard protocol, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) does not confirm or refute information related to possible ongoing USPS OIG investigations, except in matters where details of the investigation become a matter of public record.
“The USPS OIG is aware of this incident and will continue to review the situation. The U.S. Postal Service employs more than 625,000 employees and is the largest civilian federal workforce in the country.
“This type of alleged behaviour within the Postal Service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, which serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behaviour.”
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Gallagher said the problem of missing packages has made him concerned about using the service.
He told the news outlet: “I take packages to the post office every day, and I’m just worried, worried if that package is going to make it.”
A USPS spokesperson told LADbible: "The majority of our customers receive their mail and packages in a timely manner. If mail or packages are lost or delayed, the Postal Service takes all efforts to return items to their owners by using consistent and approved procedures including customer outreach, meticulous research and use of innovative technologies.
"We strongly encourage customers to submit missing mail search requests in the event the package or its contents end up at the MRC, in order to facilitate the potential delivery or return. The missing mail search request application can be found on our website at https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm."
Topics: US News
Claire Reid