# Missing knives alert



## ryanjams (Jul 23, 2020)

I had a USPS shipment ghost on me that was en route from Portland, OR to an old coworker out on Nantucket, MA. Contents were a Markin 240 gyuto in WX-15 with a black and white ebony handle, Kochi 210 stainless clad ku gyuto, and a Masamoto KS 240 suji with blonde horn. I took it to the post on the 10th, shipped priority, but my local post office never did a departure scan (last time I click and ship, seriously) so it could be anywhere along the way and I'm out of luck regarding an insurance claim. They keep telling me to be patient, it will get there eventually, but I'd have expected to see some kind of scan by now. 

I'm hoping my missing package request and consistent pestering of both local offices, as well as USPS customer service, can help shake it loose, but it's impossible to get in touch with anyone at the respective distribution centers to push any further. They were in a shipping tube, so it seems plausible that they rolled off of a sorting machine and are lost under some equipment, or something like that. Anyways, I figured I'd post here for any more advice y'all might be able to provide, and to tip the community off, get more eyes on eBay, local listings, etc. in case they "fell off a truck" somewhere.

Guess you might be seeing some more BST listings from me in the near future to help recoup losses.  Here's a few dumb videos of my messy kitchen and the knives in question--with a brief cameo from my Haburn stainless damascus wedding band.









Streamable Video


Watch this video on Streamable.




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Streamable Video


Watch this video on Streamable.




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Streamable Video


Watch this video on Streamable.




streamable.com





Thanks all


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## GeneH (Jul 23, 2020)

Here's to some good luck for ya. Hate to see this kind of loss.

This would be lesson 2 for me to remember:
1: never ship to anyone that uses a 3rd party to forward the package without total disclaimer of damage or loss.
2: never ship in a container that can roll away on it's own.


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## Corradobrit1 (Jul 23, 2020)

USPS is a complete mess at the moment. Doesn't surprise me and getting scans can be hit or miss. I have regularly not had a single scan until the package is out for delivery. Doesn't really give you much comfort but its worth hanging in there for a few more days. Situations like this will create problems when the package truly is AWOL and you need to make a claim. The cynic in my makes me think USPS do this intentionally to avoid payouts. Good luck


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## ryanjams (Jul 23, 2020)

I mean, the shipping tube is super sturdy and seems like one of the safest ways to pack, if it's done right. I've sent and received them many times, without issue. But if I had to guess what happened, it's in the guts of some automatic sorter where it fell off a belt or something. Yeah, I suppose this can be a general advisory as much as anything. I know times are hard down there, but USPS is really slipping lately. My Ittetsu I recently sold was scanned as delivered, hours before it actually arrived, and the correctly addressed Haburn was delivered to a neighbor's house. I'm about over it.


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## soigne_west (Jul 23, 2020)

This happened to me on a comet. Took a month and a half but it showed. Be patient. Also if click n ship is great but I always drop off at post office and get receipt.


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## soigne_west (Jul 23, 2020)

Also shipping tubes are harder to scan.


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## Corradobrit1 (Jul 23, 2020)

I love these for shipping knives. Strong. Won't roll anywhere and cheap shipping rates





Dual-Use Priority Mail/Priority Mail Express Small Tube | USPS.com


This small tube box is a quick, easy and convenient way to ship USPS Priority Mail packages or extremely urgent shipments, via Priority Mail Express.



store.usps.com


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## parbaked (Jul 23, 2020)

soigne_west said:


> Also shipping tubes are harder to scan.


THIS!
Shipping tubes are great for knives, except that they are hard for USPS to scan.
Often they don't update tracking until the destination PO manually enters the info.


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## Corradobrit1 (Jul 23, 2020)

parbaked said:


> THIS!
> Shipping tubes are great for knives, except that they are hard for USPS to scan.
> Often they don't update tracking until the destination PO manually enters the info.


Not just shipping tubes. The lack of tracking info is not the result of using a tube, though maybe doesn't help


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## esoo (Jul 23, 2020)

When using any kind of click and ship software, make sure that you don't put tape over the barcode. Makes it hard to scan, and driver won't as a result.


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## Brian Weekley (Jul 23, 2020)

I’ve had an Isasmedjan AWOL with USPS since January. The package didn’t even leave Baton Rouge. USPS absolutely refuses to help. Shameful!


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## Jaszer13 (Jul 23, 2020)

Sorry to learn about your issue. If it makes you feel better the exact same thing just happened to me with USPS, when shipping a knife via a poster tube. The package was never scanned at the local office and showed "label created" for 2 weeks then randomly appeared at the buyers doorstep (*9405528206334065855660*).


Make sure you go here and file a missing mail case. They start working on finding the package. Best of luck!


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## Brian Weekley (Jul 23, 2020)

One of the problems is that the recipient can’t get USPS to do anything. The investigation has to be initiated and pursued by the sender (seller). Once he has your cash he has a lesser incentive to pursue the claim. USPS is pretty well useless as far as I can see. Shipping with them is a crapshoot ... most arrive ... some don’t. The thing that gets me is that USPS either has the package and refuses to trace it properly, or the package has been stolen. I don’t see any other alternative. I wonder how many hundreds of millions of dollars of items shipped with USPS simply disappear each year ... perhaps to turn up on eBay a few months after it disappears.


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## Corradobrit1 (Jul 23, 2020)

And USPS now gives the option to purchase 'premium' tracking. What a joke.


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## bahamaroot (Jul 23, 2020)

I didn't have a problem with the USPS before Covid. Tracking was good overall and packages were rarely late.


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## LostHighway (Jul 23, 2020)

bahamaroot said:


> I didn't have a problem with the USPS before Covid. Tracking was good overall and packages were rarely late.



That was true for me as well, at least with purely domestic USPS. Sometimes Customs created opaque delays with shipments coming into the USA.


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## soigne_west (Jul 23, 2020)

Me neither but the last one I sent out looks like someone played soccer with


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## ian (Jul 23, 2020)

Brian Weekley said:


> The investigation has to be initiated and pursued by the sender (seller). Once he has your cash he has a lesser incentive to pursue the claim.



Part of the problem here might be the insurance issue. Obviously I don’t know what cases you’ve had to deal with, but I’ve become more hesitant over time about shipping uninsured, especially internationally. I know the taxes that Canadians have to pay on things coming into the country are quite high, and I get wanting to avoid them by having the sender declare at a low value, without insurance. But as a seller in the US, I’d only be willing now to do that with the understanding that the buyer assumes full responsibility if something goes wrong. I mean, I’ll be happy to file an insurance claim, and inquire a couple times about the state of the package. But if it turns into a long saga that would have been avoided if I had just shipped insured, which is what I wanted to do anyway, that’s another matter.


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## stringer (Jul 23, 2020)

Just wait. I sold some razors to a dude on eBay a few months ago. The post office isn't doing departure scans and they have slow spots all over the place but Massachusetts is especially bad. Long story short I refunded the guy's money after four weeks. He emailed me two days later that he had received them. The post office never updated the status until they were delivered, I was sure they had been swiped out of the bin.


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## PappaG (Jul 23, 2020)

Can you use those tubes with Click n' ship on USPS?


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## fuzion (Jul 23, 2020)

USPS is a mess right now. I have 2 packages that were shipped last month that hasn't shown any tracking movement for 3 weeks...


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## M1k3 (Jul 23, 2020)

Signature confirmation doesn't mean anything to USPS either at the moment.


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## soigne_west (Jul 23, 2020)

Usps is intentionally slowing down packages. Its a political tool at the moment on top of the pandemic.


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## TSF415 (Jul 23, 2020)

I just received my Dalman I bought in February/March.  still waiting a package from Canada for well over a month. USPS has not been fun these last few months.


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## esoo (Jul 23, 2020)

I've shipped 6 knives from Canada to the US in the last three months. Worst I've seen was a one week delay in customs. Every knife was tracked without issue. All were marked as gift and kitchen utensil on the customs paperwork so that may have helped. All were declared at value.


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## Barmoley (Jul 24, 2020)

Declaring full value into the US is not a problem. We don't pay any more for more value. When we send international, insurance is very expensive. On top of that receiver, depending on the country has to pay customs depending on the value. Because of this, some buyers request sellers to declare very low value. In this case the seller can't insure. If the buyer requested low value and basically no insurance in order to not pay for shipping and save on customs then the buyer can't be upset at the seller if the knife is lost. The seller van file complaints and such, but at the end of the day very little can be done.


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## McMan (Jul 24, 2020)

This has happened to me a couple times. When our PO gets busy, the teller will have you put your pre-paid stuff in a pile at a vacant window. They scoop it up when it quiets down. I was always concerned about theft, so stopped leaving it and started waiting in line and asking for a receipt. Before I started waiting for a receipt, several packages were not scanned for acceptance. (I think the tellers just throw them in a cart instead of scanning them and depend on somebody down the line to scan.) They arrived. Tracking info was wonky or non-existent. (I suspect a package that wasn't acceptance-scanned doesn't update online in the same way as one that was.) 
So, three options:
(1) Shipped, but no scan
(2) Stolen from the PO
(3) Lost
If you handed it to the teller, then maybe strike #2?


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## parbaked (Jul 24, 2020)

One should always insist that USPS scan the package on acceptance.
I wait in line and get a receipt. Otherwise you have no case...


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## Alwayzbakin (Jul 24, 2020)

Wow well I’d love to help pile the poo on USPS right now.

It may have started at my end though. Possibly yet doubtfully I selected shipping instead of collect in store, filled out my address anyway (maybe this toggled the selection) and address ended up wrong (nonexistent address).

As m1k3 said, signatures aren’t happening at the moment. Rather than returning to sender due to a nonexistent address, delivery confirmation tells me knife was delivered to another house down the street. Mail lady says she didn’t leave it at the house it was tagged at but she’s not sure where she left it. (neighbours all deny getting it and knife has vanished).

USPS does nothing. Calls to the customer service line of my local branch ring unanswered. Emails never get returned. Our regular mailman (knife came on his day off) has tried to pass my contact to his supervisors but no one follows through. I even went to the post office and left my details with a clerk there to pass to his supervisor... crickets.

I would avoid at all costs.


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## henkle (Jul 25, 2020)

Been waiting for a knife from Aframes in Hawaii since June 13. USPS to Hong Kong. It took two weeks to get from Mililani to Honolulu. Last scan July 5. I'm hoping for delivery before the entire USPS gets dismantled. Not much hope for my absentee ballot.


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## Mlan (Aug 14, 2020)

Sorry for the late reply, but I thought this would be helpful to add incase anyone has packages go AWOL. I used to work for USPS in one of there massive sorting facilities in San Diego and I would say that if your package does ever just go missing and you are not seeing and updated scans to submit a claim sooner than later. You would not believe the amount of people that poorly package their packages to the points where the boxes just cant take the force and break open and things fall out. This is especially an issue when people are shipping liquid, again a lot more common than people think, and the package starts leaking and gets on others around it making the tracking label impossible to read. If a box is merely broken and the label is still readable then we just tape it back up and put it back in the mail stream, but all the mail that is not legible is sent to a facility in Atlanta where they hold and try to figure out where it goes. Also, all packages that usually contain knives are on a big enough scale where they are sorted by hand and not on machines; however, if it is on a machine and falls off then someone just picks it back up and puts it in the right spot. USPS facilities are very strict security wise and package theft is very rare and when it does happen it is pretty much only envelopes. I think the only thing to be aware of right now due to COVID is that all packages that require a signature of the receiver are just signed by the carrier and left at the doorstep in order to decrease the amount of contact between people. So basically signatures don't mean jack squat right now. I hope this helps and I hope you find your knives.


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## ryanjams (Aug 14, 2020)

Thanks for the contribution! These knives in question were well-packed, and actually did turn up after nearly a month off the grid, luckily in one piece! Should have updated here. Only one delivery scan to show for all the stress I endured--I definitely exhausted my options between the various missing package, insurance claims, postmaster complaints, customer service line, local POs. Maybe they were lost in a facility for some time, maybe my efforts shook them loose, maybe just backed up on Nantucket/Cape Cod in general... just glad they made it to my buddy. Not only the financial hit, but having some really nice knives in the wind like that was a bummer to consider.


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## Brian Weekley (Aug 14, 2020)

Still waiting for my shipment. Shipped in January. Never left Baton Rouge. Probably sold on eBay months ago. Too bad.


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## Mlan (Aug 14, 2020)

ryanjams said:


> Thanks for the contribution! These knives in question were well-packed, and actually did turn up after nearly a month off the grid, luckily in one piece! Should have updated here. Only one delivery scan to show for all the stress I endured--I definitely exhausted my options between the various missing package, insurance claims, postmaster complaints, customer service line, local POs. Maybe they were lost in a facility for some time, maybe my efforts shook them loose, maybe just backed up on Nantucket/Cape Cod in general... just glad they made it to my buddy. Not only the financial hit, but having some really nice knives in the wind like that was a bummer to consider.


Glad to hear they showed up. I honestly have no idea what could of happened to them to make it take so long. Even if packages are sent to the wrong state it only adds about 1-2 more days since both priority mail and first-class mail fly mostly of fed-ex planes. With the increase in mail during COVID it has also slowed down all those claims and stuff and just made it a mess. But all in all I am glad you finally got your knives.


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## Jaszer13 (Aug 14, 2020)

I guess an update on my part too. Spoke to USPS they basically said their machines can't scan labels on cylinders. They said 99% of the time it will cause a delay as they have to wait for someone to manually enter the info into the system at every destination and due to COVID the manual process can take days to process per location.


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## Mlan (Aug 14, 2020)

Jaszer13 said:


> I guess an update on my part too. Spoke to USPS they basically said their machines can't scan labels on cylinders. They said 99% of the time it will cause a delay as they have to wait for someone to manually enter the info into the system at every destination and due to COVID the manual process can take days to process per location.


Yeah tubes are basically impossible to scan since they are curved. That is why the "tube" flat rate boxes are actually long triangles They also cant go on the sorting machines because they will just role right off, which means they are automatically sorted manually. Also, whenever they say someone has to manually put in the code all they put in are the first three digits of the zip code and thats only if the tube is long enough to be considered oversize because it needs a separate sticker. So basically the tracking will never be updated right up until the package is delivered because carriers have handheld scanners that can actually scan tubes better. In the big sorting facilities all the scanners just hang from the wall and if the package wont scan then people just throw it in the correct bin without a scan. It might be different at individual post offices, but at the main sorting facilities that is how its done.


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## lemeneid (Aug 15, 2020)

I’ve got one sent out by Singpost to USA in May, not sure if the owner has gotten it yet, last update is in June and nothing after. Don’t have high hopes with this one.

If you’ve got EasyShip where you live, I highly recommend it. I shipped out my Denka from SG to NY under $30 USD with FedEX with insurance. Cheapest and best shipping experience I've had to US so far.


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## coffeelover191919 (Aug 16, 2020)

Send a down payment check of $80K via usps (first class, certified) and usps list it for 2 weeks and tracking stopped after 3 days. 1 month now and it's still shows as pending. Recipient did eventually receive it, though. **** usps for that stress. The 1 time I relied on them to ship something important....


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## lemeneid (Aug 17, 2020)

coffeelover191919 said:


> Send a down payment check of $80K via usps (first class, certified) and usps list it for 2 weeks and tracking stopped after 3 days. 1 month now and it's still shows as pending. Recipient did eventually receive it, though. **** usps for that stress. The 1 time I relied on them to ship something important....


Never rely on postal service for high value items. At that amount, I would have guessed a bank transfer or at least DHL/FedEx would have been wiser.


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## lemeneid (Aug 17, 2020)

coffeelover191919 said:


> Send a down payment check of $80K via usps (first class, certified) and usps list it for 2 weeks and tracking stopped after 3 days. 1 month now and it's still shows as pending. Recipient did eventually receive it, though. **** usps for that stress. The 1 time I relied on them to ship something important....


Never rely on postal service for high value items. At that amount, I would have guessed a bank transfer or at least DHL/FedEx would have been the better choice.


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## josemartinlopez (Aug 17, 2020)

lemeneid said:


> If you’ve got EasyShip where you live, I highly recommend it. I shipped out my Denka from SG to NY under $30 USD with FedEX with insurance. Cheapest and best shipping experience I've had to US so far.


This looks really interesting. If I understand it right, it's a company that gives you courier rates for high volume shippers and not individuals (otherwise, that SG to NY rate would be over $100 USD). Do you just arrange with EasyShip and get a tracking number that you can provide to Paypal normally? Is it seamless with Paypal like that?


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## coffeelover191919 (Aug 18, 2020)

lemeneid said:


> Never rely on postal service for high value items. At that amount, I would have guessed a bank transfer or at least DHL/FedEx would have been the better choice.


shrugs... was instructed by my lawyer to send it certified. what a total disaster. **** usps. i have no sympathy for all those who want to privatize it. maybe then their employees will have to perform to keep their jobs


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## M1k3 (Aug 18, 2020)

So take the politicians that are screwing with the USPS out of the equation?*

*The politicians aren't the only problem. But that's the main difference between USPS and private mail companies. The executives work for the company. USPS executives are politicians and a political appointee. Daily operations are not funded by taxes.


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## coffeelover191919 (Aug 19, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> So take the politicians that are screwing with the USPS out of the equation?*
> 
> *The politicians aren't the only problem. But that's the main difference between USPS and private mail companies. The executives work for the company. USPS executives are politicians and a political appointee. Daily operations are not funded by taxes.


So.. privatize and sell off the USPS for whatever its worth? USPS died with stamps...


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## slickmamba (Aug 19, 2020)

coffeelover191919 said:


> So.. privatize and sell off the USPS for whatever its worth? USPS died with stamps...


oof


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## LostHighway (Aug 19, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> So take the politicians that are screwing with the USPS out of the equation?*
> 
> *The politicians aren't the only problem. But that's the main difference between USPS and private mail companies. The executives work for the company. USPS executives are politicians and a political appointee. Daily operations are not funded by taxes.



It is the standard playbook of those who would reduce all governmental operations to a collection of neo-feudal fiefdoms by reducing funding and/or hamstringing with (intentionally) crippling regulations while putting out bad press about the agency or function. In the case of the USPS since 2006 they have been required to pre-fund all health and pension obligations 75 years in advance. No other business functions that way. Without that stricture the USPS is profitable. The problems with the USPS are largely by design.


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## Matus (Aug 20, 2020)

Do we need to rename the thread now, or can i be brought back on topic?


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## sododgy (Aug 20, 2020)

Matus said:


> Do we need to rename the thread now, or can i be brought back on topic?



I mean, OP updated on this page that the knives showed up, so that topic's sort of settled yeah?


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## juice (Aug 20, 2020)

coffeelover191919 said:


> So.. privatize and sell off the USPS for whatever its worth? USPS died with stamps...


Ah, the old "let the poor die in the streets, it serves them right for being poor" argument.



Matus said:


> Do we need to rename the thread now, or can i be brought back on topic?


No


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## Matus (Aug 20, 2020)

Fair enough, off to Off Topic then


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## coffeelover191919 (Aug 20, 2020)

juice said:


> Ah, the old "let the poor die in the streets, it serves them right for being poor" argument.
> 
> 
> No


In terms of businesses/entities, yes, let the "poor" die. I have no problem with that. USPS is a "government entity."
In terms of people, most seem to think we should have some compassion and not "let the poor die," but that's not we're talking about, were you confused?


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## ian (Aug 20, 2020)

juice said:


> Ah, the old "let the poor die in the streets, it serves them right for being poor" argument.





coffeelover191919 said:


> In terms of businesses/entities, yes, let the "poor" die. I have no problem with that. USPS is a "government entity."



I think the better metaphor is "Haha! I just cut your achilles tendon you arsehole!" and then "That guy is so slow. He's never gonna be able to compete at the level we need... he can't even walk! I think we should cut him from the team."


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## esoo (Aug 20, 2020)

ian said:


> I think the better metaphor is "Haha! I just cut your achilles tendon you arsehole!" and then "That guy is so slow. He's never gonna be able to compete at the level we need... he can't even walk! I think we should cut him from the team."



USPS delivery on a Saturday is pretty much this case.


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## juice (Aug 20, 2020)

ian said:


> I think the better metaphor


Apparently metaphors and analogies aren't much appreciated because not completely literal (weirdly enough).


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## daveb (Aug 20, 2020)

Given the choice between going on my own USPS / welfare rant and closing this mess up, it seems that closing is the better course. Damn this is hard.


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