Monday, March 23, 2015

A TTM disaster

Last week, I received this envelope back in one of those USPS "we're sorry" envelopes. We've all gotten them. However, this was not the USPS' fault.

Whatever player this was did not use the peel and stick adhesive, and the envelope came back completely empty. How do I know? Well, the sticker was still on there, unpeeled.
I had always thought that these envelopes were far better than asking the player to lick or dampen the envelope. Simply remove the sticker, and you're done!

In fairness, I've had a great success rate with these. One time, Luis Torrens didn't seal, but the card make it back. This envelope was empty. I can understand a player who gets a lot of mail simply forgetting or overlooking this step. It happens.

What bums me out is that I have no record of who this was. I have heard of people initialing the return envelope, which I've always been reluctant to do. I like the surprise and the thrill of opening the envelope without knowing what is in it. However, instances like this really bum me out. I can't even re-try the player because I don't know who it was.

I think I will now start initialing the envelopes...maybe next to my name in the return address, or maybe inside the actual envelope. I am just so down about now knowing who this was, that I simply cannot let this happen again.
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11 comments:

  1. Tony L.March 23, 2015 at 9:23 AM

    That sucks. Do you keep any records of who you send and when such that you might be able to narrow it down?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Lost CollectorMarch 23, 2015 at 9:35 AM

      I do keep a detailed spreadsheet, but I have about 30+ open requests right now due to spring training, so this one will have to remain a mystery.

      Delete
  2. CaptKirk42March 23, 2015 at 9:36 AM

    Sorry to hear about that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BobWalkthePlankMarch 23, 2015 at 10:27 AM

    That stinks. Hopefully you will get a better idea as you receive more so you can request again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeffMarch 23, 2015 at 10:32 AM

    The return postmark doesn't narrow it down?

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  5. The Junior JunkieMarch 23, 2015 at 10:35 AM

    :-(

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kevin PapoyMarch 23, 2015 at 10:35 AM

    I only sent out a few TTM requests 20 years ago (because I only had 10 stamps for my SASEs), and one of them got all the way to France unsealed. But with the Tim Raines signed card inside. As you say : it happens

    ReplyDelete
  7. MarkMarch 23, 2015 at 10:59 AM

    Bummer. I stay away from the peel and stick envelopes out of fear of something like this. I have had a few envelopes come back unsealed, but the card was safely inside each time. Hopefully it was a from a good signer, and you can just resend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Prowling CatMarch 23, 2015 at 6:34 PM

    I used to use the peel ones in my mailings to teams. Got back a few that weren't peeled like the one you just got back. Decided then it would be best to go back to the lick style again. Haven't had the problem since.

    The thing I think is craziest is how mangled the envelope is for not having its contents. I'll bet it was thick enough that when it got caught in the machine the person who unstuck it kept the card.

    ReplyDelete
  9. acrackedbatMarch 23, 2015 at 8:55 PM

    hate that for you! hope you can narrow it down and try again. a side note regarding the USPS: as cheap as they are, I'm surprised they didn't cancel the stamp. When I worked for them, we scratched over it with a pen if wasn't originally machine cancelled.

    ReplyDelete

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