Csn: Canadian Stamp News

Andrew:

I mailed yours on the same day I mailed Londonbus's. Your house is 2000 miles closer than his -- I wonder what's taking so long ?

Keep me posted...
Kirk

Will do. Sometimes things take a bit longer than 3 weeks to get here if you sent it normal mail. I've had deliveries from Canada take about a month. So I won't panic for another week or so lol.

I have already thanked Kirk for the lovely, bursting packet of CSN's and other magazines.
Now I am even more grateful because yesterday I overdid it at work and have been sprawled out on the Floor with a back injury for the last 24 hours ! It is not pleasant, more so because I cannot sit and so cannot be posting or reading stuff here. If I am absent, you now know why.
I am suffering a few minutes to write and say what a great read these CSN's are and are a true Godsend whilst laid out on the floor.
The articles therein are excellent, intersting and varied and are written in a down-to-earth style that I favour. Most too are not complicated or specialist but written in a way that even a non-collector of stamps could enjoy. They are to be commended for that.
I will comment on the kind of articles [for those not in the know], when my back is straightened out....but after I have caught up on all the messages !

Have fun

Londonbus1

Bad news Michael,
Hope you recover soon.

Occaisionally, I slip a disk in my back,
and the pain is horrid, I can fix it in seconds
using one of these fellows (a "back swing")
I picked mine up in a flea market for $25
and lies in the garage, unless I break it out every
couple of years or so.

It may not suit your injury, but worth mentioning,
as with bad backs <any fix> is worth mentioning.

Kirk, unfortunately this update is still not a happy one. The package is lost somewhere, for sure. It has still not arrived here at my home.

Hopefully it's just slightly delayed and not lost forever but the more time passes the more I worry.

Just a question, is it a big envelope? Heavy? It could be stuck in the damn customs office. Sometimes they takes ages to finish checking packages.
The Philatelic Exhibition may not have helped but it can't be the reason for a potential delay.

I do hope I receive the package!

LondonBus, Sorry to hear about your injury. I assume it is an old dating injury

Andrew: I don't know, but I suspect something has gone wrong.

It was in a Priority Mail envelope. I did a customs form (required for anything over 13 ounces), so that should have covered any problems on your end.

I think I have a few more older issues and I've received one or two new ones since I mailed the last batch. I'll see if I can round up a few more for you.

Maybe in time for Christmas

KirkS

Hah!

I've had experience in the past with packages coming from outside of Europe (Canada, Macau) being stuck in customs for over a week. In the case of the Macau one, for example, since it was registered, I was able to track it, so I called the customs to make sure they didn't lose it.

I'll give another week or so (end of October) before panic and resign myself to thinking someone forgot to do their job somewhere!

If you do round up a few more, I'd really appreciate it. Let's see which Christmas you mean, 2010 or 2011?!

Perhaps we should just double check the address via PM just to make sure I haven't induced you in error.

No, I wish it was !
I have being doing physical work since I was 16 years old and the injury most likely stems from some bad posture situations when I was younger and less knowledgable about such things.
Mostly it is OK, and during the summer when our swimming pool is open I have no problems. Swimming is the number one cure for a bad back. But I haven't been for three weeks now and must look for a year-round pool somewhere.
But those CSN's were great and I hope Andrew's arrive. Back to read some more now as sitting is impossible. {Plus I never watch TV]




Looks good Rod. Maybe I'll just pop over and kip in your garage for a bit!
I think we may have something like that in our stored equipment, I must check it out, thanks for reminding me.

Londonbus1....back to the floor

Andrew:

Check your email, then your snail mail

KirkS

I forget to check my email sometimes, with work and all!
The address is indeed correct. So the problem is really the uselessness of the post office.
You have decided to challenge the postal system again hahah! Thanks! Hopefully I get this one (maybe the other one will snail its way to me as well).

If you like this stamp (re-edition of the Ceres stamp from Portugal): http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/3961/c2010.jpg

Send me your snail mail address so I can send you the FDC of it with another set of stamps so you get the first day cancel plus the normal circulation cancellation (it's very nice!). Even if I never get the packages LOL, I really appreciate the effort!

Pathetically, and despite your efforts, the magazines (part 2) haven't arrived yet.

I sent an email to the complaints department last week to try to find the packages (which could be lost in the freaking customs office). We shall see if I get a reply from them.

No more attempts please lol. If they indeed get lost, it's a waste trying again. Someone else who has a decent postage system deserves them more than me :/

I'm so sorry Andrew.

When I mailed the second batch, I double-checked everything with my postmaster, made sure the customs form was correct, etc. And I sent both batches in Priority Mail envelopes. Londonbus said the side was split on the one I sent him, so on your 2nd batch, I reinforced the envelope with clear tape on all 4 sides. My postmaster said that would work fine and it was unlikely that customs would open/inspect the contents, but if so, they would re-seal everything. I assume he meant U.S. Customs; I didn't ask if it was more likely to be inspected leaving the US or entering Portugal.

I don't know what we could have done differently ?

Sorry,
Kirk

No need to apologize Kirk. Not your fault. Nothing else you could do other than hand deliver it! haha

CTT has a history of losing things.
In the last year I've had 2 similar situations:
- A package coming from Macau (from Macau Post), stuck in the customs. Luckily, since it was registered, I tracked it down on the CTT website, and called the Customs office. They proceeded to send me the notice and the costs for Sales Tax and Customs fees (funny how you have to remind them to do their jobs and they still charge you).

- Another package coming from Germany, a big one (so it doesn't fit in my mailbox), apparently a notice was left to me (never got it, although they ocasionally stick the notice on your front door..... not the best nor safest way to do this!!), and since I never 'picked' it up it went back to Germany

It's a mess. Hopefully, my inquiries with the post office and customs office will help to find out if it ever arrived here in Portugal.

If the package got damaged on the way, it wouldn't be an excuse not to get here. I've had that happen to me and it arrived all taped up. It's the minimum you ask of the service provided.

But what are the odds that BOTH packages would disappear?

Is it possible the contents were a violation of some postal regulation? Re-mailing periodicals that were originally mailed 2nd class or something weird like that?

Oh well, live and learn, I guess