24K Juliet #44 & 24K X Squared #446 > MIA… MISSING… LOST or STOLEN?

As the title says - these are both currently ‘missing|lost|stolen’. Of course ‘missing’ can mean different things. In this case let’s just say that I sent them away and they never came back. It was not a break in or other direct theft the obvious guess why would be the correct one. The pairs were not taken from my vehicle or lost in the mail. The chain of custody verifies that they were in the possession of another party when they disappeared.

So shame on me for letting them out of my sight, right?

Yeah, pretty much.

I cannot say where exactly they were last seen. However, I can say that the last known location was in or around Mira Loma, CA, United States. That should be enough of a clue for y’all. They were mint when they left me, only sent away because the other party insisted they have them for additional lenses to be installed. :headbang:

Note that I have sent C SIX's and other valuable pieces in to this other party before and never had a problem. That was then and this is now .

I don’t want to go through all the details - I have done that too many times now with way too many folks. :mad-35:

Besides, that is not important. The past is the past and this post is about current status and awareness moving forward. What is important is that after close to 2 months of searching they are officially gone, a police report has been filed; other parties have been engaged as appropriate. Both pairs have been reported as stolen. All parties have done their due diligence, or as much as they will admit to, in investigating the issue.

So what now? Anyone excluding myself who has these pairs in their possession is in possession of stolen property. These are still mine. I am retaining proof of ownership and all rights to these pairs.

I have since replaced the missing pairs with LNIB, complete pairs. ..."whatever" + "meh" x "blah"= how I feel about the replacements.

Now, facts being what they are there is another more subjective issue. This experience has sincerely soured my desired to collect. I do not want to sound negative ungrateful as I am truly thankful for finding replacements at a very reasonable cost in a timely manner, but when I received the replacement pairs is when I really noticed the greater problem. I guess it’s kind of like having to deal with a car dealership after they have screwed you over on something major - maybe you got a lemon? It’s not the car’s fault entirely, but the manufacturer and dealer make it worse… Or being around a girlfriend or other Ex after an ugly breakup? Pick a scenario where it is not easy to continue the relationship and I’m not far from there. Right now I am honestly not sure I want to continue. I know I am currently neglecting the O-stuff big time. In recent weeks I have hardly looked at my cabs or anything in them. I find myself going to non-O tinted Rx reading glasses instead of the Oaks… I don’t want to sound all butt-hurt and whiny, but I got to see first hand how this other party deals with people. They are very, very nice until they feel they have compensated you in some way then bye-bye. No more communication, no more trying - the very definition of customer disservice - unhelpful and adding insult to injury. There were times they could have completely ignored me instead of communicating the way they did that would have pissed me off less. Furthermore it’s not just the sunnies. Its the shoes, the shirts - anything and everything with an ‘O’ icon on it. I can’t stand the sight of it due mostly in part to how the issue was handled and not nearly as much because of the issue itself. I understand the business side of this - I went into the situation with an open mind and reasonable expectations. I was expecting that I would get the short end of the deal one-way or the other for sure. However, the communication was the thing that truly disturbed me. It is the principle of not doing business with others who do not seem to hold the same standards of truth and decency as I do that has me in this unexpected place. That is the real problem moving forward, if there is a way forward with regards to the situation at hand. By writing this post I am not extending any good vibes - I know that. This is not about Karma. Its about responsible business practices and standing by the people who support your brand – or not! :mad:

I am not trying to discourage anyone or burn any bridges here. I am only trying to explain the ramifications, the result of all this beyond the material loss. I feel a lot more could have been done to prevent and/or resolve this. Sure, things happened – stuff happens all the time and not always in our favor. That said there is no justification for what happened in this case the way that it happened. Not just the lack of proactive, logical and physical security controls, any ongoing status, and so on. It is about gaps so large in communication, before and after, during ‘discovery’, and follow-up. Its about making a choice to work with someone who has been dedicated to your brand for as long as they can remember – or not! That is the part that was missing during most of the process and has been completely absent regarding follow-up pertaining to the investigation since the ’settlement’, which was more like a kick in the teeth, an insult to injury at best, rather than fair and just compensation. :mad: :mad:

In case anyone thinks that is a bit much I’d like to add that I could go on for hours… days… its not nearly enough for the time – the blood and sweat I have invested developing this relationship as it relates to my collection. Suffice to say they are NOT worthy! If anyone from the party responsible for these being lost|stolen reads this and thinks it is harsh remember these were not lost in the mail - they were not sent in because they needed help - they were sent in because you insisted and YOU FSCK'd UP!

(Breathes deeply…) Maybe this will pass, maybe it won’t - time will tell. :idk:

Back to the sunnies - Please, if you see them, or if you see a suspicious pair unmarked or otherwise available, perhaps ‘for parts’, please let me know ASAP. Once again they are 24K Juliet #44 and X Squared 24K #446 – easy #s to remember. It should also be obvious as they will likely be 'incomplete' in some way or may have suspicious packaging (label torn, no coin, etc...).

Am I offering a reward? Certainly, but I am not committing to any item or amount in particular - perhaps a nice X-Metal, maybe a couple of hundred dollars? I can assure something, but that something will depend on the cost to recover the pair(s) and their condition upon return. I am confident MANY of you would notify me without expectation of any reward or compensation simply because it’s the right thing to do.

One last note… I’m not sure if there is a thread for ‘lost and found’, missing, and possibly even stolen items? :help: If there is please let me know so I can post this there. If not, maybe there could be? I’m sure I am not the first and I doubt I will be the last!

Anyway, Happy

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Dealing with a transaction gone sour is never easy, and I think many of us have gone through times where the hobby just doesn't seem appealing. Thanks for listing the numbers, and if anything shows up, it hopefully can be tracked.

Thank You Dann. The post is really all about awareness, but it is hard not to vent. The material loss is what it is - its just stuff. Its the way we handle the situation that defines us.

If there is a better area on the site/forum to post this info to please let me know. It can be simple like Juliet #44 and X Squared #446 =]

I've also posted it over on that other forum... If there are other places that you or anyone else thinks would be good please let me know.

i will keep my eyes open. sorry for you about this bad experience... this is worse than the trons that were sent that never arrived :(