I may have to sue Fanatics or Fedex-UPDATED 5/8/25 AT END OF THREAD
 

Here are the facts:
I won a PSA graded trading card for around $40K in a Fanatics auction
The item was shipped to me (at my one man office in an office building) Fedex Priority overnight with adult signature required.....delivery for Friday January 10th. I paid around $140 for shipping and insurance. Item delayed and rescheduled for Monday January 13th
On January 13th I receive an automated email from Fedex indicating "item delivered" NO ONE FROM FEDEX delivered an item to me.
I immediately contact Fedex customer support (they are useless) and was told they are looking into it. I am adamant about CONTACTING THE DRIVER ASAP to find out what happened to the package and to send him up to my office. They, of course ignore my request.

After a few days of contacting managers, supervisors, etc I get a "proof of delivery" with a squiggly line as a signature and signed by R.Russ (see attachment) I have signed for hundreds of items over the years from Fedex, UPS, USPS, Staples, etc with the same signature (see attachment)

Fedex sends me a case update on Wednesday January 15th indicating "after exhausting all search options, we have been unable to locate this shipment"
Fedex WILL NOT LET ME meet with the driver. One supervisor said the driver was dispatched BACK TO THE LOCATION and can not retrieve the package. The driver NEVER contacted me or visited my office.

I have been in touch with my great Fanatics personal representative (Chris Peerboom) who is contacting their logistics department to see about an insurance claim. I am concerned that the insurer will say "technically there is a signature so we are off the hook".

This is total BULLSHIT on the part of Fedex. You would think they would tell me where the driver delivered the package to. They leave you in the dark. How can Fedex be this flippant about this matter ?? If I were working for Fedex I would have been pretty thorough in attempting to retrieve the package and investigating who signed for the driver.

Hoping I am wrong about Fanatics insurer.
Russ

I'm pretty sure that Fedex limit on insurance is $5000 and they don't insure cards---how was the package insured?

that sucks big time...what was the card?

I hope there is a positive outcome. I bought a very expensive baseball and it was delivered by FedEx with the same signature requirement. Like you, I was waiting on edge for my package. I got the same BS automated delivered message even though nobody rang my bell. It said my package had been signed by a C. Covid. I ran downstairs and luckily my package was there but I was extremely annoyed.

I've been in shipping for over 37 years and have dealt with UPS / Fed. ALL drivers for these companies are on a tight schedule. UPS fired one of the drivers that delivered here because he was forging signatures and just leaving the package(s) outside the shipping door. IF the same driver delivers to you all the time (his route), I'd send a package to myself (sig req) then you could talk to him.

Yeah, it's been 4 days now. You should get out there what the card was so other people can look out for it, in case it pops up in the wild.

Sorry this happened to you.

I'm assuming Fanatics was using a Private Insurance company for their packages, because it costs waaaay more then $140.00 to Overnight and insure a 40K package with any shipping service.

I don't know about FedEx, but when I was at UPS in the 90's, you'd be fired immediately if you let any 5K+ package go, without getting a valid in-person signature...union worker or not.

Fanatics uses a private insurer.

Picture is from the Fanatics auction ad.

Then why would you sue FedEx? It's now an issue for Fanatic's insurance company.

C.Covid signature same concept as R.Russ
I am going to have Fedex send me old "proof of delivery" signatures. I hope they keep them in a digital file.

That's awful. I'm sorry to hear about this.

Do you think there is someone in your building/complex who signed for you, or do you think the driver forged the signature?

I can't imagine that FedEx was your choice...for items of that value (and really even far below it), every single AH should allow winners to choose the shipping method. FedEx can be such a nightmare. For all the complaints about USPS, USPS Registered would not have led to this outcome IMO

When I worked at USPS we had GPS in our scanners so they could tell where a package was delivered. But they would never share that with a customer.

Also "adult signature" is way different from signature confirmation or restricted delivery. With only "adult signature" we didn't check somebody's ID if they were obviously adult. With signature confirmation we had to check ID to see that the name you signed was the name on the ID. With restricted delivery the name on your ID had to be the name the package was addressed to.

I just wonder if insurance covers misdelivery. With it not being fedex insurance, is it covered for damage or loss or is it covered for failure to safely deliver it to you? It wasn't lost or damaged, just not properly delivered.

Good luck, I hope they come thru for you.

I have had issues with FedEx in the past. I started having them hold packages at a nearby distribution center, so I can just pick them up at my convenience, and no further problems. I hope this is resolved for you quickly, and without a lot of stress.

This is exactly what I do now, as well. Best of luck.... an awful situation, and hoping you get your proper recourse.

I would think that the insurance company that Fanatic’s uses needs ONLY a signature to consider an item “delivered”
I am charging FedEx with NEVER HAVING OBTAINED a signature.

I have heard many FedEx drivers don't even attempt to get a signature. They'll just show up and slap the piece of paper on the door. As someone mentioned, I always select to pick it up at a nearby location.

This happens to me quite often. (Blank slip on the door with no information whatsoever.)

They do insure collectibles up to $1000. Obviously that's no help here.

I ran the numbers. To insure 40K and sending Next Day Air it would cost $665

As far as the signature goes, my actual signature, using a pen, is way different from the squiggle I'm able to produce, when using my fingernail on their signature pad. I think those signatures, scrawled with a finger, are useless.

When I get stuff from Heritage, I am required to show ID - my drivers' license - and they capture an image of it.

Two years ago, on my birthday no less, I had a package misdelivered by FedEx containing four Type 1 photos on their way back from PSA. We have 12 cameras front and back of our building and I have proof no FedEx delivery was made here on the stated day, or at the stated time. We also had no employee working here by the name of the person who signed for my package. Dealing with FedEx was a complete joke and their customer service is garbage. After a few days of trying to get FedEx to do anything I contacted PSA and filed a claim. Four months later I had a check in hand that covered the full value of the photos, as well as all shipping and authentication fees. Dollar wise I came out ahead, but I'd still rather have my photo's back. Three were of Fred Clarke and one was of Vic Willis from 1909. To this day I've never seen any other photos like those and I'm still pissed about this. I've never used FedEx since and go out of my way to make sure shippers do not send my packages FedEx.

+1

I have started doing this when I know I will not be home to sign for a package. FedEx would leave a door tag half the time, and the other half they would sign for it and leave it at the front door.

The Jordan Holy Grail is a card that is picked up in person. No way in Hell I would trust the shitbirds at UPS FedEx or USPS with that.

I sniff driver larceny in this sad tale.
If delivery services had any idea the righteous anger of collectors, who have saved, done their homework and bought a big card, only to find it has gone astray due to the carrier's negligence might think about improving service by vetting their drivers more carefully

My Fedex story is one where the seller insisted on my signature when the package was delivered and it was cards. Fedex notified me that the package would be delivered during the morning hours. In our gated community theft is not a problem, but the seller insisted. The value of the parcel was $400, not 40K.

I waited at home for the morning delivery that did not happen. I continued to wait, pen in hand, but at 4PM there was a loud thud at the front door (that sounded like a break in attempt). I went the front door and my package was on the ground having been pitched by the driver at my door. The truck was pulling away when I looked up.

The seller packaged the cards well and they survived the bombing of my front door. Fortunately the front door survived as well. I never saw a signature of the driver and I suspect his office didn't either. With all the tales mentioned in this thread, my own position about signature verification on delivery seems vindicated.

Waiting 8 hours for a bomb to explode at the front door does not seem warranted either.

The nearest pick up location offered by Fedex is 20 miles away (40 miles for the round trip)

Hopefully things will work out more favorably for the OP as well.

I only skimmed but have you contacted Fanatics, explained the situation, and asked them to deal with Fed Ex as they are the customer?

That won't do it. The only thing that could give the delivery services pause is a court ruling with mega punitive damages for negligence over and above full compensation to the individual who didn't get delivery.

:(

Should be this way with all shipping services. Way too many packages not being delivered properly.

This is every card guy's worst nightmare! I'm sorry this had to happen to you.

Using a company like FedEx or UPS or DHL overnight and getting signature provides extra layers of security, but nothing is a hundred-perfect safe. Like many of you posted already, picking up your parcel from one of the nearest locations to your home can provide you with even more security.

I've had many parcels get shipped to me through FedEx and they're pretty good here (Toronto). There was only one time where the American sender didn't get signature and my package was left at the wrong house. When we called customer service, they reached out to the driver and he told them that he had left it at the right house. This went on for a few days, but then the driver brought the package to my house and handed it to my mother (he apologized).

I've had Canada Post deliver my packages to the wrong houses a few times - total nightmare. I even had to chase the CP worker down the street once and make him retrieve my package!

Like Lehr said about cameras for proof, that is your ticket to victory. You are in an office building so hopefully you can just show the proof that there was never anything dropped off.

I would guess the driver. My first area of discovery will be to review all of the driver’s signature deliveries. I would bet that “forged signature “ is not a first.

My first call was to the landlord. Bank of America was a tenant on the ground floor. Unfortunately there are no closed circuit cameras in the alcove or parking lot.

I see this getting worse before possibly better
 

page of cards was stolen including an autographed 1961 Clemente and 1961 Hornsby from a package whine in Fedex's possession for less than 14 hours. They "investigated" Conclusded nothing - whole process is laughable, but not in the least bit funny!

Wonder if there are enough of these type situations for a class action lawsuit. As previously mentioned until this atrocious accountability costs Fedex real money (ie. Expensive lawsuit settlement), I suspect the lack of process follow through and accountability will continue.

It is situationally great to be covered by insurance in these cases, but more globally 1) It lets Fed Ex (or other shippers) off the hook regaridng true accountability and ends up costing us all more for insurance as a result of FedEx emloyees negligent behabvior!

Wonder if filing a police report would get anywhere…40k is no joke.

I had a consignor/board member send a package Fed EX to my residence last week, signature required, I was home all day and about 4;30 received an email alert from FedEx, package was delivered. I jumped up, knowing no one had rang the bell and assumed they just left it at the door and went on. Nope, nothing there. walked the 50 yards down the drive to the mailbox and a white box is leaning against the mail box in the 6" of snow we just got....

Had I not gotten the email, I would have never known and as the others the signature was a little short scribble.

Drivers are either too busy to complete their routes within the allotted time, or lazy. The USPS fairly often does not come to the door asking me to sign, they just leave it in the box or on the porch. I don't get much by Fed Ex, but they have always asked for a signature.

I agree. That's the bottom line. And until FedEx has to pay dearly, very dearly, for the situation, it's not going to change.

:mad:

Like businesses selling goods budget for return costs, Fed Ex probably just sets aside a reserve for negligence or theft claims, and whatever internal reform would be necessary to reduce them probably isn't worth the cost.

Its to the point I almost want to say postal delivery workers need to start wearing body cams for proof of every drop off.

sooner the better, imo.

Hi Peter,
Yes I have. Chris Peerboom is my personal rep at Fanatics. He is looking into it with their logistics department. As I said, my concern here is that if the insurance company for Fanatics sees the "squiggle" that represents a signature, will they deem themselves off the hook ??

Based on much of what I've read this phony signature is quite common. I am prepared to file a lawsuit with Fedex. I think they are WELL AWARE of this type of practice where the driver signs and just drops a package. I only wish we had closed circuit cameras in the lobby OR outside to see if this was the case.

It would probably depend on the terms and conditions of any agreement you had with Fanatics, but it seems to me you could have a claim against Fanatics for failure to deliver the card you purchased. You would argue that FedEx is their agent responsible for taking the proper steps to ensure delivery and while you do not know exactly what happened, you can establish that the card never arrived through no fault of your own. Contracts between buyer and seller generally address the issue of who bears the loss in either of two ways-- it is the buyer's problem once it reaches the shipper (out of seller's control) or it is the seller's problem until it reaches the destination. You might still have to rebut an argument that it reached the destination as shown by the squiggle, but that is a fact question that you face against either FedEx or Fanatics anyway.

I assume that if you are going to sue anyone it will be through a lawyer, so it would be worthwhile to consult with one now if you have not and ask about all options, although a good lawyer need not be asked that question in the first place.

Yeah, this is what I was thinking too. Do you sue Fanatics or FedEx or both ?? These are questions you need to ask a lawyer.

Also, are there any buildings across or near to you with cameras ?? Maybe they have cameras pointing towards your building ??

And because of the high amount involved here, do you not have to notify the police ??

You can blame the individual drivers all you want, but it's a top/down attitude, likely connected to delivery speed quotas, along with getting docked for bringing packages that haven't been signed for back to the building.

I doubt very many FedEx drivers are pilfering packages themselves. It's just too easy to get caught at that stage of the delivery, and your movements are tracked from minute to minute. What they ARE doing is, whatever they can to keep from bringing a package back to the building, which includes scrawling fake signatures, and leaving packages where they can easily be pilfered by others, or out in the weather, or just straight up mis-delivering...sometimes with a fake sig.

Usually the out for the fake sig is "Talked to the customer earlier, and they said I could sign for them".

Of course they are told not to do this by their supervisors.....followed by a tacit wink, wink, and a "do whatever you have to do to keep your job" kick in the ass on the way out the door in the morning.

I WAS a delivery driver in a former life. We have a front covered porch that's out of the weather, that every delivery driver wishes for, when they drop off a package at any house.

We've had FedEx drivers leave packages at the top of the driveway by the mailbox next to the road, in the driveway, right in front of the garage door ready to get run over when you go to back out, in the yard to the side of the driveway, in the little pull off parking spot halfway down the drive....etc....

Hell, we even had a Chewy Dog Food box left at the end of a neighbors driveway a 1/2 mile down the street a month ago or so. Got the "Delivered" notice, complete with a picture of the box in a strangers driveway, that was definitely not our own. Not even at HIS front door, but perched on a wall at the end of his driveway. Thankfully the neighbor was kind enough to truck it back to our house before we figured out exactly where it was misdelivered to.

No rhyme or reason either. Not all the FedEx drivers do that, but we seem to live in a sort of delivery dead spot that gets a different driver every day.

The other delivery outfits don't deliver in the same manner... at least not in my experience.

Not USPS, not UPS, not even Amazon does that, and we might get 3 different Amazon drivers in a single day.

Just FedEx and some other delivery outfit named "Uniuni" that we get every once in awhile.

Hell, the others might tear up our gravel driveway, and occasionally back into our garage...but at least they get the package where it's supposed to go.

There's also the fact, FedEx will notoriously take all the money you want to give them for Insurance coverage, but then dance around what and how much they will actually cover if something actually goes down. That's a directive all the way from the top to be that evasive in your practices.

I do think one of the pitfalls of having a Private Insurance carrier, especially with very high value packages, is that the carriers themselves have no idea they are handling a high value package, so the chain of custody could end up being much more lax.

I'm sure if the driver who mis-delivered/pilfered/left out in the open, whatever...knew he was handling a 40K package, there's no way he would have forged a signature and been as careless as he was with that package.

When I was at UPS (and I'm going by memory, so the numbers might be slightly off), anything that was declared over 2K was handled and packed on the truck separate from everything else and was adult signature required whether it was requested by the shipper or not...and anything over 5K was handled and shipped in completely different shipping containers and with a chain of custody far different then the rest of the normal shipments.

The thing about puntive damages is that they're intended to punish for malevolence, negligence, etc. They should therefore not go to the plaintiff (who's already receiving full compensation) but to say a charity fund. This would have the effect of increasing the size of punitive damage awards enormously.

Like I say, punitive damages. That's the solution.

;)

The signature, to me, appears self-evidently fake. Fanatics may have some leverage also, it's a huge business beyond the auction site. I am optimistic you will work this out without having to file a lawsuit, which is rarely the best solution for any small (in context, not being denigrating here) dispute.

Right, check the terms and conditions for sure. I do think the presumption, if the agreement does not provide otherwise, is that the seller's risk of loss ends upon tender to a common carrier. But that said, Fanatics sure as hell does not want or need bad publicity and if they can't work this out with their insurer or Fed Ex, they may still not want to stiff Russ. Anyhow, lawsuit here should be last resort.

No, the solution here is to resolve it. Even if punitive damages were available in a lawsuit, Fed Ex is a company with a 65 BILLION dollar market cap, I hardly think a punitive damages award in a suit for a 40K loss/theft is going to matter to them. People constantly overstate the in terrorem effect of civil litigation, not to mention have very little understanding of how hard it is to bring a class action in most circumstances.

Everytime I have been asked to sign for a package, usually electronically, whether I use my finger or an object or a pen, no one, incuding me, would recognize the signature. Any mark or scratching seems to suffice. Others may be more careful or precise or encounter delivery people who are more particular.

Kind of like modern autograph cards, eh?

The OP said that he has signed for many other packages in the past from FedEx and others. I would think it would be possible to compare some of those signatures with the one for this delivery.

8.4. Risk of loss and title for any Archived Item fulfilled or shipped through Fanatics Collect passes to the recipient upon proof of delivery to the recipient's fulfillment address. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of the fulfillment address included in any Release Order. Fanatics Collect is responsible for filing any claims with carriers if Archived Item is lost or damaged in transit. You are responsible for filing any claims with carriers for damaged or lost shipments at any point following proof of delivery to the fulfillment address included in a Release Order. The purchaser of an Archived Item through Marketplace is responsible for filing any claims with carriers for damaged or lost shipments at any point following proof of delivery to the fulfillment address provided to Marketplace at the time of purchase.

So at least technically, the issue is whether that squiggle is proof of delivery. I would argue NFW, and Russ' statement will fully support that. And I doubt Fed Ex can come up with a GPS or anything. But I still think this is probably resolvable between Fanatics and Fed Ex.

Interesting. Seems helpful to the OP, as it is in the nature of a destination contract.

Correct, assuming he can establish the "proof of delivery" is fake. Fanatics is not going to fight this IMO. It may take some time and posturing but they will work it out with Russ, or they and Fed Ex will jointly work it out.

If not fake at least erroneous. OP says he has a one-man office in an office bldg. I assume he provided Fanatics with any applicable suite number if there are other offices in the building. Otherwise it may be sufficient to deliver to an adult at any suite. If suite was listed and FedEx delivered to wrong office, then it might not be considered a "fake" as much as a sig o/b/o. Doesn't mean there wasn't a screw-up, but would point more to negligence than anything nefarious by Fed Ex.
I agree as to the ultimate resolution, assuming the card is not found.

Came home a few weeks ago and saw these packages at the door. The larger box contained a Kreindler painting. Signature was to have been required but they let that slide. Good thing it wasn't a rainy day and a good thing the porch pirates were elsewhere. Not that it really mattered but it was upside-down for good measure. Gotta love FedEx.

At least they followed the instruction not to lay it flat. :eek:

I avoid FedEx like the plague. I live in a large town that has a community page on Facebook. A while back there were many discussions about the theory that FedEx drivers in our area ran out of time at the end of the day, marked all undelivered packages in their trucks as delivered, and delivered those packages next day. This caused a lot of confusion and anxiety as customers believed their packages were missing. I believe the drivers did this to hit their metrics. There were many, many documented instances of this on our page.

FedEx apparently caught on because drivers stopped doing this for whatever reason. However, some drivers appear to have found a new method to help their metrics: If they had two deliveries on the same street or nearby, and say it was busy (holiday season, etc), they would seem to deliver both packages to one address and let neighbors 'sort it out' hoping they wouldn't have the time to contact customer service. This has happened to me twice and many times to others on our page as well.

I understand the drivers are under the crunch, as the metrics are becoming unreasonable, but it seems that the customer is suffering. I had a $2000 signed Jordan Baseball left at my neighbors house, thankfully he brought it over.

Method of payment? Any help with them?

I hope you litigate their b*lls off, they've had it coming for ages! Fedex is the worst.

If you can find out who the delivery driver is I would add that individual personally to any lawsuit filed.

I had an instance many years ago with an airline ticketing agent who had to reprint my baggage tag and ended up printing a new tag and used someone else’s ticketing info that shared my last name. My bags ended up not making it to my destination and the airline couldn’t track them and they would only honor a very small amount for the lost bag and item replacements.

I ended up suing the airline and the ticketing agent personally in small claims for the replacements cost of the lost items. The airline ended up having one of the airlines legal counsel flying in to meet and it was all easily settled to my satisfaction.

I wish you luck on this and hopefully this can be settled to your satisfaction.


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You should go onto the proof of delivery page. At the bottom there SHOULD BE the recipients signature. I wonder what it looks like.

[QUOTE=LOUCARDFAN;2489318]If you can find out who the delivery driver is I would add that individual personally to any lawsuit filed.

Of course Fedex WOULD NOT allow me to contact the driver. I was told that the following day the driver was dispatched to the destination but failed to retrieve the package.

Of course the driver never came to my office. What a F--King joke.
And yes......my office suite number is clearly marked on the package

Thank you everyone for your advice and your stories about Fedex and the lack of compliance with "signature confirmation". I was SO unaware at how common place this practice seems to be. Just to reiterate the facts:

This package was sent with signature confirmation.

My entire office suite number is included on the bill of lading from Fanatics

I was never visited by the driver even after Fedex dispatched him/her back to the destination.

I will file a police report ASAP.

I am so pissed off by this entire experience but will work in a civil manor with my personal rep Chris Peerboom at Fanatics to find a resolution. I am going to pressure Fanatics about the signature used by the Fedex driver and about remedies without legal action.

The resolution should be that after a reasonable time when the card does not turn up and there is nothing further to be done to locate it, Fanatics refunds you and it's then their problem to deal with Fed Ex or their insurer. But it may take some time if your rep has to go up the chain which he may need to do given the size of the transaction. If you feel he's not being sufficiently responsive, there's a guy at Fanatics I dealt with who was fantastic on a (smaller and not controversial) issue I had, would give you his name. Best of luck.

[QUOTE=russkcpa;2489346]
FED EX just like UPS have regular drivers that drive the same daily routes so it would be very easy to find the driver responsible. The company isn’t going to divulge that information on their own. Finding and speaking to the driver may help his memory.


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Well i had a similar situation in 2022 where a box sent from psa that hand like 75 cards worth about 20k at the time vanished. Same deal went through every which way and even got my state representative involved. I got no where at all unfortunately. I hope your situation works out better for you. Bases on my experience with ups and fedex, neither get true signatures often. There is no excuse and honestly its surprising this doesnt happen more often and there has not been a class action lawsuit but here we are. I know various auction houses wont use certain companies but i honestly dont think anyone is better just a preference. Best of luck

James G

This is the main reason I carry collectibles insurance. For fire and theft is almost secondary, but my policy also covers shipments that are lost or never show up.

But are you sure your insurer would agree that this shipment didn’t show up?

Exactly. If the package is marked as delivered and signed by someone, then good luck getting your money back from your insurer.

OP: do you know if there was information on the box that would have made a thief interested in it?

I know some AHs don't do this, but I've received auction winnings in a package that clearly indicates it's from an auction house, which isn't great.

This. Why would anyone ship a $40k card?

Unfortunately I never saw the box !!

Notify the police and get a lawyer. Start legal proceedings to get FedEx and their driver to testify. Otherwise your card and the money you paid for the card have probably both disappeared.

:(

Yes they already reimbursed for a “lost” package. I just showed documentation that I have no idea who the person was that signed it and FedEx couldn’t show or proof the name of the person. Also I showed I’m the only person who resides at my residence. As a lot of people on this board, I have CIS. Have had great experience with them overall.

LOL some of the advice on this board is really misguided.

I'd suggest reporting the card to PSA as stolen and asking them to de-certify it. Also, contact the editors at Sports Collectors Daily, SCD, cllct, etc., and ask them to report on the stolen card. Just to make it harder for the thief to flip it. You might also offer a reward of a few thousand dollars through your local PD for info leading to the return of the card, and ask the hobby press to report on it too. FWIW, I will mention the theft in my next blog. Sunlight is a strong disinfectant, so to speak.

For ten points, whose quote was that originally?

Louis Brandeis.

How about: "Three generations of imbeciles are enough"?

Fed Ex package sorting looks to be fairly efficient. I can’t imagine what could ever go wrong!