[Tim Bishop]

Had something similar happen to me once about 5 years ago. I bought a Smith bass off of eBay. The bass would be shipped by UPS from Jacksonville, FL. The bass made it as far as the Dallas UPS hub and no further. Dallas is about 30 miles east of Fort Worth. The bass was suppose to be delivered in Fort Worth. I filed a report with UPS. UPS determined the bass was "missing" (duh).

About 6 months later, the same bass shows up on eBay. Item location? Fort Worth. I contacted the eBay seller (he was selling the bass for the person that owned it) and he connected me with the owner. I won the eBay auction (again) and met the newest owner in south Fort Worth to pick up the bass.

After talking with the owner a bit, I had asked how he came across this bass. He said he purchased it at a flee market in Fort Worth. Hmmm, I thought: Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. However, as the conversation moved on, I also learned his previous employer was, guess who?, yeah, UPS - Dallas. Made me want to go, hmmmmmm (better known as the double hmmm). I contacted UPS and to my surprise, they had long since moved on and dropped the investigation.

After I received the bass, I contacted the original (legal) owner of the bass (from Jacksonvill FL) to let him know I located and bought the bass. He and I, to this day, are good friends.