Two years ago a forum member and I spent three months trying to capture a mailing tube of used Ericson rub rail that kept getting rerouted between me in LA and him in San Francisco. The tube went back and forth twice without either of us being notified. WE chalked it up to bad luck.
This week, a member 2,000 miles away received from UPS a similar mailing tube from me, also containing three sections of old rub rail, and a week late in arriving.
He opened the mailing tube to discover three 3' sections not of old aluminum rub rail but of angle iron.
Figure that one out. A new UPS employee hiding some mistake he made? A UPS employee who owns an Ericson with a busted rub rail? Sunspots? Hallucinagens?
My recipient came up with a theory of explanation that does ring true, at least to me, because the whole business is too bizarre without a nefarious origin:
I have thought about this a lot and now have a theory. The only way taking the rubrail makes any sense is if the thief wants the tube space - not the rubrail. They then use the tube to ship contraband across the country without creating a paper trail to recipient who is receiving the contraband in the event things go wrong. So out comes the rubrail in goes the contraband and the person who does this notifies his accomplice in [my state] as to the tracking number and the contents. The accomplice can then go out and purchase a suitable replacement to put in the tube after the contraband is removed on the [my state] end. That way the legitimate recipient - in this case me - is expected to chalk it up to a simple "shipping error" and ask for a replacement product. I suspect they like mailing tubes since they can simply pop and end cover off and put it back on with minimal disruption to the package, and it's quick So this would involve corrupt UPS workers on each end and may be mob controlled. I have read of many instances where airplane employees are involved in moving contraband so why not UPS?
Be careful with your rub rail out there.
This week, a member 2,000 miles away received from UPS a similar mailing tube from me, also containing three sections of old rub rail, and a week late in arriving.
He opened the mailing tube to discover three 3' sections not of old aluminum rub rail but of angle iron.
Figure that one out. A new UPS employee hiding some mistake he made? A UPS employee who owns an Ericson with a busted rub rail? Sunspots? Hallucinagens?
My recipient came up with a theory of explanation that does ring true, at least to me, because the whole business is too bizarre without a nefarious origin:
I have thought about this a lot and now have a theory. The only way taking the rubrail makes any sense is if the thief wants the tube space - not the rubrail. They then use the tube to ship contraband across the country without creating a paper trail to recipient who is receiving the contraband in the event things go wrong. So out comes the rubrail in goes the contraband and the person who does this notifies his accomplice in [my state] as to the tracking number and the contents. The accomplice can then go out and purchase a suitable replacement to put in the tube after the contraband is removed on the [my state] end. That way the legitimate recipient - in this case me - is expected to chalk it up to a simple "shipping error" and ask for a replacement product. I suspect they like mailing tubes since they can simply pop and end cover off and put it back on with minimal disruption to the package, and it's quick So this would involve corrupt UPS workers on each end and may be mob controlled. I have read of many instances where airplane employees are involved in moving contraband so why not UPS?
Be careful with your rub rail out there.
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