Quick report: Omnibus & Belgium problem
When you order a SiP Omnibus (still some left, by the way). I select your Omnibus package, carefully open the shrink wrap just at the opening so I can slide the books out. I sign each book and doodle a sketch in Book One…
Then I place the books back into the slipcase and fold the shrink wrap back over the top…
The Omnibus is placed onto a bed of plastic peanuts in a heavy-duty shipping box. Then peanuts are stuffed around the Omnibus all the way up and over the top so that it disappears into its packing of peanuts…
(top peanuts left off for photo so you can see packed Omnibus). Once covered, the box is taped shut and ready for shipping. The pic above is what you see when you open your box.
We have never had a complaint about a Omnibus damaged in shipment. They arrive just as we sent them, except in Belgium.
The last three Omnibus orders sent to Belgium have been deliberately destroyed by customs agents in Belgium.The box had been opened, the slipcase torn apart to extract the books, the pages ripped from the spine of the books. When whatever they’re looking for was not found, the agents had the gall to cover the books with the slipcase pieces, drop the mess back into the shipping box with half the peanuts now gone, then complete the delivery. Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? Here’s what our last poor customer in Belgium found in their box…
If this was an isolated event, we would strike it up to vandalism. But the last three orders to Belgium have met this fate. As a result, we will no longer risk shipping the Omnibus to Belgium.
To be fair, my omnibus cover was damaged, but it was clearly shipping damage and you were wonderful enough to replace it with ease which I can’t thank you enough for. I wish I held out for a sketch though.
It’s a real shame how the Belgium shipments are being treated though. It’s a travesty to treat any book like that, and unbelievable that they couldn’t simply open and inspect like any other customs official would do. I imagine it would be very difficult to smuggle contraband in a SiP Omnibus considering how dense the product is.
Perhaps this is a reason why Douglas Adams wrote that “Belgium” is the most foul and disgusting word in the galaxy, so condemned that its use was morally inexcusable (in the “Hitchhiker’s” universe).
That is crazy and heartbreaking.
We no longer use the B word around here.
This story reminds me of Sabena, the national airline of Belgium. At least, it was until Swiss Air took it over in bankruptcy.
I flew it once from Antwerp to meet Kathy, my wife, in Paris. We were an hour late and she had to stand around wondering where I was for that hour – pre-cellphone.
Anyway, that’s when I discovered that Sabena was really an acronym – not a name. It stood for:
Such A Bad Experience Never Again
So, there your go.
(Hmm… free sketch in the Omnibus, huh?)
I’m from Belgium and believe me, this can only happen over here. The customs in Belgium are handed by idiots. They check boxes with toys and comics but I’ll bet it’s possible to import weapons or liquor.
HO-ly… I almost gaped my jaw out of its socket when I saw those last photos. There aren’t enough ‘nice’ bad words I can use to explain how appalled I am at the complete lack of respect for other peoples’ properties. What the ****… I’d take this to court… or into a back alley with a baseball bat.
It also reminds me of a rather similar, recent, incident that happened to me; a George Perez commission that was shipped with a 5mm plywood as support, somehow managed to get all creased and wrinkled during transit. Unfortunately I can’t prove that it happened in transit as there are no ‘before photos’ of it…
That’s so sad… I love my Omnibus. It’s such a nice collection and I would never want it to suffer such a horrible fate.
…I pre-ordered it so I didn’t get a sketch, but that’s ok. It’s still all kings of awesome.
Those photos are from the damaged book and slipcase I recieved.
I just wanted to let everyone know that today I recieved my replacement copy of volume 2 and a new slipcase. Carefully delivered by the good people of FedEx.
The original package was send through UPS. The problem there is that they don’t have a UPS office in Belgium so they hand over their packages to the Belgian post office. And it’s there that things go wrong. They have their own customs officers, and clearly they are a bunch of frustrated people who take pleasure in destroying other people’s items.
The package from UPS took 6 weeks to arrive, damaged and charged with extra taxes (taxes charged after they destroyed the goods, mind you).
The package from FedEx took 5 days to arrive, unopened, in perfect mint condition and without additional taxes charged.
So a good advice to my fellow Belgian citizens: always get your packages from outside of the EU delivered by FedEx, or another company, to make sure it never gets in the hands of the customs officers at the Belgian Post.
That’s it! I’m boycotting Belgian beer! No more Chimey! No Duvel! Screw them all! Err….what else can we boycott? What else is Belgium known for other than good beer and SiP book destruction? Oh, that’s right! Waffles! No more Belgian Waffles!
Being from Belgium and often getting parcels from Japan and the US I can attest that any shipments going through customs (like EMS) are an absolute nightmare due to the customs dept, they’re not only slow but damaged parcels and unbelievable fees are no exception.
Luckily I’ve had no parcel damaged this bad yet.
Well, I’m in Belgium and I got my Omnibus last month in very fine condition.
The only downside, it took customs 5 weeks to clear it. So I guess shipping with FedEx or DHL would improve things a lot.
Btw. There are a couple of thousand other kinds of beer here besides Chimay (with a) and Duvel. I guess you need to come over to taste them