Some people just really like the UPS aesthetic.
(This link is just barely safe for work.)
“I’ll take care of the shipping if you look after the handling, sweetie.”[/cheeseball]
My best guess is that those few “masked” bidders have a bunch of UPS uniforms themselves and are engaged in a misguided attempt to increase their perceived value.
Notice that many of the ads also have Emo and Punk in the tittle.
Its a fashion thing…
Kids today.
Apparently, my old dominos shirts are worth something as well
It’s not a fashion thing. If it were, FedEx and the like would be going like hotcakes as well. Not to mention you could make a faux UPS shirt for much less than $400. My guess is it’s either a money laundering scheme or some sort of disguise to sell drugs.
Why would terrorists want them?
So they can go up to the New York Stock Exchange and leave a card saying
“We tried to make delivery of your bomb, but you weren’t home. Please come and collect the thermonuclear device at the depot”
?
People buy police patches for my city on ebay. Whats the deal with UPS uniforms? They look pretty easy to duplicate from stuff at macys or lane Bryant.
<Or it could just be couples who are trying to add a little spice to their romantic life with a little bit of Role-Play>
er, have you guys ever seen a naked UPS driver? They get funny tan lines!
I think that’s supposed to be part of the appeal.
Um, the drug thing makes no sense…would you send someone 1,000 for marijuana if you did not know the quality of the drug or the person selling it?
and if you already knew the person, why would you use ebay?
Jax,
I tend to agree with that “makes no sense” sentiment.
Just a post-script
If you don’t have enough on your mind these days, some Internet pranksters are trying to sow worries about terrorists dressed as your friendly, trusted UPS delivery person.
An e-mail “alert” making the rounds reported that “UPS uniforms have been purchased over the last 30 days by person(s) unknown on eBay. Law enforcement is working the case, however no suspect(s) have been identified. Subjects may try to gain facility access by wearing these uniforms.”
Relax, UPS spokesman Norman Black says, and don’t worry about the report. “Call it urban legend or call it hoax, there’s nothing to it.” There are, however, several UPS-logoed items such as jackets, shirts and even socks for sale on the auction site.
UPS drivers in brown uniforms are an unlikely target for impersonators, because most companies know their delivery person, he said. Genuine UPS drivers also are easy to spot because they always carry a brown minicomputer used to track packages.
“If you have any question about whether or not that is a UPS driver knocking on your door, don’t open the door,” Black said. Instead, dial 1-800-PICK UPS. The company can verify that a delivery is scheduled, or you can make alternative arrangements for picking up your package.
Just to add one more thing…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52817-2003Apr7.html
Washington Post | 8 April 2003
Consummate Consumer
UPS Rumors Are Uniformly Wrong
By Don Oldenburg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 8, 2003; Page C10
Should we beware of UPS deliveries? That’s what a Maryland reader
asked last week after receiving a troubling e-mail supposedly
reporting that $32,000 worth of the service’s famous brown uniforms
were purchased on eBay over the last 30 days.
Circulated in the intelligence, law enforcement and security community
since February, various versions of the e-mail have now leaked into
public in-boxes and a few online discussion groups. And with the
threat of terrorism raising public vigilance, what would otherwise be
an innocuous report today raises concerns of al Qaeda operatives
impersonating UPS drivers.
“This could represent a serious threat as bogus drivers can drop off
anything to anyone with deadly consequences,” warns the e-mail. It
added that two federal law enforcement agencies had verified the
report as valid.
But the e-mail apparently is an unsubstantiated rumor or a hoax.
“It’s not real,” assures the security officer at an Internal Revenue
Service branch office who sent it to other security offices. He says
he issued a follow-up last Monday clarifying that the UPS scare wasn’t
factual.
Both agencies named in the e-mail as validating the story deny it and
say the UPS tale is unfounded. But they add that intelligence and law
enforcement agencies are taking “very seriously” any theft of military
or law enforcement uniforms, and a couple of investigations are
underway.
“We would be interested or concerned about any activity that could
threaten security,” says Harold Scott, spokesman for the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The FBI has debunked several similar UPS stories since the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks.
UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg in Atlanta says the e-mail has been
“thoroughly investigated” by the FBI and local law enforcement. “It is
the urban legend of missing uniforms,” she says.
EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove also says the UPS story “comes up
empty.”
Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the largest online auction site has
barred sales listings of UPS or any other contemporary delivery
service uniforms, including airline uniforms.
Rosenberg says UPS requires employees – even peak-season and
temporary workers – to turn them in when they leave the company. The
company has occasionally bought back UPS shirts, trousers and jackets
that slip through the cracks and go on sale.
“We carefully guard our uniforms,” she says, adding that,
coincidentally, for the first time in 41 years, UPS is modernizing its
UPS shield logo.
UPS also runs background checks on its delivery personnel. “There is
no threat on buildings or people based on deliverers fraudulently
wearing UPS uniforms,” says Rosenberg.
Anyone suspicious of a UPS driver should ask for his or her UPS
identification. “In this time of have heightened awareness,” she says,
“you can’t be too careful.”
…I am a UPS driver and i had a kid(maybe 16-17) on my route who i saw every day…everyday he ask me for a shirt…i gave in and gave him a new visor one day and he was thrilled…the next day he had a couple of friends over and they begged me for stuff,we negotiated and the next day i turned 3 shirts,3 visors and 1 old winter coat into $200…just pulled out the name tag sewn in so there was no trace…by the way,speaking of EBAY…we get these little UPS NASCAR trucks and cars all the time at work and i could ask any amount i wanted and they would be scooped up…even the NEXT DAY cardboard envelopes with Dale Jarrett were easy to sell…NASCAR people are crazy
And once again we have the Internet to thank for spreading a completely and utterly false “rumor” off as truth.
Information Superhighway my ass.