Postage Costs From The US - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 9 / Views: 2,039
Bacchus2 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2891 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 12:01 pm Does anyone know why the postage costs from the US vary so much for a single small coin? The cheapest I see is $2 and the most expensive (commonly seen) is about $18. Sometimes I like to spend an hour bottom feeding on ebay - just to see if I can pickup some cheap silver - but it can be difficult to wade through all the US sellers charging the high postage amounts so by default I just look at the EU sellers. There doesn't seem to be a way to filter out those charging more than say $4 for postage. The filter is only for either free postage (like that's going to happen) or by physical location. My Papal States coin collection: https://diadumenian.com/Papal%20Sta...0States.html Medieval coins collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Europe.html Indian Rupee Collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Rupees.html Minor world Silver: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...20coins.html Report this Post to the Staff

Coinfrog Bedrock of the Community United States 94367 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 12:15 pm I think a US Global stamp for up to one ounce to the UK is something like $1.15. Then there's the packing material and insurance, which would vary. Report this Post to the Staff
Hoxsie454 Valued Member United States 86 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 1:13 pm Yes, indeed. A seller conceivably could 'give' an unsuspecting buyer a coin for face value, but then charge an exorbitant fee he wants for postage and handling. We must read the fine print! Report this Post to the Staff
IndianGoldEagle Bedrock of the Community United States 36878 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 1:16 pm Most sellers that send overseas like to make sure it gets to the customer so want to send it Registered mail which would probably be the $18 figure. Anyone sending a coin to UK from USA and only charging $2 will most likely just stick it in a business size envelope and send regular mail. Report this Post to the Staff
moxking Rest in Peace United States 17900 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 1:51 pm Be thankful they offer overseas mailings. While I've never had a single problem with a UK buyer I quit selling overseas altogether. So many claiming they didn't receive. Any South American country was a shot in the dark as to their likelihood of receiving the order. I never had a single order EVER make it to Haiti. I eventually went with registered, but tracking stops at our borders, apparently. In short, it was just to much of a hassle. Report this Post to the Staff
Bacchus2 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2891 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 1:54 pm Oh I know the economics of it... but nobody's going to buy a £5 coin and then spend $18 on postage. I'm really just wondering if there is a way to filter on ebay to block those who charge that much but let through the lower cost postage options. There probably isn't though. My Papal States coin collection: https://diadumenian.com/Papal%20Sta...0States.html Medieval coins collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Europe.html Indian Rupee Collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Rupees.html Minor world Silver: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...20coins.html Report this Post to the Staff
basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 4:09 pm Quote: Oh I know the economics of it... but nobody's going to buy a £5 coin and then spend $18 on postage. Probably not, but the reality is that coins in the 5 pound price range just aren't suitable for international sales. Sticking it an envelope with just a stamp is not only a risk at customs as there is no tracking, but all the buyer has to do is say they never got it and ebay will side with the buyer 100% of the time since there is no tracking. The sellers charging 18 or 35ish for registered or priority aren't doing it to rip anyone off, they're just doing it to not only give it a better chance of getting there but also to protect themselves by using a method that is tracked internationally. The one way it can be worth it is to just buy a bunch of stuff at one time, otherwise it's really just not viable buying things that cheaply from the USA. As a side note also remember because of the international postage agreements the USA has one of if not the highest charges for shipping internationally. Report this Post to the Staff
oriole Pillar of the Community Canada 5253 Posts	Posted 09/20/2019 5:21 pm On ebay, a majority of sellers ship from the US via the "global shipping program", of which the actual postage is a small fraction of the price. This is really a shipping service. Many don't want to be bothered with the perceived trouble or the perceived problems. I have had 100 parcels or more shipped from the US(to canada) via ordinary US mail with only one damaged parcel. From the US, few small parcels are intercepted by customs. So it is not very risky from a buyer's perspective, or a seller's if the customer is honest. One seller who mailed by regular mail claimed told me he had very few problems in 1000s of parcels. So while I think it is generally safe most have bought into the idea that are better off with the Global Shipping Program. It would not hurt to ask the seller if they would reconsider. Report this Post to the Staff
Bacchus2 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2891 Posts	Posted 09/21/2019 02:59 am "Probably not, but the reality is that coins in the 5 pound price range just aren't suitable for international sales" I absolutely agree - it's just unfortunate that ebay doesn't seem to allow you to filter those "gold standard" postage costs out. For example I normally just peruse ebay uk - but a lot of international sellers lots (really sellers in the US) appear in the list, presumably because they have set their auctions to appear in all affiliated ebay sites at their end. That's fair enough but there really should be a way to not see them at my end. It's very tiresome to wade through them all so I normally just ask ebay to only show EU sellers - though I probably do miss quite a few US sellers taking the cheaper postage option. I will contact ebay about it (if there isn't some way to search that way)and no doubt it will be fixed shortly.... My Papal States coin collection: https://diadumenian.com/Papal%20Sta...0States.html Medieval coins collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Europe.html Indian Rupee Collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Rupees.html Minor world Silver: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...20coins.html Report this Post to the Staff
basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 09/21/2019 2:31 pm There is, you can search by free shipping or lowest total cost. You can also select EU sellers only or whatever in the USA we can select US only so it eliminates all international sellers. Report this Post to the Staff
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