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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,155 |
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Valued Member
United States
277 Posts |
I just wanted to get a small survey of what some of you guys think is the best plan of action for me to do. I recently sold some coins online and I'm planning to have them shipped out in the next couple of days. Do you guys think it is better to pay a little extra money to ensure that the coins get shipped to their destination safely? I know the US postal system right now has a bad reputation, and I know that coins do get lost in the mail. Heck, I recently purchased a coin a few weeks ago that I have yet to receive in the mail, and I fear it probably has been lost. The thing is, the coins I sold are not cheap coins, but worth quite a significant sum. They aren't the most expensive, but enough to where it wouldn't hurt to add a little bit of security. What are your guys's thoughts on this? Is it better to pay the extra $7-$10 to ensure a safe shipment?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19113 Posts |
Depends on the shipment's value. If it's well into three figures, or four, I'd pay the extra.
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Valued Member
United States
465 Posts |
I only sell on ebay. I use the ebay standard shipping for sales under $20. That includes silver coins. Anything more than $20 is shipped either first class package or priority mail. Bill |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Agree, without specific examples, hard to generalize.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3733 Posts |
Quote:
The thing is, the coins I sold are not cheap coins, but worth quite a significant sum. They aren't the most expensive, but enough to where it wouldn't hurt to add a little bit of security. You answered your question, with your post.. If you can't afford to lose them, then insure them.. Did you sell through ebay, or another venue? are you sure the buyer is reliable? with that I mean, is it a newbie, or seasoned buyer.. Insurance only covers for items, not received, it doesn't cover late deliveries, or the buyer saying you sent an empty envelope.. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2843 Posts |
I've shipped thousands of packages of varying values. I rarely buy insurance. I can't remember a single instance where a package went fully missing. Late delivery, and returned to sender - sure.
But I still buy insurance on the more valuable stuff.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3634 Posts |
For my own peace of mind, I use priority mail for anything over a couple hundred dollars, and registered mail for anything over a few thousand dollars. As others mentioned already, it depends on how much risk you're willing to take. That being said, I only remember having one lost package in the last 10 years or so (a British gold sovereign).
Member of SPMC, FCCB, ANA and ANS. My U.S. Classic Commemorative Complete Set: https://www.NGCcoin.com/registry/co...sets/278741/My U.S. Fractional Note Set: https://notes.www.collectors-societ...eSetID=34188 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
For me anything over $1000 is sent using insured registered mail. box is wrapped in Kraft paper and Kraft tape is used to seal all seams. (Standard USPS policy) all seams are stamped at the post office so it's secure and the package is sent in locked secure cages, signed in and out at every transfer of position in the route to the destination. When I was a dealer I had additional insurance to cover my packages up to $10K that was included. I assume that isn't an issue here. Priority box with insurance is always good for under $1K shipments, Don't label anything on the outside about metals or coins or collectibles. I used my initials "W.C.E." as the return name on my labels, my company was "Western Coin Exchange" also you might want to pay for a signature required to prove the person is the person they say when it gets delivered. Many video the packaging of the box to prove it has what was put in, done mainly to unknown ebay buyers these days only. Include a shipping list itemized with the recipients address in case the label is torn off. Also photograph and note everything especially serial numbers of slabs, currency notes or anything that has one on it. Hope some of that is insightful and useful to you. "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440Edited by westcoin
06/24/2021 03:24 am
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2180 Posts |
As a buyer I will normally risk low value stuff without insurance - I've found for higher value stuff the seller offers a choice.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
Can you afford to lose the funds received for the sale?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The only truly safe way to ship by mail is Registered. Plenty of insured and/or Priority mail disappears, arrives empty etc. The number of "lost" Registered mail packages annual can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. It can be slow though. One other advantage to Registered though is that once the declared value exceeds about $1K, Registered is cheaper than priority insured. And as the declared value increases the saving on Registered rises rapidly. And for high value shipment the maximum insurance on Priority tops out at $10K, Registered goes up to $50K.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,155 |
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Posted 06/23/2021 5:30 pm
