Shipping Coins form the United States to Europe

I'm afraid I have gotten myself into a bit of a mess. I was selling off some of my coins on EBAY (first time selling coins) and I was talked into opening up one of my coins to a bidder in Denmark. The coin had sold over the past few months on EBAY for under $200 and that was my expectation. The coin is now at almost $700 and the auction is about to close.

I have been trying to find out the best and safest way to get a foreign bidder the coin given the current USPS rules for shipping money. I have read that it should be referred to as "numismatic collectible" or "collectible", but I am getting very worried about being able to deliver this coin.

Can someone with experience in this area help me? I have learmed my lesson about international coin shipping in the future but I may have to try and deliver on this.

Help me please?

Larry

 

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I would read EBAY"S International Shipping Policies . These rates are not inexpensive . If you need further assistance , contact EBAY directly . If the winning bidder is a european bidder , You will need to charge that winner the appropriate shipping rate .http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/international.html

 

Thank you! I really appreciate your response. I went to a local coins dealer but they said they will not ship international any more. Did not leave me with a great feeling.

 

I use DHL to send coins abroad, and it never failed me. However, do not declare that you might be sending a coin.

 

Denmark has a very professional postal services.

 

What do you call it for customs purpose? Do you insure if for the amount the coins sold for (e.g. $700). Help me with your process if you would.

Thanks!

 

Be careful!! I have recently been on both ends of shipping to and from Europe. I have experienced substantial delays lately, expecially if going through customs. It's rather odd...but a first class standard air mail package is faster and currently more reliable. This route, however, is not insured. I would recommned a USPS express international package that can be insured upto $600. This method is costly (approx $30) but currently a very reliable option.

 

What does everyone use for a description of the coin for customs since it looks like you are not supposed to ship coins, money, etc. ? I wish they were more clear on "collectibles" versus currency. My problem is that the coin is now over $1000 on Ebay. I expected maybe $200.

 

First, I still suggest you contact EBAY , if in fact it pertains to an EBAY Auction Item. You can ship INTL. using the USPS system . See; http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/international.html#3

 

I sometimes used Registered Mail (US Postal Service) to ship items from the US to Europe with no problems.

 

Sure. That method works fine as well. Unless your shipping high value items which must be properly declared on the USPS Customs Forms.

 

I am not sure what you mean by "the current USPS rules for shipping money", but you are rather limited in your choices if the coin truly is selling for as high you you state. The individual prohibitions and restrictions are not enacted by the USPS, but they are the enactment of the destination country's customs laws. When agreeing to ship a coin to another country, you have to read the customs requirements very carefully first.

You should read the Country Conditions for Mailing to Denmark to see what I mean. Looking at Denmark's prohibitions and restrictions, coins are not mentioned at all. So that leaves you with four basic choices for mailing: First Class International Parcel, Priority Mail International, Express mail International, and Global Express Guaranteed.

Now, as far as I can see, there is no insurance available with First Class International to Denmark. Furthermore, the maximum value that can even be sent is $400. When looking at the Express Mail International choice, it becomes apparent that coins are not allowed to be sent through that service.

So, that leaves GXG and Priority. When we look at the insurance options for Priority, we see that there is a $650 maximum insurance limit, which your coin is obviously much more than that.

Your only choice is Global Express Guarantee, which you can insure for up to $2,499. If the coin does not sell for too much more than you have indicated, then you should be able to send shipped and insured for just under $100. Make sure to read all of the packaging and customs forms requirements (duplicate invoices, placement thereof, etc) to make sure all is kosher through customs.

As far as what to declare it as, "numismatic specimen" works well. However, some countries have more stringent rules through customs, so there are no guarantees the package will not be investigated. However, the upside is that if the package does not arrive by its "guaranteed" date, you get your postage back.

 

On your customs form , put "Numismatic Item"

Don`t put the full value otherwise it is an invite for theft, just put something like $20 value.
You are not committing any offences and you are not likely to be hauled off to Denmark for lying on a customs form.
Do not be scared of shipping overseas, I ship worldwide and have done for about 6 years, China, Russia, South Africa, very few problems, in fact my biggest problems are shipping to the USA with delays.
Do not believe everything you read on the USPS and eBay websites as they are so outdated and out of touch it is a joke.
All items sent overseas can now be trackable on line.

 

I would worry about stating a lower value than the actual value, because I think that should the package be lost, the insurance is probably recompensed according to the declared value.

I realize it is very rare that a package is lost. I've shipped to Europe a few times and never had a problem. But one time, I shipped to Canada by UPS, and they lost the package for awhile (and later found it). The amount they paid to me was the amount declared on the Customs form.

 

Well, no matter how much you spend on shipping, it sounds like you end up pretty far ahead. So, I would spring for some high-end shipping and make sure that you are totally covered by PayPal (a tracking number is a must).

Unlike some other posts on this thread, I would recommend fully declaring the item on your customs form. Otherwise, you could be liable for fraud charges & have issues collecting on insurance if your item is lost. I never ship items as "gifts" or otherwise lie to get an item through customs.

 

Thank you all again for your input. I'm waiting for the buyer to pay.

 

Correct. I would also like to add a word of caution regarding falsifying Declared Values on Customs Forms. The last thing you want is for a shipment being tied up in the Customs House anywhere in Europe. I would urge any U.S. Seller who allows European bidders to participate in your U.S. Auctions, to fully understand the International Shipping Policies , regulations and rates .

 

You will not have issues collecting on insurance and you will not get charged with fraud for putting the wrong amount on a customs form.
If the item gets stolen because you have put Value $1000 or $20 on the customs form how does the insurer know what you put if its gone missing ?

See this thread about Importing and Customs http://community.ebay.co.uk/topic/International-Trading/Customs-Chances-Importing/400006171

In particular this bit

.This subject on the rights and wrongs of marking value down has been done to death on the US boards and no matter what the official lines might be the bottom line is this...The US has no real interest when it comes to the amount US sellers put on those export forms. Why should they be interested in helping enforce what is in effect a boycott of US goods? Nope, too patriotic for that The EU governments cannot prove any conspiracy when it comes to the valuation and if in doubt will value imports as they see fit.It will be for the buyer to prove it's worth less or they paid less. Nobody goes to jail or gets fined. Recently somebody deliberately reported a US powerseller to US customs for offering to put any value the customer wanted on customs forms, including the link to his "me" page, and got the following reply...."Putting an incorrect value on goods may result inconvenience and delays for the receiver".
They had not the slightest interest..

 

Strange. Here in Germany, Deutsche Post does allow you to do that but only if you use an extra service/feature called Wertbrief International (ie. Value Letter Int'l). And DP says that service is possible to any country. Have not tried sending Value Mail from here to the US, but it would be interesting to find out what the USPS does in such a case ...

By the way, other postal/shipping service have similar or even tighter restrictions. UPS for example (at least in DE) does not allow you to send money.

Christian