Tips for shipping more expensive coins.

Anyone want to share their experience with shipping more expensive coins, especially in relation to eBay or online sales? How do you pack them, do you pay for extra insurance and what shipping services do you prefer?

I'm not talking any super valuable coins here, more like the $100-$500 range.

 

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Don't do what the guy did who sent me my first AGE - plain envelope, no tracking, no insurance. It was legit, and protected in a capsule, but I pointed out to him that an unscrupulous buyer could've claimed "not received" or "empty package" and he would've had no chance to contest it.

On the few occasions where I shipped higher-value coins, I went with Registered Mail. It's expensive and slow, but insurance is so much cheaper that the crossover point for insured value was in the low hundreds. Not sure where it lands now.

 

I am with Jeff. I rather think that insured packages are a tip off to nefarious mail sorters that may have bad intentions. I did ship three rolls of ASE's to my brother a week back and struggled with that. But in the end I did insure them.

 

Normal USPS Ground Advantage and USPS Priority Mail include up to $100 of insurance (one will need to look up any exclusions). Both come with tracking and are relatively affordable (compared to some other options). eBay might recommend additional insurance but from what I recall, the one they suggest does not cover coins (or bullion). Over a certain dollar amount, a signature is recommended (eBay tends to require it for anything over $750 to be covered).

As already mentioned, registered mail is another option but in the $100-$500 range it probably is not worth the expense. It also takes longer and if you do use it, inform the buyer ahead of time as some will get impatient and complain why the package is taking so long.

 

I pack the item in a box well sealed and packaged so it doesn't move.
I then tape a business card on the outside with my contact information should the package go missing in transit.
I pack the box inside of another box, well packed so it doesn't move.
Tape another business card to one side then Tape the sides ends all the surfaces and make sure the label is readable.
Last two packages, a $$750 gold watch & a $1500 silver bar...not insured but well packed, had No issues.
If you are sending pcgs or RF trackable slabs, it wouldn't hurt to wrap in foil or aluminum ( if that works to block the signal )
Take pictures of what you are sending.

 

For under $500, a padded envelope with the coin packed so you can’t tell what it is. It should be insured for the sales price of the coin but the invoice should be sent separately.

 

Probably not helpful, but here is a recent story about my worst experience:

I bought a lot of coins for $1,000. It ended up having a couple counterfeits, so I returned them. The seller sent them to me via USPS but oddly sent me a return label with FedEx. I packaged them up and dropped them off at my school post office, which deals in USPS, UPS, and FedEx. A week later, there was no tracking movement. I went to the campus post office and asked about the package. "Yes, we remember receiving your package," I was told. When I explained that the tracking number still showed the package as waiting to be dropped off, I was told that it might have been accidently given to USPS since they don't do much with FedEx. If that was the case, I was told that USPS would hand over my package to FedEx a day or two after they received it. To make a long story short, it has now been a month and I have filed for two searches with FedEx. Nothing. I cannot file a claim because as far as they know, I still have the package. Why didn't the school post office mark it as received? Well, I was told that only the distribution centers can scan the label. That doesn't help me one bit. So, I am out $1,000 and the initial shipping cost. I would have been better off to keep the coins as the real ones were still worth around $400. At this point, I believe a postman or postwoman with USPS saw the package and decided to take it home since it was not being tracked. I do not believe they would have been able to guess they were coins since I pack well.

I wish I knew what lesson I am supposed to learn as it was expensive enough. Do not trust my school with FedEx? Do not trust FedEx? Do not trust USPS? I don't know. It is my first package to totally vanish. To top it off, the last guy I talked to at FedEx told me that sometimes packages get shipped to their destination without ever getting scanned. Really?! What good is tracking then?

I am still hopeful about working out something with the seller. I will still be out a lot, but hopefully he will send a partial refund. He has been very communicative and is a 100% positive seller with thousands of feedback received.

 

Have you tried to ask USPS about this? It may have been so long they no longer have it but if they received it by accident they should have some record.

 

Only in a roundabout way. I talked to the postmaster at school, and he called the sorting center where the mail goes. They said they had nothing. That is a good idea. I will call them immediately.

 

I just talked to USPS. They claim they don't have it.

 

Worth the try. Sorry your out the money and the coins.

 

That's awful. That reminds me of an elaborate scam I became victim of. Luckily (or strangely?) it was only like a $20 coin.

I won it at auction from a seller with only two under $30 coins for sale. Their previous reviews were good although up to this point they had only purchased through eBay, not sold. Up until then, they hadn't been active for several months (later I figured out it was a hacked account). I won the auction and a shipping label was created. There were no tracking updates after a few weeks so I contacted the seller... no response. I then opened a case with eBay. The very next day there was a tracking update, but still no message from the seller. Curiously, USPS first received the package in a state on the other side of the country than the seller supposedly lived (I didn't notice this until later...). I wanted the coin more than my money back, so I didn't ask eBay to get involved, but left the case open just in case (you have 3 days to settle your problem between yourselves before you can ask eBay to step in). A few days later it was out for delivery... and wasn't delivered. I was then told I'd have to pick it up from the post office. So I went to the post office, and just when I thought this mess was over, they couldn't find it. "Come back tomorrow, and we'll either give you your package or a lost item form if we still can't find it". And of course, there I was the next day hoping for the best, expecting the worst, but the worst I soon found out, was not what I expected. They did find it, but couldn't give it to me! Turns out the package attached to the tracking number I received was sent to a non-existent address or P.O. Box and it didn't have my name on it either.

So in the end, I couldn't get a refund because it was "my fault" I didn't pick up the package and no amount of explaining could convince the automated system otherwise. Tired of it all, I gave it up. And wait just a minute, don't you think this story couldn't get any weirder or more annoying. I got a notification a week or so later, that someone (automated system thought it was me), someone collected the package from the post office?!

I'm still not sure what to make of that...

 

That is very strange.

 

There’s harsh! Sorry you had the problem and suffered a loss, even if only $20 it’s still a loss.

 

I've had so many shipping horror stories I've forgotten some of them. Sometimes there's pleasant surprises long after the fact. What's amazing is how shipping seems to be deteriorating as time goes on. My most recent dealings: FedEx delivered to wrong house in my neighborhood with similar number. Also mailed a letter USPS to a state bordering my own and has not arrived after two weeks! A standard legal letter envelope with two stamps. The Pony Express was faster and more reliable than what we have now.

I get nervous insuring things through regular mail for large amounts. Go all or nothing. Nowadays I'd rather take the free insurance, standard box 2-3 day and roll the dice. If you lose $500 at least you get $100 back. I think the high dollar stickers they put on them make the package stand out to unscrupulous people in the network. Maybe I'd insure for $500, maybe not. Up to you. At $5k I don't know who you could trust or what to do besides registered.

 

Whenever I've sold a more expensive coin, I've always added the extra instance. I don't think USPS workers can see that has happened just by scanning it. I have purchased some more expensive items and often the seller has paid the extra for signature on delivery. I think that's smart so there's no "I didn't get the package."

Generally, a within a package is a good move and don't have a small package weighing a lot for the size. I think that's just asking for trouble. Also, mailing multiple valuable coins in the same package is asking for disaster. Of course, they might get to the destination just fine, but it would be terrible to lose everything in one swoop.

 

As a retired postal person we can see the added insurance. It’s simple, the more you insure the package for, the higher the postage. The postage appears on the package. Prices are determined by weight and distance so a lighter weight package shouldn’t cost that much. If it does, it had high insurance on it.