So much for USPS’ most secure mailing service...

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by TypeCoin971793, Feb 9, 2019.

  1. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    I retired less than 2 years ago. I couldn't stand the insanity any longer. It's worse now and while I miss my customers and working I don't miss the postal service. They are like the Titanic, sinking every so slowing but sinking.

    They lost 4 billion last year. They claim to get no money from taxpayer dollars. They recently announced they are close to making a decision on the next generation delivery vehicle as prototypes are in the final testing stages. They will award a contract close to 4 billion for the vehicles. How can anyone run a business like this?
     
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  3. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    Well, it's only February, and I already had two and a half problems with USPS this year:

    1. This not-so-common bracteate, ordered from Germany, is probably stuck in New York since January 5, no status update so far. DHL says they handed it over to USPS, USPS never scanned it. I am starting to worry.

    Bildschirmfoto 2019-02-10 um 09.16.59.png

    2. A coin I bought on ebay got lost. It was sent as a registered first class parcel, was scanned as "out for delivery" one morning, and never arrived. Its tracking status says "awaiting delivery scan" for about two weeks now. When I called the post office and politely asked about this, their somewhat uncivil answer was to explain to me that they delivered thousands of items each day and thus didn't know every parcel on a first-name basis. A second call a couple of days later produced even less helpful results. My suspicion is that the carrier lost the parcel during his delivery tour. I submitted a missing mail research request about a week ago but didn't get any reply so far. This is a particularly unpleasant situation since the seller is not a large firm for whom this would be a normal risk of business, but a collector like me. I somewhat suspect that he is also a CT member and has posted in this thread.

    3. The three (bargain) lots I won at Artemide Aste earlier this month are sitting at the local post office since Wednesday night and are waiting to be delivered. That's about as long as it took them to get from Vienna to my Californian neighborhood. I hope they will arrive Monday but am starting to get uneasy.

    By the way, that's all coins I have bought in 2019. I guess I have had a delivery problem quota of 100% so far...
     
  4. Silver Eagle

    Silver Eagle Likes The Feel of Money

    That big discount on "non-profit" mail must come from somewhere.
    Back in 2000 they were experimenting with "computer driven" vehicles. They tried to use it as a scare tactic. I think even Google is getting out of driverless cars.
     
  5. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    I saw this cartoon some years ago. download (10).jpg
     
    Sallent, Orielensis and Ryro like this.
  6. halfcent1793

    halfcent1793 Well-Known Member

    They often have no idea what they're doing. I received a coin that was sent insured. A week later, I got an email that it was still in transit from the originating PO to the next.
     
  7. juris klavins

    juris klavins Well-Known Member

    That is correct - I worked for the USPS 1974-2003 - the same policy was in effect back then - the foreign mail with an 'R' stamp/sticker was handled as FCM through the USPS distribution and delivery systems - likewise, if you purchase tracking # service for mailpieces destinating outside of the USA, the mailpiece is tracked only as far as the final USA dispatch location but not overseas - tracking & registry are not compatible from one country to another.
     
    David Atherton likes this.
  8. CoinCorgi

    CoinCorgi Tell your dog I said hi!

    Sending anything thru USPS via regular 1st class will minimize the number of human decisions and interactions. All other services require more decisions and interactions thus maximizing chances of errors.
     
  9. tibor

    tibor Supporter! Supporter

    Four years ago I won a coin thru auction from Europe. It was mailed with a tracking
    number sent to me. After two weeks I E-mailed the auction company. They put
    out tracers for the package, I did the same. Finally 3 months after it was mailed I
    received the coin. During that time the auction company offered a refund twice.
    I refused and told them that I would accept after 6 months. For a year and a half
    it still showed up on the USPS tracking site.
     
    panzerman likes this.
  10. Southernman189

    Southernman189 Well-Known Member

    I hate using USPS that goes through Memphis main sorting. I am in Mississippi and was tracking the package using their package system. My package went from Boston, Mass. area to Memphis , Tn. then to UTAH than back to Memphis then to Mississippi. This has happened a few times. I shutter when my packages go through Memphis, and I pray until I see it leave toward Mississippi.
     
  11. coin_nut

    coin_nut Well-Known Member

    I live in Thailand and do most of my coin buying and selling on ebay. Surprisingly, to me, I have had more problems and losses with the US and Canada postal systems than with any others on earth. Lately I buy from India a lot and I am very well pleased with the speed and efficiency of the delivery. I am an American and yes, I would normally expect the postal systems of so called "3rd world countries" to be more error and theft prone than those of big, modern countries like in North America. I guess not. In addition I can mail a small packet with a few coins in it, registered airmail, for about $4.00. I have nearly stopped buying from the US due to the sky high shipping fees, plus so many sellers just say "Does not ship to Thailand".
     
  12. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Thailand is not what so consider a third world country. They are so far ahead of other top nations in lots of areas it's hard to grasp. From the photos I've seen it's a beautiful country and they have high reports of tourism due to safe travel. Next month trim of my brother in laws will be sailing in Thailand. Enjoy your time there while you can.
     
    panzerman likes this.
  13. Neosynephrine

    Neosynephrine Member

    I am currently a Rural Carrier for the USPS. A LOT of int'l stuff comes thru and they're mostly handled as Int'l Registered, whether it's a big red R or big black R. Either way it must be signed for, but never 'locked up'. The pieces do get handled as First Class Mail, except for the signatures. China, Canada and Great Britain tend to not need sigs, even if it has a big R. It does indeed give us piece of mind when someone is home and receives their prize. One guy had to sign for a Large Priority Flat Rate Box that was NOT registered and contained a $14,000 USD gold piece (or so he told me). What the heck?
     
  14. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    I wonder how many international sellers realise this? They think they are paying for a Registered Mail service door to door and that simply is not the case!
     
  15. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    As a dealer of 30+ years I can offer some input. Forget all you used to know about registered mail. It no longer exists as we think (or thought). All registered mail is now the same as First Class, which is to say it falls in with junk mail, your traditional bills, etc. First Class mail is now the lowest class of mail, the so-called 'Priority Mail' is just first class that you pay 15 or more times too much. This week I received a registered package with return receipt (from another US address). I did not sign for it in any way, though the green return card was torn out and presumably mailed back to the sender. Certainly no security in that, and the sender did not get what they paid for.

    Bottom line, send everything the lowest form of mail, but make sure it is insured. That's about all that matters.
     
  16. Suarez

    Suarez Well-Known Member

    "Bottom line, send everything the lowest form of mail, but make sure it is insured. That's about all that matters."

    Don't even bother insuring it. When you file a claim you'll most likely get a boilerplate denial letter stating it was your fault for not packaging it correctly.

    I send - on average - about 40 pieces of mail daily. When I really need it to get there I still go to the PO and send registered. So far, luckily, have never had a problem with this tier. For ordinary packages worth a couple hundred bucks or more I simply add signature required. It may not add any more in terms of security as far as the USPS service is concerned but it all but eliminates buyer fraud of the "I didn't get it" type.
     
    Nicholas Molinari likes this.
  17. Muzyck

    Muzyck Rabbits!

    I have had a few instances where tracked items got hung up after one scan for more than a week. In each case I opened a "search" using the tracking number provided. Of course you cannot open a search with that ever so important tracking number. In each case the item was subsequently scanned and noted as delivered in the tracking record within a few weeks of my initiation of the search request.

    In each case, my search case remained open with "updates" emailed to me that the USPS was diligently searching for my lost item about every six weeks. After about six months I get a notice that the search had expired and they were unable to locate the item...the same item that was subsequently scanned and delivered after I opened my request.

    The system never did anything to tie the tracking number I had to supply to open the request with the same tracking number that was scanned after I opened the request.

    A total farce.
     
  18. coin_nut

    coin_nut Well-Known Member

    Hire the handicapped... 35196090991294640360no.jpg
     
  19. had bad experience with usps it boils down to he said she said I was expecting a e-bay purchase had a tracking number said delivered to mailbox when we went to retrieve nothing there I called local po and they assured me it was delivered well maybe it was but not to my box in the 15 minutes from notification no not my box for sure I contacted e-bay they stood behind the purchase declared it theft and refunded my purchase price when I challenged the po they claimed they delivered problem being the coins { 2 morgans } were worth a lot more than my winning bid one of my fine crackhead neighbors got the coins and filing a claim with the post office nothing was resolved
     
  20. maridvnvm

    maridvnvm Well-Known Member

    Perhaps I don't understand the mechanisms of USPS First Class Mail then. When I use Royal Mail Tracked and Signed I am able to track my item within the USPS from the point it enters into the USA through to the destination, which I didn't believe was the case with USPS First Class Mail. I even give notice to the recipient on when to expect the package using this and can see if/when it gets blocked.

    I have never had any issues using this service and it is pretty quick too with a parcel from the UK typically taking 3-4 working days to make it to the destination in the USA.
     
    harrync likes this.
  21. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    USPS domestic First Class Mail has tracking for most services paired with it, signature delivery for example. That is why you can track it on your end. BTW, I've never had any issues with packages from the UK either.

    I must add though, I currently have an International Registered Mail package from Scandinavia stuck at 'Origin Post is Preparing Shipment' for almost a week, something I haven't encountered before. It's times like this I truly wish they were treated as Registered Mail!
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
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