UPS Registered vs FedEx or UPS

I am trying to sell off some 40% halves I got from a bank bag

See post http://www.cointalk.com/t109004/

Has anyone here shipped a large quantity of coins for sale? Best I can tell from running online quotes UPS and Postal service are about the same. It seems like UPS freight is cheaper but takes longer and they really ream you on insurance. Postal service freight is higher (I have to use priorty mail to get registered mail service) but it's faster. I am leaning twoards the postal service. Any thoughts?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I will start this by saying, while I have never shipped coins, I have never had a problem with USPS registered mail. I've sent several items of decent value to my sister in Baltimore via USPS and it always arrives within a couple of days. My experience with UPS is tainted by the fact that they "lost" my engagement ring (had it insured thank god), so I'm a little sour on them. As far as FedE, I've got no beef with them, they seem to do a solid job (only really dealt with them when sending letter sized items with them).


So in summary, I would just use the USPS.

 

Why not use that $4.95 if it fits it ships anywhere thing from the USPS?

 

I think the USPS is gonna be the best deal. They have boxes that they sell and you can pile up a lot of coins in there. I don't know all the particulars tho

 

U.S.P.S will always be cheaper on a similar service have used both several
Times and have found this to be true!

 

Congrats on your terrific find!!! You got more in one bag than I have gotten in a year of searching, lol.

One word of caution: If you use USPS, tape the heck out of the flat rate boxes they give you. I sent some heavy Ike dollars and the box broke open and I had to reimburse the buyer (didn't have insurance). FedEx will give you better tracking and service, but USPS will be cheaper, especially those flat rate boxes. You could fit a bunch of halves into that large flat rate box....

 

There are different size boxes in the flat rate deal I believe.

 

Yep. Small, medium and large. The small, at $5, is a great deal, but the box is not sturdy at all. Tape the heck out of it. The other two are better boxes.

But, FedEx is the best for getting it there fast and with great service.

 

And if they get lost and they find out they were coins you will get your insurance fee back and that's it. Their insurance does not cover coins.

If it weighs over 13 oz you HAVE to use Priority no exceptions. And Registered mail service is slow and it all travels at the same speed Priority or not. On the other hand Registered is the SAFEST way to ship, and if the insured value is over about $600 it is also about the cheapest. (Insurance rates for Registered are MUCH lower because it is so much safer. $600 is about the break even point. Less than that Insured mail is cheaper, higher and Registered is cheaper.)

 

From FedEx web site:

Prohibited Items You are prohibited from tendering the following items for shipment, and they will not be accepted:

1. Cash, currency, collectible stamps and coins.

 

http://www.usps.com/shipping/prioritymail.htm

The small $4.95 box will hold about 7 or 8 rolls in my opinion, but that's just going by memory of the 5 CDs i shipped once and the amount of extra space

 

Before I retired last year I was a manager and the national Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Registered Mail in the Postal Service, my entire 40 years with USPS was involved with Registered Mail. I helped draft and implement the regulations as well as audited Post Offices all over the country.

From what I have been reading is sounds like you are on top of the situation. Sending anything by Registered Mail is by far the safest way to go, however over the last few years the service has declined as far as delivery time. As you know the Postal Service is in a huge financial crunch and cutbacks have effected deliver times of all classes of mail, with the exception of Express Mail.

The person who suggested you tape the heck out of the Priority boxes is correct, I have seen those boxes break open in transit many times. Once a precious metal dealer was sending 70 pounds of silver bars in a Priority box and it wasn’t taped properly, all of the silver bars slipped out of the box and had to be rewrapped.

 

You didn't mention the quantity of 40% halves that you plan to ship.

I would prefer to use USPS Priority Flat Rate Insured with Signature Confirmation and Tracking.

One word of caution about UPS. If the package is being delivered to a residence and there is no one home, the driver will just leave it on the doorstep. On one occasion, I was expecting a $5,000+ order from the U.S. Mint which UPS nicely dumped at the front door in the middle of the South Florida rainy season!

Chris

 

As far as safety goes, the bullion dealers who ship four- and five-figure orders use USPS Registered.

 

Registered Mail

Yes, when the banks send large amounts of currency via Registered Mail, you know that it is the safest way to send something, other than an armored car, even the Hope Diamond was sent by Registered Mail.

 

It is indeed a crap shoot if you send out said package with one of these carriers, however, their tracking runs rings around anything that the postal service offers. These boys offer "real time" tracking as opposed to "check back after 5PM". And yes, these boys will leave the package at the front door without a signiture, but, know what? The postal boys will do the same. I've had high value stuff left in a mail box situated next to the street. I'd much rather have a package left at the door than left in a mail box......

 

Nothing Left without a Signature!

I know that you are not talking about Postal Service Registered Mail because any employee who leaves a domestic piece of Registered Mail without getting a signature can be fired. The Postal carriers have to sign for each and every piece of domestic Registered they handle, and must have a signed form 3849, or form 3883 when he/she returns in from their route.

The Accountable Clerk within the deliver office must have that signed 3849/3883 or the actual piece of mail when the carrier returns, or the Postal Inspection will be notified. So unless you are talking about piece of Registered Mail coming from a foreign country that slips by every once in a while, you are totally wrong!

As far as the real time triaking for Registered Mail, that was going to be available some time this year, as it is already available for Postal Express Mail.

 

I've NEVER had the postman leave a Registered packaged without my having to sign for it, but I have had it happen frequently with high value insured (not Registered) mail. The time that really ticked me off was a delivery of $800 worth of old numismatic books I'd won in a literature auction. The auction house sent them to my correspondance address instead of my shipping address. When I found them they had been sitting out in the open in a vacant lot in the rain for three days. (fortunately the auction house packaged them VERY well and they were not damaged) The insurance required a signature. I can't help but wonder who he got to sign for it on a vacant lot.

 

Registered Mail vs Insured Mail

As a 40 year Postal employee, I have heard a lot of different stories over the years regarding mail issues and I wish I had a simple explanation for all of them. Since my expertise is primarily with Registered Mail, I have not had a lot of dealings with Insured Mail. Many customers don’t understand the difference between the two.

Insured Mail moves right along with all the other First Class Mail within the Post Office and has no security measures in transit. But Registered Mail is signed for by each and every Postal employee who handles it. It does not travel along with the other First Class Mail, it has it’s own caged work area where the employees must sign in and out of, that is why it is so costly and can be tracked down to every employee who touched it.

 

But that extra security is why the insurance rates for Registered mail are so low. If the item is worth more then $600 or $700 then Registered ISN'T costly. It is cheaper than regular insured mail. At that point the savings on the insurance fees is greater than the cost of the Registered mail fee. And the higher the value after that the greater the savings. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of registered mail.