Sending coin from USA

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by mika2019, Aug 7, 2019.

  1. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    The US has many trade and shipping agreements with other countries.
    For instance, buy a single thing from China, even if it's $1.99 (or at least it was) and it was free shipping. how?
    agreements to stimulate trade.

    Import from Ireland and shipping is less, then if from the UK (at least the stuff I've bought).

    But shipping out of the US doesn't seem to have the same type of agreements.
    Want to return that product back to China .. forget it. It may cost more to ship it than it's worth (especially if it's $1.99).

    Plus many ppl (eBay etc) were warned not to ship things to Italy, etc etc due to fraud and stuff. I sold something to S. Korea before and used the central eBay thing. The seller, after I mailed it, cancelled payment. Luckily it was going to the eBay central place and wasn't there yet. So he had to pay it again. Then following the stuff, he apparently cancelled payment again after it was shipped from the eBay shipping center. I think eBay stopped it, as it was finally paid again and continued on. What a nightmare.

    I stopped shipping anything internationally after that even through the eBay central shipping.
     
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  3. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    It really depends on how the seller chooses to ship the coin. That $20 Indian head cent you mention could be put in a 2X2 stapled to and between a couple thin sheets of cardboard or in a safe-t-mailer and shipped first class international for $1.15. Or put in a plain box the size of a small priority box and shipped as a package for between $10.50 and $14.50 depending on how far it is going ($14.25 to Finland). Priority mail international in the small box is $33.60 to $36.60 (Finland is $35.65) Priority mail express is $62.90 Global Express Guaranteed to Finland is $96.45

    Most collectors here are used to shipping domestically using priority mail and would probably just automatically chose that for their international shipping as well adding that extra $20 shipping fee over first class. (Priority and first class are both handled the same, and typically travel together at the same speed. Priority just costs more. Priority Express DOES travel faster, but cost a whole lot more, domestic or international.)

    As Clawcoins mentioned there are some countries you really don't want to ship to due to a high risk of theft from the mail, fortunately Finland is not on that list.

    And then with some countries you have the nightmare of customs and customs duties. Customs can introduce long delays, and some collectors get a nasty surprise when they find out after paying for the coins and the shipping that they then have to pay sometimes high customs duties to get them to release the coin. The US doesn't charge duties on coins coming in.
     
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  4. mika2019

    mika2019 New Member

    Good answers. Thank you. I understand and agree that a good coin is best to ship safe and that costs. But this hole thing that made me mad was the ebays extra costs. That i know now. I thought that all that money went to the seller.

    I wreally hope that the costs of shipping and handeling would stay in common sence
    for sellers and buyers. Because coin collecting is a universal hobby (not too serious :).
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2019
  5. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    @Conder101 Yes, first class and Priority travel the same paths but Priority also gives you a free $50.00 insurance, first class does not. Just tossing that into the equation.;)
     
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  6. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    If you pay with PayPal, which is the smartest way to pay anyways, you’ll know exactly how much money the seller receives, because there are two separate payments made: one to the seller, and another one to eBay. The latter includes the fees for GSP and import charges.
     
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  7. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    Priority mail international incl. tracking to the destination, while first class int’l doesn’t.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2019
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  8. mika2019

    mika2019 New Member

    Yes i payd with PayPal and there were only one payment for the hole sum. Never seen two separate payments ? How they separate the payment after i have payd i dont know.

    In future i dont buy from USA through ebay because of these extra payments.
    Just bought three Flying Eagles from Germany.

    And i know that USA has so many people that they dont need to sell abroad. That is their loss because they would probaply get better payd for their coins. But as i said the hobby is not too serious.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2019
  9. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    It does domestically, I'm not sure about international.

    True, but you are paying an extra $20 over first class to get that tracking.
     
  10. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    As I said, there’s usually NO tracking for international first class mail, as the cheapest service level is used in the destination country. And when you look at the USPS web site, it says “tracking available” only for priority mail.

    If I buy a coin from the US I want tracking. I don’t buy junk coins where the extra $20 weren’t justified. Of course, nobody cares if it’s a low value item... like a stamp :)
     
  11. John Burgess

    John Burgess Well-Known Member

    My work is international shipping. Hate to say it but it's not all ebay. A lot of the additional shipping costs are export then import customs and it's gotten much higher as of lately (I am going to leave politics out of this, hopefully everyone else will too.)

    Even if no duties are owed because of low value on the commercial invoice/proforma you still have processing fees from both countries, the u.s. side for the export, the other countries side for the import. And this can be variable from country to country.

    Every import I do at work, even for my own tools I sent from the u.s. to do a job and are returning will cost me about $85 in filing fees with customs alone and then add to that if it was a new commodity entering the country or if it has a qualifying commercial value to be taxed additional on top.

    About a month ago I ordered parts for a 10 cylinder boat motor rebuild from greece, about $80k worth, but they would of cost me $110K buying them here in the u.s.
    Anyways it cost me about $2500 to fly them here, and it cost me $3000 for customs and duties. I still saved $25k doing it this way, but my point is customs documentation costs and formalites make most small purchases internationally shipped outrageous and unaffordable.

    I sent tax documents to Indonesia. 10 sheets of paper. It cost me $85.00 to do it and short of sending it US Postal service with no tracking and relying on the public postal system in Indonesia with no tracking, it was the cheapest way to do it. Lol.

    I'd say up your purchases at one time and one shipment so that the shipping doesn't seem so bad compared to the value.
     
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  12. juris klavins

    juris klavins Well-Known Member

    agreed - 50c to send a letter 3000 miles in 3 days is a deal - cheap at twice the price ;)
     
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  13. LA_Geezer

    LA_Geezer Well-Known Member

    I think there are pockets of poor USPS service, but on the whole, I'd have to say that they provide my neighborhood with better service than the guys in the brown trucks, and by a good deal.

    I have a good friend whose birthday is Monday, 8/12, so I calculated that the priority mail parcel I had for this occasion should be posted on Thursday, 8/8. When I arrived at the local post office, though, the parking lot was full and the waiting line was outside the door. I decided to go to UPS where I got close-in handicapped parking and immediate service once I was inside. The agent told me that the parcel would arrive 8/13 and I said this wouldn't do since the post office would deliver it on the 12th, according to their website. The attendant then said, that for $108 the parcel would be delivered that Saturday. We're just talking a 3-pound parcel, the contents of which are valued less than $10, so I declined the offer; I wanted it delivered Monday, anyway.

    Tracking shows that it will be a miracle if the parcel is delivered Tuesday, as it left here three days ago and has spent the weekend in Atlanta.
     
  14. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    My comment referred to Tommyc03's statement that Priority mail came with $50 worth of insurance coverage automatically. It does domestically but I'm not so sure about international

    If you are buying an expensive coin sure, but the OP was referring to a $20 Indian head cent where they wanted $30+ for shipping. The problem is the US seller probably just automatically thinks "Priority Mail" and the buyer gets hit with the high fee when it could have been shipped in a first class letter (no tracking) for less than $2.
     
  15. John Burgess

    John Burgess Well-Known Member

    For a fact, once a package leave the country USPS can't track it. It's whatever system is in place in the destination country but USPS loses track of it the moment it is out of customs over there and you are at the mercy of whatever system they have with no way to track or confirm delivery except to ask the reciever.

    And not to be mean but if you are selling coins internatonally and you send them without a method of confirming they were in fact delivered, you should expect to lose your coins and the sale and have to refund the buyer and lose your shipment. It's just stupid to not cover yourself, if it means losing the sale so be it. Better to lose that international customer over high shipping costs than to lose your coins and your money.

    Unless they are honest, they are going to say they never got it and prove that they did or refund their money.
     
  16. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Which is why Registered mail, which is absolutely the safest way to ship packages domestically, drop to a MAXIMUM payout liability of $50 once the package leaves the country, no matter what the declared value was. As long as it is in the postal services hands it is fully covered, but once it isn't and they can't track it, it's fifty bucks.
     
  17. Dillan

    Dillan The sky is the limit !

    You can always ask the seller to ship it regular post but crossing customs it has to have a declaration of value and origin . I do not but anything where the price of shipping is where the seller is making money on the shipping. Be careful and always check shipping I have seen shipping at very highly stupid pricing. So it is obvious that the seller depending where they are based is making money off the shipping . Simple just do not buy from the overpriced sellers. Furthermore, like some of the others said , if the coin is an expensive 1 of a kind then you will want to pay for the extra protection . I found that extra protection also draws attention to what may be in the package , and stands a better chance of getting ripped off along the way even if it is scanned at every stop . I never had anything stolen or lost ? in the 3 years selling on eBay , and sending a few thousand coins about. In Canada your covered for the first 100.00 of value if the item disappears or you can buy extra protection . That is on everyday items , They do not cover coins in the mail in Canada. Dillan
     
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  18. Dillan

    Dillan The sky is the limit !

    Canada Post picks up on the tracking from USPS and it continues until it reaches the destination . Dillan
     
  19. Burton Strauss III

    Burton Strauss III Brother can you spare a trime? Supporter

    FWIW, I have found that using the parcel # in the DIFFERENT systems give different results.

    For example, I've tracked packages within China until the get to Shanghai where they remain "preparing for international shipment" forever. However a couple days later the package pops up in the USPS system as "waiting customs clearance" (or some such) and I can track it from there to my door.

    I haven't tried the reverse, but it's worth trying.
     
  20. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    @mika2019 Next time you buy from a seller abroad, simply ask if they would ship low value items using a cheaper service level.

    I really don’t think there are a lot of dealers who try to rip people off. I think they ship priority/registered in order to have tracking in the destination country. They rather protect themselves from dishonest buyers.
     
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  21. Dillan

    Dillan The sky is the limit !

    That is the only problem with low cost service you get the dishonest buyers that might say they never received the product. Most people are good , but it seems that scamming on eBay has risen lots in the last 3 years or so . So @micbraun iscorrect in the reasoning of sellers wanting to protect their product , but some really over charge .
     
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