Shipping due to covid-19

I just got a nice e-mail from Roma Numismatics, explaining that they will have to hold lots for time being due to pandemic. Reason, the Royal Mail is not in service. I replied that I am very patient and can wait this out. Also, thanked them for letting me know.

 

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That's surprising, my royal mail packages came this week with no problems. Same with Canada.

Did the Royal Mail just stop doing service today or something?

 

I thought sometimes Roma shipped with FedEx. Interesting.

 

Roma are not the only ones. About two weeks ago, I received this e-mail from Tauler y Fau concerning some coins I had won in their spring sale auction:

"Due to the difficult situation we are going through, shipments will have to wait to be sent until the situation calms down. We will keep you informed when we make the shipment. Sorry for the inconvenience."

That's a pity but I understand their situation and decision. Better to wait a little while and receive the coins in the end than to have them shipped now and possibly get lost in all the chaos.

At least where I live, the postal service seems overwhelmed by the current situation. I had two non-coin parcels getting lost or misdelivered in the last month, and one package addressed to somebody else ended up at my place. (It went back into the mail with a note attached.) An antiquarian book I bought from a seller in Europe is still missing in action, and I wonder whether I'll ever get to see it.

If I were running a numismatic auction house, I wouldn't ship valuable items at this moment either...

 

Somewhat like me, I have patience I haven't used yet. You really need it these days.

 

I have coins held up in England as well! I’ve been waiting well over a month on a fun batch that needs to get an export license from England. Here’s what they said.
“The Arts Council England has closed during this time, so there will be a longer delay on receiving the licences before we are legally allowed to ship them.
We can offer storage of items free of charge until we are able to dispatch them.”
I asked if they could ship the coins that didn’t need an export license. They haven’t gotten back...

 

I have two packages from England stuck in USC New York, one of them for two weeks. So I would recommend to wait with shipping.

 

I received an e-mail from Alice at Roma yesterday giving me the option of waiting for lots I won or having them ship the coins via Fed Ex. I asked her to ship the coins. I live in upstate NY & see Fed Ex trucks on the move daily making deliveries. Heritage also gave me the option of waiting for the last lot I won or having them ship it. I received in 3 days time, much quicker than usual.

 

Living in the US, I thought Roma only shipped via FedEx. That's how I have received my most recent shipments. Same with Savoca. Seems FedEx is even running behind. A recent shipment from Savoca arrived three days late. But at least it got here. No complaints.

 

Royal Mail is still in service, albeit slower than normal.

https://www.royalmail.com/coronavirus?iid=HP_M1_CORONAVIRUS

 

Within the UK itself Royal Mail is still functioning perfectly, so I assume the issue is with exports only.

 

Just to clarify, this issue is not that RM isn’t working. Its services are unavailable to Roma Numismatics at present. We are too small a company to have RM collections from our premises (the cost to clients would be extortionate) and due to government restrictions we cannot otherwise physically get the packages into the RM system. Even if we did I have grave reservations about the security and deliverability of valuable packages at this moment in time, both at the originating post office and in transit.

This is our current stance on shipping:

I would first like to thank you for your support of the company in this difficult time and we are more grateful than ever for your bids in Auction XIX. I know that you, like all of our customers, are looking forward to receiving your purchases from our latest auction. Under normal circumstances these would have started to be sent out the next working day after our auction. However, these are unfortunately not normal circumstances by any means, as I am sure you are aware.

Roma Numismatics Ltd is fully complying with Her Majesty's Government's directives against all non-essential movement. As such Royal Mail is regrettably not a service we can offer our clients at present. Even if it were, we are extremely concerned that staff shortages within the RM framework could lead to unacceptable losses.

We remain able to send purchases with FedEx, who are still operating, albeit with extremely limited customer support and reduced security. Any shipments that do go out will be sent using the most secure service currently offered by FedEx, namely their “Adult Signature Required” service, whereby the FedEx driver will obtain a ‘verbal signature’ from any person of legal age at the delivery address, subject to the provision of a valid ID. While this is the recommended service in terms of security, there remains a significantly heightened risk of loss and potentially very long delays at customs depots.

Our main priority right now is ensuring the security of all coins. With this in mind we therefore recommend in the very strongest terms that for the safety of the coins you have purchased, these are held securely in our safe, to be sent to you after the present UK-wide lockdown situation improves and logistics networks have normalised.

If you must receive your purchases urgently, we kindly ask you to specifically request that they be shipped to you. We will otherwise assume that you prefer to wait until the present situation passes.

Please be aware that due to government advice and requirements, Roma Numismatics Ltd is also operating a reduced office staffing level of 20% and that our normally efficient service will not be as fast as usual. We furthermore expect that with the disruption to global logistics networks FedEx deliveries will take longer than normal. I would kindly ask that you seriously consider how urgently you need your purchases to be sent before requesting shipment. We thank you sincerely for your support and patience in these exceptionally difficult times, and look forward to being able to deliver your purchases to you as soon as we can be confident of their safe delivery.

 

The Royal Mail is not functioning perfectly. Next Day signed for letters now take over a week to arrive, and no signature is taken. Mine was left on the doorstep and the postman never rang the bell to let me know it had been delivered. Posting anything of value at the moment would be risky as there is no proof of delivery so the buyer would just need to claim it never arrived.

Jean Elsen have also stopped posting coins out, even using FedEx

 

That is good @panzerman. There are bad things happening in the world right now. We all need to be safe and patient indeed. I cant imagine being the cause of someone getting ill because of mailing a coin!

 

I’m sorry to hear that @panzerman , I feel your pain. I had an order from Serbia which took 6 weeks and I received a similar email. At the same time, I received an order from Israel in one week, which is the shortest period of time I’ve ever experienced.

 

I had to pay an additional 16 euro emergency shipping fee (on top of 33 regular shipping) for a book from France!

 

I have two non coin items from Britain that are way overdue. Both were to be sent by Royal Mail about two weeks ago. Their whereabouts are unknown according to shippers.

 

Thanks for all your input. I am OK with this, sometimes its fun waiting a bit longer. I would always follow the advice of the auction house, they know best. I find Roma does a fantastic job of dealing with clients, also the way they present their coins in attractive little display cases.
John

 

Agreed.

I am also waiting for a couple of lots from the recent Elsen sale, but these will be a nice surprise once we emerge from this crisis.

 

I bought coins from CGB in France and they sent them FedEx. Normally they send them regular mail, so I didn't know they were coming that way. FedEx just showed up at my door! However, I didn't sign for them. I discovered the envelope at the side of the house between the regular door and storm door. CGB didn't charge extra for FedEx servide. I think they're just doing what they need to ensure that the coins get delivered and avoid potential problems.