Yeah, in hindsight I should have done registered. I figured the insurance would be sufficient but clearly not.
Last I checked, I believe that coins/bullion/etc. were on the excluded items list for postal insurance. Did that change? Or did I have that wrong all along?
They are excluded if you do the shipcover insurance available from paypal and ebay. USPS insurance covers coins and bullion.
We deliver for you is just another useless slogan. I receive many coins through the mail, 99% with no issues, which is good. Most have a great deal of strapping tape and are a bear to open. Reading this thread reminds me to appreciate the packaging and those who went to the effort to pack well.
Negotiable coins and currency (Cash) are excluded, but numismatic collectibles are insurable. 4.0 Claims 4.1 Payable Claim g. For stamps and coins of philatelic or numismatic value; the fair market value is determined by a recognized stamp or coin dealer or current coin and stamp collectors’ newsletters and trade papers. The date of the fair market value determination must be current and prior to the mailing date. Bullion is limited to $15, unless it is shipped Registered mail. m.Except for Registered Mail, the maximum indemnity for negotiable items (defined as instruments that can be converted to cash without resort to forgery), currency, or bullion, is $15.00
I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago with Registered Mail. The package got stuck somewhere along the way and after 2 weeks I went to the Postmaster who made some phone calls and got it moving again. Registered Mail is extremely slow, but it is the safest way to mail something very valuable.
What a nightmare! I hope you get your insurance money! FYI - Not that this was your fault - it was clearly mishandled by the P.O. - but when mailing items that are very heavy like rolls of coins, I recommend Bi-Directional Strapping Tape. And use it to tape all around the box, so that there is no way any part of the box CAN be gouged out more than an inch. It adds to the price, but you know what they say about an ounce of prevention... Here's my favorite Bi-Directional Strapping Tape on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G2LTDQK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Wishing you much luck getting your money back!
If you ship valuables very often, consider private insurance. You’ll have to pay an up-front annual fee, but after that, it’s cheaper than the USPS insurance. A BIG advantage of private insurance is that you put a big fat ZERO in the value slot of shipping forms … makes it much less likely to attract thieves. Registered mail is still the safest way to ship … especially when declaring the value to be zero. But it can be very slow. It must travel securely, be stored securely and be signed-for at each handoff. I’ve had a registered parcel sit for two weeks in one intermediate stop. BTW postal clerks are happy to sell you priority or express service for registered mail, but it won’t travel a bit faster. When I want faster service, I use FedEx (ground or express, depending). FedEx ground has comparable prices to USPS. Main disadvantage is my private insurance charges more for FedEx than registered mail. In these COVID days, it’s safer for me to ship FedEx. With registered mail, I have to stand in line at the PO and spend time with a clerk. With FedEx, I do all the forms and payment online, then hand the parcel to a driver or put it in a drop-box. Cal
Yep. With Registered, your package is "under lock-and-key" the whole time and somebody there is responsible for them, not just the cage it's locked in. In other words, somebody gets in trouble if something happens. You gotta pay 'em that extra $18 bucks in protection money (you wouldn't want something bad to happen?) to ensure that your items don't get pilfered by a postal worker ...oh, uh, er, I mean, "the extra $18 Registered fee so your items don't get destroyed when you don't package them correctly."
I had a package "lost" in the mail and am still awaiting the insurance payout. The package was shipped October 3rd, claim was filed on October 18th and its been "in review" since the day I filed it. Looks like their payout for the insurance they owe me is as long as their crappy shipping these days. By the way, the package was a $575 package.
We can see the tracking but the postal employees can. That's for added protection. Every time that package changes hands someone must sign for it. That creates a written record not just the scan. It cost more but it's worth it for certain things. When shipped Registered Mail it travels under lock and key in a very heavy cloth bag. Everything else travels through the normal mail stream and anybody can get their hands on it.
I have several times. Hasn't been very helpful yet. I'm giving it until December 18th then I'm going to be much more adamant about my money.
Claims have been taking about 60 days to process. That's why it took 6 months for me through the two appeals and one original claim.
According to the web, many post offices have safes for storage of money orders, stamps, ect. I have filed an investigation request with the USPS OIG. The USPS Inspection service will not take the case because it is internal.
This. If you're not completely willing to eat the cost without a second thought, you should be using registered mail so this kind of thing doesn't happen. They mailed the Hope diamond with registered mail! Also, literally wrap the entire box with packing tape. If you can see ANY bare cardboard on the box, you're not done yet. It's unfortunate what happened, but with the above steps it is preventable in the future.
Those safes are not for customers parcels to be placed in. They mainly contain stamps. Remember, I retired from the post office. And I was in charge of my office.
The idea of wrapping the entire box in tape is good. The main point is to tape every cardboard seam where the box could be opened and resealed. It's best to wrap the entire box. The postal clerk should, with you standing there, use their round dater and cover every tape seam with red ink from the dater. This is to prevent anyone from tampering with the package.