So basically, I'm expecting an ancient coin from Europe. There the tracking says the usual "pre-shipment - on" and that the originating post is about to ship, Then it arrived in NY. Later, the tracking then says "in transit to destination". After almost a week on that, now its back to saying the originating post is preparing the shipment. If its supposedly now in the US, then why is it back to saying "pre-shipment"? What's going on here?
Sounds like typical U.S.P.S. mis-routing. It probably went to the wrong distribution center and got sent back to be redirected. The U.S.P.S. must be going through staffing issues. In the last year or so my experience with deliveries has been awful. I can't get them to hold mail, I have packages "delivered" that never show up or get delivered two or three days later. I had two packages sent to the wrong local post office in the last few months. Last one went to a post office five miles from my house in error. It then got routed 150 miles out of state to a processing center in New Jersey and sat for ten days before moving again. Of course there was nothing wrong with the address on the parcel. I need to run down to the local P.O. this morning. Yesterday I checked on a registered item sent from out of the country three weeks ago. It arrived at my post office two days ago. It went "out for delivery" yesterday morning but the carrier didn't bring it. Last night after 5pm the tracking changed to "item is available for pickup". I would never have known if I didn't check the tracking as no notice or attempt to deliver was made. In other words, your just dealing with the usual incompetence.
Tracking can be very vague. Last time I had a coin shipped to the USA (I'm in France), the tracking info said "ready for shipment" during one week or so with no other precision. I was starting to get a bit anxious, when I got a message from the buyer saying they had just received the coin (and the tracking status had still not been adjusted) Q
I have had packaged marked "delivered" online that never showed up. Yes, they probably were delivered, but not to the correct address. Since the PO claims they were delivered, good luck getting a refund.
That is indeed odd. "in transit to destination" is an automated status that shows up in between sorting facilities ... usually 24 or 36 hours after the previous scan. The fact your coin went from that status and then returned to "origin post preparing shipment" is really weird. I've never encountered it. One question - was the NY scan ISC or local sorting facility?
I live in Texas and received a package from Vienna last week via Fedex. All of the messages showed the item in Vienna the day before. It was the last of five purchases from Europe that took 2 to 6 weeks to make it over the water to my home. I find the tracking info on pieces from Europe good only to tell me the pieces are on their way.
Buying from over-seas ? I'll pay for insurance and signature confirmation also. I DO NOT TRUST the USPS, period.
I have bought a lot from Europe. Never had a problem except for once it arrive a couple of weeks late. I have actually had more problems from domestic purchases, but not even had more than a couple of those. I frequently buy German coins from someone in Sweden and none has ever been lost. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for non-coin items. Each of USPS, UPS and Fedex has lost packages in the past.
I try not to pay too much attention to status updates with coins coming from Europe to US. They can be accurate and up to date or show no movement even after the coin arrives. With an expensive coin it can be stressful.
There are a great many reasons why any tracking number might say and number of things, including what has already been said. Also, keep in mind if it is coming between two countries tracking numbers are often mixed up. Let's say for example you got a package from Switzerland (like I did recently). The Swiss reporting ends when the package leaves the country (and in my case it did not even say so). At one point I decided to enter the number in the USPS site and that's where it picked up again and I noted it had already been delivered (but not picked up yet by me). Other issues are odd. I sent a package to Germany which was declared as 'delivered'. Three months later I received it back in the mail, with a notation on it that it wasnt picked up. It was expected and the receiver checked daily, so who knows why it happened. I re-shipped it and was finally delivered after another month.
Bought a coin from Verissimus in Spain on 3/26; got it two days ago. Bought a coin from Numismatica Prados in Spain on 1/21; it arrived in ISC New York on 2/12. AND IT'S STILL THERE!!! 53 days and counting. USPS customs is a new mystery religion. No one knows how it works except initiates, and they are forbidden to tell anyone their secrets.
In my experience the amount of time coins spend in customs is usually related to what the seller writes as the description. "Numismatic collectible" or "Numismatic item" is rarely any problem but "Roman republic silver coin" usually warrants a longer stay. Twice now a description that included "Roman" and "coin" has had packages opened and resealed by customs with green tape before finally making their way to me but they've always eventually found their way to me.
My standard is to label all packages as "numismatic token", which is true and accurate. Countless thousands of packages later only a few have been delayed or opened by customs.
That may explain why the item that arrived for me today was described on the customs form as "1 metal disc for research". Not kidding.
Not sure if its the PO in NY thats screwed up or its all states lol. Twice now, I've had weird tracking issues with the PO. First time it went to NY then it got rerouted to CT, then back to NY to get delivered. Second time it went back and forth between Flushing and Brooklyn only to get delivered when it stated shipment delayed.
I have had a couple lately that the on line tracking said it was signed for at the door but it was not. They were just left in the rural mailbox on the road. It's not the normal guy that does it, its a fill in guy. He doesn't like to get out of his truck if he can help it. He has also left delivery attempted notices in the box when we were home so I had to drive across town to the post office to get them. This has happened 4 or 5 times.
"Numismatic Collectible" from one of my trusty Euro-Suppliers... makes it here in under a week, every time!
Just found out U.S.P.S. is now offering a service that is real interesting. I have a free "my.usps.com" account that automatically adds any tracked items with my registered name and address to a dashboard. A nice way to have one spot to keep track when multiple items are on the way, and I usually have multiple. Today I received an email with a "coming soon" notification of a new service... Informed Delivery™ Mailbox Arriving Soon via USPS® Mail I went to the link and it had an image of every letter sized item that was delivered to my address today in a "mail dashboard". There is an option to check a box if any item is not in your delivery for the day... By checking this box, you are indicating you did not receive the physical mailpiece represented by the image. The information you provide may be disclosed with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) for law enforcement and investigative purposes. There is no indication if you need to pay extra for this service. It is limited to "letter size items". The tracking dashboard is free. No indication if this new option has a fee. I may take it even if it does have an associated cost. Never thought I would be able to get an image of all my mail before they even "arrive" in my mailbox.
