Shipping Coins with Insurance.........
Soldi
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Is costing me too much money to send a package priority mail for say $12, but coins worth $2000 to $4000 cost way too much to insure. Any ideas how I can cut cost of shipping? Should I just send certified or Registered and no insurance? Thank you
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I think Registered has a declared insurance value? so you might be covered that way. Only problem is I think it takes quite some time for delivery due to chain of custody.
Don't take a chance!
Pay for registered insured mail No other way I would ship, and I worry about that too.
Mike
My Indians
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Registered $0 value, but you will be SOL on a claim in case of loss. Remember though that unless you pay extra for restricted delivery anyone at the receiving address can sign for it. Restricted delivery means that only the addressee can sign for it. Know if you're sending it to a place or to an individual. Otherwise registered gets the same handling whether insured for $1 or $5000.
Insurance on registered is cheaper than priority mail rates. Either that, or get your own private insurance through Hugh Wood or something like that, though I don't know if that would end up being cheaper depending on the frequency and value of the packages you ship.
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Registered is definitely the way to go on higher priced items. Although you will have to suffer through longer wait times and wonder where your package is sometimes....
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A shipping insurance option many colletors and smaller dealers use is ShipAndInsure: https://shipandinsure.com
I use shipandinsure. Their rate is good but not sure what will happen if you have to file a claim. I hope I never have to find that out. As many already suggested that using register mail is good and not that expensive.
I use shipandinsure. I think it's about $2.80 per $1000 insured. I also prefer overnighting my submission to PCGS versus registered. The less time in the system is the key to success.
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I haven’t looked at rates in a while, but in the past, registered became cheaper than regular insurance around $700. I’d do that or get private insurance.
Certified mail will offer you absolutely no protection at all in this case—use that when you need a legally admissible signature to prove when something was sent or received (ie, your taxes, legal documents).
Shipandinsure.com
Still costs real money, but it works especially well for the 1200-4000 level. Might be cheaper to go registered after $5k, but the package is a pain.
Big fan of ship and insure.
Another vote for shipandinsure, I have been using them for many years and they have some very favorable rates with FedEx if you ever have need to use that service.
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You’re joking about the restricted delivery, right? All my decades of mailing experience, and all the mail carriers I’ve encountered, and all the restricted delivery packages I’ve received, never once have I had a package held specifically because I wasn’t there to sign for it. The carriers just let anyone at the delivery address sign for it. Don’t waste your money on this service.
pirateship.com
Cheap rates and offer insurance.
I have used Registered for expensive items, and it works well - though in the system longer. Cheers, RickO
Make sure to read the fine print - I think pirateship’s insurance specifically excludes coins
Source: https://support.pirateship.com/en/articles/3222601-shipping-insurance-terms-and-conditions
Edited to highlight a section of the quote.
My wife says I never read the fine print.
Might want to take a closer look at that next paragraph
Additionally, collectible coins, comic books, sports cards and similar that are being shipped to be graded and have their value established are excluded. Collectible coins, comic books, sports cards, and similar are not excluded if they have already been graded and have their value established or if they were sold under a paid, Recent Invoice or have a Recent Appraisal.
Every insurance guy I know is rich.
So .....
I self insure the thousands of packages I mail every year.
I was told once that they don't want you to know where it is; presumably so that one can't conspire with someone at a PO en route to swipe the package.I don't know for sure, but I expect that their is a planned route for every mailing. May even be incorporated into the tracking number.
I've tried Ship and Insure, curious whether they are predicating insurance with them on membership in a $125 plus membership in NACA? https://www.shipandinsure.com/ The pain with them is having to enter all details by midnight the day you ship. Box in box only, Hugh Wood permits first class mailer shipping. A dealer I know said he does not make small claims as he would lose his yearly discount with them.
On higher value items registered is a good option with all the thefts we're seeing. I've never lost an express though.
I have never used it nor needed to use it, but I was just saying how it's supposed to work. Sucks when people DON'T FOLLOW policy. You might have a stronger case for a loss claim if you paid for the service and Joe Shmo signed instead of Jo Blo and the package disappeared. As I said above know where and to whom you are sending.
I would also posit that your experience/s don't represent the state of the service nationwide and if someone other than the addressee signed for it I would request/demand a refund.
This makes sense to me if all of your shipments are sales of roughly the same value and the loss of a package would not jeopardize your finances or your ongoing enjoyment of the industry/hobby.
For grading submission which are 20x+ more valuable than the shipment of a single coin to a customer, I like to have insurance.
No need. I read, and understood their policy, before I posted it.
They cover "collectible coins" if, and only if, certain conditions are satisfied.
Thanks @Project Numismatics I see that now. I'm going to ask their customer service for more details to ensure coverage.
It’s misleading to post a portion of the policy and lead readers to believe all collectible coins are completely covered.
I’m confused.
You initially posted “Make sure to read the fine print - I think pirateship’s insurance specifically excludes coins”
Then, as best I can tell, @MetroD posted the below (initially without the bold font in the last two lines). If so, how was that misleading?
https://us.v-cdn.net/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=1600/https://us.v-cdn.net/6027503/uploads/editor/ru/mw1b9qednht2.png
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
???
I posted the entire section, including the second paragraph, which specifically details the coverage for "collectible coins".
You might want to think about how you are going to finance your self-insurance fund. You could add an invisible fee to your price which goes into a fund from which a loss would be paid or take the cost of potential insurance and add it to the fund. Or be prepared to just pay out a large sum in the event of loss.
As an aside, in my experience first class or priority mail [I'm Central U. S.] sent on a Friday or Saturday usually gets delivered to either coast the next Monday.
With Ship and Insure [and other similar services] you have to ship it how they tell you to or your claim will be denied.
Has anyone made a claim with shipandinsure?
I like to know that too