Do you use alternative, private, or decoy delivery addresses??
Jacques_Loungecoque
Posts: 733 ✭✭✭✭✭
As the title states, I’m curious how many of you use alternative, private, or decoy addresses to have your coins or other valuables delivered?
As I get older and wiser, and I am making higher dollar purchases, it’s beginning to dawn on me that perhaps having too many sellers being able to connect my address to valuables is a great liability. Not necessarily saying the sellers and auction houses are nefarious, but data and paperwork gets lost, stolen, and hacked all the time. To be clear I only keep a small fraction of my collection at home. However, a thief wouldn’t necessarily know that and could operate on a series of assumptions that leads to some very bad days for a lot of people.
I believe a PO Box forecloses FedEx and UPS deliveries, so I’m leaning toward a private mailbox. If you use one have they generally been safe and reliable for you? What does it run you? I know the business hours aren’t always convenient, but I’m not seeing a lot of other alternatives.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Comments
I use my PO box for everything. The lobby is open 24 hours, and there are parcel lockers for oversized packages. If someone insists on a street address, they get the street address for the post office with my box number as unit number. Fedex, UPS and Amazon all deliver to the street address of the post office, but having decent employees at the post office is key.
Amazon packages sometimes make it to the box, other times they are left in a pile in the lobby. When that happens, sometimes they make their way to the boxes, other times you have to pick through the pile. I have picked my package out of the pile a few days after delivery. I have had Fedex deliver a package to the loading dock of the post office, and it took six weeks to make it to my PO Box.
To me the headache and fee is still better than giving out my home address, or having packages sitting on my doorstep in the rain or tempting porch pirates.
Just a PO box. So far it seems pretty reliable, and anonymous.
The only hiccup is the trade magazines that various grading companies send out in opaque mailing sleeves so you can't tell what's inside. I'm pretty sure the nice lady at the post office thinks they're naughty magazines.
Private mailboxes offer no protection. Once the USPS package hits the front door it's under the control of the store's employees. There is no tracking to your individual box and no real recourse if lost or stolen inside the store.
As mentioned above, you can arrange UPS and Fedex to a USPS box. For those packages the carrier's protection ends when delivered to the PO but it would be the same at a private mailbox.
I don't like the idea of packages left in the lobby. I'd opt for a smaller PO to try to avoid that.
Mail them to my home address.
If your coins cause you to live in fear, you are in the wrong hobby.
I use a mailbox store, similar to having a PO Box, but it’s privately owned. Its for security so I don’t have to worry about porch pirates or mailbox pirates, but also because the mailbox store is allowed to sign for me for packages that require signature because I’m never home when packages get delivered. I hate having to try and get them delivered at a later date or having to drive all the way to their package distribution places when the mailbox store is just down the street.
Mr_Spud
Better coins in bank vault (300$ and up no exceptions...most of my coins are worth 100$ or less) and cheaper coins in large home safe bolted to the floor. Security system and cameras were I live. Police arrive very fast in my area as well. Good neighbours with dogs (and one is a cop) and many are retired and keep watch of our area. Many of my neighbours are avid hunters so they have what they need to protect their homes same goes for me. Hide my bank safe keys in a safe location outside of my home.
I am not a rich guy at all so my collection is nothing close to what some have here and never will be. I use my best judgment as to what needs to be in my bank and then those coins never leave the bank till the day I pass away. Better be safe than sorry.
Easy for me to stack my coins at my bank since my coins are 98% raw and in 2 by 2 Mylar sleeves.
Post Office Box is the way to go. Plus, the Post Office here (and probably others) give you with a regular address to use so if someone doesn't want to send a package to a "PO Box" you can simply give and/or use the street address to your Post Office box.
FedEx to my office, never my home
Everything is sent to my work address. I'm always there for delivery and know all my carriers; I just don't trust home delivery for anything valuable.