"USPS Insured" Packages More or Less Likely to be "Lost"?

C0inCollect0r

Hello folks,

I recently have been debating this issue and was interested in your thoughts. For the past 6 months I have been paying for USPS insurance on coins I've been mailing - I frankly feel the rate is a bit ridiculous and I have had nothing lost over this period, but my colleague is worried that if we stop insuring these packages they will start to disappear, be stolen, be treated more carelessly by postal employees, etc. I feel personally that, if anything, having the "Insured" label pasted on the boxes would tend to increase the likelihood of them being stolen.

Anyway, sorry for rambling ... Any thoughts?

OchoReales

I insure evrything under $500 and Reggie everything over. Have not had an issue in 9 years.

66Tbird

Pay it, simple enough unless your willing to eat it and smile. I've had non-insured stuff just go poof with tracking just stopping and I've sent replacements and took the loss. Then one day I see the buyer offer the lost coin for sale(cert number) That's when I figured it out. USPS does care more about tracking an insured parcel. My buyer spotted the tracking error and played his hand, l lost.

derryb

I self insure everything under $100. Your odds of loss will increase if you have "coin shop" in your return address.

OPA

I don't bother with insurance for items worth less than $100 ... waste of time and money. Just make sure you use a good quality bubble mailer, not the cheap 3 x 5 types, make sure it's at least 3/4" thick...print your labels through paypal & ship it out promptly.

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>Hello folks,

I recently have been debating this issue and was interested in your thoughts. For the past 6 months I have been paying for USPS insurance on coins I've been mailing - I frankly feel the rate is a bit ridiculous and I have had nothing lost over this period, but my colleague is worried that if we stop insuring these packages they will start to disappear, be stolen, be treated more carelessly by postal employees, etc. I feel personally that, if anything, having the "Insured" label pasted on the boxes would tend to increase the likelihood of them being stolen.

Anyway, sorry for rambling ... Any thoughts? >>



If you are sending a lot of packages, it would behoove you to look into some sort of private self insurance. Others here use it and would probably be more than happy to advise you.

FWIW based on your comments it would seem that an "insured" label is not necessarily a "steal me" sticker.

streeter

Packages under $1000 sent to people I know get no extras added on. Just a plain brown wrapper.

I don't send coins to people I don't know.

Everything over $1000, my rottweiler goes along for the ride on the REGISTERED MAIL, INSURED.

Delivery confirmation for ebay packages to strangers, but not HaHa funny. Post Office scam for income.

Russ

I've shipped over 10,000 packages through the post office, both with and without insurance, and they've lost a grand total of two.

Russ, NCNE

heavymetal

I have over 700 transactions on Ebay and have never had a lost item. Good packing is essential and I self insure under $50. I did have a lost item from the US Mint that was resolved fairly quickly. The item never left the first processing facility it was sent to, so the tracking system clearly demonstrated that the loss had nothing to do with me. HM

roadrunner

I've shipped hundreds of REG packages over the years and never lost one.
Shipped far less insured packages over several decades and lost 3 as I recall. One of them was a $600 car part about 5 feet long and 1 ft wide.

I you want to skip insurance you're probably better off just using REG mail with the min. declared value. Or maybe even Certified mail. Something that needs to be signed for but
has no additional insurance value added to the postage meter.

roadrunner

AUandAG

Anything under $2,500 does not get insurance. Priority with signature confirmation is
all I use. Above that amount is a different matter.
I don't mind self insuring. I've shipped thousands of Ebay transactions and hundreds
of BST transactions and have lost one Registered package in 10 years. That is it.

bob

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>I you want to skip insurance you're probably better off just using REG mail with the min. declared value. >>

USPS regulations require shippers to declare the full value of their shipments. A fee for insurance to cover this amount is then added to the base rate for registered mail. Only items with no value can be shipped by registered mail without insurance.

LindeDad

In the last six months I have shipped out about 250 items used Delivery Confirmation on all items $200.00 or less and Signature Confirmation on all over $200.00 and the coffee can that now has about a thousand dollars in it for insurance. All of my labels are printed out using PayPal or eBay shipping using the printed labels I consider a contributing factor to the success of it getting where it is supposed to go.
About eighteen months ago I quit buying insurance when a package went missing in the mail and I had to go ahead and pay my customer back and then do the claim process to get my money back. About a week after refunding the item arrived in New York finally, and my customer was nice enough to pay me back.
For the next six months I put the amount insurance would cost into a coffee can on my desk when the amount in the can is more than the cost of the items I'm sending out that's my insurance now.
BTW items over a thousand I send express mail with insurance the added cost is worth it for the satified customers having it next day in most cases.
Edit to add that when printing PayPal or eBay labels you can print the label without showing the amount of postage paid. No red flag of what it cost to add insurance or signature service a little like flying under the radar. That used to be fun especially on a clear night.