Shipping to Hong Kong - Advice

ARCO

Hello fellow coin addicts. I was hoping to get some advice. I have a potential buyer for a $4,500 item that lives in Hong Kong. Shipping internationally always gets me a bit worried. In the past, I have sold some Peruvian gold 100 Sol coins (worth about $1500 at the time) to German and Canadian buyers, and the three times I have allowed a foreign bidder to bid on my auctions, and they ended up winning the Ebay auction, there have been issues. Foreign shipping times took almost a month for my coins to arrive. Every single time, the buyer wrote me that the item had not arrived and had pressed me for information. Eventually, the coin arrived and the seller was satisfied, but it seemed that I would be refunding the buyers for a lost package. I always worry that my shipment is not protected and that Ebay will refund my money to an unscrupulus buyer who knows how to game the system. I do not want a buyer to game me by claiming that my item has not arrived (but in reality it really has), or that it was lost via transit.

Question: How do I ship to Hong Kong and protect myself on a $4,500 item? What form of shipping and insurance do I pay for that gives me total protection?

Thanks fellow coin addicts.

Tyler Child

SaorAlba

From my experience Hong Kong and China have been very reliable as far as sending and receiving coins from - ship registered of course and has to be in a flat pack.

airplanenut

<< <i>From my experience Hong Kong and China have been very reliable as far as sending and receiving coins from - ship registered of course and has to be in a flat pack. >>

Registered limit on international packages is $400. This would have to be shipped via Express, and I believe Hong Kong is a destination where the USPS offers up to $5000 insurance. Hong Kong is typically a very good postal system to use, though admittedly I've got two high value packages just sent there that are missing. I'll bet there on a shelf somewhere (sent at the same time, missing at the same time), but that doesn't help when waiting for them to arrive. But, with full insurance, you should be fine.

Brol

<< <i>

<< <i>From my experience Hong Kong and China have been very reliable as far as sending and receiving coins from - ship registered of course and has to be in a flat pack. >>

Registered limit on international packages is $400. This would have to be shipped via Express, and I believe Hong Kong is a destination where the USPS offers up to $5000 insurance. Hong Kong is typically a very good postal system to use, though admittedly I've got two high value packages just sent there that are missing. I'll bet there on a shelf somewhere (sent at the same time, missing at the same time), but that doesn't help when waiting for them to arrive. But, with full insurance, you should be fine. >>




First thing you need to find out or you can use Express and Insurance on coins. I believe you cannot send coins in Express Mail.

This is what I found at usps.com:

Priority Mail Express International Flat Rate Envelopes: Did you know? Coins, jewelry, watches, and other valuables are usually prohibited in Priority Mail Express International. Always check country-specific prohibitions, restrictions and observations available in the Individual Country Listings in the International Mail Manual (IMM).

If you send Express and package will be lost I'm not sure if you get your insurance money back..?

I'm sending coins to Europe sometimes and usually I use Express Mail, but with no insurance. But I'm always have a bad sleep during those days..

ARCO

I am actually shipping a Roger Dubuis Watch to Hong Kong. I have only sold coins over the last 13 years on Ebay, but I am selling this watch for my business partner. I figured that the process of sending / insuring a watch and a coin would be the same

Tyler

Davideo

If it were me, I'd ship FedEx. I don't think you will have issues getting FedEx insurance for a watch, but I'm not certain.

lostincoins

I would send it fedex also. I use them to send horns, mouthpieces and other vintage horn bits. I have had very good luck with them just pack it very securely as it will get bounced (thrown) around.

Cougar1978

I would back off - thats a really big ticket amount.

johnny9434

<< <i>I would back off - thats a really big ticket amount. >>

agreed, theres been to many horror stories out there . thats up to you