FedEx vs usps for shipping numismatics?
logger7
Posts: 8,802 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've seen that dealers ship a lot more with FedEx than with usps.
How does it compare for cost, reliability, etc.?
0
Comments
FedEX
It's cheaper base on my experience having their account for quite a few years.....
most of those dealers using FedEx have private third party insurance. If you don't have private insurance USPS Registered is your best option on high value items.
Capital investment depends on confidence. - Martin Armstrong
It depends if you have private insurance... FedEx is limited to $1,000.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
I rarely receive or ship via FedEx. In my experience, most use USPS. Their various service offerings are well suited for coins worth less than a dollar to those worth many thousands.
UPS wont ship to PO box. Does FEDEX ? USPS seems best way. Maybe if it is to your residence FEDEX would work for low value material and could leave it on your doorstep ?
USPS.
It is noteworthy that many of the numismatic insurance companies have lower limits for FedEx shipments than USPS Express Mail shipments, and some also reduce limits by 50% for FedEx shipments made over a weekend.
Coin Rarities Online
For me no question USPS. FedEx changes to USPS in Anchorage which seems to take a long time.
I also have to battle FedEx wanting a physical address before shipping but USPS needs a PO Box for delivery. There is no USPS residential delivery here. I cringe every time I have to deal with FedEx.
I actually use predominantly USPS.
The shipments I get are usually USPS also. I actually get more UPS shipments than FedEx. If you are seeing more FedEx, it must be your particular address.
USPS !!!
Note that if you ship what USPS considers to be bullion, they will only honor an insurance claim if it was sent registered mail. The good news is that insured items over about $750 are actually cheaper with USPS if you send registered. When you start adding insurance and sig confirmation to priority or regular first class it starts to really jack your cost.
Registered includes insurance at the declared value and the electronic return receipt request (PDF of sig, viewable online - satisfies Ebay and PP proof of delivery) only cost an additional $1.50 and is requested at the counter at the time of the registered shipment. A recent first class registered shipment valued at $1575 with electronic return receipt cost me $23.
Note that a few dollars can be save on registered if the shipment weighs less than 13 oz. which enables you to request first class registered. Otherwise you pay a few dollars more for priority registered that still travels at the slow registered pace. Priority does not expedited registered shipments, it only adds to their costs. You don't have a choice at 13+ ozs., it's automatically priority. If you don't specify first class at the counter for eligible registered shipments, they will sell you the higher cost priority registered.
Capital investment depends on confidence. - Martin Armstrong
I have found the counter people at FedEx usually a lot better, maybe they are less stressed out? Yesterday I had an overnight I wanted to send, was running a little late, and usps have me a hard time with there being no guarantee since it was after 5pm; at FedEx the cut off time was more like 7, they make the whole shipping process a lot easier, and tracking is much better.
I have a Post Office Box. I also have a physical address. Over half the items delivered to my physical address by UPS are left at my Post Office Box even though the Physical address is on their label. I prefer the USPS and have for the last 40 years. Here in the country, it is quite inconvenient to go to the nearest UPS drop off point and most of them will not accept a very large box, so then its a trip to a UPS Store. So far, crossed fingers, I have never had to file an insurance claim with the USPS. JMO
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I have used USPS for shipping coins... and I used registered mail when shipping gold coins. For firearms I have found Fedex to be best. Cheers, RickO
USPS for me.
UPS and FEDEX do not ship to PO Boxes. Most obviously because the PO Boxes are owned by the USPS.
USPS
Wrong they both deliver to USPS P.O. Boxes if the item is addressed correctly.
John Smith
123 Main St Box 456
Anytown, CA, 98765
Technically, USPS delivers to the line above the city/state/zip while private delivery services use the line under the addressee.
John Smith
123 Main St
PO Box 456
Anytown, CA 98765
It's nice to hear you've successfully trained them to share the single line.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Unlike UPS, FEDEX does not open packages or ask what's in them. That being said, one is supposed to declare firearms to FEDEX. The last one that I sent FEDEX ended up being delivered by a contract carrier who put down the wrong delivery address. Guy's wife chased them all over town to finally snag the package.
Some folks prefer the USPS for firearms.
I would prefer Fedex after my recent incidents with USPS of delivered but not receive. I lost some ASE from modern coin mart due to my mailman marked as delivered with tracking and put in the wrong mail boxes or stole them.
Here is what happen few weeks ago. My mailman ringed my bell and hand delivered all my mails that day while asking my wife to sign for one of the packages at 12:51pm. However my other package which was missing was marked as delivered to a mail box at 12:50pm. So guess what? Post office refused to take responsibility nor does seller, ebay and payapl.
If your carrier had/has one of those GPS scanner/trackers he/she should go back to the mailbox it was delivered to and request it back.
USPS is more convenient for me, PO is a few locks away and has a good staff. Way prefer USPS for registered incoming as we're seldom home during the day and I can do pickups on the way to work or on Saturday morning.
That was the problem. The GPS tracking showed the mailman was in front of my house at 12:51pm. Even though I filed a claim with U.S inspector who admitted there was something fishy. And this mail carrier was not my regular. There was nothing else he could do beside informing the supervisor of my local postal office . There will be no insurance claim, a documentation of sent to wrong address etc.
I recently had paid for a couple expresses at their self-service machine that I wanted to get there the next day, one to cac the other to a FL grading service. I dropped them down the hopper, the usps worker at the other side of the partition said they would be going out that evening. No tracking overnight. I go back to the po in the am and ask the desk lady where my expresses are? She said they went out. I said check in the hopper box. She fished them out and gave them back to me. I was refused using the unused full retail express labels later through the usps desk person, so went over their head, the local postmaster said they they could be transferred. Apparently they don't know the procedure for using express postage. It is a pain to go over the heads of workers to get the right solution/procedure. If I had downloaded an express label on paypal, etc. it could just be refunded through them.
No such problems with FedEx; excellent customer service, fool-proof system.
Sometimes its best to have that $500 coin mixed with an ocean of packages.
Capital investment depends on confidence. - Martin Armstrong
I bought a few coins from a major dealer for a low five figure price. They came today and the mailman threw the box on my front porch and didn't even bother to ring the door bell. The label clearly said "Signature required" and was even high lighted with a bright pink marker. If I weren't honest I could claim that I never got it and the dealer wcould refund my money.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
The problem with that Perry is that claims specialists will try to see what the history is of a given customer making such claims, so someone may get away with that once or twice, but eventually it will look suspicious.
I'm not going to put in a claim but if I did I would ask them to prove that they delivered it to my house. I'd just say "Show me where I signed for it." I'm going to visit my post office on Monday and talk to the Post Master and suggest that he council whoever was on my route today.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
And to think that yestiddy I had to sign for a $20 coin.
I also had an express but had indicated signature required; fortunately the company didn't get a delivery (delivery exception) since most are closed on Saturday; it was one of my unused/transferred express postage labels. When in doubt just slap the postage on and don't even deal with the clerk; the worst that happens is they send it back to you where I would explain that the postmaster ok'd the transfer.
UPS left a box with 5 ounces of gold on my front stoop last week. They were there for 6 hours until I got home. LOL.
A lot of it is how you send it. If you send it signature required by any of the services, they have to get a signature. So, your ASE problem would not have occurred. Without signature confirmation, any of the 3 services could have the same thing happen.
i was waiting for someone to tell me i was wrong, hehe, if you figured out a way to do it, congrats to you
>
The only signature confirmation I trust is also Fedex. As a previous seller on Amazon, I started out with USPS, UPS and Fedex. But there were just too many complaints of forge signatures or signed by John Doe with our postal service and UPS. So I decided to use only Fedex within the 48 contiguous united states.
And here is another thing. Unlike USPS, FedEX rarely drop off packages in different houses within a block each day. This does make the GPS tracking more accurate. You have to understand that I live in Queens NY. And there are 10 different houses/buildings within 1 minute walking distance.
I worry even sending coins via registered mail. I could not stand it if someone sent me coins via FX!
I've never had a problem in over 40 years sending valuable coins via Registered Mail. It's very secure, but it's also rather expensive.
….and rather slow.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Agree; painfully, excruciatingly slow, though "safe". I've never had a problem of an express not getting there, though have had delays actually around 25% or more where you can get a refund. FedEx rarely has that problem though I heard from a major currency dealer the problem of theft he encountered.
Slow is an understatement.... I just sent some coins VIA USPS Registered "2 Day Express" service on a ~1500 mile trip across county. I didn't think they could deliver a "Registered" package in 2 days, even if it was labeled "Express Mail", but that's what they told me (and sold me) at the Post Office. It took 11 days. I won't do that again.
Usps makes it very easy now to file for a refund on late expresses. I had one this week; FedEx, if you have a corporate account with them is right on the money with excellent tracking. On later day flat mailers the price is close to usps's $23 charge.
I like both, a european auction house/coin dealer I have been buying from uses Fedex and I've been getting coins within a matter of days, really pleased
Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
FWIW I used to ship 100 TO tins of Platinum and Rhodium sponge overnight via Fedex. Insured by our company and we never had an issue.
Tins would remind you of the old time coffee cans that needed a key to open. They were placed inside a 5 gallon plastic bucket with zero markings that would draw attention to it.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
FedEx is the most fun because they can show up after you go to bed.