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How many times have you had coins / packages get lost in the mail?
SoFlo
Posts: 565 ✭✭✭✭
I've been shipping coins / currency worldwide for over a decade and I've only had one silver coin get lost in the mail. I'm gonna go out on a limb and not blame USPS for that one, I believe the guy that said he would return it shipped an empty package, and he lived here in the states.
After all these years my wife still thinks I'm sexy. Every time I walk by she says "What An Ass"
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Zero Lost for 10,000 shipped.
USPS is awesome.
once.
Zip....
I haven't had any package lost since at least 2000. Three have been damaged in shipment.
Once. It was sent registered. And it was a thousand dollar coin.
IMO registered says steal me
Never.
It's funny you should mention this. I just had a recent problem with a coin I sent out from a giveaway. 3 weeks almost before he finally got it! At least he got it.
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in 15 years one was lost . Sort of lost. I sold a seated dime that was misdirected to a buyer for a long time more then a month. I refunded the item. Eventually about a year after the coin went to Guam and elsewhere it made it to the buyer. He let me know he received it and paid for the coin and was happy. No understanding how it happened but it did make it through. Loss is very rare.
A few years ago I mailed a package, not a coin, to a guy in Northern Florida. About a week later he emailed asking if I had sent it yet. When I checked the tracking, it was in Puerto Rico. He received it a few days after that.
After all these years my wife still thinks I'm sexy. Every time I walk by she says "What An Ass"
About 20 packages. USPS has had to pay me over 100k in claims, 3 of which were in a very brief time period. The type of package in my experience that is most likely to go missing is registered. (I've probably had about 6 out of 1000 registered packages stolen in transit, and probably 15 or so out of over 20k ish otherwise)
About a half dozen. Thousands in 2020 values. Properly packaged, no signs of value on the package as far as I can think of. I've never lost an express.
Zero
This totals maybe 300-400 numismatic shipments, of all types.
Never any lost or stolen. A few sent to me misdelivered to wrong addresses that I was able to track down and I have received many at my address intended for other addresses. Lost one in a FedEx truck fire only to have it show up months later after insurance had paid off. The recipient was kind enough to return it to me as I had already replaced its contents.
zero
Not a coin but many years ago UPS drove a truck over a bass guitar I shipped. They did pay the claim to repair the instrument (replaced neck). Still blew my mind they backed the truck over it.
Had an ebay seller claim he shipped me a gold coin that I never received. He had no tracking number. I assume it was never actually shipped but who knows. Ebay resolved it for me.
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We have shipped probably 30,000 or more packages since 2000, and can't recall any packages that did not arrive to their destination.
A few took the "long way", but always ended up being delivered. Typically this happens around the holidays. The longest delivery time was about 3 weeks for an insured Priority Mail package which finally got moving and delivered after we filed a "lost package" claim.
The USPS really does do a superb job with the volume they handle.
Over 10,000 packages and one lost package (OGP so no loss to me). I may have forgotten to put a shipping label on the box so I can’t blame USPS for that one.
Once
Collector, occasional seller
Registered is the most secure way to ship, I don't see why you think it says "steal me"
A first class or priority with $1k+ insurance might say that though.
Collector, occasional seller
Back in the old days it was about 1% for insured packages. I believe almost all the uninsured ones made it through but sometimes the recipient claimed it didn't. It was probably about .5%. Thick letters (with coins) always made it. I didn't use registered much but never lost one.
Now days I believe very few get lost. A few more get damaged but few are stolen. I don't even hear of many lost packages.
Just got my first insurance check this week - the $50 that comes with priority. One of my packages went to the silver spring MD thief that got busted thanks to Julian it was a used camera I sold for around $300 and shipped priority uninsured. After ebay kept the fees I pocketed about $20 for the camera I spend $800 on a little over a year ago lol
USPS really is awesome though they do a great job almost all of the time.
Me, never
One time a package from Southern California to flyover country overshot all all the way to Boston, Massachusetts, but it was here only two days late in the end. Total lost: zero.
$800+K in ebay sales (plus non-ebay sales) over a period of 12 years and not one lost USPS package coming or going. Had two arriving packages damaged/pilfered.
"Money does not care about speeches on morality. Capital asks whether the rules will remain the same tomorrow. With inflation, people assume price is the problem, and propose regulation—but price is simply the message." - Martin Armstrong
IMO Registered Mail is the most secure Paid Shipping Method. Hands Down Lock
I Personally will Pay for a forum member to be shipped Registered Mail to anywhere in the US free of charge.
Oxygen tank, Flashlight, Toiletries and 2020 Redbook will be provided free of charge
Once, about 12 years ago. I returned an inexpensive IHC, first class, and it never arrived. (I know the dealer and I believe him.)
Lance.
Once. It was lost in tracking but the buyer still received the item with out the tracking showing delivered.
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Once 15 years ago. Got paid for it .
One, but it was the first shipment I sent, so at the time I was at a 100% loss rate
Gobrecht's Engraved Mature Head Large Cent Model
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It's just ridiculous that you have to buy insurance for your package from the people taking responsibility for it.
Maybe if it was made unlawful for shippers to sell insurance and they were forced to pay for losses out of pocket, they'd take their internal thefts and mis-handlings more seriously.
Zero lost.... However, one took almost 3 weeks to get to it's destination... Also had a few damaged boxes (but not damaged coins)... One was soaked (wet) when I got it.
Not really. Many items don't require postal insurance. If they didn't charge for it directly, the general cost of mailing everything would go up to cover USPS's liability that way. It makes the most sense for the folks who actually need insurance to pay for it. Now if you're making the argument that it's ridiculous that USPS would ever lose anything, you're not grounded in reality.
There's a difference between losing something and theft. Their pay-outs for legitimately "losing" something would be minimal. Theft? not so much. Paying them for insurance is like paying protection to the mob. That's reality.
Don't think of it as paying more to insure. Think of it as being given the opportunity to pay less by not insuring. Self insuring is a good thing. . . up to a certain dollar amount.
"Money does not care about speeches on morality. Capital asks whether the rules will remain the same tomorrow. With inflation, people assume price is the problem, and propose regulation—but price is simply the message." - Martin Armstrong
There's no difference in the result, which is the addressee never gets the package. USPS can't guarantee that everyone it hires is 100% honest any more than that it'll never lose a package. What loss vs. theft statistics are you basing your assertion on anyway? Are those published somewhere?
Knock on wood.... none
Collect raw morgans, walkers, mercs, SLQ, barber q. Looking at getting into earlier date coins pre 1900s.
Exactly. If it were unlawful for shippers to sell insurance, it would just get priced into the postage charge and you'd have to pay it even if you were shipping something of minimal value, not worth insuring.
edited to add... Regarding the original question, my losses seem to run 1 out of every 1,000 shipments or so. Last five: (2) First Class w/tracking, (1) Priority w/tracking & (2) First Class w/o tracking.
Very few...
Typically choose USPS registered mail for the expensive stuff... (knocking on wood)
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I know quite a few people ship W/O Tracking, But I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.
What is your cutoff point in price <$10?
Keep in mind that the registered fee includes insurance. When your insurance value exceeds approx. $750 it actually become cheaper to ship registered than to ship priority with its additional insurance fee. I shipped out a registered package today: first class registered, $1200 value with electronic return receipt and it cost $25.05.
The only difference between first class registered and priority registered is the base fee. You save a few dollars by requesting "first class registered" if you shipment weighs 13 oz. or less. There is no difference in transit time. Priority registered moves no faster than first class registered. And yes, you can take advantage of flat rate priority packaging and fees when shipping registered. You just can't use the tyvek or plastic envelopes or plastic tape because their postal seal ink stamp will not adhere to them.
"Money does not care about speeches on morality. Capital asks whether the rules will remain the same tomorrow. With inflation, people assume price is the problem, and propose regulation—but price is simply the message." - Martin Armstrong
Common sense. Think about it. How do they "lose" a package? Not impossible but occasional. It's not like they transport packages on open flat bed trucks.
I had a package from PCGS first go to Guam. That was interesting. Did eventually visit Hawaii, spent some time on the beach then finally came back to the states.
Up to around $50, depending on the buyer and the item. New eBayers typically get tracking, buyers with lots of feedback don't worry me too much. Also, the item being shipped makes a difference- crown sized coins go in a bubble envelope w/tracking (no choice on tracking there because of the envelope), smaller/thinner ones can go in a letter envelope with a safe-t-mailer, no tracking.
Here's the deal- most of what I'm selling right now goes for $5 to $50. Postage with tracking is around $3, without tracking is 70 cents and out of 1,000 shipments, one will disappear. That means shipping all without tracking would cost $700, with tracking would cost $3,000. Neither of these include the cost of insurance, BTW. Even assuming the one package out of a thousand that gets lost is a $50 item, I'm still out that $50 with tracking as tracking doesn't cover lost items. And I've paid $2,300 more for shipping than I would have, if I hadn't used tracking. Kind of a no-brainer to skip the tracking if you ask me.
Has anyone had a "lost" package later found? https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-the-USPS-Mail-Recovery-Center
I continue to hold out hope once a package gets opening with an address inside.
I used to ship expensive packages (even $100+) without insurance to good trading partners because I knew they wouldn't claim non-delivery and uninsured packages had a better chance of getting through. I only ever lost a single shipment to a good trading partner and it was our very first trade. He sent me something and he didn't get my package. As was my wont we split the loss and became good trading partners. We almost always had a package in the mail and would even use the same padded mailers again and again and again. We'd just swap the address labels and put it back in the mail with a new shipment.
I had one come back in a big body bag after about four months once. Most of it was there.
Almost 5,000 shipped via USPS and have had two lost. One to Washington State and one to Europe. The European one was Registered and was cash.
bob
I did have one lost and found. Sent a 100oz silver bar that they paid me on (insured) and then 6 months after that it was delivered. I paid the USPS back in full. Buyer was not happy as he said he did not want it anymore. So, I paid to have it shipped back to me from him.....
Silver was dropping at the time and took a bath....stopped playing that bullion game.
bob