Coins that go missing in the post,using registered post.

[PINMAN 0]

I recently bought a coin off of Ebay,which went missing in the postal system...thankfully,the coin in question,wasn't an expensive one.Anyway,the seller and i were discussing the Registered post option,and i received the folling messgae from him.

"Hi, I can assure you I have on many occassions claimed from the Post office when coins have gone missing, And all I have received is a complimentary book of first class stamps as coins or any sort of money is NOT protected, And the maximum compensation is £27.50 for anything else, I have suffered more losses with recorded delivery than First class stamp only, It is simply a con."

The bit that i personally find hard to believe,is the part about coins or any sort of money not being covered via Registered post.Although i've bought quite a few items from Ebay,i haven't actually sold all that much,and on the rare ocassion that i have,i've opted to use just the standard post,since the value hasn't ever been too high....hence not knowing what the score is regarding coins and the Registered post option.

Anyone care to enlighten me about this stuation ,please.BTW,i did get a full refund for the coin that went astray,i'm just curious as to if his info is true or not.

[Chris Perkins 228]

I've had problems with this in the past too. (from the UK).

When people send me coins from the UK I often recommend that they describe them as antiques or collectables, so that if they go missing you get the proper money back.

It's ridiculous that coins are't covered, that rule should apply to current money only. I don't know if it's the same for special delivery.

In the mean time, lie through your teeth...if it goes missing then how are they ever going to know the package contained a coin?

[Chingford 166]

Unfortunately what he says is true, registered and recorded post are 'designed' for documents

and the like only, coins etc are not covered and the maximum insured value is only £27.50.

It is in the Post Office term and conditions, only avaliable from the Post Office.

Always ask for Special Delivery for about £4.00 item is insured min, £500 up to max. of £2,500

at additional cost, usually no more than £5.50 total cost.

It is worth the additional cost for anything of real value, the item is tracked from source and

signed for at the point of delivery so fraud is very rare as all numbers are unique.

I have been refunded twice by Ebay/PayPal for 'lost in post' items, the sellers made up tracking

numbers which the Post Office proved fraudelent.

As Chris rightly said, when buying abroad, a customs ticket usually has to be filed, this should

describe the goods and their value, postage cost should include insurance to this value, usually

AirSure or Internationally Signed for, both are trackable.

John

[scottishmoney 51]

But customs forms are a dicey area, because you have to be accurate to a point, like stating stamped metal disk, or numismatic item etc. and not yelling COINS!(Like saying come and steal me please)

Several years ago, an occasional visitor here in this forum sent me some cash from Scotland with "Hazardous Biological Samples on the back of the envelope. That will not work today, post 9/11.

[Chris Perkins 228]

No I wasn't talking about the customs forms, I meant the description of the item that some post offices will ask for. Some don't ask.

[scottishmoney 51]

Ah the snoopy doopy Postie clerk that has to know everything?

[PINMAN 0]

Obviously,the only way to go,if your sending off anything of any real value,is to send it via Special Delivery.But it seems that your buggered if the coin in question,has next to no value at all,since your not going to be keen on splashing out an extra £4.00,if the contents are only worth a few quid...you could even find yourself out of pocket no doubt,in some cases.

The only possible way around this problem,has been suggested by Chris........

Quote"lie through your teeth...if it goes missing then how are they ever going to know the package contained a coin?"Unquote.

Thanks to all for your response,it's appreciated.

[Chingford 166]

Obviously,the only way to go,if your sending off anything of any real value,is to send it via Special Delivery.But it seems that your buggered if the coin in question,has next to no value at all,since your not going to be keen on splashing out an extra £4.00,if the contents are only worth a few quid...you could even find yourself out of pocket no doubt,in some cases.

The only possible way around this problem,has been suggested by Chris........

Quote"lie through your teeth...if it goes missing then how are they ever going to know the package contained a coin?"Unquote.

Thanks to all for your response,it's appreciated.

If you are sending to a Buyer, it is their risk and choice of postage, as you have found out.

Give an option of normal, recorded/registered post, Special Delivery and explain the risks

/compensation levels, above all get proof of postage.

I always send proof of postage by email after I have posted, either a copy of the receipt or

the tracking number, depending on the methods used, that way you have covered yourself.

Incidentally,PayPal/Ebay insist on tracked postage as part of their terms and conditions of

use for all items over a certain value.

If you are receiving goods, again your choice, you know the risks, the two coins I lost were

bought very cheaply for what they were, bargains are the most likely to get 'lost in the post'

John

[PINMAN 0]

As you obviously know,with some of these Ebay auctions,you only get a choice of either first or second class mail.I must admit though,that you normally only find this,with the lower value stuff.Problem is,as a buyer,i've often purchased items in the £5 - £20 range,so i've taken countless risks,with the vast majority of these transactions,since there's often no option for Special Delivery.

I'd be doing myself a couple of favours,by concentrating on the more expensive stuff,instead of aiming mostly for the lesser valued items.Firstly,i'd lose the element of risk....and secondly,the more expensive sought after coins,will obviously be a far greater investment.I do buy higher quality stuff,but not so often.

As a seller,i rarely encounter any problems,since i seldom sell anything.

[PINMAN 0]

Here's an update to this transaction.Just received the following message from the seller.

"Hi Steven, Hampshire token that went astray, arrived back here yesterday, Packaged damaged in transit with note of apology from the post office."

I'm so glad that he's got the token back,since any little doubt that he may've had,that i might've been trying to diddle him,has obviously gone.Even though i'd personally never do such a thing,he's not going to know this for sure.

It took best part of a month,for him to get his token back.Why it's taken such an excessive period of time,for this to happen,is beyond me.

Shall i ask him if he got another free book of first class stamps,for the inconvenience caused

[Rob 3,228]

It took best part of a month,for him to get his token back.Why it's taken such an excessive period of time,for this to happen,is beyond me.

He was lucky. I've had cheques and coins not arrive at their intended destination both as buyer and seller, and internationally too. Two lots I won in the Heritage sale of June last year, resurfaced in the US in January. That's 7 months after posting. The 1881H penny mentioned in the footnote to lot 111 of the Bamford sale I am led to believe turned up after 11 months. Moving away from coins, a letter I sent to Southampton University was returned to me after 3 months - addressee unknown! Presumably the 15 - 20,000 staff and students of this institution will not be too happy that they have ceased to be. Another instance involved a letter posted in Bolton (10 miles away) with a Philipines Post redirection stamp. The postal service does a reasonable job in getting most of the letters to where they are intended to go, but sometimes the wayward ones leave me a little bemused.

[scottishmoney 51]

I have had other people's mail deposited in my mailbox many times, my PO number is one off of a dentists office address, so I get their mail all the time. I usually just put it back in the post box in the hopes they will deliver it as addressed, but they don't, it comes right back to me. So I finally took a short stack of these up to the clerk at the window and pointed them out, they are not my address etc.

When the post office gets handwritten unbarcoded letters they go through a manual sort, they are then barcoded with whatever information the person entering it puts in. So if it is wrong, it gets the wrong delivery bar code and ends up in my post box. So now I have to block off the ridiculous bar code to insure it will not try to cozy up with my mail in my post box.

[PINMAN 0]

I think we've all been guilty of running down the postal system,at some point.But to be fair to them,we must remember the huge amount of mail that they deal with each year.Okay,i'll admit that they aren't exactly my favourite people either,when they manage to lose any of my mail,but even so,i still couldn't deny the fact that they do a fairly good job overall.People have moaned and whinged about the recent price increases,regarding packages & parcles,but weren't they losing money on these things,before the costs went up ?.

Anyway,i've had yet another reply from this particular seller,and i just had to let you know what was said,just to prove that there are still in fact,a few remaining decent people left on this planet of ours.

"Hi Steve, Yes token undamaged, I believe the jiffy bag got stuck in the sorting machine and probably not found until the maintenance of the conveyors took place, I have had similar instances before. Coin I will send to you in the morning, Have it on me for all the hassle it caused you.PS I am not a dealer just have been a serious collector for over 40 years and still do, Although Ebay gives me the oppurtunity to sell my surplus and gives me funds to buy what I fancy."

To be honest,the token hasn't really caused me any real grief at all,especially as he was kind enough to give me a full refund (via Paypal) within 6 hours of my first contact with him.

No idea why it was eventually returned to him,as in the past(on the rare ocassion that something's been damaged in the post),everything has still been delivered to me,still,rather than going back to the original senders address.....very odd.

The amount involved with this transaction,was £5.No,not a huge sum....but how often does a complete stranger,give you five quid for free ? .

[TomGoodheart 444]

Aw! That kind of response certainly reminds us that most people are actually well intentioned and honest. It's good to see.

Going back a post or two, the sorts of coins I buy are of value to me even if the final price is minimal! To date I have never had anyone refuse to upgrade to Special Delivery, even when that hasn't been an option at the ebay checkout. Occasionally that causes hiccups, since you have to figure a way of getting the extra money to cover the postage to them. But it's always been resolved in the end and I've never had an item go missing.

I figure that in 10 or 20 years time the extra postage (and in most instances even the cost of the coin itself!) will be forgotten. Losing a coin I have already started to think of as part of my collection however ..

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of postage I had an experience that might be worth mentioning. I bought a coin from Antony Wilson of York coins which he sent from the US by parcel post. Unfortunately I had given him my PO BOx address which doesn't tie in with Parcelforce (the UK equivalent of UPS) at all! If it hadn't been for his alertness and dogged determination tracking it from the States it would have been very difficult for me to find out what had happened since both the PO and Parcelforce initially claimed to know nothing!

So two lessons. 1) Don't try sending by a parcel courier to a UK PO Box, and 2) Using a reputable dealer pays off!

[PINMAN 0]

Aw! That kind of response certainly reminds us that most people are actually well intentioned and honest. It's good to see.

25-30 years ago,i'd have agreed 100% with that statement,but now,well,i'm not so sure.I'd like to believe that it's true....perhaps you are right (or is that just wishful thinking ? ) .I would imagine that there's a reasonable amount of honest/trustworthy people about,but even so,i still reckon that there's a lot more bad pennies out there now,than there was a couple of decades back,or so.

To date I have never had anyone refuse to upgrade to Special Delivery, even when that hasn't been an option at the ebay checkout. Occasionally that causes hiccups, since you have to figure a way of getting the extra money to cover the postage to them. But it's always been resolved in the end and I've never had an item go missing.

I've never requested Special Delivery before,when it's not been an option.Certainly something that i shall correct with some of my more expensive purchases in the future,though.Regarding the extra postage costs involved.....it would probably be easiest,if you requested an updated invoice,before paying for the item in question.Just a thought .

[Colin G. 147]

I would agree with the comments about recorded post and standard post. I find that more items seem to go astray when sent recorded than sent first class. I also find that I get very few parcels go astray when sent overseas, when compared to UK post which is a bit bizarre!!

My policy when buying is if the item is low value pay first class and take a chance, if it something higher in value try and get special delivery.

I remember one coin I sent to Italy using overseas insured which was high value. It went astray and I offered a full refund and started a claim against the post office, the item was returned to me 2 months later. It had turned up at JFK airport in the states!!!

I eventually managed to forward the item to the buyer who was still wanted the item and re-sent payment. I included the original packing as evidence of the global tour the coin had taken.

I currently have a farthing which seems to have disappeared en-route to me from the USA, hopefully it will turn up soon, these things can take time

[Peter 615]

Anything under say £50 I will happily risk 1st class (as long as the package isn't obvious.)

The only problems I've experienced have been with recorded....theiving scummy postman Pat and his flea bitten cat no doubt.

[Bronze & Copper Collector 417]

It took best part of a month,for him to get his token back.Why it's taken such an excessive period of time,for this to happen,is beyond me.

He was lucky. I've had cheques and coins not arrive at their intended destination both as buyer and seller, and internationally too. Two lots I won in the Heritage sale of June last year, resurfaced in the US in January. That's 7 months after posting. The 1881H penny mentioned in the footnote to lot 111 of the Bamford sale I am led to believe turned up after 11 months. Moving away from coins, a letter I sent to Southampton University was returned to me after 3 months - addressee unknown! Presumably the 15 - 20,000 staff and students of this institution will not be too happy that they have ceased to be. Another instance involved a letter posted in Bolton (10 miles away) with a Philipines Post redirection stamp. The postal service does a reasonable job in getting most of the letters to where they are intended to go, but sometimes the wayward ones leave me a little bemused.

Close.... The 1881-H took 8 months, and arrived in a post office body bag.... for damaged or ripped envelopes.......

I've had 7 or 8 (that I recall) incoming (UK to USA) packets get lost as well as a few domestic packages.....

Most were of relatively minor value, but one packet did contain an 1860 farthing mule.....

I don't recall any outgoing packets getting lost, although I once received notification from UPS that my envelope arrived empty.....fortunately I had the address on the packet inside which was later found and delivered to the addressee.....