US Post Office steals coins

[rainsonme]

In Feb I tried to sell some coins to a member of this group. I sent the coins in one of those one-price-boxes. I got the cleanly cut box top back from the St Louis PostMaster, along with a form to fill out. I filled out the form, but never heard more; they probably stole it before it could be delivered.

Last month I sent 3 separate letters to my nephew in Colorado. Each with different coins. I cut a manila folder to fit the enveolopes, so it would not be apparent that there were coins inside. 2 arrived intact, and the 3rd arrived cut open and empty.

I did not insure any of these because I am trying to keep my costs down, and really, they were not pricelss coins. Also, I was not aware that I live in a 3rd world nation already.


I hope they shut that stupid money loosing gang of theives down.

[Thogey]

This is really problem.

No one wants to be a victim of this BS

Before you get screwed, Check out FED-EX!

[Pennysaved]

I always tape the hell out of the package to try to make it almost tamper resistant.

I know it can be a pain to open when someone receives the package.

However, at least you know no one else has tampered with it.

[Thogey]

I always tape the hell out of the package to try to make it almost tamper resistant.

I know it can be a pain to open when someone receives the package.

However, at least you know no one else has tampered with it.

Dude, You do tape up a mean package.

I almost drove to PHX one time to ask you to open it for me.

[Rosco]

Thanks for the reminder as I'm getting ready to ship a small package.

Sorry for your LOSS.

Was the Package Insured?

[fansubs_ca]

In my entire time shipping 1000s of packages I've only had one go missing, everything
to the U.S. was fine, everything to Australia, Germany, U.K., Switzerland, Sweden and
2 different people in 2 different parts of Russia perfectly fine, then one goes missing
on the way to Quebec.

Of course I was mailing much lower value items that were somewhat less liquid outside
of a specialized group of people. Some people mailed me cash in envelopes to pay for
them though and those reached me fine. Not sure if this is really isolated or the Post
Office has gone downhill. (About 90% of the people I was dealing with were in the U.S.)

[Morsecode]

This needs to be a Sticky: You cannot insure coins or bullion via regular or priority mail. Period. There are several threads on the subject. The only thing worse than having them rip off your stuff is finding out that the extra money you paid for peace of mind was also stolen.

Yes, they will gladly accept your cash to purchase insurance.

Yes, they will stamp the box "Insured", and even give you a receipt.

No, they will NOT pay a claim for lost or stolen coins. Says so right in their guide to insuring packages (last time I looked I couldn't find it, but it's there). If you file a claim, they MAY, after some months, reimburse you the cost of the insurance...since you unwittingly tried to insure something uninsurable.

The ONLY way to ship coins or pm's insured (that will actually open a claim if not delivered) is Registered Mail + insurance. Whether envelope or box, the Registered fee alone is around $12, then add the normal amount for insurance.

Of course, this is a deal breaker for a lot of our smaller trades. But no coin dealer I know would dream of shipping a $1000 coin unregistered.

If you insist on shipping regular priority mail with the make-believe insurance, advise your buyer that he should write "computer parts" in the memo part of his payment, and you'll also need to dummy up a paper trail for the computer parts you sold.

Or, you could just use FedX or UPS.

[shinnosuke]

This needs to be a Sticky: You cannot insure coins or bullion via regular or priority mail. Period. There are several threads on the subject. The only thing worse than having them rip off your stuff is finding out that the extra money you paid for peace of mind was also stolen.

Yes, they will gladly accept your cash to purchase insurance.

Yes, they will stamp the box "Insured", and even give you a receipt.

No, they will NOT pay a claim for lost or stolen coins. Says so right in their guide to insuring packages (last time I looked I couldn't find it, but it's there). If you file a claim, they MAY, after some months, reimburse you the cost of the insurance...since you unwittingly tried to insure something uninsurable.

The ONLY way to ship coins or pm's insured (that will actually open a claim if not delivered) is Registered Mail + insurance. Whether envelope or box, the Registered fee alone is around $12, then add the normal amount for insurance.

Of course, this is a deal breaker for a lot of our smaller trades. But no coin dealer I know would dream of shipping a $1000 coin unregistered.

If you insist on shipping regular priority mail with the make-believe insurance, advise your buyer that he should write "computer parts" in the memo part of his payment, and you'll also need to dummy up a paper trail for the computer parts you sold.

Or, you could just use FedX or UPS.

So on deals between realcenters, who bears the responsibility of missing package contents since we now all know that coins/bullion cannot be insured? 50/50 split?

I'm thinking I should just pay the extra cost for the Registered fee & insurance if the seller says he will pay for shipping only. The last thing I want is hard feelings with someone else on this site.

[Doctor Steuss]

Make sure to report these thefts. There may be a pattern with other people in your area having the same problem. They can't find the culprit if they don't know there's a crime being committed.

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/mlntrcvd.aspx

[HPMBTT]

This needs to be a Sticky: You cannot insure coins or bullion via regular or priority mail. Period. There are several threads on the subject. The only thing worse than having them rip off your stuff is finding out that the extra money you paid for peace of mind was also stolen.

Yes, they will gladly accept your cash to purchase insurance.

Yes, they will stamp the box "Insured", and even give you a receipt.

No, they will NOT pay a claim for lost or stolen coins. Says so right in their guide to insuring packages (last time I looked I couldn't find it, but it's there). If you file a claim, they MAY, after some months, reimburse you the cost of the insurance...since you unwittingly tried to insure something uninsurable.

The ONLY way to ship coins or pm's insured (that will actually open a claim if not delivered) is Registered Mail + insurance. Whether envelope or box, the Registered fee alone is around $12, then add the normal amount for insurance.

Of course, this is a deal breaker for a lot of our smaller trades. But no coin dealer I know would dream of shipping a $1000 coin unregistered.

If you insist on shipping regular priority mail with the make-believe insurance, advise your buyer that he should write "computer parts" in the memo part of his payment, and you'll also need to dummy up a paper trail for the computer parts you sold.

Or, you could just use FedX or UPS.

Are you sure that you can use USPS Registered Mail with insurance to cover a loss for bullion? My understanding was that it had to be Lloyds of London (or another name?), as it was the only carrier in the US that would insure bullion etc. Perhaps I'm wrong. Anyone else know?

[SteelCityCopper]

USPS registered + insurance covers your coins and bullion

[galenrog]

I deliver mail for a living and I do know that sometimes bad things happen. I also have to add that most packages that arrive with damaged or missing contents are the result of very bad packaging techniques. I have addressed this to a few people via Private Messages on this and other forums. While there are a few USPS people who are thieves, I have not encountered any.

Back to packaging. If there are any loose items in a package they will likely shift in handling and find the weakest point of the shipping box. I see the results of this several times a week. Why acceptance clerks and contractors let this happen is beyond my understanding. Proper packing of contents so they do not shift or cause an unbalanced load is key to getting them there unscathed.

Putting coins in envelopes is a very bad idea. Nearly all envelopes are machine processed. That means any thick or rigid contents can cause problems in processing machines that can result in damage to the envelope and subsequent loss of contents. Some of these sorting machines can process hundreds of pieces a minute. If a roller is misaligned it can bind in such a way that the increased heat caused by friction will cause combustion (fire). This happens a few time a year in most large mail processing facilities.

The level of automation is so high that the likelihood of an envelope being handled by more than just you and your delivery guy is very rare and is usually due to bad addressing or illegible handwriting.

[shinnosuke]

galenrog, thanks for the pointers and insights in your work. You just gave me an idea for a new thread.

[galenrog]

One other thing, I always use Signature Confirmation when sending anything through the PO, even to my kids and their families. I use the equivalent when using UPS and FedEx. It costs a bit more, but I want someone to sign for this at the other end. It does not solve all problems with loss and theft, but it is trackable to some degree and you have a record of the recipient.

[Beau]

.
I have quit posting things for sale on this site because I would not trust the postman here as far a I could throw him.

He got mad at me 2 months ago, because he wanted a truck I had for sale, then my daughter wanted it, I gave the truck to her.
now I have not received mail at my house in 2 months.
I had to go to the post master and talk to him to get my mail, last time was Friday.
both times he said he would talk to the postman, and give me a call, no calls yet.
I told the post master that I would give him until Tuesday then I was going over his head with this problem.
I have never had a problem since I have been at this address over 30 years.


.

[fansubs_ca]

He got mad at me 2 months ago, because he wanted a truck I had for sale, then my daughter wanted it, I gave the truck to her.
now I have not received mail at my house in 2 months.

Er, that's just bad, esentially a temper tantrum. I really don't know how he can get away with
that.

What state are you in? I'm curious if the "problems" are concentrated in certain parts of the
country or if the distribution is just random.

[galenrog]

Never deal with the local supervisors when you have a problem with a PO employee. Go to USPS.com. Do a search using the appropriate keyword, in this case "complaints". The process of filing an official complaint has grown more difficult over the past few years, but you can get there. If your carrier is a jackass then your carrier has or is a problem that needs to be dealt with. When you do file the complaint, request a reply as to action taken to resolve the problem.