Postage (minimum standards)

[Roy]

IF I were to sell a 1g gold bar, could I theoretically pop it in an envelope  with a first class stamp and drop it in a post box? Charge 85p postage?

1st signed for are never signed for after all.

Would members accept that or expect a better service?

[Tn21]

I have previously taken this option but the risk was all on me the buyer. 

I have opted for this option with a g bar aswell as a Sov. Sandwiched between cardboard it is a risk worth taking once in a while.

Edited June 25, 2021 by Tn21

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

Provided you are talking about trading here on the silver forum I would say with one exception I would just leave it up to the buyer. The exception would be if the buyer had no reputation. In that case you're better off sending signed for. I agree the service is rather farcical atm but it does still serve as proof of delivery. For lower valued items most will understand that it frankly isn't worth the extra £1 for signed for but some will insist on having everything sent that way.

The standard service is perfectly good. I send out maybe 50 - 60 large letter jiffy bags with just a stamp on them every week and in 6 years of doing that maybe 4 or 5 have got lost in the post. In the early days of running my business I used to stand around in the post office getting proof of posting for every one of them but it quickly became apparent that I was losing more money stood there waiting while doing that than I was in replacing the odd lost item.

These things are all a balance of time/money/risk. All those extra £1s for signed for add up not to mention the time needed to go down to the post office for them to be scanned in vs just popping them in your closest post box.

[Roy]

@AppleZippoandMetronome thanks.

Here are my thoughts: If I were to sell these bars at say £50, it would be ridiculous to send one SD (+15%?)

Even 1st signed post is a chunk of change compared to the low cost of the bar. Hard core stackers want the lowest cost gold so perhaps are prepared to take a calculated risk.

Traipsing down the PO is an unwelcome chore when there is a post box almost across the road and I only need to buy a stack of envelopes and a book of stamps once.

[Gordy]

i' just offer buyers choice... whatever they are comfy with...

[morezone]

Selling on here most of us sell excluding postage charges and leave it upto the buyer to choose the method and risk.

If I was buying from a trusted member I wouldn't bother with signed-for.  These days it costs £1.40 for letter/larger letter rate.  I would trust that the member posts it and I wouldn't need confirmation of receipt and neither would the seller if it's at my own risk.  As you mentioned, a lot of post doesn't even get scanned.  Royal Mail has introduced a 2D barcode system for both letter and parcels where they're supposed to be scanned on delivery and applies to any postage purchased online.  Alternative to signed-for where a sig isn't needed (no sig during covid anyway) and again, a lot doesn't get scanned.

I did a brief write up some time again with some numbers and stats about Signed-for and Special and whether as a buyer it was worth it.  Only SD is insured and for low value items it's not wroth it because it'll be a high % of the cost.  Signed-for isn't insured and the £1.40s/£1s will add up if there are a lot of small value parcels.

[Bigmarc]

I have a lot of spare time on my hands at work and to keep the feedback numbers up on my eBay I sell lots of old coins, foreign currency and tokens. They are all worthless and my make a couple of quid on each sale. I tape them to a card and pop them in a envelope with a second class stamp on it. I make sure it's less than 100g and then pop it in the letter box. I've sold about 600 so far and 2 have been stolen (delivered empty) and another two with lost coins (may have been my fault with packaging). 

[GoldDiggerDave]

For me I just send SD only.  It’s not with the blowback if something goes missing.  
 

BYW I’ve herd you can now be a Sperm donor by post………I came in a Jiffy! 

[Bimetallic]

This is an underexposed way to save on shipping. It makes a lot of sense for an ounce of silver or a gram of gold.

In the US a big obstacle is a persistent myth that a bubble mailer is a package, or that a rigid mailer is a package. This matters because a package costs a lot more to ship than First-Class Large Envelope (or "flats" in US Postal Service parlance). Padded and rigid mailers will almost always pass the USPS requirements for large envelopes, but people repeat the myth all the time, including postal employees.

They also pass Royal Mail requirements. In the US they can be up to ¾ inches thick, with no more than ¼ inch of variance in thickness. In the UK, they can be up to a full inch thick. The downside in the US is that no tracking is provided, unlike First-Class Package Service, at least not by the USPS – third parties can offer a sort of tracking based on the barcode scans.

[VelociteeSteel]

On 25/06/2021 at 14:42, morezone said:

Selling on here most of us sell excluding postage charges and leave it upto the buyer to choose the method and risk.

If I was buying from a trusted member I wouldn't bother with signed-for.  These days it costs £1.40 for letter/larger letter rate.  I would trust that the member posts it and I wouldn't need confirmation of receipt and neither would the seller if it's at my own risk.  As you mentioned, a lot of post doesn't even get scanned.  Royal Mail has introduced a 2D barcode system for both letter and parcels where they're supposed to be scanned on delivery and applies to any postage purchased online.  Alternative to signed-for where a sig isn't needed (no sig during covid anyway) and again, a lot doesn't get scanned.

I did a brief write up some time again with some numbers and stats about Signed-for and Special and whether as a buyer it was worth it.  Only SD is insured and for low value items it's not wroth it because it'll be a high % of the cost.  Signed-for isn't insured and the £1.40s/£1s will add up if there are a lot of small value parcels.

Currently the 2D barcode system is running at only 80% scanned at delivery, meaning we have lots of lazy posties not doing their job. Although as a bonus for scanned deliveries, RM have started including a scanned location position on the delivery confirmation on their tracking web page, which really is a bonus when you get complaints about non-delivery.

We put 600-1500 LL a month through RM and 80% seems to be the going rate..........poor service in my opinion but hopefully this will improve over time...

[VelociteeSteel]

On 25/06/2021 at 15:19, Bigmarc said:

I have a lot of spare time on my hands at work and to keep the feedback numbers up on my eBay I sell lots of old coins, foreign currency and tokens. They are all worthless and my make a couple of quid on each sale. I tape them to a card and pop them in a envelope with a second class stamp on it. I make sure it's less than 100g and then pop it in the letter box. I've sold about 600 so far and 2 have been stolen (delivered empty) and another two with lost coins (may have been my fault with packaging). 

 

I've sold about 600 so far and 2 have been stolen (delivered empty) and another two with lost coins (may have been my fault with packaging). ALL of those customers would be blocked by myself, regardless if i thought they were telling the truth or not...