Question on postage.

[Bigmarc]

Hi all.

So far I have only sold silver. I am planning on selling some gold soon and I a just wondering about when they ask you what is in the package and if there was a loss how do you prove it for insurance reasons. I am reluctant to tell someone that it's a coin and I want it insured for £2000. Or am I over thinking it. 

Thanks

[BackyardBullion]

What you say at the desk to the post office staff has no bearing on the insurance cover of the parcel. I always just say Metal tokens if really quizzed, its not factually incorrect but more importantly it doesn't let everyone in the post office queue know you are posting a gold coin. 

In terms of the insurance you need to have a good read of the T&C's because any parcel with a value over £2500 would invalidate the cover - and we all know how much insurance companies don't like to pay out. So, for gold I would suggest splitting the parcels to ensure total value of one does not go over the limit. 

The proof, should ever you need it, will need to come in the form of proof that the person buying it actually paid you what you are claiming. Bank's statements showing the transfer, PayPal records or even a letter from the buyer can prove this. I have never been asked to prove that the actual package contained the coin - some people film the packaging process and then show the final weight of it which should match up with the Post Office weight records. 

The thing is, even videoing the package getting made up isn't definitive proof because whats to stop someone unpackaging it right after the camera is turned off. 

Generally speaking the loss or theft of a RM special Delivery is very very very rare. I don't have actual statistics but it is exceptionally rare and the RM would be able to identify the part of the process where something went wrong - in theory anyway. 

So my best friendly advice is that if you stick with the package insurance limit of £2500 and have clear communications with the buyer and keep proof of postage and proof of payments then in the very unlikely event that something happens to your package you should be A OK.

Hope that helps!

[Bigmarc]

Thank you. Helps a lot.

To be honest I was always unsure what to say to the clerk, thought it may have invalidated the claim if ever came to that. 

Cheers.

 

[BackyardBullion]

Just now, Bigmarc said:

Thank you. Helps a lot.

To be honest I was always unsure what to say to the clerk, thought it may have invalidated the claim if ever came to that. 

Cheers.

 

9/10 times that question is asked to scare the customer into an upsell of special delivery. If you try to send something worth £75 then they will say, "signed for delivery won't cover it you will have to use special delivery if you want to send it with insurance". Of course, it costs over double the postage and the way the post office is set up these days the post office franchise owner takes 10% of all postage costs that goes through their counter.

I see it all the time, little old ladies strong armed into sending a present to their grandchildren by £50+ parcel force special insured bullpoo insurance. Because the Lego set they are sending is worth more than £50 and weighs over 2kg.

[metallica73]

On customs forms when needing to declare contents I just put - Numismatic hobby supplies or numismatic item and never had an issue

I also say this to any PO staff and 95% of them just stare blankly at me as they haven't got a clue what that is.

My very first sale of coins didn't go so well when the the PO counter staff declared loudly to a packed post office after I told her...... ' OH, SO YOU SELL COINS THEN, THAT'S NEAT!!' 🤦‍♂️

 

[modofantasma]

I have written on a folded piece of paper the value 

Eg £330 and then inside the note gold coin 

I just show the value to the window when they ask and usually don't ask what's inside but if they did I could show without shouting it across the post office 

[modofantasma]

Can just imagine trying to whisper gold coins. Yep 2000 pounds worth. And then the clerk shouting it down the tannoy oh wow 2000 worth of gold coins just in that package, 😂

[CaptCaveMan]

@Bigmarc I completed my first trade this week so used RMSD to send some coins as part of the trade, I wasn't asked a thing but if I was I'd just say coins.

 

[Pete]

The only service that the Royal Mail offers that will compensate your full value is Special Delivery.
I have never had a problem with SD but the claim process for loss is the same using other postal methods e.g. Signed For.
In any claim the Royal Mail needs certainty of the claim so sets a number of hurdles.
You need proof of postage so ensure you keep the counter receipt which should show the recipient address and what you paid for postage.
If you sell on a web platform they will ask for details - e.g. eBay item number.
If a private sale they require the buyer's full address.
Then there is the proof of contents and value.
Easy with an eBay listing but with a private sale it is advisable to have a photograph of the coin and any copies of correspondence.
Definitely require evidence of any payment received and usually that's the value of any claim, so if you undersold a coin you cannot automatically claim a dealer's marked-up price although you could make a strong case that this indeed is the value, meaning if you had to replace the lost coin, and you had offered a discount to your buyer etc...
I assume if you sold a sovereign for £320 and everyone else has this priced at £360 you would have a good case to claim for the higher value but I'm not sure.

As for the counter clerk asking for what is inside the package this seems to be a robotic question they ask because they definitely do not want batteries, especially Lithium ones, in their system. Just say it is a collectible item if you must but to be fair, once they have your package it really doesn't matter.
When I was selling a lot of gold coins I was regularly asking for the full £2,500 insurance and the postmaster at the time kept on asking me .. "what's inside  - diamonds ?" and my answer was "you need to open the package to find out" and I never had a problem.
 

[Lucylucy]

I have used the RM click and collect service a couple of times for SD items, printing and paying online and arranging collection the next day.

It seems to work well at a cost of 30p for the collection - it costs more than that to visit the PO.

The only drawback seems to be the lack of paper evidence on collection, but I receive an Email very quickly with the confirmation  details and Tracking Number.

The postman doesn't ask me what is in the parcel!

Are there any downsides?

Frank