NYC registered mail theft

[William Travis Focker]

I just want to highlight a rather serious issue with having notes shipped into the US via registered mail from Europe.

 

A few months ago I bought a rather expensive note ($300 ish) that was shipped in mid-August. It never arrived so I had the dealer (a UK guy) file a claim with Royal Mail and refund me. But I'm 100% certain that the point it got lost at was the New York mail center.

 

This gives a good overview:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/Packaging-Shipping/Isc-New-York/510196847&start=0

 

I also had this happen a few other times from UK sellers and one German on fleabay. Never a problem with Asian sellers going through LA. One of those UK guys told me he had FIVE shipments missing to the US (!).

 

Apparently the USPS isn't treating foreign registered mail specially, it just gets dumped into regular airmail and goes to your mailbox. I bought a $450 note set from the UK in a big folder and it showed up in my mailbox with all the "signed for" stickers that are supposed to be removed still attached to it. So basically registered = a giant "steal me" sticker. Only sometimes does the mailman actually bring it in for signature--a couple things from Malta were handled that way.

 

Pretty much every time the seller has filed a complaint with their domestic postal service and I've gotten a refund. But it's a huge pain in the neck nonetheless. To be very clear, this isn't the fault of anyone over in Europe--every time I look at the USPS tracking, it says my item arrived in New York and that no further information is available. It's true that no further updates are made until delivery, but in several cases the items never reached me after months of waiting.

 

Best watch out, and get courier shipping for anything valuable. Those EACB notes I posted in the big thread? UPS all the way. Cost me 50 bucks but it beats having them stolen by some punk mail grunt in New York.

[Dave]

I feel your frustration, and I've recently come to the point where I ask that they send regular mail. It gets to it's point faster, raises no suspicions on the value of the parcel, and if lost, you'll get the same money back from the USPS as you would if it were registered: $0.00.

 

I've waited with baited breath for notes to arrive from Istanbul that took 31 days. From Florida, 17 days, and from Ecuador, in 12 days! Go figure! Tracking the notes from foreign countries shows only up to when they left their repsective country and no further, which indicates that most of the time is spent in the US in either customs or in the USPS. I've had items opened by customs frmo Nepal and from Thailand, resealed in grean tape and the items appear to not have been even removed from the envelope, only viewed. The USPS carrier I have is great, he actually found a registered that was lost for me after leaving him a note. But if it weren't lost at my local post office, there's really no help available.

[Saor Alba]

Earlier this year there was an apparent directive briefly circulated in the postal system about treating foreign registereds as regular mail - I remember my carrier flipped out and wondered why bother sending registered etc. Quietly that regulation or advisory disappeared, and they are making me sign for registereds since late in the spring. But some PO's may still not know better.

[Dave]

Earlier this year there was an apparent directive briefly circulated in the postal system about treating foreign registereds as regular mail - I remember my carrier flipped out and wondered why bother sending registered etc. Quietly that regulation or advisory disappeared, and they are making me sign for registereds since late in the spring. But some PO's may still not know better.

 

 

 

Ahhhh! That explains why there were two registerds that 'slipped' into my mailbox this year. I thought the carrier simply made a mistake, or it didn't process properly and wasn't in the system to sign off.

[William Travis Focker]

Yeah, I'd say maybe 70% of registereds go to my mailbox and 30% to my door. It's kind of laughable. But at least the sellers are able to claim loss in their home countries, which makes them a lot more willing to refund my money.

 

Glad to know the decree was rescinded, although it doesn't seem to be doing me much good.

 

I guess once it gets put into the general airmail box in NYC, every post office down the line treats it as non registered. Hence the apparently schizophrenic behavior of my local PO.

[MMMM]

Sadly I try not to buy any banknotes from outside the US. Shipping issues and too many fake or altered banknotes make receiving notes more of a suprise than a Suprise, if you know what I mean.

[Saor Alba]

Right now I am awaiting a registered from Egypt with some Egyptian currency in it, it has been over a month - but then with some countries the registereds park in their outbound forever so you never know. I got a registered a couple of years ago from Venezuela and it was parked in the Caracas main post office for nearly 5 weeks before it left the country.

 

OTOH I have gotten registereds from board members in Finland and Netherlands in 3 days door to door. So go figure.

[jtryka]

Very interesting, I've never had a US or German registered package that I have not had to go to the post office and sign for. But definitely something to be aware of!