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Covid continues to mess up... EVERYTHING

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Revenant

Entry posted by Revenant ·

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I mailed out that submission to NGC on Jan 14th. It got to the Sarasota distribution center around midnight on Jan 20th, processed through there in about half and hour and was marked as in route to the destination facility. And then... Nothing.

Today is the 26th. It has not been scanned in 6 days and about 10 hours.

Starting Monday I started sending emails and trying to shake things out because if it isn't at NGC by COB on Monday the 31st the new pricing comes into effect and the cost of the box goes up $32.

Well, turns out it has been in a container for 6 days, between the Sarasota distribution hub and the local PO, and they have apparently a line of about 25 containers they're working on, and they've been having delays because of lack of personnel and lack of drivers and...

But.. 25 containers. Wow. Talk about bottlenecks.

It has been stuck in Sarasota, waiting to be sent to the final destination longer than it was in Transit from my local PO in Texas to the Sarasota distribution hub.

I would have thought that 17 days would have been PLENTY of time for something to get there. Normally it takes a week or less. Clearly in this case, absent this one bottleneck at this one leg of the trip, it would have been there in 7 calendar days.

Normally this would have been fine. But this isn't normal.

The very nice, polite woman at the Sarasota post office that called me (not being sarcastic at all here, she was very nice), was hopeful that it could come through today based on what she was seeing. So I'm just going to cross my fingers that they can make it happen and get it to NGC by Monday.

If not, using Registered mail might cost me not just the $13 for Registered, but $32 for the price increase, making that a fairly expensive safety measure. doh! But, if that happens, I'll just let it go. (shrug) At the end of the day, after all the work that went into those coins, if that box had gone missing I would have gladly given up $32 to get it back., and even if it costs me I still think it was the right choice. $32 won't break me this month. lol Not even close. lol 

It is just very frustrating in the moment. :frustrated:

 

Edited to Add:

So... Only about 40 minutes after she called me the first time, the USPS worker I'd talked to called me back again and let me know that it had hit that location / come out of the container and that it would be continuing on today. So, YAY! it should easily get to NGC by Monday.

I had nervously run the tracking number a few times this morning and it must have just come out just a few minutes after we talked the first time or something.

She said she'd had a list of ones she was watching for / tracking because she apparently has a few people making inquiries that a freaking out or in a near panic. I can't say I don't sympathize with them but hearing that did make me laugh a little. lol Misery loves company I suppose and it's nice to not be alone in your crazy. :insane:

Side note but I am increasingly resigned to the fact that these coins are going to be away for... a... VERY. Long. Time. lol

 

I am just increasingly glad, as the reasons add up (the long turnaround times, the price increase, this shipping delay...) that I did not drag my feet and I just got that box out. I'm increasingly convinced that, if I want to make another submission this year, and have confidence in it getting here by December, then I need to make something happen more in the March / Early April time frame.

None of this is harshing NGC - I know they're working hard over there - just stating facts. Nothing is going to be fast this year; we're all going to have to have longer time horizons, and for some things, unless you're planning to pay extra for speed, the effective cut-off for the 2022 award season might be a lot earlier than some of us realize.

I wonder if there's ever been a case of someone paying for Walkthrough service on something cheap and/or modern just to get something back super-quick to win something in the Registry. hm There could be a funny and amusing story out there.

 

Also: It's worth noting that, in discussing this with Shandy, she also very much shared my concerns over this box last night and referred to them as "our coins." lol ^^:takeit:

 

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16 Comments

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Eagles Nest

I mailed mine on Jan. 3 and I haven't heard anything from NGC yet. I am hoping they go by the postmark date and not when they open the box.  They are as of yesterday opening boxes from the week of Nov  22.

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Revenant
On 1/26/2022 at 12:18 PM, Eagles Nest said:

I mailed mine on Jan. 3 and I haven't heard anything from NGC yet. I am hoping they go by the postmark date and not when they open the box.  They are as of yesterday opening boxes from the week of Nov  22.

Yeah.... I had similar concerns and asked on the forums and Lisa clarified that it just needs to be physically in the building by COB on Monday 1/31.

But... Yeah. I'd noticed that on the opening boxes thing and I'm thinking their current advertised 71 Business Day turnaround times are going to prove to be a pipe-dream if they are 2 months (~35-40 business days) behind in opening mail if you measure that 71 business days from when the package hits their door - Which Matt has said they do, but repeated comments from Lisa and the CS staff have had them measuring turnaround from the day the package was marked as "Received" in the system and not from the day it was delivered. This makes sense when you consider that they record on the submission when it is entered in and I don't see why they would record on a submission by submission basis when the box arrived because, until this last year, those two dates would have almost always been within a week of each other.

The more I look at this situation the more I'm thinking that the May-June time-frame suggested by their current turnaround times is almost certainly going to be an August-September return for the coins I just sent in.

On the plus side though, if they don't open the box until March they won't charge my card until March and so I won't have to pay it off on the CC until more like May. lol Take the wins where they come. lol 

Edited by Revenant
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tj96

Perfect thread for a question if you don't mind.  I'm new to the NGC submission process. I mailed my first submission on the 21st.  My tracking number status says it's in Sarasota: Package available for pickup.

Question: Does someone from NGC go to the hub or post office and pick these packages up?

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Revenant
On 1/26/2022 at 4:21 PM, tj96 said:

My tracking number status says it's in Sarasota: Package available for pickup.

Question: Does someone from NGC go to the hub or post office and pick these packages up?

NGC will always give you a better answer straight from them if you ask the service email or ask in the ASK NGC/NCS forum like I did and linked to above.

But my understanding is that they do so much high value business with USPS that they have a little satellite PO with postal workers in their building for NGC/NCS/PMG/the rest of the alphabet soup.

Edited by Revenant
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tj96
On 1/27/2022 at 5:26 PM, Coinbuf said:

I suspect that covie will continue to gum up the works for quite some time to come, sad but true I' afraid.

It's not going to end!

icon_smile_agree.gif

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Revenant
On 1/30/2022 at 12:13 PM, Stackerdude21 said:

Might be better to wait. I am. 

I guess it depends on what you mean by "better." Yeah, I might have my coins at NGC for less time but at least doing it now they're "in line" and I will get them back this year. If I wait, how long will this last? How long will it before I send them and when (what year?) will I get to finally grade these and finish that set the way I want? I'd rather do it now and endure the wait this way. (shrug)

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Revenant
On 1/29/2022 at 5:58 PM, Eagles Nest said:

Looks like the only thing that will end is a fast turnaround time. I hope i get mine back before the next awards.

ds

If you have them there already i'd say you'll most likely have them in time for December. Anything sent in after maybe Mid-April I'd consider a real gamble on if it is back for December. Anything after June I don't think I'd hold my breath on.

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RonnieR131

 I'm not concerned at all. I sent them a box with 4 coins 01/05/22. Going through my desk yesterday, I found all four coins in flips. I sent them an empty box. Kind of funny, but sad that I insured it for so much. I've been messing up more frequently the last few years, but I out did myself on that one. 

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Revenant
On 1/31/2022 at 1:35 PM, ronnie stein said:

 I'm not concerned at all. I sent them a box with 4 coins 01/05/22. Going through my desk yesterday, I found all four coins in flips. I sent them an empty box. Kind of funny, but sad that I insured it for so much. I've been messing up more frequently the last few years, but I out did myself on that one. 

That... would stink... that's right up there with realizing you didn't put the paperwork in the box. 

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tj96
On 1/31/2022 at 2:35 PM, ronnie stein said:

 I'm not concerned at all. I sent them a box with 4 coins 01/05/22. Going through my desk yesterday, I found all four coins in flips. I sent them an empty box. Kind of funny, but sad that I insured it for so much. I've been messing up more frequently the last few years, but I out did myself on that one. 

Ouch!!!

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tj96
On 1/26/2022 at 6:43 PM, Revenant said:

 Covid continues to mess up... EVERYTHING

Everything is just fine!

 

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Teddy R

A little off topic but I'll bet that Post Office being close to NGC gets more than they're fair share of, shall we say, concerned customers.xD

Edited by Teddy R
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