Possible loss of two old fatty slabs

[RGT]

A few weeks ago I bought two coins from a seller on eBay. Both looked like decent coins with some potential (from not so great pictures) in old NGC slabs. One had the gold stamp and the other had the old hologram. These coins were shipped on Oct 21. The seller sent me the tracking number and it shows the coins were received at the P.O. but hasn't been updated since.

 

I sent the seller a message last night telling him that it's been three weeks and it's time to file the insurance claim. He filed this morning and the P.O. told him it could take 30 days before they finish the investigation and pay him. He said that he will pay me after he gets his claim payment (assuming they don't find the coins).

 

Now I would much rather have the coins found but I told him that I can't wait 30 more days. PayPal claims can only be made up to 45 days after payment and at some point he is also going to loose his right to issue a refund and get his PayPal and eBay fees back.

 

While I am concerned about the money (almost $500) I am more upset about the loss of the coins. Has anyone else had a sense of grief over lost coins that they never even got to hold in hand? I've had a couple of other coins get lost on their way to me before but I'm feeling the loss much more about these.

[gpnyc]

Have you asked your local PO to see if they have the package somewhere? Its rare but on occasion I've had packages sit until I went looking for them. The last time this happened it was a Registered Mail delivery and it was just sitting in the vault.

[RGT]

Yes, I checked here about two weeks ago. It was sent Priority and after a week I checked into it. No luck.

[TomB]

The regulations may have changed, but I believe one had to wait 30-days before even filing a claim on insurance through the USPS. Regardless, he should refund you once he is allowed to submit his claim. Additionally, the publicly accessible USPS site is notorious for not being updated until a package is delivered, so I would not put too much stock in the lack of information.

 

Only once has a coin been lost that I shipped and it was a gorgeous, original Ch AU large cent. I hope the person who took the coin knows how nice the coin is and doesn't abuse the piece. One other time I sent a package Priority Mail that was lost within the system for over a month before it was found at a distribution center and delivered.

[RGT]

Yes, they have changed it from 30 days to 21 days. I'm willing to wait a bit while the insurance claim prompts them to look for the package, but I won't go past my 45 day window on filing a claim, just in case.

 

The tracking information also seems to have changed recently. My experience is like yours in that I never saw an update until after delivery. However, I mailed two packages last week with PayPal's delivery confirmation and both received 2-3 updates as the packages crossed the country. I was quite surprised. This seller didn't use PayPal shipping but did give me a tracking number that hasn't been updated since it was scanned in.

 

I'm still hoping this package is just misplaced and will soon turn up.

[supertooth]

PM being sent. Bob [supertooth]

[RI AL]

RGT. Sorry about your experience. While I haven't had anything lost as it was being sent to me, I did send a beautiful Sicily 5 Lira (1873 I think but am not sure) to an e-Bay buyer in Italy. After about 2 months of waiting and cross communication, I filed a lost claim with the U.S.P.S. It took about 4 weeks or so, after filing the lost claim, but I got the value of the coin, insured for $200, plus an additional $20 which I assume was the shipping and insurance costs. No complaints here at all with U.S.P.S., but the buyer was sure disappointed.

 

I hope that the coins still show up!

[michael]

good luck with it kiddo

 

hope they find and eventually deilver it to you

 

even if it takes a little while longer

[dean1345]

The post office lost a $1 1923 Large Currency Fr.40 I had mailed to a customer.

When It never arrived after 30 days I refunded him $550 and I filed the claim. It took about a month for me to get my money back. My customer really wanted that note and would contact me every month. My point, I did not think the customer should be penalized for the Post Office losing it when he paid immediately with Paypal. I took the burden of the loss. Good luck and I hope the coins turn up.

 

Dean

[bsshog40]

I truly hope your coins show up RGT. I've never had this happen to me and I really wouldn't know what to do until it did. Good luck with it my friend!

[me0505]

I really hope for both party's sake, the coins show up. When I buy a coin (or rarely, paper), I want the coin, not the immediate value as established by the "books." Sometimes we are getting a great deal and sometimes it is a piece we just want....either way, we want the piece, not the $$$.

 

Point is, hope this works out for both of you!

[BankNote1]

I had a couple of coins "lost" between the Post office in Jackson and the main Post Office in Meridian. The distance of only 100 miles! It took over two weeks but the coins finally showed up!

[RGT]

Thanks for all of the condolences and words of encouragement. I will let you know how it works out. Hopefully I will have some coins to show.

[RGT]

As my 45 day period for filing with PayPal is drawing to a close I have heard nothing from the seller or the USPS. I filed a PayPal dispute on the coins three days ago and elevated it to a claim last night. I told him I would give him a couple of weeks after he filed the insurance claim and I gave him almost three. Hopefully he will just refund my payment and be done with it. He could hold out for ten days or so if he wants to and let PayPal force him to give the refund. He was planning on getting his insurance payment before he refunded my money.

[WoodenJefferson]

At times there are two phases of coin collecting…

 

First, there’s the ecstasy

 

And secondly, sometimes, there’s the agony

 

Wishing you the best outcome possible on this one.

 

[bartlesvilleok]

Do you have numbers or photos of the slabs?

 

Just thinking if this guy is pulling a scam on you might help to post those so nobody else is taken.

[RGT]

The best possible outcome would be for the coins to show up in my mail box today. Maybe the package is in the bottom of a bin somewhere and will be found with all of the extra Christmas shipping going on now. What does the USPS do with a package they find that has already had an insurance claim paid on it?

 

I save the auction pics of every coin I buy on eBay. They weren't good pics but you should be able to make out the serial numbers on them. The shipper did give me a tracking number that indicates that a package was shipped the day after I sent my PayPal payment. It also indicates that it has not been delivered yet. I don't think the seller is trying to pull anything this time.

[Conder101]

What does the USPS do with a package they find that has already had an insurance claim paid on it?

I believe it goes back to the person the claim was paid to and they have the option of refunding the insurance payment and receiving the package or letting the PO keep it.

 

If the PO keeps it, the contents are eventually sold at auction.

[jesbroken]

Best of luck, RGT. I, luckily, have never been in this situation, but I have had coins show up after 20 days missing. No one has ever been able to explain it to me, even though the coins were insured and supposedly trackable(only by the USPS, not via the internet). Hang in there, it could happen. Hope so.

Jim