How about registered mail?

[ymc226]

Planning on selling some cameras/lenses on RFF(USA only). Heard concerning stories about UPS and FedEx.

Was thinking either USPS Registered mail or USPS Priority with signature confirmation and insured.

Any difference?

 

[rover]

Cost is the difference. Priority mail for a package is normally not significantly more than First Class and I always use Priority. I am now generally using Medium Flat rate boxes, which will ship a camera or lens (unless they are very large) for @$11. If you accept payment through Paypal and are going to use a flat rate box it is easy to print a shipping lable, and pay the charges from your Paypal account. You just need to drop off the box at the post office, no waiting in lines. You can specify Priority or Express mail, delivery confirmation is included free this way, and you can add signature confirmation if you wish.

 

[sykotec]

agreed with Rover - USPS Priority Mail is excellent and extremely convenient when accepting payment through PayPal and shipping within the US. Shipping outside the US I use FedEx every time - it helps that my wife gets a good discount on their service through her work.

I've got a friend (US based like me) who sells video games and related paraphernalia on eBay who ships quite a bit internationally, using USPS most of the time I believe. Pretty sure it's a cost-based business decision for him, and it seems to have a lower success rate and be more difficult on the paperwork side than FedEx.

 

[ymc226]

Thanks all. I will use USPS Priority with signature confirmation/insured.

I used to ship and have sent more valuable bamboo fly rods via registered and they all arrived safely without damage.

My concern was more damage than loss as the rod tips could break if handled roughly. Registered mail, as it was explained to me, treated with more security and carefully (physically).

 

[JRG]

The Best Buy at USPS is insurance for more than $200. Any amount over $200 forces a signature at the other end, and USPS will absolutely not deliver a parcel so insured w/o getting a signature. And it's quite inexpensive, starting at under $5.00 for $201 insurance.

That's only a few dollars more than paying for Delivery Confirmation --- which, despite its name, doesn't really assure you of much. (Trust me, I've learned the hard way.)

Delivery Confirmation mostly provides a tracking number, so that the buyer can track the progress of the parcel online. Fine, but that's a sort of video game, in the grand scheme of things. Insurance for >$200 doesn't provide the buyer with a tracking number, but it does something far better: It forces USPS to make the parcel trackable internally, so that they can answer to their insurance company. You (the shipper) can walk into any USPS office, hand them the insurance number, and they can find the parcel on their internal tracking system.

That's a distillation of a lot of experience, some of it bitter, plus lengthy conversations with several local postmasters and a retired postal inspector who lives near me.

 

[Vics]

Planning on selling some cameras/lenses on RFF(USA only). Heard concerning stories about UPS and FedEx.

Was thinking either USPS Registered mail or USPS Priority with signature confirmation and insured.

Any difference?

I've always found USPS to be very reliable. I'm 67, and I've never lost ANYTHING in the mail. Not so with FedEx or UPS.

 

[jsrockit]

All of my issues have been with USPS. Never had Fed Ex or UPS lose anything on me... ever (and I've purchased and sold many things, perhaps thousands, on the internet over the last 15 years).

That said, I trust them all. The most important thing is to pack your packages well because they do get thrown around.

 

[Araakii]

Here is the cost rank from cheapest to most expensive

Priority w/ insurance <= $2000
Registered mail
Express 1 day w/ insurance
Priority w/ insurance > $2000

so I use express most of the time since I sell high dollar items

 

[Rob-F]

First Class is for mail up to 13 ounces. You can send small items like a filter or an auxiliary finder in a padded envelope or small box by First Class, pay for it with Paypal, and the tracking number comes with it. Above 13 ounces, Priority Mail takes over where First Class leaves off. By printing the postage and label myself via Paypal, I can just take it to the post office and drop it off without standing in line. Pretty good deal!

 

[ampguy]

yup

yup

once you insure for high amounts, next day is pretty much free w/ USPS domestic.

Here is the cost rank from cheapest to most expensive

Priority w/ insurance <= $2000
Registered mail
Express 1 day w/ insurance
Priority w/ insurance > $2000

so I use express most of the time since I sell high dollar items

 

[jmcd]

jsrockit: "The most important thing is to pack your packages well because they do get thrown around."

Definitely your best insurance against damage. Many take a shortcut here.

 

[ymc226]

jsrockit: "The most important thing is to pack your packages well because they do get thrown around."

Definitely your best insurance against damage. Many take a shortcut here.

Totally agree. I usually over pack for safety. Once sold , that piece of equipment is not yours anymore so it is my responsibility to make sure the new owner receives it in the condition it was sold as.

 

[Luke_Y]

I will just add that with USPS insurance is cheaper with express mail. So, if the value is high it can be cheaper to ship express than priority sometimes. Especially now that they have the express mail flat rate box.

 

[Beemermark]

I use the USPS web site to print postage, you get a 10% discount and don't have to wait in line at the PO. Plus, I've found that weighing the package is always cheaper than the flat rate by a few doallrs unless it more than 10lbs. The point above, aboutinsurung the package for more than $200 is important. You don't need to pay for anything else (signature wise). If shipping an item and insuring it for more than about $1500, overnight is usually cheaper (Leitz NJ tipped me off on this one.

 

[sepiareverb]

I too like the USPS Med. Flat Rate box- but would always add signature confirmation now if using Paypal. I think from here on out I'm going to spring for the return receipt. One can't be too careful with Paypal.

 

[JRG]

FWIW: As noted above, if you insure for more than $200, signature confirmation happens automatically; you don't have to pay extra to get that. And, if need be, you can ask your local P.O. to provide a copy of the signature that they extracted upon delivery. No charge for that either, as I recall.

I have had the experience of arm wrestling with PayPal over a contested shipment. They accepted the Insured > $200 signature as adequate proof of delivery.

I too like the USPS Med. Flat Rate box- but would always add signature confirmation now if using Paypal. I think from here on out I'm going to spring for the return receipt. One can't be too careful with Paypal.

 

[dbarnes]

Registered mail generates a documented, detailed chain of custody as your package moves from post office to post office and to its destination. If a shipment goes astray, the documentation should tell you exactly who last saw it. I used registered mail a few years ago to send a big box of heirloom chromes across the country. My rationale was that the photos were completely irreplaceable. Insurance could do nothing to compensate for their loss, and automated tracking by bar code was informative but not secure.

I use FedEx or UPS or USPS Priority Mail when shipping insurable, replaceable equipment. I might -- very hypothetically -- use registered mail to ship a one-of-a-kind, very collectible and valuable camera. (I wonder how Sotheby's ships expensive stuff?)

USPS tracking data isn't always as detailed as UPS's, but it seems to be getting better.

I learned the hard way that USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail can insulate you from delivery surcharges by UPS when the destination is rural and remote.

 

[peter_n]

I've shipped insured USPS Priority with Signature Confirmation for many years and never lost anything. Their tracking has now got a lot better but still not as good as UPS or FedEx. I always get a PDF copy of the receipt signature.

 

[hlockwood]

Planning on selling some cameras/lenses on RFF(USA only). Heard concerning stories about UPS and FedEx.

Was thinking either USPS Registered mail or USPS Priority with signature confirmation and insured.

Any difference?

You might want to look into the difference between registered and certified mail.

Harry