long mail delay-- 4 months

[Victor]

This is a package that I mailed on 22 June to France and it was returned to me, in Nashville TN, yesterday on 14 October; so just a few days shy of four months. I guess that ultimately, it is a testament to the mail system, since it did get back to me.

[Heliodromus]

The coin just took a vacation, then decided to come home !

I can only recall once having a package returned - I'd mailed a bunch of Euros (cash) in an envelope to a seller in France, who subsequently decided to renege on the deal (and cut off all communication), but thankfully refused the package at the post office, and I eventually got it back !

Currently facing a covid mail annoyance - bought a coin from German auction house "BAC" about a month ago, paid EUR 30 (!) for DHL shipping (no other option provided), and was just told it's coming by boat because of covid ... meanwhile other German mail comes in a week or two (or even couple of days FedEx !).

[Victor]

Yes, the mail system is currently hit or miss, luckily for you, the seller in France was honest enough to not just keep your money. I have had several packages make a quick transit and others going to the same country take 6-8 weeks. I currently have a Paypal claim against me from a guy in Spain. Tracking shows his coin has been in his country for over a month, but he filed a claim against me anyway. I have been debating about not even shipping out of the US until covid restrictions are lifted; but this might be the new normal for a while. Thankfully, most people understand the situation. I also often use USPS express post for packages over a certain amount (200ish), but even that has been delayed a bit; but is still usually much faster than regular USPS.

I even shipped a large order to China and was dreading the "slow boat to China" but I mailed them USPS priority express and they arrived in just about a week.

I also have a coin on the slow boat from Germany. This Constantius II was shipped four weeks ago and is still in transit. Interestingly, I bought another coin from the same seller a week later and got it last week, so only about two weeks for that one with the exact same shipping.

[Heliodromus]

This hobby (now business in your case) certainly develops your patience !

I'm always pleasantly surprised how things always seem to work out in the end though - sending coins and cash through various iffy mail systems to complete strangers .. yet so far so good !

[Severus]

Earlier this summer I received on the same day two coins from London. One (from Bertolami) was sent Royal Mail (registered) and took about two months. The other came from Roma, and was sent via Fed Ex and took 2 days. The Bertolami coin cost £13 shipping (about par for registered mail), the Roma coin cost £20, but the extra value is apparent. Since then I've been trying to specify private shipping (DHL/FedEx/UPS) wherever possible.

[Victor]

For more expensive coins, expensive shipping makes sense. The problem is cheaper coins. I sell some on Vcoins for $30-40 range and nobody, understandably, wants to pay for priority mail express for those.

[Victor]

I just had a coin arrive in Sweden after a delay of 7 months 3 weeks...a new personal best.

[Heliodromus]

Wow!

I had one crazy delay (but not quite that bad) a few years back ... maybe felll off the conveyor belt and was later found ? Who knows the mysteries of the post office !

[Victor]

I don't mind waiting a month or two (occasionally)...but this is a bit excessive- the Guinness record for longest delay is 89 years.

"The longest time elapsed between a letter being posted and its delivery is 89 years. In 2008, Janet Barrett, a guest-house owner in Weymouth, Dorset, UK, received the letter – an RSVP to a Boxing Day party invitation, which had been posted on 29 November 1919.

The message inside read: “Dear Percy, Many thanks for the invitation, be delighted. See you on the 26th December. Regards Buffy,” and was delivered in a plastic bag with a note from the Royal Mail (the UK postal service) apologizing for any damage – but offering no explanation for the inordinately long delay."

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/106716-longest-postal-delay

[Heliodromus]

The slow boat from Germany just arrived. Coin was mailed on Sept 17th - so almost two months.

Here's a nasty handheld phone pic. Unlisted coin, so glad it didn't fall overboard!

Next time I'll ask them to send it by rowboat - record cross-atlantic time is only 31 days !

[Victor]

It's great that it showed up. I have had very inconsistent shipping to and from Germany. Currently though, I have an outstanding shipment to Spain that has been in transit for 9 weeks. Besides Covid, we are coming up on the holiday season which always slows shipping. I usually stop listing new coins on Vcoins and eBay until after January, to avoid longer delays.