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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1106 Posts |
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About two months ago, a collector mailed me some stamps (5) from Berlin. He sent the letter registered mail to be sure I got it but did not put a customs form on the envelope. He has been sending me stamps this way for some time without incident. The last envelope disappeared. It usually takes 5 to 7 business days for delivery here. Deutsche Post says that it was scanned in the US. USPS says it never entered their system and probably got stuck in customs. OK. He probably should have used the customs form. I can't get a word out of customs to see if they actually have it. Neither can my Congressman. LOL My questions to the group are: Have any of you had a similar experience? What did you do and what was the outcome? This wasn't a "business" transaction so I can't gripe to paypal or ebay. He and I are not worried about losing the stamps but just frustrated with the process. Are we just out of luck? Thanks in advance. Dan  |
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Experienced stamps need a home too. I'd rather have an example that is imperfect than no example.
I collect for enjoyment, not investment.
APS Member #223433
Postmark Collectors Club Member #6333
Meter Stamp Society Member #1409 |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1721 Posts |
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Customs can ba a real pain in the... I sold a bunch of Hummels on ebay sent them to Germany. I listed the country on mfg. as West Germany. After 3 months and numerous communications includng scans of all documentation he was told they were never received in germany. A month later they were returned to me by German Customs. The Reason was there is no such country as "West Germany". |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1106 Posts |
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Revstampman Quote:
Customs can be a real pain in the... That's an understatement! I expected one of two replies: Yes, your letter is detained for [fill in the appropriate bureaucratic jargon here] or No, your letter isn't in our system. In either case I would have an idea how to proceed. In the first case the letter will eventually be kicked out, either returned to the sender or they shave my head and take away my birthday or some other bureaucratic outcome.  In the latter case, which I consider more likely, customs doesn't have the letter and it is sitting under a table or at the bottom of a mail bag with USPS. I might or might not ever see the letter again. I didn't expect customs to be so tight-lipped. I can't get any response. Are they always like this or are they clueless about what is in their system? Dan |
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Experienced stamps need a home too. I'd rather have an example that is imperfect than no example.
I collect for enjoyment, not investment.
APS Member #223433
Postmark Collectors Club Member #6333
Meter Stamp Society Member #1409 |
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Valued Member
United States
432 Posts |
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The USPS is insane. When I was in Turkey, my brother was in basic training at Ft. Benning. Anyhow, I sent him a letter and because he had already graduated it was sent back. Not forwarded on. That was a pain in the neck but
the best thing in the world is that the cover is stamped "Missent To Tehran, Iran". :) |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2941 Posts |
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It could be caught in customs. I've had a few packages arrive 2 months after they were mailed from Germany. But beware... Here's the dirty little secret the USPS doesn't tell you -- as of 2009, foreign registered mail is no longer handled securely when it reaches the US. Here's a link to the source. Foreign registered is now thrown into the regular mail stream. As a result, sending anything foreign registered to the US is the equivalent of writing "STEAL ME" across the front of the envelope. ISC New York has become infamous for theft of foreign registered (Google "ISC New York theft"). I collect Germany, so I've probably received hundreds, if not thousands, of registered letters from Germany over the years without a loss. Since 2009, I've had 5 lost to theft in ISC NY. Several of my best dealers in Germany won't even ship to the US anymore due to theft. I've had a few that will send it regular mail with a signed waiver from me accepting responsibility for loss, but it's a huge pain. I've gone so far as to contact my Congressman, but with the USPS hemorraging money, it's an uphill fight. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2480 Posts |
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Quote:
as of 2009, foreign registered mail is no longer handled securely when it reaches the US My post office either didn't get that direction or the practice has changed. My mail carrier attempted to deliver a registered letter from Israel last week but I wasn't home to sign for it. I had to go to the post office to receive it and they made me show identification and sign for it before handing it over. |
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Valued Member
United States
432 Posts |
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Could you use a courier service or freight service? Here in Oman, I have an Aramex account. It gives me 3 addresses (UK,US, China) where mail can be forwarded to me. That makes it handy for important things and online shopping. However, it's not cheap. We're talking about $20 a kilo. Maybe there's something like that in the US ? |
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Pillar Of The Community
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862 Posts |
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Some mentioned contacting their congress-critters, well they maybe too busy on twitter. Lots of luck getting their attention. |
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Pillar Of The Community
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2941 Posts |
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Quote:
My post office either didn't get that direction or the practice has changed. My mail carrier attempted to deliver a registered letter from Israel last week but I wasn't home to sign for it. I had to go to the post office to receive it and they made me show identification and sign for it before handing it over. From the Federal Register: Quote:
Domestic Registered Mail is handled in a separate hand to hand labor intensive process from point of acceptance to delivery.
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In contrast, inbound international Registered Mail is defined by the UPU's agreement, which limits the compensation the Postal Service receives for providing the service and also limits the indemnity available to customers. The UPU agreement does not require handtohand processing. Inbound international Registered Mail, therefore, will no longer be handled in the domestic Registered Mail system.
International senders of Registered Mail will continue to receive the features that distinguish this service. The Postal Service will verify the receipt of Registered Mail to the originating postal administration. A signature will be obtained at the time of delivery in accordance with domestic regulations governing the delivery of accountable mail. The sender also will have access to the inquiry process and may receive indemnity based on UPU limits for loss, damage or missing contents. Customers will also benefit from the high security of the domestic FirstClass Mail mailstream, which is protected by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. The Postal Service anticipates improved service as well as cost savings as a result of this change to its operational handling of inbound international Registered Mail items. In short, they are still required to comply with the signature requirements, but there was a change in the processing. International registered mail used to be processed through the same secure means as domestic registered mail, but it's now processed with the regular first class mail. |
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Pillar Of The Community
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2480 Posts |
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Guess I should have read the rule more closely.
My question now is what is it that you would have the U.S. Congress do to correct this situation? Or is it more appropriate that the UPU mandates a more uniform process for handling of controlled mail items? |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1106 Posts |
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Thanks for all the information! It doesn't look good for my letter though...   Dan |
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Experienced stamps need a home too. I'd rather have an example that is imperfect than no example.
I collect for enjoyment, not investment.
APS Member #223433
Postmark Collectors Club Member #6333
Meter Stamp Society Member #1409 |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1106 Posts |
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Tom, It sounds like everything was fine until the USPS changed the rules for handling international registered mail in the US. The USPS seems to be the problem. I don't know how much jurisdiction Congress has anymore.  Dan |
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Experienced stamps need a home too. I'd rather have an example that is imperfect than no example.
I collect for enjoyment, not investment.
APS Member #223433
Postmark Collectors Club Member #6333
Meter Stamp Society Member #1409 |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2480 Posts |
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Yes, but in their defense, one has to look at the segment missing from the quote above. Quote:
The domestic Registered Mail fees are set by the Postal Service and are based on the stated value of the item, for which insurance is provided in the fee, up to $25,000. These fees take into account the labor and processing costs required to accept, process and deliver this mail. With the Congressional mandate for the USPS to evolve into a profit-making venture, I can understand why they took the position that they did. Clearly the UPU agreement's limitation on compensation make processing international registered mail according to domestic standards a losing proposition. None of this helps you with your dilemma but it makes for an interesting policy debate. |
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Posted 06/11/2011 4:25 pm
