Shipment Policy Of Spink

Just won a lot at the Spink auction, was wondering how long they usually take to ship the item out. They told me the item is fully insured and told me the best way to ship was by Royal Mail International Tracking. They appeared apprehensive about sending by courier such as DHL and Fedex as they needed to declare the value. What are your thoughts about shipment when purchasing rare stamps from big auction houses?

The UK auction houses I've dealt with tend choose the most straightforward option, which is sending via Royal Mail. Presumably you can choose a courier of your own if you bear the risk?

What's the most expensive item you have that was shipped by Royal Mail? What if the single stamp runs into the thousands of pounds or even tens of thousands?

I'd go there and get it!

Would be nice if I were in UK, but it is too far and impractical for me to travel to UK when the item is less than 4000 pounds. They told me it is fully insured, so I take that as what it is. I hope they don't delay the shipment in any way.

So far I have never had any disappointments with Royal Mail, but it is astonishing to know that courier companies like DHL and Fedex are not readily used by big auction houses for high value items.

Glad to hear that it was not Spink US because they are a train wreck when it comes to just about everything, most especially getting stuff out of the door.

I made the mistake of bidding in a Spink US auction earlier this year.

It is the first (and last) time I've ever had to literally beg an auction house to mail me my lot.
This, after over a month of waiting, and many calls.
I paid immediately after the sale and they acknowledged this, but were simply too busy and understaffed to care.

Yup. Horrible.

txstamp@ I seriously hope I won't be experiencing the same thing. I paid the following day after the auction but have not been given any timeline on when they would be mailing out my stamp. I thought reputable auction houses would provide top notch service, guess I was wrong.

You are correct - they absolutely should.

I think/hope that the issue is confined to Spink US.

When I was trying to talk with Spink US, on multiple occasions, I was routed to Spink London. The London office was quite easy to talk to and even contacted the US office on my behalf (didn't help).

So, I really don't have any issue with the London office. I suspect the majority of the issue is with New York.

I had the same experience. The young lady I spoke to told me they'd ship it when they got around to it. After a couple calls I told her ship it today or I will cancel with my credit card company. She shipped it but I won't buy from them again.

It was management issues at Spink New York and that person is gone. Whether or not it has really changed things I do not know and do not care to find out. Ed from Century Stamps and I spoke about this a while back and he had the same issues plus some.

Got to pay SGD455 of GST on the declared amount by courier. I should have just gone with Royal Mail.