I have been a member of silverstackers since April 2020. I am fairly knew. I recently had a scare when the coins that I purchased did not arrive. They spent two weeks in no-mans land but now have reappeared on the Australia Post tracking system. It is possible that this information is elsewhere on the site but for what it is worth, here is what unfolded and the lessons that I learned. I made contact with a number of members while I was kicking myself in the head and obsessing about my loss. I must say, Silverstackers are a great bunch of people. It helped to talk. Thank you. If something goes wrong you will be grateful if you are dealing with an experienced seller who is easy to communicate with, as this is all you will have. When the item is missing in the mail, it is missing! No-one at Australia Post will run around looking for it, no matter what it is worth. All hope is NOT lost but you will feel helpless. The truth is, things don't often get lost at Australia Post but don't get complacent! After a very bad two weeks here are my new rules: a. check out the seller thoroughly. Know who you are dealing with. Look at who they have dealt with before and how recently it was. My seller btw was great to deal with, he was as worried about my loss as I was, well... nearly. That was reassuring. An experienced seller will know how to pack items properly and this reduces the risk of loss. b. ask the seller what size envelope or satchel will be used. Satchels are better than envelopes. Their size makes them harder to lose, they don't open or tear as easily. Its worth paying extra. c. confirm what type of mail will be used - eg. express. It must be tracked or you have no hope. Make sure you ask for the tracking number to be sent to you before the item is put in the post. Best to have a photo of the number. d. ask for both your name and your address to be put on the envelope and if you want to be extra careful have your name and phone number written on the packaging material within the envelop. If the envelope/package is chewed up or separated from the contents then this may be all that is left. Australia Post will tell you that damaged packages will be opened to look for this information if the package ends up in lost property. A separate inner package within the satchel is best. e. ask what the sellers method of packing the item will be. If it is valuable to you then get two photos: 1. before it is packed and 2.in its packaging. Items which are not properly packed are more easily lost in the postage system and damage and theft become a greater risk. f. ask for a photo of the envelope with your address details on it. This is the only way of identifying if a mistake was made. People are not perfect and being able to identify that the details were correct will ease your mind and if there is an error that information will help you find the package. g. ask the seller to include the sellers return address on the envelope and ask for a photo of that. Australia post will tell you that if the receivers address is not readable then a senders address may be the only way for the package to be returned or located. h. tracking numbers do not necessarily mean that Australia post know where your item is. While it is "between" tracking or lost no-one knows where it is. Items lost by Australia Post are not insured automatically and you may not be able to get insurance... its your risk. i. in my discussions with some very active sellers and buyers things are very rarely lost, so don't panic. Best of luck fellow stackers.
You were very lucky--my express post from Victoria came after 5 weeks-and post by DHL from Germany after 3 weeks( 2 weeks quicken than in Australia)...
I should probably also add that I spoke to Australia Post three times. Once the letter had been missing for a week without any tracking, two of the Australia Post People said that they had never seen this happen before and that they were not at all hopeful that the package would be delivered. I mention this because it was very disheartening to hear that. It was not however true. Speaking to other Stackers I know now that this is very common atm. I received many automated messages which were frustrating and they kept closing the case as they said that they were dealing with the sender directly. Each time they closed the case I reopened it on their system. Other than one phone call they were not in contact with the seller. Keeping the case open may have helped. Best of luck everyone. The good news is that items seem to get there in the end.
I had just over 7k worth of gold floating around in aus post limbo not so long ago, tracking worked at first then there was days and days with no updates and then tracking and site was down for a few days. In the end it all arrived safe and sound but still I was a little worried. Thats the new aus post for you
That would be great and all but living in the bush with the nearest town being 40 mins a way and Melbourne being 3.5 hours a way and us not allowed in due to covid was not a option.
