Can anyone give us an example of things being lost with Platinum Express? - I'm sure there is one or 2. I'd be interested in hearing how Auspost dealt with it. malachii PS As far as privacy goes with ebay - I know they have to report to Centrelink when you sell a certain amount through ebay ($20 000 rings a bell but don't quote me on it). malachii
great topic Yips My preferred postage method is Plat but it takes some prudent management to ensure the service is adhered to. 1. Fill out all spaces on the plat parcel including your telephone number and the buyers number if provided 2. Ask for verification of lodgement as in turn that screen around and show me biatch 3. If the service is not as per the guarantee as in postie leaves the parcel if your not home :O then claim a refund parcel (Ihave been successfull in at least 5 instances) I have not had a parcel go missing using plat express post or registered post, but I did have an express post parcel go missing
XB, that's my understanding too for a "retail" type purchase - in Australia it's the responsibility of the seller to deliver the goods. I'm not entirely sure how that plays out in a private-individual-to-private-individual situation and whether any prior agreements (about who takes the risk) are even enforceable - where would one pursue that? In a private claim? Definitely worth educating myself about as, when the time comes to sell, there may be more volume and urgency than now and I'd like to know where I stand beforehand! Also - what if the Seller is a PTY LTD entity selling on behalf of a SMSF? Which laws apply? Hopefully someone better informed than me on here will know
I don't know of any courier company that will carry bullion and insure it. Most dealers either self-insure, or take out a specific insurance policy that covers "sendings". We've shipped, well, in excess of thousands of Platinum Express satchels and not lost one - we've had about a dozen not make it within 24 hours as guaranteed (about three to the same guy!), and a few left without signature, but zero go missing. Even Australian Air Express don't cover bullion - you need third party insurance. So unless it's explicitly agreed up front (and maybe more people should do this), agreement should be made on who wears the financial risk when posting between members. I would have thought that it is either: a) the buyer, for knowingly entering into a transaction where there is exposure through delivery risk, or b) 50/50 buyer/seller, which to me would be fairer as both parties know there is exposure in using the postal system. If b) was adopted as the default option on here it would probably be seen as equitable. Probably wouldn't hurt for people to start mentioning this in their sale terms, as the more widespread it is used, the more likely people are to put thought into it. If conducting face to face, put equal thought into how you transact - always do it in a public place with other people around, or where there is quality CCTV coverage. Both are good deterrents against bad things happening. edit - Macros_The_Black raises good points, there could be some standard contract law that covers private transactions that would be worth digging up.
@Macros Yes, would be "enforceable" as that's part of the contract - every sale on here is a contract between 2 people/entities. If one were selling obo SMSF, it would still be what was negotiated and agreed as part of the terms of the transaction, so whether it's you or your company/smsf is not relevant really, it's what was agreed. The real issue is what is the situation when it is NOT discussed. And as I said, my view is seller holds risk, ausstacker believes buyer holds risk. One day when i have some time I might do some research and see if I can find out, but don't hold your breath
So do I! Fees suck, but paypal makes thing so easy. I've been trading on ebay for over 10 years and I remember when hardly anyone had paypal, international payments were a LOT harder. going to the bank to do the Bank wire transfer thing,Telling the girl I wanted to pay someone in China and have them look at me with a stupid blank stare and say "Oh I have to get Cheryl or Beryl or whoever 'cause I've never done that" filling out forms and paying rip off international bank transfer fees. I often just sent and received cash in the mail. Also, over 10 years, thousands of transactions, I have only lost one parcel, refunded the buyer ,and had the parcel come back to me after 3 months.
Yippe, I'm glad you bought this topic up. As a noob here I was a bit worried recently having some coins sent by Aust Post, although they did get here fine. I have had 2 packages go missing in the last 4 months. One was registered and tracked and just "went missing", the other was not registered and just vanished. Both time attempts to find the packages at the dead letter office came up with nothing. I won't buy anything from SS over a couple of hundred $ unless I can do f2f transaction, firstly due to the lack of insurance via post, secondly as I would much prefer anonymity, and thirdly because a lot of the time the postage kills the deal as I could get something at a local bullion deal (cash payment) for the same price. I think you hit the nail on the head and that is the whole point for me. Cash is king! No trail other than a cash withdrawal from my account. No records kept, no paper trail. Firstly there are no flags for them to look for PMs. Secondly if they for some reason were looking closely at you they would have no idea if you had PMs or how much you had. Small cash amounts are looked over, large cash withdrawals may be looked at more closely, but they still have no idea what it was spent on. Brizzystacker
Yes I'll put some time into this as well. GP's suggestions are good too (option "b"). When I say "enforceable" what I mean is, it might fall under contract law, but with no Fair Trading or Civil & Administrative Tribunal that covers consumer rights, then the only recourse for a private sale might be private action (ugh. Where often no-one really "wins" except the billing-representatives). Although I imagine it's only the same as "I buy your secondhand car. I pay you money by EFT. You fail to give me the car." What do I do in this case (apart from claim a Darwin award for stupidity)? Call the police ... (ugh again)
I have bought expensive (non PM) items from overseas and we go with the 50/50 option. Generally the insurance companies won't take our word for the value of the item and so even if we paid for insurance, they wouldn't pay out. (Strangely enough the Customs people require no proof whatsoever, a package was sent from the USA uninsured as the insurance company wouldn't take my word that the items were worth over $1000, however customs was more than happy to charge 5% duty on the item and 10% GST on the item and postage and a $50 handling fee) At least with 50/50 everyone has a bad day and everyone is very motivated to find the package. I would prefer face to face but it isn't always possible.
Whilst we are talking about Aussie Post I'll pipe in with my two cents. You can ask for a free red sticker that says The idiot subcontractor in my area allowed my neighbour to sign for a parcel Not happy Jan
Except for the person who didn't send the package in the first place or didn't put the metal in the package, or the buyer who has recieved the 'lost package'. Quick question: Does it go without saying that F2F will be cash payment? Is it ok to suggest F2F cash only?
Buy from and sell to reputable members if it's a fiat amount you can't afford to lose. Seriously, if the people I buy off said they sent it, I believe them 100%. I usually sell to the very same people.
It is apparent that nobody will insure bullion then, most probably due to the risk of theft. So i have to ask ... when you send your package off via Platinum Express, and they ask you to fill in those 101 questions (incl. your undies size, colour, mother's maiden name, etc etc..), what exactly do you fill in where they ask for a description (and value) of the contents?? That's good to know Boss, and does give me some glimmer of hope to perhaps try using the system. Just curious though - is it mandatory for them (AUS POST) to scan the package at certain points along the journey or is this optional like with Registered Mail? There have been quite a few threads on SS about Platinum Post and it seems that AU Post do not always scan the item at major points along its delivery journey, nor do they insist on ID and signature when delivering to the recipient?
The only things you fill in are names and addresses - that's it. Registered seems to be hit and miss with scanning. Platinum express I find it's extremely unusual (although it has happened occaisonally) for them to miss a scan point. It usually goes through half a dozen or so points. malachii
Yes. Or like in some instances and I know the person I am buying from, I just bank deposit before meeting up with them. Saves getting a wad of cash out
