New USPS regulations for customs declaration

https://bestlifeonline.com/usps-europe-shipping-changes-news/

"These regulations will make it mandatory for you to list each item in your package with a "specific, accurate description" on the customs declaration form.”

This will make it much harder to declare coins in packages.  This on top of shipping prices that seem to have doubled or tripled in just a few years.

Wow.

well, basically we in the EU have had that requirement for quite a while now. That's why - at least here in Germany - we are technically not allowed anymore to send any goods except for paper documents in a simple letter when sending abroad, but have to use a service that automatically includes a customs declaration. That of course meant higher shipping prices.

But time showed, that if you intend to send coins, that are sufficiently light, it still works to send them in a letter, if you pack them in a way that does not make it obvious what is inside and looks and feels like a letter containing paper documents….

For comparison: a regular letter up to 50g sent to anywhere in the world costs me 1.70 EUR. A package with declaration costs me 5.50 EUR within EU and 8.50 EUR anywhere else. So that's some difference, knowing that prices in the US are way different in a negative way…

Plus, there is just not sufficient staff anyway to manually check each and every letter…

And for the declaration, a coin can basically also be described as “metal copper/nickel token”, which is much more specific than “coin” anyway, so is just what the requirement says... :-) 

Only “collectable item” might not work anymore, in case anyone at USPS would notice that anyway…

So much for the “globalization” 💩

You can always send coins in regular envelopes, like letters or documents. That way you don't need to declare or describe anything at all.

… but you should be aware that this technically is not allowed, at least not in Germany - not sure for the US though. Nonetheless typically no one cares, as long as you drop your mail in a letterbox and do not post it at the counter. 

Bavariat

… but you should be aware that this technically is not allowed, at least not in Germany - not sure for the US though. Nonetheless typically no one cares, as long as you drop your mail in a letterbox and do not post it at the counter. 

Yes, sending coins (aka money) is not allowed. Period. But we all send them because we ourselves all think these mailing money restrictions were made so that people do not mail cash in large sums for illegal activities, and we think that our little coin exchanges do not really hurt anyone.

I've been swapping with USA collectors and indeed isn't that easy anymore. It takes weeks before the parcell arrives and the customs definitely do look at it. Anyway, when the content has it's own values the costs aren't that important and the customs only care for the fee that we must to pay.

It's expensive but I'm very pleased with the swaps I've been made with my American friends.

iiruig

Bavariat

… but you should be aware that this technically is not allowed, at least not in Germany - not sure for the US though. Nonetheless typically no one cares, as long as you drop your mail in a letterbox and do not post it at the counter. 

Yes, sending coins (aka money) is not allowed. Period. But we all send them because we ourselves all think these mailing money restrictions were made so that people do not mail cash in large sums for illegal activities, and we think that our little coin exchanges do not really hurt anyone.

Sneaky, Sneaky.  :D