Today I was shocked, my trading partner in Argentina paid 49 pesos to send me five pennies; that's $10.88 USD. He tells me that these letters must be registered with customs declaration etc., or they will be stuck in customs. Just now, I sent him a few more coins, no swap required. I still am the new guy on this site. So far I have closed 17 swaps by first class mail, at about a $1 an ounce, a single mailing lost. Do we have a list of countries where our partners must go to such an expense? Info appreciated.
George
It gets even worse. Because of the way the international postal union (I think that's the term although it might be universal rather than international) the costs are not the same in all countries. The more prosperous countries pay more for outgoing mail and in the case of enhanced mail services the difference is just crazy. A parcel to the UK or Germany might cost $3/$4 but the same parcel to Greece or Portugal cost around 4 times as much.
Here's the list from the USPS website by country. You will notice that some places expressly forbid the mailing of coins. They don't distinguish between collectors items and currency. Most people take a common sense approach and list the contents as "hobby supplies" rather than coins. It seems to be a pretty common event for postal workers to steal packages marked as coins.
postal rates and customs rates vary from country to country. i am from india. if i have to send a parcel of coins i have to pay a hefty postage, plus file a customs declaration form also. again the postal clerks will have to examine the contents, for which they require time and i have to report again to the post office for a confirmation. suppose i am successful in sending, lots of problems await me when the other party sends me his coins. here again the parcel goes through the customs, especially if it is registered mail, then they arbitrarily fixes a value for the coins and charges a hefty customs duty, which most often makes the trade unviable.so people think twice and thrice before they for a swap.
