Different from private courier services like UPS, DHL, or FedEx... the United States Parcel Service actually allows average customers to safely ship physical silver bullion fully insured via their Registered Mail service.
Here we explain various details on how to securely ship silver bullion with USPS.
Unless you work with a physical precious metals dealer like us here at SD Bullion (with 3rd party insurance policy backstops and secure logistics specialization), you should never ship physical precious metals with private courier services. As a matter of fact the aforementioned private shippers expressly prohibit physical silver bulk shipments.
In our experience the greatest amounts of thefts and 'lost' packages occur with private couriers, hence the need for specialization and express written agreements for bullion shipment allowances by respective private couriers. This is also perhaps why New York's diamond dealers have always utilized USPS Registered Mail if they did not have specialized insurance and agreements with private couriers themselves.
If you are an average US citizen looking to simply ship silver bullion safely in the USA without any assistance, you will want to stick with USPS Registered Mail when mailing your physical silver bullion or other physical silver items.
Here we explain various details on how to securely ship silver bullion with USPS.
Why is USPS Registered Mail so much safer for shipping silver compared to private carriers?
Think about the following facts.
When USPS employees are caught stealing Registered Mail parcels they often end up in a Federal Prison.
USPS agents that get caught thieving or committing mail fraud also forfeit their coveted (and of course, likely underfunded) government pension plan.
As well USPS Registered Mail has an additional layer of lawfully enforceable security proved by the US Postal Inspection Service.
US Postal Inspectors are literally federal government investigative agents.
A US Postal Inspector is a sworn federal law enforcement officer who can carry firearms, make arrests, and serve federal search warrants and subpoenas.
When US Postal Inspectors show up at the scene of a potential silver bullion mail crime, virtually any and all disappearing silver bullion parcels often ‘magically’ show up.
The USPIS essentially ensures that USPS Registered Mail will likely remain the safest any one can mail silver bullion safely within the USA option.
For individuals shipping bullion fully insured through the USA’s domestic mail system or perhaps even outside the USA contact us here at SD Bullion for private courier price quotes.
One thing to note about shipping silver bullion in bulk with USPS Registered Mail is that it is a slow moving process compared to other privately backstopped silver mailing solutions we can provide here at SD Bullion.
If your fully insured silver bullion parcel must get there quick, perhaps give us a call to see what private silver shipment options we can provide you.
USPS Registered Mail is the safest option for individual silver Shipments
When acting alone shipping silver bullion in mail within the USA, the USPS Registered Mail service remains the best general shipment option in terms of overall price, safety, value, and potential insurance coverage.
USPS Registered Mail parcels can be insured for up to $ 50,000 USD per parcel at your local USPS Post Office.
Steps to Shipping silver with USPS Registered Mail
In order to ship with USPS Registered Mail you will need a few items to make a safe and compliant shipment.
The following are basic best-practices for safe bullion shipping within the USA:
- Have a filled out USPS Form 3806. Note you can find that by clicking here or at your local USPS.
- Use a minimum of 2 cardboard boxes for the parcel. One smaller box within to contain the shipped silver bullion, another USPS Priority Mail box for the silver shipment parcel’s exterior.
- Always put printed packing slip(s) inside the silver shipment parcel which helps identify the silver items being shipped from and to whom, order numbers, details, etc.
- Ensure the bullion contents do not jingle or make noise. Try putting packed newspaper or perhaps styrofoam peanuts inside each silver coin tube’s top before securely taping them all shut. For silver bullion bars, use tightly taped paper coverings or bubble wrappings between silver bars for secure silence. See how we package a small silver shipment to our customer by clicking here.
- To ensure silver bullion coin tube tops stay shut, apply robust filament tape to secure each silver coin tube top remains closed in transit.
- All box USPS Registered Mail parcels should have 3″ wide gummed paper tape covering all corners of the outer box to ensure a tamper proof stamped seal on the outer edges of the parcel.
- Do not ship more than $ 50,000 USD of silver bullion per parcel unless you are willing to assume the loss as USPS Registered Mail insurance per parcel only goes to $50k USD per parcel.
Faster Private Silver Shipment Options with SD Bullion
Private shipment service providers like FedEx (see here), DHL (here) and UPS (here) explicitly prohibit individuals from fully insuring silver shipments.
Yet even with these silver bullion shipment exclusions just mentioned, it does not include silver bullion businesses who like us have direct operation agreements with the private carriers we ship with as well as additional third party insurance backstops covering ourselves and our customer bases.
If you would like a fully insured private silver shipment quote, simply give us a call here at SD Bullion for further details. Our number is 1.800.294.8732.
If this real world applicable silver bullion information was helpful to you, be sure to pick up our free 21st Century Gold Rush guide before you go.
Thank you for visiting us here at SD Bullion.
