PSA: Actions to take whenever you buy, sell or trade any fossils

[-Andy-]

Stay a while and listen, because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made

 

First story - I bought a fossil. I wanted to reduce shipping costs so I asked for shipping with no tracking despite seller's concerns. Obviously, the fossil was lost and the seller refused responsibility

 

Second story - My friend bought a fossil. He did not ask the seller to send a photo of the address on the parcel. Item was tracked and marked as "Delivered" but my friend never got the item. Conclusion was that the seller wrote the wrong address and whoever got the item decided to keep it (it was a lovely ammonite)

 

Third story - I was trading a fossil. I took a photo of the parcel but I forgot to ensure that the tracking code was in the photo. And of course I also somehow lost the tracking slip (since I just moved house). The very expensive item is now lost and I have no way to track it (It's what inspired me to make this post)

 

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So here are the actions I recommend you take if you sell or trade any fossils

 

1) Take a photo of the parcel with the clear address. Send it to the other party and make sure they acknowledge it is correct

 

2) Take a photo of the tracking code. You should also type out the tracking code to the other party

 

3) Keep the tracking slip. Keep it somewhere you would remember e.g. a file specifically for tracking slips

 

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Here are the actions you should take as a buyer

 

1) Ask for a photo of the address on the parcel. You might want to ensure your phone number is on the parcel too

 

2) Ask for the tracking code

 

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I'd also recommend both buyer and seller to include phone numbers on the parcel. I had thousands of dollars saved because a confused postman called my phone number to ensure my address was correct (seller had wrote a '9' as a '7' on my address by mistake)

 

Good luck

[FB003]

3 hours ago, -Andy- said:

Stay a while and listen, because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made

 

First story - I bought a fossil. I wanted to reduce shipping costs so I asked for shipping with no tracking despite seller's concerns. Obviously, the fossil was lost and the seller refused responsibility

 

Second story - My friend bought a fossil. He did not ask the seller to send a photo of the address on the parcel. Item was tracked and marked as "Delivered" but my friend never got the item. Conclusion was that the seller wrote the wrong address and whoever got the item decided to keep it (it was a lovely ammonite)

 

Third story - I was trading a fossil. I took a photo of the parcel but I forgot to ensure that the tracking code was in the photo. And of course I also somehow lost the tracking slip (since I just moved house). The very expensive item is now lost and I have no way to track it (It's what inspired me to make this post)

 

---

 

So here are the actions I recommend you take if you sell or trade any fossils

 

1) Take a photo of the parcel with the clear address. Send it to the other party and make sure they acknowledge it is correct

 

2) Take a photo of the tracking code. You should also type out the tracking code to the other party

 

3) Keep the tracking slip. Keep it somewhere you would remember e.g. a file specifically for tracking slips

 

---

 

Here are the actions you should take as a buyer

 

1) Ask for a photo of the address on the parcel. You might want to ensure your phone number is on the parcel too

 

2) Ask for the tracking code

 

---

 

I'd also recommend both buyer and seller to include phone numbers on the parcel. I had thousands of dollars saved because a confused postman called my phone number to ensure my address was correct (seller had wrote a '9' as a '7' on my address by mistake)

 

Good luck

 

Good advice.  Appreciate you sharing. Especially the phone number tidbit.

[Nimravis]

Good advice Andy.

 

I always ship in USPS Priority boxes.

 

I ship the day that I say it is going out.

 

The box is securely sealed.

 

Right after I drop the package off at the post office, I send a picture of the box, with the address and a pic of the postal receipt that has the tracking number. If the package is going overseas, I also send a picture of the Customs form. Since addresses vary from country to country, I always send a picture of the form to the recipient so they can verify that it is filled out correctly.

 

Lastly, I also track the package, to see its progress. Sometimes this does not work for the whole journey, but most times it does.

 

 

[Frightmares]

Helpful advice.

[North]

I rarely get anything to home, but to pick it up and I need to show my id.

But tracking is really important, because I might not receive any notification about package arrival or customs. With tracking I can see it by myself and save weeks.