Silver is a precious metal and a lot of people find it a good investment. In cases of emergencies, they can simply liquidate their holdings by selling their silver bars. Because of their high value, weight and bulk, many think that shipping silver bars via mail is a dangerous, tedious and costly task. While there are many dealers elsewhere that offer much higher rates for silver, some sellers tend to go to local pawnshops, which offer much lower rates, for fear of losing the precious package in the mail or spending too much on shipping costs to send out their silver.
On the contrary, shipping silver bars via the USPS is a safe, easy and cost-effective method of transporting these precious items. Here are some tips on how to properly pack and ship silver bars via the USPS and ensure that they arrive safely.
The most ideal way to ship silver bars is thru the United States Postal Service, using its Flat Rate boxes and Registered Mail services which offer the lowest shipping rates and the greatest security, respectively. The Flat Rate boxes are available in post offices and the USPS website free of charge. You can ship anything that fits in the box at a flat rate as long as the total weight of the package does not exceed 70 pounds. These make the Flat Rate boxes a cost-effective method of shipping heavy items like silver bars.
Before packing the silver bars in the box, secure its seams and edges, both inside and out, with a heavy duty tape like a 1″ wide filament tape. This kind of tape is very strong which is important to reinforce the box and protect and support the heavy silver bars during transit. Remember that silver bars are heavy and can easily punch holes in the box if it is not adequately protected with tape.
Wrap each silver bar with several layers of newspaper to minimize the damage it can cause to the shipping box when it shifts during transit. The newspaper wrap will also eliminate the metallic clinking sound when the bars hit each other during handling which may give post office thieves an idea on the contents of the package.
Layer the bottom of the box with crumpled newspaper and evenly distribute the silver bars inside the box and fill empty spaces between the bars with more newspaper to minimize shifting. Before closing the box, place a piece of paper with the destination and sender’s addresses in case the ones outside the package get damaged during transit.
Close and seal the box with filament tape. All seams and edges should also be taped for added protection. As a USPS regulation, the filament tape must be covered with brown paper tape so that Post Office personnel can postmark the package (ink will not adhere on filament tape). Make sure to leave the Post Office’s “Priority Mail” logo visible, so that the package qualifies for the flat rate.
Take the package to your local post office and ship the item with the appropriate insurance.