Reply With QuoteOur PO won't take a package that doesn't have one - the rest is down to derp.
Simple question.....why don't people put their full return address on the outside of the package when posting watches?
I started using RMSD almost 20 years ago an I`m sure it was mandatory to include full return address details on the package, I remember this being checked when I used to post watches out circa 2004 when I bought and sold watches. In recent years this stopped happening, but that doesn`t explain why folks are reluctant to write their return address on the package. This is the safety-net, the backstop that safeguards against the item being lost if, for whatever reason, the package cannot be delivered to its destination address. It's conceivable that the sender gets the address wrong, I`ve had this happen a couple of times where the wrong street number has been inputted, thankfully the number didn`t exist and the local postie was happy t deliver to me because he knows my name. Also had items where the address has smudged in the rain, but was still legible.
I`m genuinely curious as to why folks are reluctant to write their name and address clearly on the outside of a package containing a valuable item. Sometimes there will be a semi-legible scrawl with a postcode but no house number or name, often there's nothing!
I also find it odd that folks send me watches without a covering letter including their contact details and a phone number, I`ll never understand that!
Our PO won't take a package that doesn't have one - the rest is down to derp.
Ours is the same.Originally Posted by earlofsodbury
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I tend to put my surname and post code, probably because of laziness if I am honest.
I suspect some post offices check the return address but others don't. Whenever I post anything my return address is always present and I almost always use the RMSD grey plastic envelopes so the address can be seen at a glance.
I`ve never had anything go missing in the post but it's always a worry, that's why the return address is important.
Seems a sensible thing to do, I do.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the guilty party is my son
If so, apologies Paul
You need your house number or name aswell Mark.
On their own heads be it. Hopefully some will pop in and share their reasoning (otherwise it's another post of pointless conjecture).
I'll hazard a guess it's probably the slightly younger generation.
Not so used to the whole postal thing.
I've always included my address on a RMSD package. If it goes missing then it's going to be a problem without a return address, so be warned.
One thing I have noticed is the current RMSD bar codes. They used to have a return address label attached underneath them on the roll of labels, but not any more.
Last edited by j111dja; 19th September 2023 at 15:09.
Minimally you need house name/number and postcode, some post offices may miss this but you risk not getting an item back if it can't be delivered.
When you deal with the public, anything can happen.
I worked at a university and a student posted their assignment, not in the internal post box, but the big red Royal Mail post box that was onsite.
Of course, no full address on the front or the back. The student was shocked it wouldn’t reach their lecturer.
Maybe they don't want you to write back
I always do this - habit of the (old)job- although I once posted an SD and the recipient had given me an in house number ( non existent) it was return a couple of days later then resent to the correct address
Before TZ I never knew you had to.
I always thought it was a bit of an old school thing like those people who answer the house phone and read out the last four digits of their phone number when they pick up.
In the case of the OP it's often their own valuable vintage watch they have posted to him, so very much in their interests to add the info.Maybe they don't want you to write back
I have a sticker with full name and address I place on the rear and I also cover it with 50mm clear sellotape to protect it.
No, haven`t heard any more about this one.I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the guilty party is my son
If so, apologies Paul
If anything goes missing it isn`t my fault, but the potential for a dispute is still there, someone could always say I gave my address to them wrongly.
To be brutally honest it's senseless, it's either sheer laziness or people just don't think.
Name,full address including West Yorkshire so were it to be returned its at least in the correct area of the UK.
I might add....I was a postman for 10 years many many years ago, so aware of the issues we had during that time.
If it doesn't reach you and they are trying to claim they need their rmsd receipt which will have your house number, street name, and postcode on it. So I can't see how they could try to claim you gave the wrong address.
But yes I agree, for some it's laziness bit for many they probably just don't think.
it was and it's not so different now but with technology we can all find an address from a post code with a simple internet search so all that's required these days is a house number and postcode. It is still mandatory to have those. However, as others have mentioned, a lot depends on the staff in the post office. They should check with both SD and signed for post that there is a return address on the reverse but some don't. I would say that the checks are more likely to happen with SD than regular signed for post.
thinking about most items that I see taken to a post office, very few commercial postage items actually have an address at all, simply a barcode that the post office counter worker scans and then accepts the package.
I'd actually be curious to know how many people under the age of 30 actually have something to write with. Talking to someone who is starting a degree course soon, they've been allocated iPads for the course rather than having to write things down. A sign of the times I guess.
Apart from the risks involved by omitting to put the return address on the package, how do people expect to have their watch returned if they don't provide their full contact details?
That one does puzzle me, I`ve lost count of the number of times I have to chase people up by e-mail or PM to get their full name and address in order to return their watch.
^^^ In one two week period a couple of years or so ago I had 6 x Speedmaster moonwatch cal 1861's arrive for service, 3 of which had no return address or covering letters. Trying to sort out whose watch was whose wasn't the easiest task as non of the 3 owners I'd narrowed them down to knew their serial numbers, and the watches all looked identical in a photograph. I eventually managed to establish whose was whose by the handwriting on one packet and the fact one of the others arrived in a jiffybag and the other in a cardboard box.
What a time drain that was!
Totally agree with the OP on this one. It's also not unknown for a watch to arrive months after an email exchange with no name, address, or covering letter. Thankfully I keep all my mails, but it's certainly not ideal.
And packaging is another story altogether.... I thought I'd seen everything, but nope. A few years ago I got a mail saying, "Posted the watch. Apologies for the packaging, it's all I had", and the watch arrived in a third of a bag of flour!
^^^ I bet that raised your eyebrows Rich, you really didn't knead that. I hope you charged extra dough for the job!
The bag of flour is a novel approach!
I don`t take many jobs on so I`ve never had a problem with two similar watches arriving with no details, but I`ve had stuff arrive several weeks after the initial enquiry with no covering letter or details.
Most folks are sensible when packing their watch, but I`ve seen both extremes of good and bad. Some go completely overboard, but I`m more concerned about the ones that are very poorly packed. Worst I`ve seen was a watch placed in a paper envelope with no padding, simply posted by 1st class post. It arrived with the envelope ripped and the watch hanging out!
One watch I received was very packed in bubblewrap and brown tape (like an Egyptian mummy), I had to use a craft knife to start cutting into it very carefully.......but not careful enough. I ended up cutting through the bloody strap and had to supply the guy with a new one.
My preferred method is as follows:
1. Wrap the watch in bubblewrap, with layer between the caseback and bracelet to avoid scratching. A few layers of bubblewrap will suffice, finishing off with a wrap of brown tape to secure the bublewrap.
2. Place the wrapped watch in a padded envelope, sealed and addressed with both the destination and the sender's address. Be sure to include a short note with contact details.
3. Place the padded envelope in a RMSD grey outer plastic envelope (free from your local post office), ensuing the address is clearly written and the return address is filled in. Black ballpoint pen is ideal.
4. Post the watch yourself and insure for the correct amount. Entrusting others can be risky, depends who it is, Mrs W posts a few for me but she's been very well trained!
Pack 'em properly, provide the right info, tell the recipient the watch is coming......simples!
Just received another this morning, a Damasko sent by Mr Nobody! I think I know who's sent it and it isn`t someone on TZ.
Until the guy chases me up about it the watch won't get touched, I`m not wasting time trying to sort out who's sent it, his problem not mine.
In more civilised times, one chap famously used to drop letters in the street without a stamp on.
Without fail, some honest person would find the letter, think they were helping an unknown and unfortunate sender, pay for a stamp and pop it in the post.
I will not be trying this in 2023 Liverpool with any parcels headed to West Malling.
This. I always place it at the bottom right hand corner at the rear.
That’s a good regime to follow. I also cover the handwritten recipient address with clear tape, as well as sender address that I write on
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