How to use a Certified Mail Receipt when buying non-KYC Bitcoin with US Postal Money Orders
Tags: Bitcoin, Guides And Tutorials, Btc, No Kyc

Introduction

Recently, due to COVID hour cuts and leaves, the USPS has experienced a serious lag in delivery time. What used to take one week with a regular postage stamp, now takes about three weeks. This can pose an issue for those purchasing non-KYC Bitcoin using US Postal Money Orders, especially for those unaware of the situation. Some of these issues include: Exceeding the trading period allotted on Bisq, concern over lost money orders, confusion, and uncertainty. In typical times, when it came to sending a money order through USPS it was completely feasible to use a postage stamp. However, in COVID times, it worth using a Certified Mail Receipt for tracking and quicker delivery time. In this article, I describe how to use a Certified Mailing Receipt when sending a money order.

Procedure and materials

The procedure is the same as described in the article, “How to buy non-KYC Bitcoin with a US Postal Money Order”. That is, first buy the money order and fill it out away from the Post Office (i.e., in the car or outside). However, before exiting the Post Office, grab a mailing receipt (as shown on the title page). These are located at the kiosks in the Post Office or get one by asking the clerk when purchasing the money order. The same materials are required as before except for the postage stamp; the mailing receipt will take its place. Prepare the money order as described in the article mentioned above, including the extra piece of paper for better privacy, sealing it, and writing the “return to” address and “sent to” address on the envelope.

What to do with the Certified Mailing Receipt

Fill out the box located at the bottom of the mailing receipt (i.e., “Sent to”, “Street, Apt, No. or PO Box No”, and “City, State, Zip+4”) using the information provided on Bisq. After doing so, give the sealed envelope and the filled-out mailing receipt to the clerk and pay with cash (~$5). The clerk will hand over a receipt and the stub from the mailing receipt which has the tracking number on it. One can now be confidant the envelope will be delivered securely and in a timely manner.

Tracking

With the tracking number provided, one can search the USPS webpage at: https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction!input.action. While it will not show up immediately, it will in a couple of days. The web-page and tracking number can then be provided to the seller in the Bisq chat window. Doing so makes the seller aware the payment is being tracked and will deter dishonesty. From here, all that needs to be done is to wait for the delivery of the payment. When the payment is received and the funds are released, remember to properly dispose of your receipts and stubs. I like to burn them.

Conclusion

By using a Certified Mailing Receipt, one can be confidant a US Postal Money Order is sent in a secure and timely manner (i.e., about seven business days), especially during COVID times. Using a mailing receipt only costs about ~$5 on top of everything else — a small price to pay for non-KYC Bitcoin. Also, should the seller claim they never received the payment, and therefore enter mediation or arbitration, the buyer can verify the payment was indeed sent. Overall, using a mailing receipt is good practice even though, generally, one can still use a stamp. However, given the extraordinary times, a mailing receipt is currently the best option.