posted on July 30, 2004 01:01:38 PM new
Curious if anyone wants to share their experience with different companies and their Shipping Insurance.
I've had only one problem with shipping, and that was an acoustic guitar through UPS about 3 years ago. I shipped it in February to Connecticut. I clearly marked it that a signature was needed so that it wouldn't be left. I was more concerned about theft, but of course, UPS screwed up and left it the front door. The buyer emailed me that they received the guitar, but it had been left outside for several hours in extremely low temperatures and that the bridge cracked.
I immediately contacted UPS, which picked up the package and returned it to me. Then they had an Insurance Ispector come out who denied the claim. They said I improperly packaged the item and it caused the damage. Ironically, I had the guitar in its hardshell case and it was padded with bubble wrap inside so that it wouldn't shift in transit. Then I packaged the hardshell case inside of a double walled box with about 4 inches of packing on all sides. They rules state 2 inches of packing. So, I appealed their decision and they sent another inspector out to investigate. They asked me how much it would cost to repair it, so I got an estimate of $45.00. They still refused the claim, so I used their mediation service. The mediator called me up, asked me about the claim, I faxed him all necessary paperwork, and he ruled in my favor. He said it was rare that he did so because UPS had such stringent guidelines, but I did everything necessary to assure proper packing and it was obvious they weren't supposed to leave something without a signature. The bidder was very cooperative, and I reshipped the guitar after it was repaired. The quality of work they did was impeccable, as the bidder thought the entire bridge was replaced, but it was simply repaired.
In the end, all went well, but it wasn't because of UPS.
posted on July 30, 2004 01:14:45 PM new
Along this vein of topic brought up, what do the rest of you do when you have one purchase, for instance $280 worth of matching widgets, but you send it in 2 boxes, one marked '1 of 2', the other marked '2 of 2'.
Do you insure each box for $280, or do you insure each for 1/2 of 280.
posted on July 30, 2004 01:16:12 PM new
UPS reimbursed the $45 plus the shipping costs. They refused to cover the cost of repacking the item because they damaged the original box and peanuts would leak. So we had to pay an additional $30 to have the box made again. Fortunately the bidder split this with me. He was so understanding of the problems, probably because he knew I was busting my butt trying to have this resolved. I sent him every coorespondence I had and copies of UPS claims. He bought the guitar as a replacement for one that was stolen from him, and it was exactly like his old one, so he was pretty concerned he wasn't going to end up with the guitar.
posted on July 30, 2004 01:23:02 PM new
Estate- I would determine that based on how important having both boxes arrive is. For example. If you have a set of something that is unique (say a 24 piece serving set that is one of a kind). I would insure each box for the full amount. If one box gets damaged or lost, the complete set is a total loss since it isn't replaceable and you won't have the full set. If you bought a set of Mikasa dishes that there are pieces readily available for replacement, I would insure each box only for the replacement value. Be careful, because some coverage will only pay what the bidder or buyer paid and not what the replacement cost would be. I recommend reading the fine print and asking at the counter. There often is a huge difference between the two.
posted on July 30, 2004 01:29:00 PM new
Perhaps UPS is going to treat you "as good as" the person you happen to first contact with your 'claim' dilemma. (not unlike the USPS treats most of us ... you just never KNOW what response you'll get from who, and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand says is 'strict policy')
I had one claim only, so far, with UPS. It was about 4 years ago, an ebay shipment of china (porcelain dinnerware) ... I shipped it in 2 boxes. The little piece of UPS shipper paper I had to fill out asked 'number of boxes' ... i wrote "2", and my boxes were marked '1 of 2' and '2 of 2' .... on the "value" claimed I wrote $280. (That was the approx. amount of the ebay transaction total)
If I remember right, the customer emailed me a .jpg image of the broken dishes (I think it was just one of the boxfuls) ... I made a claim based on my receipt; the clerk told me to bring proof of breakage, so I printed out a picture of the .jpg image, and showed them that, and filled out the rest of the claim form with my original shipping paper attached .... we were quite shocked when a couple weeks later, we got 2 checks from UPS Grand Pubah Center, for $280 each.
I took it to our local UPS service counter clerk telling her that I only meant to insure the whole 'deal' for $280 ... she just shrugged her shoulders and said, well, you wrote 2 boxes, 280$ .... It took me more than a month to convince them that I only needed one of the checks they sent. ... she said 'just tear the 2nd one up.'
posted on July 30, 2004 01:31:08 PM new
rusty: "I recommend reading the fine print and asking at the counter. There often is a huge difference between the two."
... "asking at the counter"? LOL .. . there comes in the part I was saying, you ask two or three people and there will be two or three different answers.
posted on July 30, 2004 03:31:45 PM new
i have had 3 claims with UPS, all handled with payment in full within 2 weeks. no problems at all. of course, the top claim was, i believe, $76.
posted on July 30, 2004 04:55:14 PM new
When I was a brand new e bay shipper I had 6 claims with UPS....all small amounts,,, $20.00 ave....those old glass kerosene lamps. I was a dumb packer, NO idea WHAT this stuff was heading for. I assumed they were intentionall very careful shippers, hahahahaha,,,,,,anyway,,,,# 7 claim comes around,,,,over a 6 month period. Claim denied,,,customer shipped in a USED box.
From that point on I knew there had to be a LIMIT. I hit the limit. how long do they hold trhis against you? I dunno, A year? then start over? I packed VERY carefully and Safely after those. AND I got one returned and when I saw the condition of the box,,,I knew what the condition was of the people I had sent to looked like, all BEAT up. Funny,,,I never heard a word from the guy who never got that package.
