First, I was stunned to learn that on this List
stating that folks doing stupid things are morons
pierces thin skins. For my use of the term, I
apologize, but I still feel that folks who ship
other than by mail are asking for trouble.
Theo mentioned a happy experience with UPS or
FedEx on the loss of a shipment from Canada to
the US. Bear in mind the approach they take to
"unique items" and, I suspect, Theo's shipment
was not a "unique item". A "unique item" to UPS
and FedEx is any item bearing a serial number
which is no longer in production and which is
being shipped internationally. Thus, say, a 1966
Alpine V engine block would be a "unique
item". These guys will take your insurance money
but, if you suffer a loss, will say, "oh! we
should have told you! We cannot insure unique
items" and refund the $3.00 you paid for the
insurance, with a really nice letter of "how
sorry we are". I do not believe that either
FedEx or UPS are now ensuring unique items in
international shipments -- I am plugged into old
camera circuits, and the word there is to always
avoid these services for their inherent unreliability.
I would be curious to know whether either UPS or
FedEx have changed this policy. I do not believe
so: shippers of jewelry and watches and cameras
and the like all avoid them as they avoid the
plague for good and solid reasons.
Another lister mentioned a problem with a camera
and lens which arrived destroyed in the mail and
the USPS refused to honor his claim as the damage
had removed the insurance certificate. Huh? I
insist that a shipper send me a scan of the USPS
shipping label including the insurance
information. The claim has to be put in at the
receiving end, but payment is always immediate
and in full and no discussion. The only problem
I ever had was the loss of a $10 book when the
buyer refused to put in a claim -- he actually
took this up to the USPS senior levels but he
kept losing as I had given him the
information. He finally put in a claim, and
immediately received payment at the window of the
Post Office. I later got a rather embarrassed apology from him.
UPS and the like work great for WalMart and
Target and Just-My-Size and Victoria's Secret and
QVC and so forth, as they are shipping a
gazillion packages a day. But for the shipment
of a valuable item, well, there is a reason why
Cartier's will only ship by registered mail.
Sorry to have been offensive. But folks who
insist on using FedEx and UPS ought to know the
downside as well as the cheap rates. And in many
cases, the Post Office is cheaper.
Marc
msmall@aya.yale.edu
Cha robh b`s fir gun ghr`s fir!
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