On shipping a Rolex from CA. to NY??

[dff3]

Have to ship a pretty important piece to New York. Am over the USPS limit for insurance.

Would love to hear some experienced voices on:

1. What shipper to trust?

2. What to write on the bill of laden or insurance such as "precision instrument"?

Thanks,

David

[astcell]

I would use DHL. I have had legitimate claims with post office damages and they find technicalities with which to refuse the claim. UPS is good about paying claims but I have had to many times I needed to file for claims and they are not secure enough in my opinion, hence all my claims!

If there is no rush on when it has to be there, get a $199 round trip ticket and fly out.

[Timascus]

[I have been advised by council to put in this disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on the internet. This is free advise, take it for what it is worth. Check with you local carriers before you ship. There is no free lunch, don't swim in shark infested waters, don't eat yellow snow, and I assume no liability for this post. Did I leave anything out?]


I was researching this just today. I have shipped many things over the years but never jewelry so I called a few carriers. I have one more insurance company to call tomorrow and will report.

A quick rundown:

FEDEX
Personally I like Federal Express, they have been very good for me. The problem is a standard package is only insured to $100 and you must purchase excess insurance from another company when shipping high-value items. I have never purchased excess insurance w/ FedEX.

The company FedEX customer service gave me is Transglobal Insurance (800) 245-4852. I spoke to Lois and she was very helpful, here are their guidelines.

1. No shipments to jewelry stores.
2. Nothing going or coming from 10036 in NY (Diamond District in NYC)
3. Nothing going to Jewelry district in Los Angeles (South Olive, Grant, Hill)
4. No business names. Sender and Recipient must be identified by name.
5. Insures overnight and 2nd day only. NOTHING over the weekend so cut off is WED.
6. Airbill must be hand written, no pre-printed stuff. Must waive FedEx insurance (do not declare a value on the package).
7. Package must be plain marked or use FedEX packaging.
8. Smallest package must measure 33" total LxWxD (FEDEX Large express box is the example she gave me).
9. Must include some kind of identification (shipping address and name) inside the box in case the airbill is obscured or lost.
10. No shipments to businesses that bear your last name.
11. A signature is required on the recipient's end.

This company charges 1% of value of insured. Accept Visa, M/C or AMEX. Insurance must be purchased before you go to FedEX.


US MAIL
I called the US Postal Service and they recommend shipping via PRIORITY MAIL + REGISTERED MAIL + INSURANCE.

Normal limits for EXPRESS MAIL is $5000.00, but if you go REGISTERED MAIL you may purchase excess insurance.

Registered mail is SLOW. Everyone that comes in contact with the package must sign in to a logbook. The article is kept under lock and key the entire trip. If someone has to enter the cage where the article is stored, they must sign in. During delivery the package is kept separate from other articles of mail. Because of the extra steps, it slows things down significantly. Expect it to take upwards of TWO WEEKS for a coast-to-coast shipment.

Last year I had a package take 16 days to make it from CA to NC. We thought it was lost and requested 2 separate investigations. Typical of the gubermant, nobody knew where the package was until it showed up on the doorstep, 2 days later. The results of the first investigation came about a week after that. I never heard from the post office over the 2nd investigation I requested.

The upside is any messing with the postal service and you get the wrath of the Postal Inspectors who do not have a sense of humor.

For the record they lost two packages of mine last year, we never found them and the USPS paid out within 30 days after I filed my claim. It took a total of 60 days to recover. THEY REQUIRE THE ORIGINAL INVOICE to file a claim and will not accept a copy.

For Jewelry, make sure you have an appraisal certificate stating the value of your articles.

UPS
My UPS delivery driver is a very nice guy. He has served my building for fifteen years. But I have found UPS in general to be the worse in terms of speed and cost. They lost a package of mine about three years back and it took over a while to jump through all their hoops after we decided it was lost. I'd say it took 75 days or so total to sort out.

UPS charges 50 cents per $100 on any package value over $300.00

Final Note: I called my AD and they recommended REGISTERED MAIL, that is how they send their products.

Hope that helps.

[mike]

I never use anything but USPS Registered. By far the safest.

[Sam]

I've gone with USPS for all my shipments...within the US and to Canada/Europe. I've never shipped registered mail, but my AD has shipped me watches via registered mail....which took about 4 days from the east coast to Texas.

I think if it comes down to any of the shipping companies losing a package insured for say $5000, it's not going to be quick & easy to get your payment. But I hope I'm wrong.

[Timascus]

Updated my earlier post with more info.

[mrbieler]

I have not sent a high dollar watch, but have sent many firearms of similar value over the years.

I use UPS. I tell the counter person what I'm shipping, use next day priority service, and they put the firearm in the office safe until pick up. They do that with all high value shipments. Overnight packages are handled differently then regular freight. Much less handling.

I've never had an issue. The UPS guys on my end here in Los Angeles have always been top notch.

I use nothing on the packaging to indicate the contents and use abbreviations for the company name if it's going to a business.

[Redline John]

Although I HATE my local USPS branch, I did send my TT DJ from Albuquerque to Dallas registered priority mail (return receipt requested) last month and insured it for $7500.00. Only took to days to arrive and total cost was $15.65. Actually got there when it was supposed to.

[Timascus]

My buddy buys and sells guns through the internet, he says UPS is the worse for shipping guns. The company is blatantly anti-gun and two years ago there was a rash of misplaced/delayed shipments that many gun owners had a big row about.

Last note over my earlier post.

I gave all three companies a hypothetical scenario.

Shipping a box, 7 x 7 x 7, weight of 5 lbs, from coast to coast. Insured value of $20k.

FedEx overnight is $54.00 + insurance (1%) or about $254
USPS, registered mail, priority + insurance comes to $40.15
UPS overnight is $157 + insurance or about $256

So I'd go registered mail.

[dfn8tly]

I've never had occasion to ship any high value items. However, a few years ago some friends of mine did some trading in diamonds. They told me ALL their packages went standard USPS just as if they were a box of cookies from Aunt Tilley. Never registered or insured and never had a problem or a delayed shipment. Admitedly a little scary but the less attention drawn to a package the less likely someone might wonder what's in it.

[mailman]

Not just because I work for them but USPS REGISTERED MAIL is by far the safest way to ship any high dollar item. Every single person that toyches the piece has to sign for it. Even if they are only moving it off of the truck into the secure location at the post office. It will take a few days longer this way, but you will have mo worries.

Also when you ship the item, you are asked for a declared value so if something does happen, you're covered.

An $8k item I shipped from NY to Fla only cost around $22 this way.