Aloha Gary,
I'd also like to know more about seller's experiences collecting insurance
from the USPS. They tell me that unless you can document a tangible basis
for cost that you paid (invoice, receipts, etc.) you can not collect even
though you hasve paid for insurance. This is difficult to do if you are the
finder (I picked it up off the ground!) and seller of the specimen. Or, for
example, you buy from a foreign source for 12 cts a gram a meteorite that
turns out to be a Martian worth $2000/g., you can only collect the 12 cts.
if it is lost in transit when you sell it.
I think that you need to insist that the seller personally guarantee the
value of the shipment either by insurance or otherwise, but have it be his
responsibility. I doubt that you would have much luck collecting insurance
from a foreign country yourself.
And I don't think FedEx is much better. We had a tracked and signed parcel
shipped to us from Switzerland once (membrane boxes) which Fed Ex delivered
in error to an attorney's office in the Bahamas! FedEx tracked it and they
lost it. Even though someone signed for it, they denied they recived it.
Then it took several months before we could get FedEx to pay for the loss
even though it was insured.
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Fujihara" <[email protected]>
To: "MeteorList" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 3:59 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Dealers, Sellers: Please INSURE your shipments
I have been the victim of theft after discovering that over $1600 worth
of meteorites were missing from a shipment I received from Argentina. I
had noticed the package felt light, but discovered that the US postal
service is not responsible for thefts of the contents of international
mailed items that are not insured. This shipment was not insured and so
I will in all likelihood take the full brunt of this loss.
Thievery by customs officials, foreign and domestic postal workers and
other individuals or organized groups inside and outside the US is a
possibility! I believe most packages arrive at their destinations with
their contents intact, but feel it is negligent and at the very least
unconscionable not to insure shipments at or above the full value of the
contents. I know it costs more to do so, but please consider insurance
especially for foreign shipments. Mailing specimen cards and paperwork
separately from the meteorites can also prevent thieves from knowing what
those "Mineral Samples" are.
Is it fair for me, the buyer to take the loss alone for this theft? I
personally don't think so, unless I was given a choice and elected not to
insure. I would hope that the seller (an IMCA member who, to his credit
is working with me) would have a sudden rush of conscience and
compensate, or share the loss with me, since his act of omission provides
me with little if any recourse. What are my rights, and what can I do?
Do other dealers insure their shipments? What is SOP?
Gary Fujihara
AstroDay Institute
105 Puhili Place, Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 640-9161, [email protected]
http://astroday.net
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