I have never made a claim at Fedex, but one time I bought several thousand dollars worth of posters and the shipper provided an independent "rider" from some company that will insure specific items/shipments (identified by Fedex #). It wasn't that expensive, and the poster was insured for its full amount. The only thing that was strange was that they had very strict rules on how the Fedex label was filled out so as to not give away the contents...so, that is an option to look into as well.
I use UPS when shipping overseas just because they seem to have better rules/relationships with customs and the posters clear much faster than with Fedex. I also have to say that many times I just use Fedex because it is easier and trackable, and ship expensive posters without insuring them, just figuring that they are well-packed and won't get lost. I haven't gotten burned by this, but it isn't the smartest.... Thanks for all the info Kirby.... --- Kirby McDaniel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Dear, Sue, Ralph, MOPO and all, > > Respectfully, it does NOT have to do with: > 1) what kind of account you have. Other than the > DVX (Declared Value > Exceptions) program, there is no kind of account > that deviates from the > rules in FED EX's Customer Service Guide. > Here is what the customer service guide says > about Declared > Value: > > E. Shipments (packages or freight) > containing all or part of the > following items are limited to a maximum declared > value for carriage of > US$500 per shipment or US$9.07 per pound, whichever > is greater. Import > of any of the following items may be prohibited by > individual > countries, and a lower declared-value limitation for > a country will > control this stated limitation for such items: > 1. Artwork, including any work created > or developed by the > application of skill, taste or creative talent for > sale, display or > collection. This includes, but is not limited to, > items (and their > parts) such as paintings, drawings, vases, > tapestries, limited-edition > prints, fine art, statuary, sculpture, collector's > items, and > customized or personalized musical instruments. > 2. Film, photographic images (including > photographic negatives), > photographic chromes and photographic slides. > 3. Any commodity that by its inherent > nature is particularly > susceptible to damage or the market value of which > is particularly > variable or difficult to ascertain. > 4. Antiques, or any commodity that > exhibits the style or fashion of > a past era and whose history, age or rarity > contributes to its value. > These items include, but are not limited to, > furniture, tableware and > glassware. > 5. Glassware, including, but not > limited to, signs, mirrors, > ceramics, porcelains, china, crystal, glass, framed > glass, plasma > screens/flat-panel display screens, and any other > commodity with > similarly fragile qualities. > 6. Jewelry, including, but not limited > to, costume jewelry, watches > and their parts, mount gems or stones (precious or > semiprecious), > industrial diamonds, and jewelry made of precious > metal. > 7. Furs, including, but not limited to, > fur clothing, fur-trimmed > clothing and fur pelts. > 8. Precious metals, including, but not > limited to, gold and silver > bullion or dust, precipitates, or platinum (except > as an integral part > of electronic machinery). > 9. Stocks, bonds, cash letters or cash > equivalents, including, but > not limited to, food stamps, postage stamps (not > collectible), > traveler's checks, lottery tickets, money orders, > gift cards and gift > certificates, prepaid calling cards (excluding those > that require a > code for activation), bond coupons and bearer bonds. > 10. Liquor stamps, tax stamps. > 11. Collector's items such as sports > cards, souvenirs and > memorabilia. (Collector's coins and stamps may not > be shipped. See > "Prohibited Items" section.) > 12. Guitars and other musical > instruments that are more than 20 > years old. > > IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS YOURSELF, GO TO: > http://www.fedex.com/us/services/express/termsandconditions/intl/ > liabilitylimits.html > > > 2) the volume of packages you send. I went over > all this with my FED > EX sales rep, telling her we were a loyal and good > client, etc. They > were not interested in taking this into account. > 3) who your FED EX sales rep is. Fed certainly > could not, and, if > you investigate it you will find out that they do > not, make one set of > policies for one sales rep and another set of > policies > for a different sales rep. > 4) how much money you spend with FED EX. The > Canadian dealer who got > hit with thousands in losses was a big FED EX > shipper. He pleaded > with them and it was to no avail. His "insurance" > premium, > or rather, DECLARED VALUE fee was refunded. > And "we are sorry." > End of story. > > I know that what Sue says about some shippers having > been paid for > losses above the $500 stated limit is, in fact, > true. I have brought > this up with several different FED EX employees at > several > different levels and no one has ever been able to > explain to me why > these claims were paid in light of Fed Ex's stated > policy. In fact, > they will deny this on the phone, or some have > claimed that they don't > understand how that can happen. I CAN ONLY > CONCLUDE THAT THE > OPERATIVE SITUATION MAY BE THAT IF FED EX DOESN'T > LOOK INTO YOUR CLAIM > CLOSELY ENOUGH TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF > GOODS YOU ARE > SHIPPING, YOU MAY SLIP UNDER THE RADAR. > > The question is, do you really want to take that > chance on a > multi-thousand dollar poster? The issue of losses > and damage is bad > enough without adding this area of uncertainty to > the mix. I do not > choose to do that, and so we are moving most of our > shipping back to > the United States Postal Service. While the cost of > their insurance - > and that is what it is, real insurance - is high per > $100 of valuation > for > priority mail, it still goes pretty quick and you > are covered. Also, > USPS are now offering more programs like pick up > services etc that > traditionally FED EX has offered. Registered U.S. > mail is still the > safest way to send anything, and has a lower cost of > insurance. > > I really don't like United Parcel Service, and I do > not know what their > policy is about this. I don't use them. > > I'd be curious about DHL. They are trying to rev up > serious > competition to FED EX in the U.S. > > FED EX employees in the DVX program division have > told me that there > has been talk about expanding the program. Right > now the merchants in > the program are mostly jewelry sellers. But > collectibles:DEFINITELY > NOT. I think, and this is pure speculation on my > part, that there is a > view that collectibles dealers are a rag-tag lot, > lots of mom and > pop-ers. This isn't so far from accurate. But it > is not just > collectibles that are listed; there are lots of > products that are not > allowed to have valuations over $500. Here is a URL > to the FED EX > employees who work in this division. Call them up > and ask them > about these issues yourself: > http://www.fedex.com/us/services/express/addservopt/dvx/contact.html > > If you don't believe me, look into it vigorously > yourself. You can > start by calling your sales rep at FED EX 1 800 GO > FED EX. If you > hear ANYTHING different from what I have stated > above, > I'd like to know it. I would love to have FED EX > change their policy > to accomodate me. I'm willing to pay a reasonable > valuation fee to > have my shipments insured. I see no reason why FED > EX > should care what it is that they are "insuring." I > think if you get > === message truncated === _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
