Hi John, I had an expensive poster go missing (I suspect stolen) in Fedex Memphis warehouse last Christmas when shipping UK-US. I had paid the Fedex insurance but subsequently discovered, like Helmut says, that their terms and conditions have a get-out-clause on anything 'unique' which includes all collectable items and even watches, jewellery, cellphones. So I had to claim on my own business insurance. All couriers seem to have a similar get-out clause so I don't even bother insuring shipments with the carrier any more and rely on my own transit insurance.
Both me and the buyer were devastated as it was such a rare poster. If a poster arrived damaged, the buyer would simply need to return it to you and provide proof of the return export to obtain the import refund. Obviously that wouldn't work if they held on to the damaged poster - in which case they are not entitled to an import refund. There is definitely a big risk - I just avoid slipping into the USPS at all costs. I think if there was something extremely valuable and irreplaceable I would hand carry it myself! Best, Caitlin On Thu, 30 Mar 2023 at 09:30, Moviemem Original Movie Posters < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Helmut > I paid around $400.00 for insurance but I do agree that I might have > wasted my money. I also get a lot of packages delivered from the US and UK > and always have to pay the customs charges before the package even arrives > in the country. I would say that there would be little to no chance of > getting the customs charges refunded if the package arrived damaged. > > Bottom line is that there is a huge risk in sending high end posters > internationally. It doesn’t matter how much you try to anticipate issues, > sellers will always be at the mercy of the postal services. > Regards > John > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Sent: 30 March, 2023 6:06 PM > To: Moviemem Original Movie Posters <[email protected]>; > [email protected] > Subject: Aw: [MOPO] Postal Service handling issues > > John, > > when shipping from Germany, there is no way to insure any collectibles > beyond a value of €500 with any of the carriers. UPS in the US used to > insure collectibles, but I don‘t know if they still do. For all I know, the > Postal Services around the world do not. Chances are that you wasted the > money on the insurance, as they would have never paid out anyway. In fact, > if the value is over €500, you won‘t even get that amount, they simply pay > nothing. UPS Germany makes this pretty clear in their Terms of Service. > They also explicitly state out that they are under no obligation to tell > you about this when they take your insurance money. > > All you could do is to get your own insurance policy, which is very > costly. > > There are no custom duties on posters, only Import-VAT. As a business > seller, it is easily refundable for me. For private buyers, I guess they > have to prove that a shipment was returned and then file for a refund with > customs. I never heard of anybody actually doing that. > > Helmut > > > > Gesendet: Donnerstag, den 30.03.2023 um 01:09 Uhr > > Von: "Moviemem Original Movie Posters" <[email protected]> > > An: [email protected] > > Betreff: [MOPO] Postal Service handling issues > > > > Hi to you all > > There have been lots of comments on Social Media about an increase in > damaged packages, no matter how well they are packed. > > > > I recently sold some high end posters to a collector in Europe. > Thankfully it all went very smoothly. > > > > However, much as I tried to anticipate any potential issues there was > always some risk involved: > > > > > > 1. The package was fully insured but there is some fine print about > what is and what is not covered. > > 2. The buyer paid with Paypal. If the package was damaged in transit > and the buyer had to be refunded, Paypal do not refund their fee which was > significant. > > 3. The buyer had to pay customs charges BEFORE the package even > landed in the country. > > 4. If the package arrived damaged, the buyer would quite rightly > expect customs charges to be refunded but how would that work? I would > imagine that there would be a lot of red tape in getting a refund. > > 5. I think some buyers would expect the seller to cover all costs > immediately in the event of damage. > > > > Fortunately, I didn't have any problems but just curious as to whether > everyone here takes into consideration all of the risks that are involved > in International Shipping of high end items. > > > > Regards > > > > John > > > > > > > > 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. > > > > 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. > > 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.
