shipping a manifold
I appreciate saving money, and saving my customers' money even more.
Shoving anything into a box that barely fits it, even with "a few layers of cardboard," is merely inviting damage and a denied insurance claim.
Read through the insurance regulations on any shipper's website and you'll discover that they all require a minimum of three inches of collapsible material on all sides of the item(s) being shipped in order to cover any damage the item incurs.
The box itself is also scrutinized to make sure it has a Crush Rate Label on it showing a sufficient weight for the item inside. Lowe's boxes for example have one but the box your floor jack or new printer came in likely do not. Without that label, any insurance claim will be automatically declined.
UPS and the USPS typically offer $100.00 in free insurance but FedEx does not. We all know a hundred bucks doesn't cover much of anything these days, and if Seller Bob doesn't buy additional coverage and pack an approved box worth a flip, your intake that arrives in three pieces is your problem.
Insurance is cheap, usually under ten bucks. If the thing you're buying is important to you, offer to buy extra insurance even after you read the rest of this. It really is worth it in the end.
The SELLER has to file the claim. The shipper will then contact the Receiver who will be required to provide documentation (photos) of the injured item, the box, the label and all packing materials that accompanied it.
High-value items (i.e., an STR-14 with two grand in insurance) will often result in the shipper dispatching someone to personally inspect it at your place too before sending out a check. If you threw the box and packing materials away you're SOL.
Guess who gets the check if they approve the insurance claim??? The Shipper, NOT the Receiver ... who is now not only out the item they purchased but the money they spent for it as well, and who must rely on the integrity and follow up of the Seller in hopefully getting their money back.
I've had a few claims on incoming parts here and two on outgoing shipments in 17 years in business. The first outgoing shipment was a big box of BMW parts sent to California. My customer watched from his driveway as the FedEx guy got it out of the truck and try to heft it onto his shoulder. It kept going, crashing hard onto the pavement. Long story short, the $936 check -- which was to cover his bare parts and the amount of my restoration work invoice -- took my claim, a declaration from the driver, a statement from my customer and TWO formal demand letters from me (outlining all the work done as well as a copy of my invoice) before it arrived but BMW Mike got his money.
The second one was a cluster**** in every way, a pair of Mopar Performance valve covers shipped to Canada. The box had been caught on something and one of the outer black ribs had about a half inch of missing powder. Rather than advise me though, he filed his own claim putting himself down as the Shipper AND the Receiver! He only let me know about the damage after seven weeks of waiting for a reply that never came.
Dealing with International USPS Claims was something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, literally hours on the phone and more paperwork from me after they tracked it down and finally figured out what happened. It had been "automatically declined" since he claimed to be the person who sent a box to himself. Then Canada Post KEPT the damaged valve cover! I ended up buying one (from someone on here I think), coated it to match and sent it to him with an international money order because he couldn't cash the USPS' check in Canada! He put up a nice post on Facebook ... but that was it. You can see by the dates on these screen shots just how long the entire sordid story took.
Notice how big that box is? It contained the one replacement valve cover.
Pack your boxes well and work with the other party on adequate insurance. It's just good business!!!
I appreciate saving money, and saving my customers' money even more.
Shoving anything into a box that barely fits it, even with "a few layers of cardboard," is merely inviting damage and a denied insurance claim.
Read through the insurance regulations on any shipper's website and you'll discover that they all require a minimum of three inches of collapsible material on all sides of the item(s) being shipped in order to cover any damage the item incurs.
The box itself is also scrutinized to make sure it has a Crush Rate Label on it showing a sufficient weight for the item inside. Lowe's boxes for example have one but the box your floor jack or new printer came in likely do not. Without that label, any insurance claim will be automatically declined.
UPS and the USPS typically offer $100.00 in free insurance but FedEx does not. We all know a hundred bucks doesn't cover much of anything these days, and if Seller Bob doesn't buy additional coverage and pack an approved box worth a flip, your intake that arrives in three pieces is your problem.
Insurance is cheap, usually under ten bucks. If the thing you're buying is important to you, offer to buy extra insurance even after you read the rest of this. It really is worth it in the end.
The SELLER has to file the claim. The shipper will then contact the Receiver who will be required to provide documentation (photos) of the injured item, the box, the label and all packing materials that accompanied it.
High-value items (i.e., an STR-14 with two grand in insurance) will often result in the shipper dispatching someone to personally inspect it at your place too before sending out a check. If you threw the box and packing materials away you're SOL.
Guess who gets the check if they approve the insurance claim??? The Shipper, NOT the Receiver ... who is now not only out the item they purchased but the money they spent for it as well, and who must rely on the integrity and follow up of the Seller in hopefully getting their money back.
I've had a few claims on incoming parts here and two on outgoing shipments in 17 years in business. The first outgoing shipment was a big box of BMW parts sent to California. My customer watched from his driveway as the FedEx guy got it out of the truck and try to heft it onto his shoulder. It kept going, crashing hard onto the pavement. Long story short, the $936 check -- which was to cover his bare parts and the amount of my restoration work invoice -- took my claim, a declaration from the driver, a statement from my customer and TWO formal demand letters from me (outlining all the work done as well as a copy of my invoice) before it arrived but BMW Mike got his money.
The second one was a cluster**** in every way, a pair of Mopar Performance valve covers shipped to Canada. The box had been caught on something and one of the outer black ribs had about a half inch of missing powder. Rather than advise me though, he filed his own claim putting himself down as the Shipper AND the Receiver! He only let me know about the damage after seven weeks of waiting for a reply that never came.
Dealing with International USPS Claims was something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, literally hours on the phone and more paperwork from me after they tracked it down and finally figured out what happened. It had been "automatically declined" since he claimed to be the person who sent a box to himself. Then Canada Post KEPT the damaged valve cover! I ended up buying one (from someone on here I think), coated it to match and sent it to him with an international money order because he couldn't cash the USPS' check in Canada! He put up a nice post on Facebook ... but that was it. You can see by the dates on these screen shots just how long the entire sordid story took.
Notice how big that box is? It contained the one replacement valve cover.
Pack your boxes well and work with the other party on adequate insurance. It's just good business!!!
