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Post by davey on Jul 11, 2023 10:00:17 GMT
I've just sent a £1000 Instrument to London via Parcel2go and UPS. Shipping was £30 and Insurance £53. I then got an email telling me that the Insurance only covers total loss and not damage.
Don't you think that Couriers and their Agents should cover you for total loss free of charge ? It's their job to ship your parcels and not lose the poxy thing, never mind damage it.
I've been pointed in the direction of "Secursus" which is shipping Insurance, haven't tried it yet though.
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Jul 11, 2023 10:26:39 GMT
That's why if I'm buying or selling something that is likely to get lost or damaged I will always deliver or collect in person. Not worth the money, hassle and argument if things go wrong. I have done few a transactions in South Mimms or Cambridge/Peterborough Services, Liverpool St. station too.
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delab
Serious MM Forum Member
Posts: 23
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Post by delab on Jul 11, 2023 10:43:57 GMT
If considering Secursus check out the small print.
Whilst they will happily take your money they do not appear to cover for on-line purchases, eg EBay or similar, between individuals…. They appear to only cover businesses for on-line transactions.
It’s unclear to me if ‘classified’ sales are covered.
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Post by davey on Jul 11, 2023 11:43:41 GMT
I'll have a good read of their terms and conditions. Unfortunately, as I'm generally selling high end Mandolins, the market is small and customers scattered far and wide.
I'll just have to stop buying the darn things then I won't have to sell them again. I recently sold one to Northern Ireland and couldn't even generate the correct paperwork for that one so had to cancel it.
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 11, 2023 17:50:00 GMT
Insuring guitars when shipping them around is pointless because they never pay out. In the early days of MM Guitars I lost a guitar and had a couple damaged, both were insured and nothing was paid out. Much like flying with Calton cases, I have bespoke boxes designed and made for me which are high quality thick cardboard, the guitars are very well packed and I use three printed labels in case one comes off or gets damaged.
Since the UK left the EU, shipping to any EU country and to Northern Ireland is a paperwork nightmare, so I sympathise with you and I know every document very well.
Shipping guitars around the UK and the rest of the world is quite safe, but they must be packed very well and every letter of the documentation must be perfect.
I use Parcel2Go - Parcelforce and UPS for shipping MM Guitars. They are far from being the cheapest, but I find them to be the best. I would never ship a guitar with one of the cheap companies. I don't use Parcel2Go anymore for international, I go direct to UPS as I find it better because sometimes the link from P2G to UPS doesn't work as it should and they don't collect the parcel.
Shine On Michael
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Post by leeophonic on Jul 11, 2023 18:11:04 GMT
I have used Parcelforce and normally deliver to my local main depot with a next day delivery to avoid loitering in hot vans or warehouses. Insurance is no good for musical instruments so you are best not chasing it, the best insurance is the attention to detail and quality of packaging (as Michael says pack very well) I have recieved a few guitars from reputable dealers and the packing has been terrible and more luck than anything that they arrived unscathed. Irrespective what guitar did you send to London, anything interesting Regards Lee
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Post by ken1953clark on Jul 11, 2023 20:29:32 GMT
The post office/Parcelforce are the same. They always try an flog me insurance . Just say no.
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Post by davey on Jul 11, 2023 20:40:05 GMT
I was shipping a sturdy Beltona Mandolin in a Gator ABS case, bubble wrapped then put in a strong Cardboard box, but if they lose it -- I get £50. I say they should cover the full cost of loss and I'll make sure it's properly packed and not liable to get damaged.
I'll try and deliver my next sale in person. .
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Post by Brad Bechtel on Jul 11, 2023 21:22:47 GMT
I'll try to buy something from you and have you deliver it to me here in San Francisco.
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Post by mitchfit on Jul 11, 2023 22:08:53 GMT
realizing this wont work for most stringed instruments...
i sent an amp chassis to the UK recently. same was small enough to ship in the USPS 11 inches x 8½ inches x 5½ inches 'flat rate" box. weight not a factor, just box size. comes minimal insurance included with shipping cost. extra insurance not allowed. they do offer a bigger size, but it won't fit most stringed instruments at 12 inches x 12-1/4 inches x 6 inches.
if the time/paperwork required to ship out-of-nation concerns you DO NOT get involved with collecting insurance.
even worse, ponder the term "slow walk" turned into an extreme art form.
i figured 2-3 weeks slow boat class shipping time. arrived in a week or so. $59 dollars with tax.
as a kid my daddy told me to NEVER gamble with any thing more than you can afford to lose.
if you need to ship an expensive guit, hire a carpenter who makes heavy duty boxes and eat the extra weight shipping cost.
<$0, 02, mitchfit
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Post by davey on Jul 12, 2023 8:36:25 GMT
I've always taken great care in packaging as it puts your customer in the right mood for when they open the box. Rant over. Have a nice days folks.
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Post by littlebobby on Jul 13, 2023 12:02:56 GMT
I got parcel force to cough for damage to a Martin 00017 I sent by them but it was a struggle and took threats of the ombudsman to sort it but they did. There’s a courier called overland express I think it is that specialise in instruments and will fully insure. They are slick and efficient too.
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 13, 2023 12:34:47 GMT
I just checked Overland Express and they just use Parcelforce like I do.
In 15 years of shipping many hundreds of MM Guitars all over the UK and the rest of the world, I can count on one hand the times we have had something damaged and on one finger the times something was lost. All of the damaged ones were my fault because I was not using good enough boxes and padded cases, and the lost one was because the label came off (apparently!). I do not consider that to be a bad track record and I do not feel it is unsafe to ship guitars around the world.
As I have said in those guitar case discussions - whether going through airports or handing it to a courier company, you are preparing the instrument for unsupervised handling and therefore it must be packed accordingly.
Shine On Michael
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Post by littlebobby on Jul 13, 2023 14:13:41 GMT
I just checked Overland Express and they just use Parcelforce like I do. In 15 years of shipping many hundreds of MM Guitars all over the UK and the rest of the world, I can count on one hand the times we have had something damaged and on one finger the times something was lost. All of the damaged ones were my fault because I was not using good enough boxes and padded cases, and the lost one was because the label came off (apparently!). I do not consider that to be a bad track record and I do not feel it is unsafe to ship guitars around the world. As I have said in those guitar case discussions - whether going through airports or handing it to a courier company, you are preparing the instrument for unsupervised handling and therefore it must be packed accordingly. Shine On Michael They do use parcelforce but they take out separate insurance so it’s sweet.
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Post by mitchfit on Jul 13, 2023 16:59:08 GMT
dig this video up again every time this subject re-emerges:
mitchfit
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