Options for shipping 1k+ books/art insured WITHOUT private insurance? 0

[Knightsofold]

Options for shipping 1k+ books/art insured WITHOUT private insurance?

CIS will not insure books I mail for the purpose of trade or sale unless I buy a dealer's policy, so...

After researching, it seems USPS Registered mail + full value insurance service purchased is the only way to get full coverage for stuff 1k+.  

Are there any other options?  

I used to do everything FedEx and liked that, but as far as I can tell they only offer 500.00.

UPS?

Thanks.

 

[Tony S]

Your own answer is the correct one. Registered mail is your best choice

USPS on Priority mail offers up to $5,000 insurance coverage. But once you cross about $1000 in insured value, it gets cheaper to Register the package instead because insurance becomes much, much less expensive

FedEx and UPS don't much like shipping collectibles and limit the amount of insurance you can purchase. 

[Knightsofold]

Thank you very much!

[SteppinRazor]

1 hour ago, Tony S said:

Your own answer is the correct one. Registered mail is your best choice

USPS on Priority mail offers up to $5,000 insurance coverage. But once you cross about $1000 in insured value, it gets cheaper to Register the package instead because insurance becomes much, much less expensive

FedEx and UPS don't much like shipping collectibles and limit the amount of insurance you can purchase. 

I take it you can't send it in a priority or flat rate box then, if you send it registered mail?  Is it the cheaper way to send submissions of multiple books (like pre-screen for ex), or is flat rate+insurance cheaper?

Thanks

[Sqeggs]

3 hours ago, Knightsofold said:

Options for shipping 1k+ books/art insured WITHOUT private insurance?

CIS will not insure books I mail for the purpose of trade or sale unless I buy a dealer's policy, so...

After researching, it seems USPS Registered mail + full value insurance service purchased is the only way to get full coverage for stuff 1k+.  

Are there any other options?  

I used to do everything FedEx and liked that, but as far as I can tell they only offer 500.00.

UPS?

Thanks.

 

Did CIS change their rules?  I thought they did insure shipped books provided you used one of their approved methods to ship them. 

[s14roller]

I've added the insurance to priority ... 

[Knightsofold]

2 hours ago, Sqeggs said:

Did CIS change their rules?  I thought they did insure shipped books provided you used one of their approved methods to ship them. 

I didn't really want to get into this, but....

I filed a claim on a 1k book that was damaged in the mail.  CIS paid the claim but then refused to renew my insurance.

After negotiating they offered me a new policy that excludes any shipping insurance relating to the sale or trade of a book.  (sending to cgc should still be covered)

It was either that, a dealers policy, or go with a different insurance company. 

So, I don't think they changed their policy, but if you file a claim it might be your last. 

Although not nearly enough to be considered a dealer IMO (maybe 5-20 books a year), buying, selling, trading, and upgrading has always been part of collecting for me.  I understand they have the right to choose who to do business with, but I didn't think using the service would get it canceled.  

[Sqeggs]

2 minutes ago, Knightsofold said:

I didn't really want to get into this, but....

I filed a claim on a 1k book that was damaged in the mail.  CIS paid the claim but then refused to renew my insurance.

After negotiating they offered me a new policy that excludes any shipping insurance relating to the sale or trade of a book.  (sending to cgc should still be covered)

It was either that, a dealers policy, or go with a different insurance company. 

So, I don't think they changed their policy, but if you file a claim it might be your last. 

Although not nearly enough to be considered a dealer IMO (maybe 5-20 books a year), buying, selling, trading, and upgrading has always been part of collecting for me.  I understand they have the right to choose who to do business with, but I didn't think using the service would get it canceled.  

Yeah, I have heard that about them, but it's the first time I've heard of them canceling a policy after one claim.  Unfortunately, with most types of insurance it can be better to eat small losses rather than file claims. (I realize that what is considered a "small loss" varies across people and situations.) In other words, it can better to save the claims for a really substantial loss. Not criticizing your action in filing; just noting the way insurance companies often operate.

Still, it's definitely definitely disappointing to hear that they were willing to cancel your policy over a single $1K claim.

[Tony S]

4 hours ago, SteppinRazor said:

I take it you can't send it in a priority or flat rate box then, if you send it registered mail?  Is it the cheaper way to send submissions of multiple books (like pre-screen for ex), or is flat rate+insurance cheaper?

Thanks

You can use most any suitable box to send something registered mail. Including USPS Priority Mail boxes / USPS flat rate Priority mail boxes.  

Registered Mail has special packaging requirements. You cannot do the postage on line - it has to brought into a post office.  The box has to be sealed up with brown paper tape - all seams covered up. (the postal clerk will give you tape to use) Then the postal clerk will hand stamp the USPS seal along all the tapped up edges. This to prevent any tampering/opening of the box.  The base postage of RM is Priority. However, it travels slower than Priority Mail. Sometimes a lot slower. This because it travels separately from other classes of mail, when not traveling it is locked up and anyone that touches it has to sign off. 

Insurance coverage is available up to $50,000.  Compare this to a maximum amount of insurance of $5,000 on Priority or Express mail.  And as I mentioned earlier, at around $1000 insurance it is actually less expensive to Register the package than it is to buy more insurance on Priority and Express. 

[SteppinRazor]

1 hour ago, Tony S said:

You can use most any suitable box to send something registered mail. Including USPS Priority Mail boxes / USPS flat rate Priority mail boxes.  

Registered Mail has special packaging requirements. You cannot do the postage on line - it has to brought into a post office.  The box has to be sealed up with brown paper tape - all seams covered up. (the postal clerk will give you tape to use) Then the postal clerk will hand stamp the USPS seal along all the tapped up edges. This to prevent any tampering/opening of the box.  The base postage of RM is Priority. However, it travels slower than Priority Mail. Sometimes a lot slower. This because it travels separately from other classes of mail, when not traveling it is locked up and anyone that touches it has to sign off. 

Insurance coverage is available up to $50,000.  Compare this to a maximum amount of insurance of $5,000 on Priority or Express mail.  And as I mentioned earlier, at around $1000 insurance it is actually less expensive to Register the package than it is to buy more insurance on Priority and Express. 

Thanks.  Nexrt time my submission's declared value is over $1k, I'll use registered mail.  The price for insurance on a flat rate is high.

[Knightsofold]

Yeah, great tips guys, thank you!

[jharvey]

Whenever I ship comics to CGC, I go to the UPS store to ship them. I have had them insured for $4,000 or more multiple times. They do have strict packaging requirements and I pay $10 or so for them to take my box and package it up into a new box that meets the insurance requirements.

UPS won't ship to PO boxes though, so you need to send it to a physical address.

Edited June 11, 2017 by jharvey

[Tony S]

On 6/11/2017 at 10:27 AM, jharvey said:

Whenever I ship comics to CGC, I go to the UPS store to ship them. I have had them insured for $4,000 or more multiple times. They do have strict packaging requirements and I pay $10 or so for them to take my box and package it up into a new box that meets the insurance requirements.

UPS won't ship to PO boxes though, so you need to send it to a physical address.

I don't mean to engage in semantics or as my mother used to say "split hairs". But it's important to understand that shipping carriers will do just that. I'll link to an article that goes into detail of just how difficult it is to understand the common shipping carriers and their rules on DECLARED VALUE, how DV is different than insurance and all the fine print and sketchy ways they try to get out of claims. If you don't want to do a lot of reading (since I ship a lot of packages I have) then just take it on faith that Registered Mail is the gold standard for secure shipping of valuable items. 

First - there is some difference between declared value and insurance. People think they are buying insurance where really it's just declaring a higher value. There are things with each carrier that the declared value does not provide insurance. 

FedEx specifically limits liability for collectibles and antiques.  They don't say "comic books" but they do say "collectors items such as..." and then also say "anything where age or rarity contribute to it's value" 

UPS doesn't mention comic books either and do NOT have a general a statement on collectibles as does FedEx But they do specifically exempt coins, postage stamps, artwork and "media". Media could cover a lot of ground, including pretty much any printed items like books and magazines (and comic books) 

If you ship a lot of expensive stuff, get a private policy - pay extra for the dealer policy. If it's expensive and you want to know for sure it will be handled with great care and security and can be INSURED for what it is worth, register the package. It is worth noting on my Dealer Policy with Collectibles Insurance Services that I have the HIGHEST COVERAGE LIMITS with them when I ship REGISTERED MAIL Why? Probably because claims are virtually non-existent. 

https://www.scribd.com/document/67664895/A-Look-Inside-UPS-FedEx-and-USPS-Declared-Value-Policies-for-the-Parcel-Shipper

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Tony S

[CKinTO]

58 minutes ago, Tony S said:

I don't mean to engage in semantics or as my mother used to say "split hairs". But it's important to understand that shipping carriers will do just that. I'll link to an article that goes into detail of just how difficult it is to understand the common shipping carriers and their rules on DECLARED VALUE, how DV is different than insurance and all the fine print and sketchy ways they try to get out of claims. If you don't want to do a lot of reading (since I ship a lot of packages I have) then just take it on faith that Registered Mail is the gold standard for secure shipping of valuable items. 

First - there is some difference between declared value and insurance. People think they are buying insurance where really it's just declaring a higher value. There are things with each carrier that the declared value does not provide insurance. 

FedEx specifically limits liability for collectibles and antiques.  They don't say "comic books" but they do say "collectors items such as..." and then also say "anything where age or rarity contribute to it's value" 

UPS doesn't mention comic books either and do NOT have a general a statement on collectibles as does FedEx But they do specifically exempt coins, postage stamps, artwork and "media". Media could cover a lot of ground, including pretty much any printed items like books and magazines (and comic books) 

If you ship a lot of expensive stuff, get a private policy - pay extra for the dealer policy. If it's expensive and you want to know for sure it will be handled with great care and security and can be INSURED for what it is worth, register the package. It is worth noting on my Dealer Policy with Collectibles Insurance Services that I have the HIGHEST COVERAGE LIMITS with them when I ship REGISTERED MAIL Why? Probably because claims are virtually non-existent. 

https://www.scribd.com/document/67664895/A-Look-Inside-UPS-FedEx-and-USPS-Declared-Value-Policies-for-the-Parcel-Shipper

 

That was an interesting read - thanks for posting. Very good to know for future reference.

[Knightsofold]

3 hours ago, Tony S said:

I don't mean to engage in semantics or as my mother used to say "split hairs". But it's important to understand that shipping carriers will do just that. I'll link to an article that goes into detail of just how difficult it is to understand the common shipping carriers and their rules on DECLARED VALUE, how DV is different than insurance and all the fine print and sketchy ways they try to get out of claims. If you don't want to do a lot of reading (since I ship a lot of packages I have) then just take it on faith that Registered Mail is the gold standard for secure shipping of valuable items. 

First - there is some difference between declared value and insurance. People think they are buying insurance where really it's just declaring a higher value. There are things with each carrier that the declared value does not provide insurance. 

FedEx specifically limits liability for collectibles and antiques.  They don't say "comic books" but they do say "collectors items such as..." and then also say "anything where age or rarity contribute to it's value" 

UPS doesn't mention comic books either and do NOT have a general a statement on collectibles as does FedEx But they do specifically exempt coins, postage stamps, artwork and "media". Media could cover a lot of ground, including pretty much any printed items like books and magazines (and comic books) 

If you ship a lot of expensive stuff, get a private policy - pay extra for the dealer policy. If it's expensive and you want to know for sure it will be handled with great care and security and can be INSURED for what it is worth, register the package. It is worth noting on my Dealer Policy with Collectibles Insurance Services that I have the HIGHEST COVERAGE LIMITS with them when I ship REGISTERED MAIL Why? Probably because claims are virtually non-existent. 

https://www.scribd.com/document/67664895/A-Look-Inside-UPS-FedEx-and-USPS-Declared-Value-Policies-for-the-Parcel-Shipper

 

Thank you!  Great post!

[90sChild]

On 6/12/2017 at 1:18 PM, Tony S said:

I don't mean to engage in semantics or as my mother used to say "split hairs". But it's important to understand that shipping carriers will do just that. I'll link to an article that goes into detail of just how difficult it is to understand the common shipping carriers and their rules on DECLARED VALUE, how DV is different than insurance and all the fine print and sketchy ways they try to get out of claims. If you don't want to do a lot of reading (since I ship a lot of packages I have) then just take it on faith that Registered Mail is the gold standard for secure shipping of valuable items. 

First - there is some difference between declared value and insurance. People think they are buying insurance where really it's just declaring a higher value. There are things with each carrier that the declared value does not provide insurance. 

FedEx specifically limits liability for collectibles and antiques.  They don't say "comic books" but they do say "collectors items such as..." and then also say "anything where age or rarity contribute to it's value" 

UPS doesn't mention comic books either and do NOT have a general a statement on collectibles as does FedEx But they do specifically exempt coins, postage stamps, artwork and "media". Media could cover a lot of ground, including pretty much any printed items like books and magazines (and comic books) 

If you ship a lot of expensive stuff, get a private policy - pay extra for the dealer policy. If it's expensive and you want to know for sure it will be handled with great care and security and can be INSURED for what it is worth, register the package. It is worth noting on my Dealer Policy with Collectibles Insurance Services that I have the HIGHEST COVERAGE LIMITS with them when I ship REGISTERED MAIL Why? Probably because claims are virtually non-existent. 

https://www.scribd.com/document/67664895/A-Look-Inside-UPS-FedEx-and-USPS-Declared-Value-Policies-for-the-Parcel-Shipper

 

Was going to ask this question but you've answered it 3 years in advance.   I talked to a customer service rep at FedEx today who made the very clear distinction "declared value IS NOT insurance and we are not in the business of insurance", you'll need to pay a third party for coverage.  Despite that, changing the declared value will still double or triple the price of the package from them + add 3rd party insurance, and your $10 ground package can be as high as $100 now.  Which in most cases puts it higher than registered mail anyway.  I was curious to ask what everyone is using to ship to CGC directly but I think I have my answer already.
 

Edited May 9, 2020 by 90sChild