A cautionary tale...

Same here. I use a private mailbox place and it makes my life so much easier. I never worry about being home for a signature and know it's safe inside. Costs me $125/year and totally worth it. I go by once a week or so and pick up all my packages for the week.

 

I insured a packaged today solely off this thread.

Holidays are a mess for shipping.

 

I've had my post office lose rare CDs shipped registered, insured, and tracked from overseas not during holidays until they hit JFK for months in the actual local post office and mail sorting hub. There was no point asking for a refund as I wanted records you can't easily buy.

Holiday seasons can be horrible. Everything from Finland shipped in November was stuck in customs until after Christmas this year so all the crazy metal and psychedelic rock (Svart Records) didn't get their presents despite paying insane Finnish postal service rates.

 

Holy crap - really? That's terrible. I'm so, so, so sorry to hear that.

I really hope they find your amp.

 

Similar situation for me, although in this case I was the seller. The buyers for both items didn't specifically request insurance. In retrospect I should have just paid for it myself, seeing as though the stakes we so high. Now I am going to have to refund the payments, as it feels like the right thing to do.

 

That really sucks. Did you have delivery or signature confirmation?

Insurance just costed me $55 with shipping on $3200. Well worth it... But I hear it's a huge headache making a claim anyway

 

When something is rare or valuable enough, insured shipping and handling.

Even if the costs are higher, that insurance is worth it.

 

I hope these come out later somewhere...

blame the christmas!

 

If it was shipped from the U.S. to France during December, then a months wait might be normal. I had a small shipment sent to me at the start of December from Canada & I still haven't got it yet. I think it's just the holidays & customs might be backed up.

If customs did randomly choose your package to inspect, that could be another reason for the hold up. Security must be tight during the new year.

 

Even with insurance, the shipping agent has a lot of ways to weasel out of it, particularly if you're claiming damages. If items aren't in their original packaging, you're probably out of luck. UPS likes to say items have to be packed by their own agents for insurance purposes, and will tack on their own packaging fees to your shipping price. All sorts of crap like that.

 

If it's older or more obscure stuff, then they have no ways of verifying if it was in its original packaging or not. They have to take your word for it.

 

If its low priced, they are pretty lenient. I sold a vintage IBM CRT on ebay, arrived broken, didn't insure it, contacted fedex, they refunded me the full 77.50$ the guy paid.

 

And they might simply deny you because you can't "prove" value or adequate protection, even if you paid for the insurance.

 

I am so sorry to hear your Stratus has gone missing!! Also hoping for that which is lost to be found for @jowls.

 

That really, really sucks.

If it's Aus Post it's worth opening an enquiry and really riding them on it - call every other day and ask for an update. I've had a lost parcel turn up in the system after a 2 month delay.

 

Sucks to read that @jowls . I always worry when I ship anything out, so I end up tracking it till the very end. I am learning that buyers are never concerned, until it happens to them. Then they appreciate the vigilance.