Cue stolen out of box Priority Mail

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

Linwood said:
In several prior jobs we shipped tens of thousands of boxes a week, mostly UPS, some fedex, and a few USPS (including the hybrid services) as well as LTL and FTL.

USPS by far lost the most items. UPS and Fedex would very, very occasionally lose one, but rarely. Most "lost" actually showed up later, having been damaged and rerouted to figure out for whom it was intended, e.g. from internal contents.

Even though USPS was cheapest, we used them only for tiny business-to-consumer items, like individual books or CD's. They are just not as reliable.

Can't comment on insurance claims, we self insured everything. But if I had to ship and expect it to arrive, I'd ship UPS (ground or air) with signature required. If I also wanted it to get the most gentle treatment I would ship Fedex air (not ground).

Another option that is very safe is both will allow you to ship "Hold for pickup" so that it has to be handed over by an actual UPS/Fedex employee (ship to a real UPS/Fedex facility -- (almost) none of the packing stores are owned by them nor are they real employees of the carrier, they are franchises). It travels in sealed and locked containers between facilities (no driver access), and never goes out on a route truck alone with a driver out of video range, nor sits on your doorstep waiting for you. Theft is still possible, but a lot less likely.

Good advice. My experience is similar in some regards and different in others. I worked for a company that had one of the highest shipping volumes in the country. We only used UPS and Fedex (every kind of air and ground for both) and Fedex had a 4-5 times higher loss and damage rate than UPS did. Fedex still wasn't what I would call horrible but it was very substantially higher than UPS and as a result we used UPS as often as possible. Fedex was also more expensive about 95% of the time and so that made the decision even easier. This was about 13 years ago so I can't vouch for lately but I don't think a lot has changed. From what I recall that I have read in several places that I felt were reliable, and my personal experiences, USPS actually isn't worse than UPS or Fedex and may even be slightly better, but I couldn't swear to it. I also can't speak to how any of them handled insurance claims.

Bob Jewett · Jun 23, 2017

poolandpokerman said:
... On another note, has anyone every lost something with UPS or Fed Ex and received money for their insurance claim. ...

The bunch of priority boxes that I mentioned before that were lost/broken were partially reimbursed. There is automatically $50/box insurance, and since their own records did not show the missing boxes as ever being delivered, they paid. The contents were worth more than $50, and I think they don't reimburse the cost of postage.

As for the insurance being a scam, there is also the other side of that -- customers making claims against things that either never existed or that were delivered.

There is a similar problem with lost luggage claims against airlines. It turns out that they offer no coverage for anything valuable that was in your luggage. "Oh, my Rolex was in the bag you lost." I wonder how many claims are filed for "lost" luggage that was actually picked up by the owner. I wonder if anyone has tried to file an airline claim for a lost cue.

Linwood · Jun 23, 2017

Poolplaya9 said:
We only used UPS and Fedex (every kind of air and ground for both) and Fedex had a 4-5 times higher loss and damage rate than UPS did. Fedex still wasn't what I would call horrible but it was very substantially higher than UPS and as a result we used UPS as often as possible. Fedex was also more expensive about 95% of the time and so that made the decision even easier.

I tried to stay away from the UPS vs Fedex aspect, but we also shipped everything we could UPS and not Fedex. We had some customers who insisted on Fedex, and we also had to keep the systems functional in case UPS Teamsters struck, but UPS was both easier to deal with and more reliable.

But it's interesting you found USPS as or more reliable. It could also have been the customer types -- as mentioned elsewhere, customers are often scamming shippers, and our USPS customers were either individuals or tiny businesses, where such scams are more prevalent (I'm not saying they are less honest, just theft in large businesses' back room is more theft FROM the business, not the business itself scamming the shipper, and most big business went UPS or Fedex, almost never USPS).

But to the original point of reliable shipping, my recommendation: shipping UPS, signature required, verifying addresses carefully (I personally had an expensive camera get shipped to a neighbor because someone swapped two numbers), consider using hold-for-pickup, use really strong packaging, put the address and account information inside the box as well as outside (UPS will open a damaged box if the label is destroyed, and look for such)... all good ways to ensure they arrive. There's a tiny, tiny portion actually lost or damaged in transit, for real, but it's really small. Oh, and where at all possible, tender to a real UPS facility. The vast majority of the franchise stores are honest, but they are not always terribly competent, nor trained well; I've seen packages awaiting pickup just left in a big pile fairly unattended; I could have just picked one up and walked out. If I have something valuable personally, I either arrange for a UPS truck to pick up, or do the 30 minute drive to the UPS main facility.

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

Linwood said:
I tried to stay away from the UPS vs Fedex aspect, but we also shipped everything we could UPS and not Fedex. We had some customers who insisted on Fedex, and we also had to keep the systems functional in case UPS Teamsters struck, but UPS was both easier to deal with and more reliable.

But it's interesting you found USPS as or more reliable. It could also have been the customer types -- as mentioned elsewhere, customers are often scamming shippers, and our USPS customers were either individuals or tiny businesses, where such scams are more prevalent (I'm not saying they are less honest, just theft in large businesses' back room is more theft FROM the business, not the business itself scamming the shipper, and most big business went UPS or Fedex, almost never USPS).

But to the original point of reliable shipping, my recommendation: shipping UPS, signature required, verifying addresses carefully (I personally had an expensive camera get shipped to a neighbor because someone swapped two numbers), consider using hold-for-pickup, use really strong packaging, put the address and account information inside the box as well as outside (UPS will open a damaged box if the label is destroyed, and look for such)... all good ways to ensure they arrive. There's a tiny, tiny portion actually lost or damaged in transit, for real, but it's really small. Oh, and where at all possible, tender to a real UPS facility. The vast majority of the franchise stores are honest, but they are not always terribly competent, nor trained well; I've seen packages awaiting pickup just left in a big pile fairly unattended; I could have just picked one up and walked out. If I have something valuable personally, I either arrange for a UPS truck to pick up, or do the 30 minute drive to the UPS main facility.

We didn't use USPS in the high shipping volume company I worked for. For USPS I was saying that from what I think I remember reading from several sources that I thought had reliable data was that USPS had as good or possibly slightly better record than UPS and Fedex, but I wouldn't absolutely swear to my memory on it. I also said I have had good personal experience with USPS (except for one item they lost for 2 months! but ultimately found and delivered) but my personal experience is fairly limited especially by the standards of a company shipping high volumes.

Once again you post gives great advice.

ceebee · Jun 23, 2017

I will look for it in & around Tulsa. I always insure my stuff to the hilt, especially if I want IT or the Money, back.

Sorry, good luck in the future.

Go to "Search Tempest" to search large areas at once. States, half or all of the USA

hang-the-9 · Jun 23, 2017

Bob Jewett said:
--- snip --I wonder if anyone has tried to file an airline claim for a lost cue.

I was very close to filing something against Spirit, they lost a bag on the way home that hat my son's cue in it. Got a letter from the cuemaker stating value, had everything filled out. Two weeks after they lost the bag on the very day that I was eligible to file a claim, I got a call from they saying the bag was on the way to my house LOL. I found it a bit odd that on the day I can file the claim my bag was discovered in their system. Luckily nothing was missing from the suitcase including the case and cue.

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

For whoever was asking if anybody has had success filing a USPS claim my last post reminded of the only claim I can think of. It was a box that was about 20x18x8 inches, so not a huge box but not tiny by any means either. Anyway tracking showed that it got in the system and then just stopped tracking and never arrived. Can't remember if it ever left the post office it was dropped off at or where exactly it became lost and stopped tracking. Anyway I or the sender (who was my Dad), forgot which one of us, filed a claim after seeing it not tracking for several days and several days after it should have already arrived. The claim process was quick and easy and got paid right away with no hassle. As I recall they essentially looked up the package in the tracking system, said yep it hasn't been tracking for like a week now, and yup you had insurance for $35, and they paid the claim right away and I (or Dad) had the money within a couple of weeks from when it was supposed to arrive, wasn't long. Funny thing is the package ended up getting delivered to me out of the blue one day 2 months later.

mchnhed · Jun 23, 2017

Poolplaya9 said:
had insurance for $35, and they paid the claim right away.
Funny thing is the package ended up getting delivered to me out of the blue one day 2 months later.

You gave back the $35, right?

poolguy4u · Jun 23, 2017

poolandpokerman said:
Thanks for all the comments, I was also wondering if anyone has ever lost something in the mail with USPS and had it insured and actually received the insurance money that they paid for. If not something should be done about the post office running a SCAM like this, selling insurance with no intention to pay out if lost or stolen.

On another note, has anyone every lost something with UPS or Fed Ex and received money for their insurance claim.
Tom

.

Only one package was lost and I have shipped thousands.

Filing a claim was easy for me...you really need a receipt for the item or a credit card bill showing what you paid. ....Now if the item was used, they will adjust for that.

When filing a claim, always say the item was new and provide a receipt.
It's not hard to make up a receipt showing how much you paid and a date when the item was bought.

When a pool cue was shipped, the post office knows nothing about what kind of cue it was until you file a claim. .....The receipt of what you paid is important...or credit card bill. .....Just put a claim in for a new item---if you don't, they will adjust and it's not good.

.

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

mchnhed said:
You gave back the $35, right?

Don't recall. I know that my Dad (the shipper) or myself called them and let them know the package arrived and I am pretty sure they said don't worry about it but I don't recall 100% for sure on that part and like I said I can't even remember which of us handled the claim. We did whatever they said to do though, which I'm pretty sure was "don't worry about it".

mchnhed · Jun 23, 2017

mchnhed said:
You gave back the $35, right?

Poolplaya9 said:
Don't recall. I know that my Dad (the shipper) or myself called them and let them know the package arrived and I am pretty sure they said don't worry about it but I don't recall 100% for sure on that part and like I said I can't even remember which of us handled the claim. We did whatever they said to do though, which I'm pretty sure was "don't worry about it".

Same thing happened to me.

JC · Jun 23, 2017

poolguy4u said:
.

Only one package was lost and I have shipped thousands.

Filing a claim was easy for me...you really need a receipt for the item or a credit card bill showing what you paid. ....Now if the item was used, they will adjust for that.

When filing a claim, always say the item was new and provide a receipt.
It's not hard to make up a receipt showing how much you paid and a date when the item was bought.

When a pool cue was shipped, the post office knows nothing about what kind of cue it was until you file a claim. .....The receipt of what you paid is important...or credit card bill. .....Just put a claim in for a new item---if you don't, they will adjust and it's not good.

Sounds like a lot of scam to me. They ask you the value ahead of time and charge you accordingly then the package isn't delivered. That should be the end of the story.

It shouldn't even matter what the item was. It's gone now. Pay up the agreed upon amount and shut up.

JC

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

JC said:
Sounds like a lot of scam to me. They ask you the value ahead of time and charge you accordingly then the package isn't delivered. That should be the end of the story.

It shouldn't even matter what the item was. It's gone now. Pay up the agreed upon amount and shut up.

JC

On the surface it would sure seem like it but actually the insurance policy is specifically for the value of the item, and is capped at the amount of the insurance that you bought in the case where the item is more valuable than you insured it for. It isn't their fault if you bought more insurance than you needed, and you can't expect them to pay for more than you contractually agreed upon with each other and what you contractually agreed upon was the real value of the item.

What does however sound like a scam for sure though is lying and saying an item was new when it really wasn't, or forging a receipt as the poster was telling people to do.

cuesblues · Jun 23, 2017

Maybe it will turn up, I will definitely look for it
This has happened to others that I know, and it is actually my biggest fear about shipping cues.
I'm starting to think that UPS is the way to go:

$100-600 UPS Ground
$601-1600 UPS 2-day Blue Label
$1601 & up UPS Overnight Red Label

Just a thought if this continues with USPS

poolguy4u · Jun 23, 2017

Poolplaya9 said:
On the surface it would sure seem like it but actually the insurance policy is specifically for the value of the item, and is capped at the amount of the insurance that you bought in the case where the item is more valuable than you insured it for. It isn't their fault if you bought more insurance than you needed, and you can't expect them to pay for more than you contractually agreed upon with each other and what you contractually agreed upon was the real value of the item.

What does however sound like a scam for sure though is lying and saying an item was new when it really wasn't, or forging a receipt as the poster was telling people to do.

:rotflmao1:

Yeah...I pay for insurance on thousands of packages and only make one claim.

And you want to say I'm scamming USPS.

Hey, do it your way then go on Facebook and cry that USPS won't pay.

.

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

poolguy4u said:
:rotflmao1:

Yeah...I pay for insurance on thousands of packages and only make one claim.

And you want to say I'm scamming USPS.

Hey, do it your way then go on Facebook and cry that USPS won't pay.

Doing lots of business gives you the right to fraudulently scam them out of money which is called theft? Well I do a lot of business with Walmart, guess that gives me the right to steal from them every so often too right? At least own it and be honest about it if you are going to do it. It is theft, plain and simple.

poolguy4u · Jun 23, 2017

Poolplaya9 said:
Doing lots of business gives you the right to fraudulently scam them out of money which is called theft? Well I do a lot of business with Walmart, guess that gives me the right to steal from them every so often too right? At least own it and be honest about it if you are going to do it. It is theft, plain and simple.

:scratchhead:

Well if you ship a forty year collectable cue which cost $59 brand new but is now worth $1,000....how much would you insure it for?

You'd need to make up a new receipt or prove it's worth $1,000 somehow.

Good luck collecting if USPS losses the cue and you had it insured for $1,000.

You will not collect a dime because you were honest...LOL

Never mind...I forgot you were a big Walmart shopper.

:wave2:

.

alstl · Jun 23, 2017

poolguy4u said:
.

Only one package was lost and I have shipped thousands.

Filing a claim was easy for me...you really need a receipt for the item or a credit card bill showing what you paid. ....Now if the item was used, they will adjust for that.

When filing a claim, always say the item was new and provide a receipt.
It's not hard to make up a receipt showing how much you paid and a date when the item was bought.

When a pool cue was shipped, the post office knows nothing about what kind of cue it was until you file a claim. .....The receipt of what you paid is important...or credit card bill. .....Just put a claim in for a new item---if you don't, they will adjust and it's not good.

.

No offense intended but that is extremely poor advice.

mchnhed · Jun 23, 2017

USPS Just Delivered

USPS just delivered my Schon Cue.

I found it just laying on my front porch in North Hollywood, LA LA Land!

Poolplaya9 · Jun 23, 2017

poolguy4u said:
Well if you ship a forty year collectable cue which cost $59 brand new but is now worth $1,000....how much would you insure it for?

You'd need to make up a new receipt or prove it's worth $1,000 somehow.

Good luck collecting if USPS losses the cue and you had it insured for $1,000.

You will not collect a dime because you were honest...LOL

If the policy pays what it is currently worth, and it is currently worth $1000, then I insure it for $1,000.

You obviously don't know a thing about insurance. If the insurance policy is to pay for what an item is currently worth, they don't really care what you paid for it so the receipt is probably meaningless for an old or used item. They are going to determine the current value using another method since it is probably different than what you paid for it due to age and use etc.

Regardless though, if an insurance policy requires a receipt for the item, and you know you don't have one, then you shouldn't take out that policy to begin with. You are entering that policy to scam and steal right from the very first moment because you know full well that you can't honor your end of the contractual obligation. You don't enter into contracts you can't honor, period. What's so hard to understand about that?

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