Shipping Insurance

[MacCali]

Good day everyone, I wanted to ask and also reached out to Amir about this. I am going to be purchasing some speakers and shipping them out to my home, they are coming direct from a consumer so they did not have the boxes to ship and did not want to ship. I do not think I will have issues shipping them out with regular fedex or UPS, as I know some speakers must be shipped by freight.

I was curious if anyone had experience with this, and how to insure the package in case it is lost or damaged. Does one company have better insurance that is not going to bs if things go south? I have heard third party insurance is always another route to take and more dependable. Would really appreciate your feedback on what is the best way to handle this.

Also unsure if they go off of the MSRP or the purchase price I paid when a claim is filed. Clearly we hope this wont happen, but I would like to protect my money just in case as this is an overall investment of a lot of things

*Also not sure if this is the right section to post this, but I figured it would be
Edit: I did check out Uship, which was linked on another post about shipping speakers and it seems to be more expensive than what both UPS and FedEx quoted me

 

[lherrm]

I have no answer to your questions but would just like to thank you for your effort in providing items to amir.

 

[charleski]

they are coming direct from a consumer so they did not have the boxes to ship and did not want to ship

This is what would worry me the most. Almost all shipping insurance comes with a get-out clause if the item isn’t properly packed. It might be worth looking for a courier that will box the speakers up for you, though they will charge a lot for the extra service.

 

[Chrispy]

As a freight forwarder/broker we used to sell cargo/marine insurance with the freight we were hired to transport. Most carriers have something available directly as well (we would never buy their insurance, as we had lower costs on our own). Packing in this sort of situation would probably be even more important so you hopefully don't need to file an insurance claim at all. I would think as individuals would at least be easiest to cover it thru the service you hire for transport. It wouldn't hurt to call your usual insurance agent, some do lots of different types.

Keep in mind most insurance companies will make you jump thru some hoops in general (they like to keep their money for the most part) and they'll generally work off an actual transaction value with additional costs for packing/transport/insurance in mind, well documented would be better, usually they used the invoice or transaction value as a basis. I've been out of the game for a while and not sure what you can do for yourself on the net....

I wouldn't probably buy speakers without their original shipping boxes, tho, and possibly some would want extra packaging for further protection depending what the original packaging was. It can definitely matter for the insurance claim if proper packing wasn't arranged.

 

[MacCali]

Well so far I got two choices, I got a larger box which is 48 ect double wall construction and I also keep most my boxes from speakers. These speakers will fit right into the A190 box perfectly.

Second I got foam which will cover the top and bottom plus the speakers edges and I will be packing that all surrounded by packing peanuts.

I honestly don’t think anything will get damaged at all. It’s going to be 360 degrees covered by foam. My only concern is getting lost and I had it happen with fed ex and crutch field

 

[muslhead]

i have experience, including taking ups to court (and winning) for the damage of a pair of $5k speakers i shipped with "insurance".
You are incorrect, it is not insurance (at least in the case of ups). They want you to believe its insurance, when in fact if you look closely it is "declared value". I will let the attorneys on this board chime in and explain the difference, i am not one and know better than to attempt to detail the differences. All i know is my experience and what i learned along the legal journey i took with UPS (which some may say is more valuable than being an attorney)
Additionally, if you do not follow their instructions implicitly wrt to the requirements for coverage, the "insurance" you thought you purchased is not valid and provides them many outs to deny coverage/payments. This is in spite of paying for it. Instead, just think of the fees as a donation to their bottom line.
For the most part, anything under $1k is not an issue. You will have to fight to get payment (they stall in hopes you give up ---- most do), but they will eventually relent. The reason for the $1k limit is they farm those claims off to a 3rd party (in spite of them stating they are from UPS - they are not) and give them responsibility for their management.
Above $1k it goes back to UPS.
My most recent experience was back in 2020 so the actual limits i stated above may have changed.
Even though i won my court case, UPS did not pay. I eventually, after way too much effort and time, collected not only the full settlement but 10% (per annum) on the amount owed.

PS (OP) - i shipped my speakers in the original boxes with foam and all the things you state. They still got damaged. If you want to live in the world of make believe, feel free. Most anything can be damaged no matter what you think - just ask Mr Murphey of Murpheys law

 

[MacCali]

i have experience, including taking ups to court (and winning) for the damage of a pair of $5k speakers i shipped with "insurance".
You are incorrect, it is not insurance (at least in the case of ups). They want you to believe its insurance, when in fact if you look closely it is "declared value". I will let the attorneys on this board chime in and explain the difference, i am not one and know better than to attempt to detail the differences. All i know is my experience and what i learned along the legal journey i took with UPS (which some may say is more valuable than being an attorney)
Additionally, if you do not follow their instructions implicitly wrt to the requirements for coverage, the "insurance" you thought you purchased is not valid and provides them many outs to deny coverage/payments. This is in spite of paying for it. Instead, just think of the fees as a donation to their bottom line.
For the most part, anything under $1k is not an issue. You will have to fight to get payment (they stall in hopes you give up ---- most do), but they will eventually relent. The reason for the $1k limit is they farm those claims off to a 3rd party (in spite of them stating they are from UPS - they are not) and give them responsibility for their management.
Above $1k it goes back to UPS.
My most recent experience was back in 2020 so the actual limits i stated above may have changed.
Even though i won my court case, UPS did not pay. I eventually, after way too much effort and time, collected not only the full settlement but 10% (per annum) on the amount owed.

PS (OP) - i shipped my speakers in the original boxes with foam and all the things you state. They still got damaged. If you want to live in the world of make believe, feel free. Most anything can be damaged no matter what you think - just ask Mr Murphey of Murpheys law

Never say never right. I’m just trying to do my best to avoid that from happening. Well since each speaker is being shipped individually the cost will be less than 1k when split.

I think my only hope is to get third party insurance as well just in case. I will do my research. Was hoping someone had some advice on that

 

[Dunring]

I've shipped electronics for years and it's all in reading the fine print, like ups requires 2 inches of foam on all sides to honor a claim. Also most will need to have it sent to them, then you need an quote from an authorized dealer for repair, it's all about reading the fine print ahead of time. They all make it so you have to pack so it can't be damaged short of a 6ft drop.

 

[MacCali]

I've shipped electronics for years and it's all in reading the fine print, like ups requires 2 inches of foam on all sides to honor a claim. Also most will need to have it sent to them, then you need an quote from an authorized dealer for repair, it's all about reading the fine print ahead of time. They all make it so you have to pack so it can't be damaged short of a 6ft drop.

Well I’ve seen what tmr and highendaudioauctions do they use this almost like filler foam which will cover the entire electronic.

Idk what that is unless it’s just the typical crack filler which expands I’ll do that if it’s viable.

Even though anything is possible getting lost is my only concern. I can also double box it.

I’m just saying these boxes I got are not for speakers and no one will ever use them for speakers anyway.

 

[Dj7675]

Good day everyone, I wanted to ask and also reached out to Amir about this. I am going to be purchasing some speakers and shipping them out to my home, they are coming direct from a consumer so they did not have the boxes to ship and did not want to ship. I do not think I will have issues shipping them out with regular fedex or UPS, as I know some speakers must be shipped by freight.

I was curious if anyone had experience with this, and how to insure the package in case it is lost or damaged. Does one company have better insurance that is not going to bs if things go south? I have heard third party insurance is always another route to take and more dependable. Would really appreciate your feedback on what is the best way to handle this.

Also unsure if they go off of the MSRP or the purchase price I paid when a claim is filed. Clearly we hope this wont happen, but I would like to protect my money just in case as this is an overall investment of a lot of things

*Also not sure if this is the right section to post this, but I figured it would be
Edit: I did check out Uship, which was linked on another post about shipping speakers and it seems to be more expensive than what both UPS and FedEx quoted me

Shipping insurance can be difficult to collect. In my experience, Fedex is extremely difficult to collect unless they loose the package. UPS is better but can be difficult and can take patience and persistence. For speakers I have had very good luck with a service called USHIP. You create an account, provide the number of packages and weight and independent drivers bid on your shipment. They even have a service where the item is not in a box and called blanket service I believe. I shipped 2 pairs of large speakers this way and had no damage at all and both drivers have been really good. It is more expensive but depending on the cost of the speakers and the quality of packaging it can work well in some cases. If speakers are in original packaging and packaging is of high quality, UPS or Fedex can work fine. But I have found Fedex Ground to be more likely to get lost or damaged.

 

[MacCali]

Shipping insurance can be difficult to collect. In my experience, Fedex is extremely difficult to collect unless they loose the package. UPS is better but can be difficult and can take patience and persistence. For speakers I have had very good luck with a service called USHIP. You create an account, provide the number of packages and weight and independent drivers bid on your shipment. They even have a service where the item is not in a box and called blanket service I believe. I shipped 2 pairs of large speakers this way and had no damage at all and both drivers have been really good. It is more expensive but depending on the cost of the speakers and the quality of packaging it can work well in some cases. If speakers are in original packaging and packaging is of high quality, UPS or Fedex can work fine. But I have found Fedex Ground to be more likely to get lost or damaged.

On my first post I mentioned checking that, they are asking for 500 and 16+ days on delivery. Honestly not sure how LTL is going to deliver on my street it’s a culdesac and nearest truck route is a mile away

Second right now they are saying they can’t guarantee pick up times and I’ll only be there for 3 days, so idk didn’t seem cost effective and everything else like 700

So far fedex and ups both said 180 per package

Does uship insure?

**Also if they fail to pick up on time there’s no refunds, listed as a warning on the website

 

[Dj7675]

On my first post I mentioned checking that, they are asking for 500 and 16+ days on delivery. Honestly not sure how LTL is going to deliver on my street it’s a culdesac and nearest truck route is a mile away

Second right now they are saying they can’t guarantee pick up times and I’ll only be there for 3 days, so idk didn’t seem cost effective and everything else like 700

So far fedex and ups both said 180 per package

Does uship insure?

USHIP, you can insure. Once you post the job you have to wait for individual drivers to bid on it. It is a negotiation. You will generally get several “bids” on the job and you will have the opportunity to counterofffer. My experience is it is best to have the job up for a couple of weeks to have enough time to get a few bids. The drivers will generally make a shipment part of a larger delivery to a state or region. So if it has to be soon it generally doesn’t work very well, or if it has to be on an exact date it might be hard to locate a driver. But I do believe the odds of it arriving safely are exponentially higher than UPS/Fedex.

 

[Chrispy]

Curious, where are you and the speakers now vs your home you're shipping it to?

 

[MacCali]

Curious, where are you and the speakers now vs your home you're shipping it to?

Speakers are in jersey and I’m going to be in NY and they going to Cali

 

[Chrispy]

Speakers are in jersey and I’m going to be in NY and they going to Cali

And you can take your boxes and do packing on this trip?

 

[MacCali]

And you can take your boxes and do packing on this trip?

I got boxes ready for pick up as we speak and I am going to special cargo my speaker boxes cause ironically shipping empty or full boxes of that size are fairly close in price just because of volume

So I will have a total of 6 boxes with me lol

I could technically triple box it and do everything else I said. The speaker boxs are smaller than the heavy duty one

 

[Chrispy]

I got boxes ready for pick up as we speak and I am going to special cargo my speaker boxes cause ironically shipping empty or full boxes of that size are fairly close in price just because of volume

So I will have a total of 6 boxes with me lol

I could technically triple box it and do everything else I said. The speaker boxs are smaller than the heavy duty one

"special cargo"? Yes, shipping costs are on a volume or actual weight basis depending on the carrier's tariff, high volume low weight stuff usually goes on volume....you going to palletize this set?

 

[MacCali]

"special cargo"? Yes, shipping costs are on a volume or actual weight basis depending on the carrier's tariff, high volume low weight stuff usually goes on volume....you going to palletize this set?

Nope I think that will be more and be considered freight. Nor do I have a pallet, my A190’s came on pallet, but I chucked it.

I mean like I said the big boxes have a 48 lb edge crush, the speakers are 50. It’s double wall so it’s two levels of corrugation and are made to hold 200 lbs of whatever. Next one up was 72 lbs I believe but almost triple the price

I’ve never had any speaker sent with a double wall box.

I just don’t want it to get lost is all the protection is useless at that point

 

[Chrispy]

Nope I think that will be more and be considered freight. Nor do I have a pallet, my A190’s came on pallet, but I chucked it.

I mean like I said the big boxes have a 48 lb edge crush, the speakers are 50. It’s double wall so it’s two levels of corrugation and are made to hold 200 lbs of whatever. Next one up was 72 lbs I believe but almost triple the price

I’ve never had any speaker sent with a double wall box.

I just don’t want it to get lost is all the protection is useless at that point

I wouldn't worry about outright loss generally, except maybe for porch pirates. Good luck!

 

[Chrispy]

i have experience, including taking ups to court (and winning) for the damage of a pair of $5k speakers i shipped with "insurance".
You are incorrect, it is not insurance (at least in the case of ups). They want you to believe its insurance, when in fact if you look closely it is "declared value". I will let the attorneys on this board chime in and explain the difference, i am not one and know better than to attempt to detail the differences. All i know is my experience and what i learned along the legal journey i took with UPS (which some may say is more valuable than being an attorney)
Additionally, if you do not follow their instructions implicitly wrt to the requirements for coverage, the "insurance" you thought you purchased is not valid and provides them many outs to deny coverage/payments. This is in spite of paying for it. Instead, just think of the fees as a donation to their bottom line.
For the most part, anything under $1k is not an issue. You will have to fight to get payment (they stall in hopes you give up ---- most do), but they will eventually relent. The reason for the $1k limit is they farm those claims off to a 3rd party (in spite of them stating they are from UPS - they are not) and give them responsibility for their management.
Above $1k it goes back to UPS.
My most recent experience was back in 2020 so the actual limits i stated above may have changed.
Even though i won my court case, UPS did not pay. I eventually, after way too much effort and time, collected not only the full settlement but 10% (per annum) on the amount owed.

PS (OP) - i shipped my speakers in the original boxes with foam and all the things you state. They still got damaged. If you want to live in the world of make believe, feel free. Most anything can be damaged no matter what you think - just ask Mr Murphey of Murpheys law

Yes declared valuation and insurance are different things, but some carriers will not be clear on this....