carlsbad
Lions don't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep.
I have a lot of experience shipping. I can say that I've shipped over 20,000 usps packages personally without a lost package domestically. I toyed with selling to Europe and about 1/3 of the packages went missing at customs so I quit. (this was not firearms related so no ITAR ).
I used to have an ebay business that was high volume with very picky buyers. Never lost an item but I did get a few items chipped during shipping and had to replace them. I learned a lot about packaging and shipping. Here are my tips (applicable any year).
1. Print out a barcoded address label. I use paypal shipping because they give a little discount. You can also use usps.com or stamps.com. Poor addressing, either illegible or water soluble, is responsible for a lot of lost packages. I print my labels on plain paper and cover them completely with clear packing tape to make them waterproof.
2. Use a lot of tape. Except on really heavy things I use clear packing tape. I tape every joint. I cover the mailing label. I double thickness on stress areas. For example small flat rate boxes, the little tabs that hold it together when you assemble need taping. I've received packages open there that a bolt could have fallen out. I like to say , "Tape is your best insurance." For heavy items I supplement with fiberglass reinforced tape.
3. For heavy items, double box and/or solidly pack to make sure there is no room for the heavy item to move. For example, if a barrel can slide 4" in it's package, that is an 8 lb slide hammer and will hammer the end out of the package. I've received barrels hanging out the end. Fortunately the end gets cut off. But if the barrel had come clear out I would have received an empty package. Bullets also have to be dense packed. I can't emphasize how important this is. If possible ship in Flat rate box so you aren't charged extra for all the shipping material and then cram newspaper or other shipping material in until it is jammed full. DO NOT use bubble wrap or peanuts with heavy items. they will pop or crush and then the item will start moving around and break the box. I received a medium flat rate box with 10 boxes of 100 bergers thrown into it loosely, except it was torn open and there were only 5. The insurance claim took months and they held the 5 boxes as evidence while they investigated. I ended up buying another 1000 bullets to shoot in the mean time. More on insurance next.
4. Insurance Policies --I don't recommend USPS insurance unless you need it to sleep at night. It is overpriced for 3 reasons: 1. Fraud. I won't post how people defraud the USPS but they do. 2. poor shipping methods. In the box of bullets above, the USPS paid for half the bullets although it was clearly the fault of the shipper. They also have to pay for a lot of fragile things that were poorly packed or shouldn't have been shipped in the first place. 3. Govt inefficiency. I've calculated that they would have to lose every 10th package to make insurance cost effective and that doesn't take into account the hours you spend collecting it. If you time is worth money, then insurance is never worth it. Now the previous business I mentioned above was a coin business.
Many people in the coin business feel that insuring a package, especially a small package, and putting the "INSURED" stamp on it, is just like writing "steal me" on the package. Expensive coins have traditionally been shipped vis registered mail. To ship registered mail you have to tape every joint on the box with brown paper tape, often for small boxes 100% of the box is taped. You have to ship in person and the clerk will then stamp every joint or seam on the tape with his seal. Then supposedly the registered package is signed for by a postal representative at each location and supposedly kept in a locked area each night. It costs about $12 in addition to postage but downside is, there is no tracking with registered mail and it is slow. But back to insurance. If you can afford to pay for the item you are shipping, then don't insure and be prepared to pay in the unlikely event it is lost. I had 2 bolts go missing recently for a month. I was prepared to pay. I figured it would have cost me $400. But I figure I've pocketed thousands of dollars for insurance I didn't buy. They showed up eventually. If you follow 1 through 3 above, they will almost never get lost. Remember what I said in the first sentence, if you need insurance to sleep at night, then go ahead and buy it. Good sleep is priceless.
I have a lot of guys holding up shipping me bolts right now because the USPS is so jammed up. Good plan. If you don't need to ship right now, I'd wait until things get back to normal.
Jerry
I used to have an ebay business that was high volume with very picky buyers. Never lost an item but I did get a few items chipped during shipping and had to replace them. I learned a lot about packaging and shipping. Here are my tips (applicable any year).
1. Print out a barcoded address label. I use paypal shipping because they give a little discount. You can also use usps.com or stamps.com. Poor addressing, either illegible or water soluble, is responsible for a lot of lost packages. I print my labels on plain paper and cover them completely with clear packing tape to make them waterproof.
2. Use a lot of tape. Except on really heavy things I use clear packing tape. I tape every joint. I cover the mailing label. I double thickness on stress areas. For example small flat rate boxes, the little tabs that hold it together when you assemble need taping. I've received packages open there that a bolt could have fallen out. I like to say , "Tape is your best insurance." For heavy items I supplement with fiberglass reinforced tape.
3. For heavy items, double box and/or solidly pack to make sure there is no room for the heavy item to move. For example, if a barrel can slide 4" in it's package, that is an 8 lb slide hammer and will hammer the end out of the package. I've received barrels hanging out the end. Fortunately the end gets cut off. But if the barrel had come clear out I would have received an empty package. Bullets also have to be dense packed. I can't emphasize how important this is. If possible ship in Flat rate box so you aren't charged extra for all the shipping material and then cram newspaper or other shipping material in until it is jammed full. DO NOT use bubble wrap or peanuts with heavy items. they will pop or crush and then the item will start moving around and break the box. I received a medium flat rate box with 10 boxes of 100 bergers thrown into it loosely, except it was torn open and there were only 5. The insurance claim took months and they held the 5 boxes as evidence while they investigated. I ended up buying another 1000 bullets to shoot in the mean time. More on insurance next.
4. Insurance Policies --I don't recommend USPS insurance unless you need it to sleep at night. It is overpriced for 3 reasons: 1. Fraud. I won't post how people defraud the USPS but they do. 2. poor shipping methods. In the box of bullets above, the USPS paid for half the bullets although it was clearly the fault of the shipper. They also have to pay for a lot of fragile things that were poorly packed or shouldn't have been shipped in the first place. 3. Govt inefficiency. I've calculated that they would have to lose every 10th package to make insurance cost effective and that doesn't take into account the hours you spend collecting it. If you time is worth money, then insurance is never worth it. Now the previous business I mentioned above was a coin business.
Many people in the coin business feel that insuring a package, especially a small package, and putting the "INSURED" stamp on it, is just like writing "steal me" on the package. Expensive coins have traditionally been shipped vis registered mail. To ship registered mail you have to tape every joint on the box with brown paper tape, often for small boxes 100% of the box is taped. You have to ship in person and the clerk will then stamp every joint or seam on the tape with his seal. Then supposedly the registered package is signed for by a postal representative at each location and supposedly kept in a locked area each night. It costs about $12 in addition to postage but downside is, there is no tracking with registered mail and it is slow. But back to insurance. If you can afford to pay for the item you are shipping, then don't insure and be prepared to pay in the unlikely event it is lost. I had 2 bolts go missing recently for a month. I was prepared to pay. I figured it would have cost me $400. But I figure I've pocketed thousands of dollars for insurance I didn't buy. They showed up eventually. If you follow 1 through 3 above, they will almost never get lost. Remember what I said in the first sentence, if you need insurance to sleep at night, then go ahead and buy it. Good sleep is priceless.
I have a lot of guys holding up shipping me bolts right now because the USPS is so jammed up. Good plan. If you don't need to ship right now, I'd wait until things get back to normal.
Jerry
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