A question to you collectible traders

[Grant Young]

I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this as I feel you guys may have more experience with this type of thing than most. As some of you may recall, I started a "crying" thread about one of my bows wrecked in shipping. Woody Blackwell just contacted me after taking the bow  to his local PO to begin a claim process and wasn't very encouraged. The claims agent pointed out the bow wasn't packed well- Woody pointed out it was crushed and torn and packing couldn't have saved the bow. Then he said the bow was unharmed and Woody showed him the damage. Then he asked for an invoive or receipt to determine the bow's value. The bow is thirty-nine years old and no transaction was involved. Of course I have the insurance receipt, the bow has a postmark and btw- the bow was packed with heavily on each end of the substantially heavy box and enclosed in a Black vinyl Super K case that is padded as well. Anybody been through this with trades etc.- what can I expect? Thanks guys,               Grant

[450 marlin]

Grant can you get a written appraisal for the bow? When I had some pottery broken in shipment , they said I needed something showing the value of the items, pictures with prices to verify the value placed on the items. Its a pain...

[Grant Young]

I think Wade Phillips can authenticate the value for me and Bowdoc can invoice the custom work to cover the total. If I hadn't liked the thing so much I wouldn't even bother- what is worse is that I had to get Woody involved and he was just trying to accomodate me....Grant

[wadde]

I had the same problem one time and the PO wanted proof that the bow was worth the insured amount. I made a copy of a page out of the Archers Digest that showed the bow and the price it cost new at the time. The price listed was enough to cover the insured value. The PO paid the claim. They did keep the bow also.

[Blackhawk]

A couple years ago I bought a bow for $600 (cost $1200 new), and it was crushed in shipping. An insurance claim is not sufficient (since you can insure for any amount), so the P.O. allowed my postal money order receipt as evidence as value.

The seller had to file the claim and I had to hand over the bow and packing. I was reimbursed in about 30 days.

[d. ward]

Yap what Lon said and I can provide a copy of the reciept for the 225.00 worth of work I did on your bow...so it would be about coverd pending you have your reciept for th emoney oredr..I can not supply appraisel values anymore to the Post Office with a licens...bd

[PAPALAPIN]

I shipped two crystal bowls to my sister in Louisiana.  When it reacher her they were totally destroyed.  I had insured for $500.00.  UPS returned the package to me to file on the sending end.

I filed a claim which was denied because they were not properly packaged.

I told the UPS (franchise) owner that her employee inspected the package, and sold me the insurance for $500.  He said nothing about the packaging.  I asked her for the name of the UPS official the denied the claim, her name, and the name of the employee that took my money.  She asked why I needed that.  I told her that I needed to know who to name on a small claims court lawsuit.  I got $656 back.  The original shipping charge, the $500 insurance I paid for, and the $100 insurance that comes automatically with the shipping.  I did have to provide a receipt that I did not have.  I went to an antique store and found a matching crystal bowl, explained my problem and they gave me a receipt for two of them, even though I had not bought them there.

UPS and USPS will probably always deny a claim at first.  If you roll over and walk away, you loose.  If you persue it long enough and hard enough, and do your documentation, you should prevail.

[Grant Young]

Thanks guys- I knew there was a world of experience here so there must be some dealing with bad-luck as well. I'm not doing anything else about it 'til after the hog hunt except secure the shipping/insurance documentation I need for the guy in Texas. My clerks here are personal friends and I'm sure they will help as much as possible. Woody B. has already gone above and beyond with this and I don't want to put more on him before the hunt. Tank you all a ton,                                  Grant

[Wade Phillips]

Grant - I'm sure you have photographs of the bow before it was damaged. They will be needed for an accurate appraisal. Let me know when you get back from the hog hunt and we can take care of this.

I've only ever had a couple of items sent to me that were damaged enough to have to file a claim. The PO paid up right away. Every damaged item I have received can be traced directly back to poor packaging. As a guy who has mailed hundreds of items through the mail, I have never sent an item that arrived damaged, although some packages have arrived in severely abused condition.

[Grant Young]

Thanks Wade. The packaging on this bow was sturdier than many I have received but admittedly not as heavy duty as some I have mailed. It is also the only one -going or coming- that was ever damaged though,like you, I've gotten some pretty beat up boxes. This bow was also inside a padded (but soft) case inside a sturdy box but with minimal interior packing due to the bulk of the bow. I'll always wonder if I could have done more to protect short of using something besides a cardboard box. Woody said the box was crushed, bent, and torn as though it had been runover- I assume he meant by a machine. I do have some photos and in spite of woody's experience with claims there in Texas I am confident that some restitution will be made. I'll contact you on my return........Grant