FedEx will no longer insure "musical instruments" over $500

[AdamJay]

i hope this doesn't include rack gear.

UPS has a habit of just literally dropping gear on my porch (to the point that even rack gear in 5 inches of bubble wrap gets damaged), thank god the ones they've ruined were insured. So whenever i can i use a different company.

So, do they give you options at the shipping desk for 3rd party insurance?
or is that something you need to procure elsewhere?

[bionicears]

Originally Posted by AdamJay

i hope this doesn't include rack gear....
So, do they give you options at the shipping desk for 3rd party insurance?
or is that something you need to procure elsewhere?

I forgot to ask about other gear. They said they could give me a 1-800 # for an insurance company. I'm going to check with my insurance company and see if my (already insured) gear would be covered in transit. FedEx is going to lose a lot of business. I'm sure they did the cost/benefit--they must have tons of claims.

[AdamJay]

Originally Posted by bionicears

They said they could give me a 1-800 # for an insurance company. I'm going to check with my insurance company and see if my (already insured) gear would be covered in transit.

thats a good idea, i'll call my insurer as well..

what a PITA though, i'm sure they'll need serial #'s and such.
I'm coming from the side of receiving gear that is being shipped FedEX from someone else.. where if it gets screwed up by the time i receive it all i get is a lousy $500 for it.
eBay sellers who offer insured shipping are going to be hating this new policy for sure.

[pan60]

that sucks
i have preferred fed-ex to ups, but now
it sucks that they choose not to handle the packages they are entrusted with a bit better.
my guess is they make more money off crap they can throw around, they don't need to ship musical gear.

[Sounds Great]

Try USPS. I don't know about sending guitars through them, though. They may not do that.

[Ol' Betsey]

Well, when I get stuff shipped over from the US, not guitars but audio equipment, it's normally classed as electronics or audio electronics or something like that.

Can't remember the exact term they use for Tax purposes but it's never 'musical instruments' so I would assume you'd be OK.

I guess it's one of those insurance-type grey areas, huh?

R.

[herrbutzie]

You are all wrong about the conditions for FedEx shipping guitars, the only restrictions is for Instruments that are over 20 years old that is Vintage Guitars

see: http://www.fedex.com/us/service-guid...und/index.html
click on Declared Value and Limits of Liability (Not Insurance Coverage) to see the conditions & what coverage is available

Declared Value & Insurance
FedEx has maximum insured values. Shipments (packages or freight) containing all or part of the following items are limited to a maximum declared value of US$500: We cannot insure beyond these limits. If you wish to insure for higher amounts, we can ship your item via UPS and/or USPS via 3rd party insurance like PIC. Please review the list below of FedEx value limitations


Guitars and other musical instruments that are more than 20 years old, and customized or personalized musical instruments.

[Dean Roddey]

The really stupid thing is, companies like them are already making you pay to insure them against their own failure to deliver your stuff in the condition you gave it to them in.

[Wolf LeProducer]

Originally Posted by AdamJay

i hope this doesn't include rack gear.

UPS has a habit of just literally dropping gear on my porch (to the point that even rack gear in 5 inches of bubble wrap gets damaged), thank god the ones they've ruined were insured. So whenever i can i use a different company.

So, do they give you options at the shipping desk for 3rd party insurance?
or is that something you need to procure elsewhere?

pfft.. you never use the, "i have to sign for this option," when you ship. If you check that option, than... You have to sign for it. Or pick it up yourself

[seen-da-sizer]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Try USPS. I don't know about sending guitars through them, though. They may not do that.

I love USPS!!! They are cheaper, and much more careful with their packages. And they really can use your business. People are just too lazy to use them. Next time you ship something with FedEx or UPS, keep this in mind:








The worst offender is FedEx Ground. They managed to damage every single time, the package I sent/received with them!

[verve92]

Originally Posted by herrbutzie

Guitars and other musical instruments that are more than 20 years old, and customized or personalized musical instruments.

So if it is a stock Les Paul from Sweetwater it is covered?
This is idiotic. This is 2012. Can't they figure this out?

[Thomas W. Bethe]

We are a FEDEX shipper. We very seldom use them for sending equipment. We normally use USPS. The reasons are 1) USPS seems to have less problems damaging gear 2) USPS is usually cheaper 3) The only access we have to UPS is the local UPS store (unless we want to travel 50 miles RT to the UPS center) and the local UPS store charges a premium on everything they do and they also jack up prices on everything from boxes to packing supplies. If it were not for the local college students, who use their services, they would have been out of business years ago.

USPS rules...

As to the insurance. Think about it. If they are going to insure some piece of equipment that is over 20 years old and it gets damaged they cannot easily replace it with something off the shelf and who is making the decision on how much it is worth? Probable scenario...Someone has a guitar that was once in the possession of <insert name of famous rock guitar god> and they have it valued at $5000. The real value is probably more like $1,000 if it had not been touched by <insert name of famous rock guitar god> and it gets damaged in shipment. Now the shipper has to cough up $5K for a $1K guitar. Not a good business model for anyone. I am sure they have been burned a number of times and they just can't do it anymore. I side with the shipper.