USPS Fiasco

[Lakeman]

Last winter I noticed a .40 flintlock on the For Sale forum that really caught my eye. I'm getting old and have a bum shoulder so a .40 sounded like a good idea. I contacted the owner and we agreed on a trade, his .40 for my Centermark Fusil de Chasse. I packed up the FdC and used USPS Click-N-Ship to create a label for Priority Mail and insured it for $1,300.00. On Feb. 23rd I handed the package to a clerk at our local post office. It should arrive at its new home in the Adirondack Mountains of NY in about 4 days. My new rifle, shipped via UPS, arrived promptly and in great shape. USPS tracking indicated the FdC cleared the San Antonio, TX regional center. Then it disappeared. Days, and then weeks, went by without further scans showing up on tracking. I initiated an inquiry with USPS. No result. My new friend in NY was very understanding and patient. After the required amount of time had passed I filed an insurance claim for $1,300.00. Then things got interesting. The USPS denied the claim saying I failed to provide adequate "Proof of Value". I had provided a link to a French smoothbore for sale by Track of the Wolf. Not sufficient. I appealed and got a letter of appraisal from H. Dykes Reber at The Muzzleloader Shop, Ltd. in Arkansas. Again, the USPS denied the claim based on inadequate proof of value. Would the USPS continue to flatly deny the claim on a package they LOST? Or were they planning to settle for a lesser amount? Luckily, we didn't have to find out. On May 3rd, more than two months after I handed the package to the clerk in Texas, it arrived at the post office in Johnstown, NY. The FdC was undamaged.

To say this was a learning experience is an understatement. How does anyone establish irrefutable proof of value on a hand-made muzzleloader, especially in a straight trade transaction? Should we both have paid dealers to sell the other party our gun for us so we would each have had a receipt? According to the USPS, a sales receipt would have been proof of value. Or would they have found another excuse to deny the claim? Be very careful, my friends.
John

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Same deal here, they lost over $1000 worth of barrels and wood and wouldn't pay me for it. There is no reason to pay for insurance, they won't pay it anyway.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

You can get an appraisal for anything and it would probably be a good idea to get one of any valuable gun before you ship it. Then you would have something to stand on if it disappeared.

 

[leadhoarder]

Why does the value matter. You paid to insure it for a certain amount not what it would appraise for.

 

[64Springer]

Why does the value matter. You paid to insure it for a certain amount not what it would appraise for.

If someone insured a Traditions Kentuckyish for 6,000 bucks should the USPS pay out on a 425 dollar rifle.

I have zero love for the USPS but they have rules for a reason.

 

[leadhoarder]

Well it would be the postal service that lost it and it is not like the customer did not pay for the additional insurance. It is not like it is insured for any amount and they are trying to pull one over on the postal service.

Many things are worth more to me than their value to others.

 

[jdw276]

I have a lyman lefty flinter I have named Patience. USPS lost it for 3.5 weeks. Just kept telling me it will show up. It did, 3 weeks late.

 

[TDM]

I've been very lucky with shipping, which scares me even more as I know my time is coming. Definitely a manure shoot now.

 

[64Springer]

Well it would be the postal service that lost it and it is not like the customer did not pay for the additional insurance. It is not like it is insured for any amount and they are trying to pull one over on the postal service.

Many things are worth more to me than their value to others.

Don't ship those things through the post office.

 

[PathfinderNC]

How does UPS fare with smaller size packages? I don’t know how often they loose stuff but I have read they destroy a lot.

 

[JEBMs]

Nowhere near as bad as you guys but my wife’s debit card was expiring February 24th and our banker said that she would receive a new one in the mail before that date. On the 23 we went to the bank and they created us one on site (they are not as durable as the one being sent but serviceable) and canceled the one in the mail. We chalked it up as lost and thought no more about it. Last week it showed up, undamaged, post marked February 6 and properly addressed. I went to the counter and asked where it might possibly have been and they did not have a clue. Postal black hole I guess.

 

[TDM]

How does UPS fare with smaller size packages? I don’t know how often they loose stuff but I have read they destroy a lot.

I've heard that too. Sure didn't use to be that way.

 

[Sam squanch]

I have been told that some packages that are suspected to contain firearms are held so the fbi can investigate the person it’s being sent to. Hence the delay.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

That Centermark is sweet!

 

[Tumbledown]

If you had sold it, you would have proof in the exchange of funds. Maybe if someone is doing a trade, they should do a "sale" to each other, just to have a paper trail on values.

 

[erhunter]

That's why the PGC did away with the "pink envelopes" for antlerless hunting licenses this year. USPS wasn't good.

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

Last winter I noticed a .40 flintlock on the For Sale forum that really caught my eye. I'm getting old and have a bum shoulder so a .40 sounded like a good idea. I contacted the owner and we agreed on a trade, his .40 for my Centermark Fusil de Chasse. I packed up the FdC and used USPS Click-N-Ship to create a label for Priority Mail and insured it for $1,300.00. On Feb. 23rd I handed the package to a clerk at our local post office. It should arrive at its new home in the Adirondack Mountains of NY in about 4 days. My new rifle, shipped via UPS, arrived promptly and in great shape. USPS tracking indicated the FdC cleared the San Antonio, TX regional center. Then it disappeared. Days, and then weeks, went by without further scans showing up on tracking. I initiated an inquiry with USPS. No result. My new friend in NY was very understanding and patient. After the required amount of time had passed I filed an insurance claim for $1,300.00. Then things got interesting. The USPS denied the claim saying I failed to provide adequate "Proof of Value". I had provided a link to a French smoothbore for sale by Track of the Wolf. Not sufficient. I appealed and got a letter of appraisal from H. Dykes Reber at The Muzzleloader Shop, Ltd. in Arkansas. Again, the USPS denied the claim based on inadequate proof of value. Would the USPS continue to flatly deny the claim on a package they LOST? Or were they planning to settle for a lesser amount? Luckily, we didn't have to find out. On May 3rd, more than two months after I handed the package to the clerk in Texas, it arrived at the post office in Johnstown, NY. The FdC was undamaged.

To say this was a learning experience is an understatement. How does anyone establish irrefutable proof of value on a hand-made muzzleloader, especially in a straight trade transaction? Should we both have paid dealers to sell the other party our gun for us so we would each have had a receipt? According to the USPS, a sales receipt would have been proof of value. Or would they have found another excuse to deny the claim? Be very careful, my friends.
John

I never buy the insurance anymore from any shipper. They NEVER pay. Also, I only ship FedEx or UPS signature required. May not be better for handling, but at least the package gets there.

 

[Travis186]

I hate to be THAT guy... but I've had nothing but success with USPS for the most part, but you are right... they will not pay an insurance claim. I flat out don't ship a firearm thru them anymore. I'll use shipmygun and just drive into San Antone to a customer service center for UPS.

 

[wojciste]

Bought two Morgan silver $'s from two different sellers on ebay. After 30 days both never arrived. Contacted both seller and eBay and moneys where refunded within 5 days. At least eBay with its buyer protection works. Can't say much for the USPS.

 

[Kap]

How does UPS fare with smaller size packages? I don’t know how often they loose stuff but I have read they destroy a lot.

My medicine came in a small 6"x6"x8" box that was crushed like an accordian to half it's size. Luckily none of the bottles were damaged. When the mailman delivered it he said it looked like a truck ran over it. I took it to the post office to file a complaint and the manager told me they use a third party vendor and I need to file a complaint on line & He would verify the damage and they would refund my shipping costs ?? So hundreds of dollars in medicine can be destroyed and they only cover shipping. What a crock !!