UPS vs. FedEx

[peterdryan]

All -

This posting addresses questions that BobZ asked in a different thread but those same questions come up periodically from various people so I thought I would post the answer as a separate thread.

Essentially, the question is usually something similar to the following:

UPS (or FedEx) will only insure vintage guitars for up to $150 USD

Personally, I couldn't believe that to be true so I called both UPS and FedEx asking about shipping a vintage guitar and found out a few things.

UPS will insure a vintage guitar for any amount.

OK, that was fairly easy and straight forward.

FedEx, on the other hand, surprised me.

In the first place, FedEx does not insure the packages they ship. At all. Period.

If you want to insure a package shipped via FedEx, you must obtain the insurance from a third party source.

I asked FedEx for the names of some companies that would provide insurance for packages shipped by them and was told they didn't have that information.

Now, things get even more complex with FedEx.

If you are shipping within the USA, the maximum "declared value" for a package depends upon the method of transportation.

That is, whether your package is shipped by Ground or by Air.

For shipping within the USA, the maximum declared values for a package are:

Ground - $100
Air - $500

The "declared value" is what your insurance company (not FedEx) will reimburse you should FedEx lose or destroy your package.

If, however, you are shipping internationally from the USA, there are two (2) values to be concerned with:

1) the Carriage value
2) the Customs value

The "Carriage value" is the same thing as the "declared value".  I have no clue why they call it something different when shipping internationally.

The maximum "Carriage value" for a package depends upon the destination country.

Since BobZ was asking about shipping to France, I asked about France as the destination.

I was told that for shipping a vintage guitar from the USA to Paris, France, the maximum Carriage value for that package is $50,000 USD

Again, the "Carriage value" is what your insurance company (not FedEx) will reimburse you should FedEx lose or destroy your package.

The "Customs value" is the amount various regulatory agencies will use to determine Customs duties, taxes, fees, etc on your package.

These values will vary based upon the destination country.

I hope this helps to clear up this urban legend once and for all.

- Pete

EDIT: fixed some spelling errors

[peterdryan]

A follow up:

If you go to some packaging store to have your guitar shipped via FedEx, the people there should be able to provide the third party insurance necessary to cover your guitar when shipped via FedEx.

[bobzilla]

Pete.......
awesome dude.
Thanx.

My bud who's worked for Fedex since Flying Tigers days says...
"don't use Fedex."

Says an envelope shipped via fedex is $40, same envelope shipped by USPS is $6.
And... both go on the same plane for delivery.

While this is off-topuic a bit from what Pete posted above, I figured I would post it.

I have a feeling that what Pete posted above will come in very handy over the years.

and.... the "will only insure for $150" turned out to be off-the-mark but you can still see that there was a reason for the origin of that mis-information.

Pretty lame that Fedex can't even give you a third-party insurer name.
That's awfully bizarre to me.

[dave_g]

Pete......Great info dude......regardless of the insurance, fedex will not even investigate claims of concealed damage

[bobzilla]

This (from Pete's post above) appears to be the reason for the 4150 mis-info...

"For shipping within the USA, the maximum declared values for a package are:

Ground - $100"

[bobzilla]

That's "$150"  not "4150" ....typo above.

[wakuhn1]

Wow, great info, THANKS!
Bill