I would think that the many receipts and invoices you have would provide a basis for the worth of the sheaths.
Out of pure curiosity, and I really don't know the answer myself, how can the USPS refuse to pay out on insured items if they do not require proof of worth at the point of acceptance? As far as I can tell it's a gamble that they usually win on. If I tell them what's inside is worth $1000 and they lose it, they owe me a $1000. Once I give it to them it's in their hands, I have no further control.
I would agree. Their value is easily determined by documented communication between you and the buyer(s), past receipts, website info, etc. That's what other insurance companies use to determine the value of a shipped item. That you make it yourself sounds like a bogus argument. It's proving its value that matters, to back up the insurance you bought (if you had bought it), and that is easily done. What the PM is telling you is the kind of B.S. that makes dealing with them a hassle when one has a legitimate claim. It's one reason not to rely on USPS insurance. If, for example, you had insured the box, and pressed the issue with them, maybe even begun legal recourse, they would probably the offer to settle with you for less than the insured value. As far as "how can they refuse to pay?" Hey, it happens all the time in the private insurance sphere and the credit markets, I don't think gov agencies are require to act much differently. Take health insurance or property insurance companies, for example. They routinely decline to pay what they should, fight it all the way, sometimes don't pay until you spend hundreds taking them to court, and even then will try to settle with you for less. It's part of the insurance business, and you only avoid it by picking really good insurance companies to deal with--the ones that get the highest customer satisfaction marks. I don't think there's anything that requires the USPS to treat their customers differently than the private sector does.
Question: why is USPS so popular with the HOG family? Seems to be the preferred carrier for the company store, trades, etc. Personally, I think USPS sucks, for many of the reasons listed above. Are the other carriers just too expensive? I have never had UPS or FedEx lose a package on me....
Actually, according to statistics, USPS has a much lower loss percentage than either FedEx or UPS. USPS is also cheaper for most things than either of the private carriers. The 2 big private carriers don't deal any better with their customers than USPS does. Try waiting on the phone forever, getting transferred around, talking to the wrong people, and then nothing happens anyways. The exception is if you are a business customer. Both of the two big private carriers treat their business customers much better than their regular customers. They prioritize that side of their business. So, if you have a business account with either one, you would get much better service than with USPS. But your package is still more likely to be lost by them than with the USPS.
Of course, the odds of loss can be reduced by the type of service you use. That's with any carrier. High end jewelry stores use USPS Registered Mail to ship very high dollar merchandise around the country, because it's the most secure service available from any carrier. It gets put in a vault when you drop it off (every post office has a safe), can only be "signed out" when it is moved, gets stored in a safe at any stop-off location, and is always under the direct responsibility of a postal employee, who is known by who signed out the package last, and is personally liable for its loss. I would venture to say the service may be even more secure than a personal courier with the briefcase cuffed to his wrist.
Using any service from any carrier that requires a signature at the other end, as opposed to just being able to leave the package somewhere, reduces the odds of loss. Putting any kind of tracking on it does as well. In fact, just knowing how the USPS computers read address labels, and printing clearly in the format the computer most easily reads, improves chances of successful delivery as well.
Ultimately though, I have found it cheaper to self-insure. Blanket policies are cheap, and easily pay for themselves once you no longer need to spring for insurance on mailed items through the carriers themselves. For a non-replaceable heirloom type of item though, I would use Registered Mail, just because it's the least likely to go lost or otherwise missing. Oh yeah, and you get better rates through UPS or FedEx with a business account, so if you insist on paying more for the private service, you can still save a little by opening an account under your business. USPS is cheaper though, even if you use a biz account with the privates.
