how to ship knives

Joe Calton

Joe Calton

Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
1,079
Hey guys, I was just wondering how everyone ships their knives. Just read a very bad thread about a shipping horror story.

Ive been shipping priority, with insurance coverage a little over what the buyer paid for the knife, say they bought it for $100, so insure it for $125. I sent a package with several to a forum member in hawaii, and when he sent me an email saying that he hadn't recieved it, I entered the number into the usps sytem, and it said package not found. Of course this was after I sent him the number so he would know I sent it. can you track packages sent priority? I was just about to take a pic of the reciept and stub and email him that when I got the email that he had recieved them.

what carrier do you prefer for shipping?
 
priority only offers delivery confirmation, not tracking really. I use it most of the time, with confirmation and insurance. How long since you sent it?
 
I also put what I call "Edge Guard" on my knives when I ship them. It is the 3/8" wide tough plastic channel that your Lenox bandsaw blades come with. I had to order a whole roll of it - 1000 feet - to get it wholesale, but won't have to order again in my lifetime. I am rolling up 20' lengths to take to the Harrisonburg knife show ( in two weeks ) and will sell it to other makers there who want it.
It is far superior to tape for covering the edge while working the handle,too........ as well as providing safer storage in pouches and drawers.
 
Stacy,
I can't be in Harrisonburg for the show. Any chance of ordering it directly from
you? I also do commercial knife sharpening and this product could be a
good plus for my business.

Bill
 
Here are the proper steps for shipping a knife:

1) Write a manifesto outlining all the things about the government that run counter to your interpretations of the intentions of the founding fathers. It's best to write this by hand in ink, but if you must it is okay to use your computer and print out a copy.

2) Loosely wrap the knife with the written/printed manifesto and insert it into a used padded envelope (because recycling is important).

3) Write the address on the envelope. It's also a good idea to put some indication of the contents on the envelope. If you've named the knife "Freedom Fighters Throat Slitter" you might want to use something a little less controversial on the envelope... but that's your call. If there's room, you might consider continuing the manifesto on the envelope.

4) Seal the envelope with LOTS of clear package sealing tape. It's best to seal it properly so that no anthrax could accidentally find its way into the envelope.

5) Buy several books of postage stamps and use at least 10% more than needed to cover the cost of postage. Be sure not to cover the address with postage, as this creates a problem for the post office.

6) Drive at least 75 miles from home and find a postal drop box in the middle of nowhere and drop off the package when nobody is looking.

7) Stop off for a hamburger at the nearest diner, confident that you have done your part to keep America free. This step is, of course, optional, but you do have a long ride home.

- Greg
 
If you have it insured ...look at that insurer number...that is how you can track it.
 
tryppyr said:
Here are the proper steps for shipping a knife:

1) Write a manifesto outlining all the things about the government that run counter to your interpretations of the intentions of the founding fathers. It's best to write this by hand in ink, but if you must it is okay to use your computer and print out a copy.

2) Loosely wrap the knife with the written/printed manifesto and insert it into a used padded envelope (because recycling is important).

3) Write the address on the envelope. It's also a good idea to put some indication of the contents on the envelope. If you've named the knife "Freedom Fighters Throat Slitter" you might want to use something a little less controversial on the envelope... but that's your call. If there's room, you might consider continuing the manifesto on the envelope.

4) Seal the envelope with LOTS of clear package sealing tape. It's best to seal it properly so that no anthrax could accidentally find its way into the envelope.

5) Buy several books of postage stamps and use at least 10% more than needed to cover the cost of postage. Be sure not to cover the address with postage, as this creates a problem for the post office.

6) Drive at least 75 miles from home and find a postal drop box in the middle of nowhere and drop off the package when nobody is looking.

7) Stop off for a hamburger at the nearest diner, confident that you have done your part to keep America free. This step is, of course, optional, but you do have a long ride home.

- Greg
Click to expand...

Wow! That's exactly what I do...:D

Seriously, I ship all my knives USPS and have no problems. Mostly Express over night, but use Priority also. Their tracking seems to be a lot better than it used to be. I have insurance on all my knives 24/7 through Collectors Insurance, so I do not buy postal insurance.
 
I will add a caveat here, based on my recent experiences.....FEDEX is pretty good, but FEDEX GROUND aka FEDEX HOME DELIVERY is not good!

The Ground stuff is outsourced to drivers with vans, NOT FEDEX employees, and as such, at least in my area, they are NOT AS RELIABLE as reg FEDEX, USP and USPS.

Just something to keep in mind...

Bill Flynn
 
I ship almost everything via USPS unless an alternate method is requested.

I like to use three layers of foam....one cut out the shape of the knife with the knife form fit into it and stuffed between the other two pieces.

Also, I don't believe there is any sense in paying for extra insurance on top of the selling price as you won't get it if the item is lost while in the mail system. You have to prove what the item was worth to get your money from USPS and that would be done with the receipt from the payment. No sense paying for more insurance than you can get back.
 
watercrawl is right. You can only get the replacement cost back. If someone insures a $100 knife for $1,000 he will be charged that rate, but if there is a claim, he will only get $100. If the insurer can purchase the same item somewhere else for less ( not usually an issue with a hand made knife), they are only required to pay the value of the lowest cost replacement .

Here is an example of how people don't understand the insurance industry.
Someone buys a ring on ebay for $1000 and gets an inflated appraisal for $5000. They put the ring on their insurance and pay about $11 per $1000 of appraisal. But, when there is a claim for the ring that they insured for $5000 , the company sends the appraisal, to a jeweler who says they can replace it for $2000 ( which they easily can). The owner has the choice to take the $2000, or take the new ring. The %000 is just a fantasy ego trip.
 
Greg,
It's evident you haven't had your coffee yet this morning.:D
tryppyr said:
Here are the proper steps for shipping a knife:

1) Write a manifesto outlining all the things about the government that run counter to your interpretations of the intentions of the founding fathers. It's best to write this by hand in ink, but if you must it is okay to use your computer and print out a copy.

2) Loosely wrap the knife with the written/printed manifesto and insert it into a used padded envelope (because recycling is important).

3) Write the address on the envelope. It's also a good idea to put some indication of the contents on the envelope. If you've named the knife "Freedom Fighters Throat Slitter" you might want to use something a little less controversial on the envelope... but that's your call. If there's room, you might consider continuing the manifesto on the envelope.

4) Seal the envelope with LOTS of clear package sealing tape. It's best to seal it properly so that no anthrax could accidentally find its way into the envelope.

5) Buy several books of postage stamps and use at least 10% more than needed to cover the cost of postage. Be sure not to cover the address with postage, as this creates a problem for the post office.

6) Drive at least 75 miles from home and find a postal drop box in the middle of nowhere and drop off the package when nobody is looking.

7) Stop off for a hamburger at the nearest diner, confident that you have done your part to keep America free. This step is, of course, optional, but you do have a long ride home.

- Greg
Click to expand...
 
What I have found, I ship Priority Mail, before I got delivery confirmation at least one in ten knives took too long (3-4 weeks to get delivered) now with delivery confimation for the last 2 years it takes 3-4 days.

I went online and signed up to ship, you get quite a discount using the online service and all you need is a scale to weight the package, delivery confirmation is free.

Best of all you can enter the buyer email and they will get email update, add your email and you will get updates as well. These are pretty good, comparable to UPS but they send it to your and the buyer.

Just print the postage on plain paper and tape to your box, it will include your address and the ship to address on the label. You dont need to use their box if you dont want to. When it comes time to mail you can hand it to any carrier or take it to the post office and hand it you anyone there, you dont need to stand in line.

The online system will also store all your buyer addresses, pretty good system overall and I have found it to be convient and fast.
 
Patrickknives said:
What I have found, I ship Priority Mail, before I got delivery confirmation at least one in ten knives took too long (3-4 weeks to get delivered) now with delivery confimation for the last 2 years it takes 3-4 days.

I went online and signed up to ship, you get quite a discount using the online service and all you need is a scale to weight the package, delivery confirmation is free.

Best of all you can enter the buyer email and they will get email update, add your email and you will get updates as well. These are pretty good, comparable to UPS but they send it to your and the buyer.

Just print the postage on plain paper and tape to your box, it will include your address and the ship to address on the label. You dont need to use their box if you dont want to. When it comes time to mail you can hand it to any carrier or take it to the post office and hand it you anyone there, you dont need to stand in line.

The online system will also store all your buyer addresses, pretty good system overall and I have found it to be convient and fast.
Click to expand...

Now that is some good info. A set of scales is not all that expensive. I am going to have to get on USPS website and do a little research. I had no idea that you got a discount.

Thanks,

Robert
 
remyrw - he did get them, just took about a week, which i thought was fast to go all the way to hawaii, but he said that it normally takes about 3 days, which just amazes me.

Patrick, I'm going to have to look into that. a discount is always good!!

Greg -- that's great! you would save on bubble wrap that way, as the manefesto would take up alot of paper.....

I usually just use boxes that I get from walmart, and take a copy of the local traders {thrifty nickel type} paper, and wrap the knife in a few sheets and wad the rest up and pack around the knife. seems to work good so far. The reason I was insuring it for extra was to pay for extra postage I would incure having to mail the replacement knife. Not because I was trying to make money off the insurance.
 
Like Patrick, I've also found delivery conformation to speed up the delivery, for Priority.

And like Bill Flynn, I've NO love for FedEx ground.
 
If you are using the USPS and want better handling then registered mail is a good option. With this, everyone who handles the package has to sign for it. It is a bit more expensive but the price does include insurance of any amount. Since all who handle the package must sign for it, they seem to handle it with more care. [All seams of the package must be taped with paper tape so that a stamped seal can be placed on each seam.]

Gary
 
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