Shipping Diamonds with UPS/Fedex/DHL etc??

[worldtraveller]

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice on my first thread about buying an e-ring.

Can anyone tell me if any parcel companies will ship diamond jewellery and offer adequate insurance? I can only find companies that do max $500 insurance. (Diamond retailers must move them around, but with who!!??)

Any help much appreciated,

WT

 

[Ellen]

You can ship USPS registered and insure up to 25,000.00 I believe.

 

[Skippy123]

The us post office. That is what I used.

 

[Joolskie]

I recently shipped using USPS Registered Mail.

 

[oldminer]

Besides Registered Mail USPS for up to $25K and Express Mail USPS for up to $5K, you can also ship a finished item of jewelry via UPS and insure it for up to $50K. You are not allowed by UPS regulations, their tariff's, to ship unset diamonds. Don't ask why because they cannot or will not tell you. If they xray a box and see a loose diamond they will return the shipment to you with a refusal to transport notice. I have had it happen more than once.

With certain private insurance, which jewelers can purchase, UPS does carry unset gemstones, but offers no insurance coverage of their own.

Fed-Ex has a $500 limit on packages, but this EXCLUDES jewelry and gems. There is no insurance with Fed-Ex unless a jeweler has a private insurance carrier or subscribes to the Fed-Ex DVX programs. No consumers can safely use Fed--Ex for jewelry.

 

[neatfreak]

You could also see if a vendor will ship it for you using their insurance. Most vendors have accounts with fed ex, etc. that allows them to ship jewelry and insure it for more than a consumer could.

 

[sparkles]

neatfreak. Thats a fabulous idea!

 

[worldtraveller]

Thanks guys,

Unfortunately in Europe so cannot use US Postal Service, nor the local postal company.

UPS sent me this reply by email:

JEWELLERY VALUED OVER $500 IS PROHIBITED. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO
COSTUME JEWELLERY ( EG JEWELLERY NOT MADE FROM PRECIOUS METALS OR STONES)

COSTUME JEWELLERY CAN BE SHIPPED UP TO THE USUAL MAXIMUM UPS LIABILITY ($50 000)

COSTUME JEWELLERY IS DEFINED AS JEWELLERY NOT CONTAINING PRECIOUS METALS OR
STONES.

So I am back to square one! Will see what the actual dimaond vendors say!

WT

 

[pyramid]

worldtraveller

I am in the UK but have never shipped anything back and hope not to. I think what you have to do is send it by Fedex or a company like that but get your own insurance from an insurance company first.

If you are buying, companies like Whiteflash and other vendors here send it via their insurance and you pay them for shipping and insurance. If it has to be returned within 10 days or whatever their return period is then you would get a prepaid label from them and I imagine pay them for returning it. However after the 10 days you would have to get your own insurance I believe.

 

[pricescope]

Date: 5/2/2007 8:23:27 AM
Author: oldminer
Besides Registered Mail USPS for up to $25K and Express Mail USPS for up to $5K, you can also ship a finished item of jewelry via UPS and insure it for up to $50K. You are not allowed by UPS regulations, their tariff''s, to ship unset diamonds. Don''t ask why because they cannot or will not tell you. If they xray a box and see a loose diamond they will return the shipment to you with a refusal to transport notice. I have had it happen more than once.

With certain private insurance, which jewelers can purchase, UPS does carry unset gemstones, but offers no insurance coverage of their own.

Fed-Ex has a $500 limit on packages, but this EXCLUDES jewelry and gems. There is no insurance with Fed-Ex unless a jeweler has a private insurance carrier or subscribes to the Fed-Ex DVX programs. No consumers can safely use Fed--Ex for jewelry.

Maybe from US, not from Canada and having no USPS here and Canada Post''s "no jewelry at all" policy makes it impossible to ship any jewelry insured for more than $ 500 with ANY carrier. What a service!

 

[pyramid]

I checked with our Royal Mail postal service in the UK and was told their limit is £500 and they have another product where you pay more but the limit on that is £2500.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 5/3/2007 4:09:10 AM
Author: worldtraveller
Thanks guys,

Unfortunately in Europe so cannot use US Postal Service, nor the local postal company.

UPS sent me this reply by email:

JEWELLERY VALUED OVER $500 IS PROHIBITED. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO
COSTUME JEWELLERY ( EG JEWELLERY NOT MADE FROM PRECIOUS METALS OR STONES)

COSTUME JEWELLERY CAN BE SHIPPED UP TO THE USUAL MAXIMUM UPS LIABILITY ($50 000)

COSTUME JEWELLERY IS DEFINED AS JEWELLERY NOT CONTAINING PRECIOUS METALS OR
STONES.

So I am back to square one! Will see what the actual dimaond vendors say!

WT

Don''t know what to tell you since my shipping experience is to Europe not from it, but I know that Paul Slegers regularly ships diamonds to me from Europe. You might contact Paul at [email protected] and ask him how he handles shipping.

Wink

 

[pyramid]

Wink

You obviously know a lot more about running a company than me, but from what I understand from what has been written on this forum before, companies do have a type of insurance with Fed-ex but individuals cannot buy it, individuals can only get up to £500 and then it is written in it that it cannot be jewellery. I would think Paul probably has the same kind of insurance Whiteflash has with Fed-ex or whichever shipping company he uses.

 

[yellowsparkles]

This is interesting. I looked into FEDEX online and thought I could ship back my ring - insured for $12,000 - but it would have cost about $200. I was doing a quick search - so could have read the site wrong. I have the luxury of using USPS from here (UK) using Military mail - but registered mail would take 4-6 weels.