Shipping from US to United Kingdom insurance question

[bbziggy]

I am not sure what the best way to do my return of a diamond ring I purchased and want to return to a seller in England. I am in the US
He shipped it to me DHL and had it sent as costume jewelry on the shipping slip which I thought was strange. I would like it sent back to him DHL fully insured for the amount that I actually paid. It will cost me about $150 to send it this way. When I contacted to tell him I was going to insure it through DHL he said he would have to pay customs and not to do it that way. How can I protect my money if I don't insure it this way? Is there another way to insure through a private company and not put what the actual item is on the exposed shipping label. He is making it difficult for me I think.What would you do?

 

[Rhea]

Write RETURN on the package. If it's done through DHL they might be able to advise you on how to write that it's return merchandise. Last time I was at UPS in the US I noticed a little check box for return merchandise on the customs form. But even not that's not there, I the UPS rep I spoke to on the phone said that items correctly labelled as RETURN are often excluded from VAT.

Don't write what it is, like ring or jewellery. DHL can probably advise you, but each country has categories for imports. Last time I sent something to the US I think I was advised to write "body ornament" or something similar like on it. Gosh, this is ages ago, I can't remember all the details, but DHL should be able to tell you.

If he's charged, he can get his fees back from HMRC. It's a pain and a very long process but I've been successful the one time I had to do it. Good luck!

I bought and sold a couple things on the bistro and between one return and one export, I was done! It's too hard to ship about.

 

[kemurphy]

I'm not sure if this is helpful, but if you are interested in third party insurance you can look at shipsurance. I did a bit of research when I started selling on Etsy and Shipsurance is pretty highly regarded. I've never had to file a claim personally so I can't tell you how easy it was. It's generally a lot cheaper than getting insurance through the carrier. I think they have a max of 1000 if you purchase it directly but if you need higher insurance you can request a quote and get higher coverage.

What I really liked, is it supposedly covers packages that say delivered that are not actually delivered. From what I read, its a pain in that you need to get a certified statement from the receiver that they never received the package. But people say they actually do cover it.

http://www.shipsurance.com/default.asp