RiverMan Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 I'm curious as to how others in business are handling mail orders. I recently sent 4 baits to Canada and the guy hasn't received them. I carelessly didn't insure the baits as I have never had a problem with mail order before and have no way of tracking the package. Needless to say, I am making them again, and expensive error on my part and it comes at a terrible time, leaving Saturday for two weeks of elk hunting! When someone pays me for a bait I feel that they have lived up to their part of the deal...I must now live up to mine by making sure they receive what they paid for. The only way I can be certain I don't lose on the deal is to insure the package which over dozens of baits gets a bit spendy. I have noted on Ebay that some guys offer insurance, if you choose not to buy it and the package is lost too bad...I don't feel right about doing this. I would appreciate any ideas others have for coming up with a safe and fair method of exchange with customers. Thank you. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebler_custom_baits Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 if its insured it almost never gets lost but if it isnt, you know. I would bump up shipping and insure the baits. Even if you only put a low amount of insurence on the package so it cost like a 1.30 the stamp on the pack means a lot to the guys shuffling it around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlystreamer Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 Hi RiverMan, Insurance is cheaper than re-making and re-shipping an order. When you ship out of the US, always insure, even to Canada. The cost is worth it. Check out www.stamps.com if you do a lot of shipping. Vary handy and you can insure & track your mail. Check it out.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 I insure every parcel going out now. I had the same problem in the past. Since I insure everything now I haven't lost one parcel. Interesting, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughesy Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 We ship everything priority mail with delivery conformation. They haven't lost a package in 15 years. If usps ever fails, and I have to make em again, I figure I'm way ahead of the game by not insuring all of the packages we have shipped over the years. The insurance bill on all of those packages would total thousands of dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted September 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 Hmmm, does the confirmation require the customer to sign off or is that something the USPS confirms? How does the cost of confirmation compare to insurance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty's Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 #1 trash the postal service #2 use UPS and UPS only for stuff that needs to be tracked and insured. Don't care what anyone says the post office cannot track a package anywhere near as well as UPS can...... If you send something by any means which cannot provide proof of delivery and the product was paid by credit card then you automatically lose a dispute of charges because you have no way of showing it was ever delivered. UPS solves this and many other problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuff-Tackle Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 I only use the USPS and have alot of confidence in them. I ship everything First Class w/no confirmation. The post office I use prints you a receipt showing the time and date plus the city, state and zip code to where the package is going....that's as good as Delivery Confirmation. In four years of shipping lures I've only had one package not arrive at it's destination. I sent a box of lures to the wrong person, I caught my mistake that night and emailed and requested they send them back when they arrived....funny thing was they never got there....go figure. Tuff-Tackle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlystreamer Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 Like I said above, I use USPS and do my own postage. Most of what I mail goes priority mail. I have never had a pkg. not show up. I should be pushing brown! They are teamsters and I need them to keep working so I keep my pension. Oh well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted September 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 Tuff Tackle, I have the exact receipt you are talking about. I tried an online track, no go, so then went to my local USPS, said "they couldn't track it". So what good is the receipt then? I have sent out dozens of baits in the last several months and all of them reached their destination until these four to Canada. By not tracking the package I have no way of knowing where they are. I have probably 4 hours into those lures, that's the part that hurts the most. To those of you shipping out of the country be careful! Learn from my mistake, you can lose big time. I think from what others have told me here, I will try the confirmation process and see what happens. On out of the country orders, and particularly those that include several baits, I will also insure them. Jed www.bikinibaitcompany.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 I'm another USPS guy. I ship everything priority mail with confirmation. The confirmation is only 45 cents. But...you can't get a confirmation for out of country deliveries. You have to insure the package. I believe insurance is only $1.30 for the first $100, or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 From what I understand you can Pay extra to USPS for tracking capabilities but you have to request it. I do alot of shipping all day at my job and we use 2 carriers. If the package is going overnight and has to be there I use Fed Ex. (sounds like a commercial ) They have been very reliable and we get a killer corperate rate. For slower packages I use DHL/Airborne. They are cheep. They have lost a few important overnight pkgs so they do not get that business for me anymore. Both of these companies offer very good tracking capabilities and the first $100 insurance is covered free (or part of the shipping costs.) Anything over this amount get insurance (my cost not retail) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted September 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Great news! The guy from Canada just wrote me and the package arrived...woohooooo! Takes a load off of my shoulders, have no time this week to get the baits done. I sent the lures out on the 16th of August and he got them today! I won't ever send a package out of the USA again without insuring it. You know I was thinking about this whole insurance thing with the post office. Imagine going to have some new tires put on your truck. The store operator takes your keys from you to move the truck up onto the hoist. Before doing so though he stops and says to you "would you like to buy some insurance in case I decide to drive off with your vehicile?" You would probably tell him where to shove it, I would. Really the post office is no different. We give them a package, our personal property, expecting them to deliver it safely to somewhere else for a fee. But they aren't willing to guarantee it will get there!! That's crazy! You have to buy insurance in case THEY SCREW UP! Somehow that seems backwards. Oh well, just glad to have escaped unscathed on this one. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musky1 Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Jed Glad to hear your lures made it to Canada. I'm sure you had a lot of hours in those lures. Good luck on your elk hunt. I'm heading to canada for a week for some musky fishing. Take care. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted September 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Hey thanks Jim, hope you hook a monster up there! Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Jed: I ship Global Priority over borders and Express within... You get free tracking if you prepare the shipment online. Contact me if you want more info. Chip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Sorry about that. I didn't think to ask you how long you waited before tried to find out if they arrived. Once it crosses the boarder the package goes to customs. If it goes to the Toronto customs it will go out fairly quickly; but if it goes to Quebec it can take forever. Once I had a parcel sit in their offices for over a week. I was not impressed. You have to allow at least 3 weeks for the parcel to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Splash Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Living in Canada and shipping stuff and recieving is interesting to say the least. Patience is the key- Three weeeks for your package to arrive in Canada is not at all unusual. If the package has to cross the continant east to west or vice versa, it could take a lot longer. I use regular parcel service to ship to the US and Canada, and have NEVER lost a package. Several have taken FOREVER and were assumed lost by the person expecting it.( causes hassels) UPS is WAY WAY to expensive to ship across the border into Canada- They want $15US to 'broker' the package over the border!( I pay at this end, on top of shipping charges and they almost always ding me for duty/taxes. Often regular mail goes through customs without carges.) In fact you will encounter really high shipping prices for any international order you want to insure. Right now I have puchased an old reel off ebay and the seller wants $18.50 to ship and insure it from Wa. to B.C.! I won't purchase stuff from buyers who insist on insuance added to the higher cost of international shipping any more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 We ship both usps and fedex(even ups) to canada. canada like bigsplash says is a completely different and you never know when its going to get there. weve had stuff arrive 2 months later on a 5 day delievery. as far as the following ways to ship USPS to me is the best, there tracking system doesn nothing more than tell you when it shipped and when it arrived. I will tell you form experiance that the USPS pays when something doesnt show(if you have insurance) and they dont drill you about it. I haven't lost but maybe 1-2 packages in 2 years with them and they have only broken open 2-4 packages(plastic). A few plastic containers were delayed due them thinking the contents were hazzardous. there priority mail packages are the safest and fastest way to get anything and they are cheap Fed-x cheaper than usps on bigger weights, tracking like ups is awsum. they have a hard time paying when they break or loose something. same goes for canada they have a hard time getting it there on time. UPS. Very expensive almost twice for home deliveries, more expensive than fed-x for business to busness delieveries there tracking is great and they break alot of stuff like fed-x as well. Delw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musky_man Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Re: Shipping: For some reason UPS Custom's fees in Canada are brutal. I nver buy anything if it is shipped via UPS -- I always get royaly screwed with custom's fees. Just something to keep in mind if you are shipping up here. Believe me, I am not the only Canuck that feels that way. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
