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Hi all this is a question regarding insurance or lack of to Australia.

A lttle bit ago (an hour or ago) and sent a box of miniatures worth aprox $200 in a small flat rate box from usps. I had thought I could get insurance on this size because I had gotten it on the same size to Canada and also to other Us states so I know I can get it. However because it was going to Australia I could not get it.

Why is it that I could not get reg insurance? They told me I could pay an extra $12 for registured mail (covers $45 as insurance) or express ($45 shipped and covers only $100) but insure past those amounts.

I always will insure anything over $100, anything shiped out off mainland north America, or if the other party wants and I fully agree that if you don't want to get insurance then it's all on u if it gets lost. However because of the inability to actually purchase the insurance which I asked for I would like to ask why you can not get insurance in all countries? I paid the extra $2 for sending to australia so I honostly believe that that should cover the special aspect of sending there but I guess not???

Anyway so if anyone has any actual reasons why this is please let me know.

Thanx kturock for any info you can share in advance.

I won't speak for AU specifically but, for some countries, you can't get it insured becaue their postal service is so sketchy.

Eric

MagickalMemories wrote:I won't speak for AU specifically but, for some countries, you can't get it insured becaue their postal service is so sketchy.

Eric

So for those countries you would want insurance for you can't? That's smart!

EZ mac wrote: So for those countries you would want insurance for you can't? That's smart!

Insurance--where they sell you an umbrella and then take it away when it rains.

EZ mac wrote:

MagickalMemories wrote:I won't speak for AU specifically but, for some countries, you can't get it insured becaue their postal service is so sketchy.

Eric

So for those countries you would want insurance for you can't? That's smart!

You're not seeing it from the insurer's p.o.v.

"To those countries that would cause us to go bankrupt, we won't insure packages."

Eric

Either my sarcasm fooled u or the smiley did but I even said, "that's smart "

So what other countries will I be rethinking of sending to? Italy, brazil?

EZ mac wrote:Either my sarcasm fooled u or the smiley did but I even said, "that's smart "

So what other countries will I be rethinking of sending to? Italy, brazil?

Yes. It got past me.
I detected no sarcasm. Sorry.

Eric

What you got to remember with ALL US MAIL going to a foreign country. When it leaves the US, it gets handles by the other country. The US mail can only offer the services that other countries offer. If AU only offers insurance for packages of a certain size, that's all you can get from USPS. Different countries have different levels of insurance.

Yes, basiclly the coutries you are concerned about mail theft, don't offer insurance. It happens in every country, every day. Yes, US included. Registered mail, which I wrote about a week or so ago, is offered to most, if not every country. It also is a red flag, that the item has worth. [that is sort of a joke, since the label for registered mail is red, and their nicknamed 'reds'.] It includes insurance and can increased. The level varies by country.

Easiest way to find out is online at http://www.usps.com . Use the rate calculator. Approximate the weight. It'll tell you what services are offered and the cost.

It's free, it's easy to use and can be accessed everywhere.

ALSO, traders in other countries can see what is available to be shipped TO THEM. You can have an idea on how much it should cost to get your items shipped.

Now, there are several other choices to ship internationally.

USPS offers a Global Priority that is guaranteed. It is delivered by Fed-ex? or Emory? I don't recall which. It costs alot more but it guaranteed like express mail.

Then again there is Fed-ex and UPS. Both are more expensive because both have their own employees in the other countries. USPS uses the other countries mail service. You pay USPS rates for the package, letter or whatever to the US Customs port. Then You pay postage for the other country. It has been standardized, it used to vary by each country. UPS even had an TV ad showing their carriers around teh world. [of course they were probably actors, but you get the idea.]
Both have websites and online rate calcualtors.

This is the generation of the internet; use it. Everyone and everything has a website.

You might try a US Post 'Certificate of Mailing' ($1.15 - URL eludes me, but establishes under US Post regulations that package was sent to stated address), though for $200 I'd be nervous about PayPal.

NZ: Oz has to rely on sheep - the better sort of marsupials are single-minded (if dim) but their wage cost is too high.

Steven H. wrote:You might try a US Post 'Certificate of Mailing' ($1.15 - URL eludes me, but establishes under US Post regulations that package was sent to stated address), though for $200 I'd be nervous about PayPal.

NZ: Oz has to rely on sheep - the better sort of marsupials are single-minded (if dim) but their wage cost is too high.

Yup a cert of mailing just verifies that SOMETHING was mailed to a specific address to a specific address. It doesn't asy what size it was, or what's in it. It doesn't show if/when it was delivered or cover it if it's lost or damaged. I don't recall if cert of mailing is available for outside the US.

kturock wrote:Yup a cert of mailing just verifies that SOMETHING was mailed to a specific address to a specific address. It doesn't asy what size it was, or what's in it. It doesn't show if/when it was delivered or cover it if it's lost or damaged. I don't recall if cert of mailing is available for outside the US.

Understood, though the payment receipt will show the item mass. It's not insurance of course but it's also only $1.15 :>
It seems to be available for outside the US.

Steven H. wrote:Understood, though the payment receipt will show the item mass. It's not insurance of course but it's also only $1.15 :>
It seems to be available for outside the US.

I have shipped stuff to the UK & Canada (and maybe South America/Brazil? -can't remember it was a long time ago) and the 'certificate of mailing' was always an option, which I opt'd for In fact, just bought it the other day when I shipped a small box to Canada.

I'm looking at my "certificate" now, and I don't see any mass/weight, but it does say, "This form may be used for domestic and international mail." Indeed, it costs $1.15. As mentioned by Steven H., my receipt does indicate the mass/weight of the package I sent.

If hthis certificate doesn't insure or say what's inside then what is it's use? I have the customs reciept and it also has weight on it so why get it? Does it allow u to track a box? Sorry I still don't understand it's actual pourpose.

And I have been extremly sarcastic in my last 2posts if u I seemed rude.

EZ mac wrote:If hthis certificate doesn't insure or say what's inside then what is it's use? I have the customs reciept and it also has weight on it so why get it? Does it allow u to track a box? Sorry I still don't understand it's actual pourpose.

In the absence of insurance - either not available or not opted for - it moves the goalposts in your favor by removing any debate as to whether or not you sent an item via US Post.

As kturock indicated in his recent COD thread there is no way to 'say what's inside' a box.

Damn.. I'm even being read and quoted now.. [and not attacked]...whoa...

but yes, he's right. It only shows you mailed something from 1 specific address to another specific address on a specific day. Hence the name, 'Certificate of Mailing."

So I can say yes, I sent you "A" package. It doesn't do anything else. It can be a box of $1 store army men. It can be an envelope. I think it can even be apost card.

Most postal service names now closely reflect what they do. Cert. of Mailing, shows something got mailed & certifes the when and where to. D/C shows something got delivered. Insurance covers loss or damage. Certified mail, a USPS employee certifies [verifies] when something was mailed and another verifies when it was delivered [and signed for and keeps a copy on file. now it's an electronic copy. It used to be the original hard copy was stored locally for 30 days, and then later stored at 'district' for 1-3 years.] . A Return Receipt gives you a copy of the signature. C.O.D. Collect on Demand [delivery].