Who pays for Packaging and Shipping? When working with a used equipment broker, Shipping is usually the responsibility of the buyer. Packing the equipment is usually the responsibility of the seller   ..   Shipping Information  If Fedex and UPS were to merge would they call the new company FedUp First, let me say that using Fedex is the easiest solution. They are the best at getting goods to a location but if something happens, the shipment gets damaged, it is hard to get them to pay. This is why you should read below. We will discuss two ways in which you can get in trouble with shipping companies. 1. Sending the package 2. Receiving the package Sending the Package Insurance Always have insurance on a shipment. All shipping companies offer it. If they don’t want to insure it, find another shipping company. Some shipping companies don’t keep total control over their freight. They might use an outside carrier, such as a commercial airline for air freight because they don’t have enough planes of their own to service smaller centers. In this case the shipping company might give you a harder time about how you pack an expensive item or what markings are on the shipping container. An example might be a Sony PDW F800 camcorder in the original box with a discription and maybe an inviting picture on the box. High level temptation for for the airline employee who has a second career ripping off shipments from the contracted airline. He/she is not an employee of the original shipping company and maybe not even in the same country, so the ability to get to the bottom of the theft gets that much harder. These types of boxes I cover with plain brown wrapping paper.. Some buyer’s companies have internal insurance to cover transportation. This only works if the shipping company is hired by the buyer. Whoever hires the shipping company is responsible for what happens with the shipment. If the buyer says, don’t bother with shipping insurance, I insist they send me a email stating this. Get it in writing. Packing Proper packaging is of the utmost importance. A bad packing job is the main culprit in shippment damage. Shipping companies are always looking for a way out of paying insurance on a damaged shipment and they first look at how it was packed. If the packing job is sub-standard, the shipping company will refuse to pay for damages. Having the original shipping box and packing materials that your equipment came in is the best. If that is not available.there are companies that specialize in packing items (Check under Packaging Services in the Yellow Pages). They will usually double box an item for you and the shipping company will pick the item up from the packaging company. If you are determined to pack that valuable piece of equipment yourself, here are some tips. These tips are suggestions only and by no means are they to be considered the proper way to pack a piece of equipment. I say this because of the legal repercussions of damaged of damaged equipment during shipping if you use the procedures below. They have worked for me but maybe I’m just lucky. To insure the proper packing of equipment, have the original manufactures box/crate and materials or use a third party packing house suggested above. If a legal challange arises over the packing of the equipment, you can go after thr packaging company. Make sure the shipping container has no empty space inside when you are finished packing. I had one client who shipped a VTR I sold to a buyer. He intended to put the deck on its side for the box he chose but the VTR was to high. So he put the VTR in the box on an angle and taped up the box. No packing material. Needless to say, the box collapsed during shipping and was in poor shapewhen it reached the other end. Bubble Wrap works well. You can get away with crumpled newspaper the msin point being the walls of the container are supported from collapsing and that there is sufficient material around the equipment to absorb impact when Trucker Joe tosses the container to Trucker Bob who is watching the secretary walk by or that inadvertant shortcut to the floor from the 12 foot high conveyer belt. There is a device called Shock Watch which you can attach to your package and it will tell you if your package has received an impact. Styrofoam peanuts is not the best packaging material. Equipment can shift around in a box packed with styrofoam peanuts and end up against a wall of the container. Now the equipment does not have a shock absorbing buffer between it and the floor rushing at it at 32 feet per second per second. When you pack your equipment it is wise to take pictures of it before you pack it. Then take a picture of the equipment with most of the packing material around it. In some cases I have the equipment evaluated by an independent service shop so I can prove the equipment was in good condition when it left my shop. Sometimes shipping companies sub-out pickups and deliveries if you are to far from a city center This is referred to as a “Beyond Point” When a sub-carrier picks up your shipment they will give you a waybill so you can track your shipment, Problem these sub-carriers are usually small companies and don’t have an online tracking system. The worst part of this is that they have been contracted by say Fedex and when this sub-carrier hands the package over a Fedex Waybill is generated and you don’t have this waybill number and can’t track the shipment. Oh No! Receiving The Package Please inspect all equipment immediately! If your equipment is damaged in any way, keep all packing materials and call Techtraders and the shipping company as soon as possible. In case of either visible or concealed damage, we should be notified within 24 hoursof delivery. Do not destroy or throw out the shipping carton or packing materials until you have determined that no damage has occured. Failure to comply with the previous statements could result in the loss of a damage claim against the freight company. While Techtraders cannot assume liability for shipping damages, we can assist you in the proper filing of a claim. Although you have a trial period from the time you receive the equipment, you should inspect for shipping damage imediately upon receiving the equipment and if there is any visable damage to the shipping container write “Subject To Inspection” on the waybill before the driver gives you your copy of the waybill. Removing the equipment from the delivered to address even to take it to a service ship to have it checked can cause problems. The shipping company can claim the damage must have happened after they delivered it, probably while you were transporting it to the service shop. If you are going to have the equipment checked by a service shop, have the equipment shipped directly to them.