A note of shipping lenses and cameras

[jrc]

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I've been very nervous about shipping lenses and cameras since I sent one to NY (by Express mail) and it got lost. I looked into it and found that UPS and FedEx have loss rates that are no better (did you know that at times, when their planes get full, FedEx will bundle shipments and send them by regular mail?)

 

So asking about all of this, I learned that "registered" mail has a loss rate so low that gold bullion is shipped that way. It's a little slower than first class mail, and more expensive -- I shipped five lenses to NJ and it cost $24. It's slower because each mail handler along the way has to specifically accept the package, sign for it, and then account for it goes down the line, being handed off from person-to-person. They can go for years without losing a single piece of registered mail, I'm told.

 

Anyway, for what it's worth...

 

JC

[fuchs]

You're right. I have a low volume (as I can dedit only part of my time to it) used Leica equipment web store, and I ship regularly from Argentina. It is my experience during these last three years, that it is way safer to ship by "registered" air mail than by "express" mail or any of the other courier systems available (UPS, FedEx, DHL). The close second is EMS (GMS in the USA), that is just a tad slower than a private courrier company. YMMV, of course.