Shipping to Ireland from USA - expensive art 0

[Michael (OML)1]

I am sure this was answered but how do you ship a $20K+ piece of art to Ireland?  Fedex won't take it as its value is over $1,000. Any help?

[Infamouspure22]

Hi Michael!  UPS can do it with insurance to cover that amount.  Very expensive though.

[spider9698]

In the pre-COVID days it might have been cheaper to hand deliver and fly to Ireland.   Aer Lingus has/had cheap flights to most of Ireland from many major eastern cities.

 

[The Voord]

A lot of collectors this side of the pond want lower values declared.  Is the buyer asking for the art to be shipped and insured at full value, or is it you?

[Michael (OML)1]

1 hour ago, The Voord said:

A lot of collectors this side of the pond want lower values declared.  Is the buyer asking for the art to be shipped and insured at full value, or is it you?

Buyer wants it shipped at its full value.

[The Voord]

1 hour ago, Michael (OML)1 said:

Buyer wants it shipped at its full value.

Ah, right.  He must have the cash to spend on shipping, insurance and import taxes.

[pemart1966]

13 hours ago, Michael (OML)1 said:

I am sure this was answered but how do you ship a $20K+ piece of art to Ireland?  Fedex won't take it as its value is over $1,000. Any help?

Is it that Fedex won't take it period OR that they'll take it but that the amount of insurance that they'll sell you is capped?

[delekkerste]

14 hours ago, Michael (OML)1 said:

I am sure this was answered but how do you ship a $20K+ piece of art to Ireland?  Fedex won't take it as its value is over $1,000. Any help?

I sent a >$20K piece to Europe last year.  I have a Collectibles Insurance Services policy and called them up to ask them whether the shipment would be covered up to $60K as domestic shipments are (that $60K figure varies depending on your level of policy coverage).  They confirmed that it would be covered as long as I used one of their approved carriers (e.g., FedEx, DHL) and that the shipment required a signature.  

I have sent numerous high-value packages domestically as well.  I just tell FedEx that I am covered by third party insurance and to waive their insurance coverage; I've never had an issue with shipping art. 

Edited May 5, 2020 by delekkerste

[delekkerste]

Also, there's only one collector in Ireland that I know of who buys $20K pieces of art...I'll have to e-mail him and ask him what he bought.  

[comix4fun]

15 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

Also, there's only one collector in Ireland that I know of who buys $20K pieces of art...I'll have to e-mail him and ask him what he bought.  

I thought he was Scottish.....

[cstojano]

3 hours ago, delekkerste said:

I sent a >$20K piece to Europe last year.  I have a Collectibles Insurance Services policy and called them up to ask them whether the shipment would be covered up to $60K as domestic shipments are (that $60K figure varies depending on your level of policy coverage).  They confirmed that it would be covered as long as I used one of their approved carriers (e.g., FedEx, DHL) and that the shipment required a signature.  

I have sent numerous high-value packages domestically as well.  I just tell FedEx that I am covered by third party insurance and to waive their insurance coverage; I've never had an issue with shipping art. 

I just got back with CIS after they dropped me due to two claims in one year. But they have a new honcho who sees the issue with that approach. I recently had a 20k painting shipped from the east coast out west. I called CIS, discussed my needs, and they wrote the policy. So I have roughly 75k in coverage for this painting and a host of other collectibles (that USAA fine arts won't insure - comics, toys) for around the same cost as just the insurance charge would have been from UPS or the concierge service I ended up using. In the end, I had a custom crate made for this painting for the purposes of shipping (roughly 35 by 39 inches) which now lives in my garage. I've never felt more BSD than having a crated piece of art arrive that required tools to unpack. 

 

edit: its oil on board, then mounted to a second piece of board. This thing is heavy!

Edited May 5, 2020 by cstojano

[ESeffinga]

8 hours ago, pemart1966 said:

Is it that Fedex won't take it period OR that they'll take it but that the amount of insurance that they'll sell you is capped?

They absolutely will take your money for the high value of insurance. They won’t pay a claim if you file it though. The cap is what they will pay out For art, if you file a claim. They will tell you to read the fine print on what you purchased.

So there’s that.
 

I’ve lost count of the number of wood art crates I’ve unpacked over the years. But it’s been a few. I do remember the first one felt pretty surreal. Now, it’s just part of getting art in.

 

 

 

[vodou]

5 hours ago, cstojano said:

I've never felt more BSD than having a crated piece of art arrive that required tools to unpack. 

Nice! I know the feeling, had two huge pricey paintings come in that way over the years, both took about an hour to fully release the piece

One crate I still have. The other I had to break down with a sledgehammer

[The Voord]

8 hours ago, delekkerste said:

I sent a >$20K piece to Europe last year.  I have a Collectibles Insurance Services policy and called them up to ask them whether the shipment would be covered up to $60K as domestic shipments are (that $60K figure varies depending on your level of policy coverage).  They confirmed that it would be covered as long as I used one of their approved carriers (e.g., FedEx, DHL) and that the shipment required a signature.  

I have sent numerous high-value packages domestically as well.  I just tell FedEx that I am covered by third party insurance and to waive their insurance coverage; I've never had an issue with shipping art. 

Was a full value declared on the package's paperwork (I would imagine so)? Just wandering how that might play out in the event of a claim being made where the insurance amount doesn't tally with the package's declared value (e.g. $20K piece of art goes AWOL which has a $200 valuation on the customs paperwork)?

[Michael (OML)1]

3 hours ago, The Voord said:

Was a full value declared on the package's paperwork (I would imagine so)? Just wandering how that might play out in the event of a claim being made where the insurance amount doesn't tally with the package's declared value (e.g. $20K piece of art goes AWOL which has a $200 valuation on the customs paperwork)?

The buyer wants me to declare the full value which I'm happy to do.  Fedex told me the most they will insure it for is $1K.  The guy said he wouldn't ship it.  I will try again.  Very crazy.

[The Voord]

5 hours ago, Michael (OML)1 said:

The buyer wants me to declare the full value which I'm happy to do.  Fedex told me the most they will insure it for is $1K.  The guy said he wouldn't ship it.  I will try again.  Very crazy.

Actually, my question was aimed at Gene

[pemart1966]

On 5/4/2020 at 9:38 PM, spider9698 said:

In the pre-COVID days it might have been cheaper to hand deliver and fly to Ireland.   Aer Lingus has/had cheap flights to most of Ireland from many major eastern cities.

 

Even if that were still possible, depending on its size, you might be in the situation where you have to check it and thus a)  have it out of your sight for a period of time and b) handled by baggage handlers.  That still leaves the possibility of loss and we all know that those guys are experts at lifting and pitching heavy baggage which equates to the possibility of damage.  

As well, you might well have to deal with Customs and still have to pay all of those nasty duties, taxes etc. 

So it might be a somewhat better option, it's still not necessarily foolproof.

[Marwai]

Purchase of a $20,000 piece means it's not their first rodeo.  Ask the buyer how you should ship it.  Charge a handling fee or have them contact a 3rd party shipper like the kind HA offers.