I made something stunning in July:
a double winged necklace with a slice of the sweetest Clay Canyon Variscite
you ever did see.
More hours went into the piece than any I've ever made before, on account of the
two engraved feathers of large size.
Hammer blow after hammer blow I had to control my excitement about the way it was shaping itself: a beautiful, rare and fluid piece that incorporated the best of what I know.
I sent it Priority International, with a happy heart.
I did not think to insure it because in nearly 1300 sales, only one piece
had ever been lost before.
I felt secure and solid in my choice.
Today, more than an entire month after it was shipped I have finally gone through all of the motions of surrender to the situation:
refund
sale cancellation
kind, warm and understanding communication with the beautiful woman it was destined for...
sweet and hot nonsensical hormonal tears...
I now know that anything over a certain valuation will need to be shipped with
insurance
perhaps through another carrier than USPS, though I've had a good run with their
international services
This is where you come in, my readers: I know several of you to be
artists who surely must ship overseas at least as often as I do:
how do you send your parcels?
Are you satisfied with the results?
Thanks in advance for sharing what you know,
Sunny with a Chance of Clouds
18 comments:
So sorry, and you did not ask my opinion but I had packages opened and contents removed twice from overseas and mind you, the contents cost only $15 at the most!!!
Oh dear, I have been there Allison, and I have shed those tears. I ship everything fully insured from here in Canada to the US, and Canada Post will only give me $100 worth of insurance elsewhere in the world.
I can tell you though, even with insurance, I have had to fight a handful of battles with the post office to be reimbursed my insured value. Thankfully, I always have been ( although a few times it has taken up to 3 months!) but not with out stress, and a few tears knowing a very special piece of my heart is lost somewhere out there!
Mona,
I have no doubt someone is wearing it - but somehow I still feel stubborn about some miracle happening...
Xo
a
this hurts my heart. sorry. x
Oh Sunny, I am sorry. I did once send a package to my in-laws in England that went missing for about four months and finally showed up--so maybe your miracle will happen.
Jaime: only 100? That's so crazy! I am sorry it's not been easier to get back what's rightfully yours...and where does it go?
Cassie: many thanks, beautiful woman.
Liz R. - ah, a beacon of hope! :) Here's to that being the true end to this story, too :) xoxoxox
i do ship internationally and have never insured, nor had a problem ('knock wood', thinks the non-superstitious female)... i know that things can 'go missing' for weeks on end... i would not give up hope yet...(nor ever)...
So sorry friend!
I have also had large international orders show up after more then 2 months when they had predicted 2 weeks, so you never know.
Sending love! xo
So sorry that happened! Maybe it will show up-hopefully.
I have only shipped overseas a few times and it hasn't been anything real expensive or time consuming to make. My heart goes out to you.
allison, i have several times ordered packages from overseas that have taken 2-4 MONTHS to make it to me....i have hope that your beautiful work will be delivered.....xoxo much love to you......
Include the cost of insurance into the price...it is a small amount compared to the devastation at both ends..having adopted your creations I can only imagine what the buyer was feeling...and you, but whatever happened somebody somewhere is proudly wearing your creation, unless an irksome crow swooped down and snatched your carefully wrapped parcel from the hands of the mail carrier and flew straight to Hogwarts where it now resides next to the Ravenclaw Diadem.....to be continued by R.K. Rowlings, I am sure;)
Allison, I have had packages lost in the mail and damaged before. It is a horrible feeling. With insured packages I have had real good luck with getting refunded within a week or so with no questions asked from the usps. I just fill out all of the forms online, etc. I have once had an International sale that 3 months later did not make it to them, about the fourth month it got returned to me from customs as undeliverable. It was sent to a return customer that I have never had problems with before with shipments?!?! I was glad to see it back but still felt horrible for the customer. I know the quotes from my local post office are ridiculous for insured international shipments. And from what I am told they are only covered 100% if shipped Priority and the insurance is an additional fee the varies by value. Priority International can be quite pricey. I ship a lot of my International sales via usps registered mail. I have never had a problem with it. (knocks on wood) And oh my, I know the necklace you speak of...It was a beauty for sure. I think though that it just may find itself in the hands of the customer. As a buyer and recently as well, I have had countless items shipped from over seas take way longer than usual. I have waited a few months for some :/ I hope your lovely necklace that you dedicated so much time and love into makes it safely to the original buyer very soon and you both find peace. I am sure the buyer would rather have the necklace than the cash. It was an absolutely striking piece. I hope that this situation doesn't push you away from the thought of perhaps making a similar one sometime ;) Love!
Oh my dear Allison, I feel your hurt! We put a little piece of heart and soul into every creation, so it would be heartbreaking to lose something destined for a special lady :-(
The parcel wasn't coming to Australia by any chance? We had a customs strike here and any parcels from the US to Australia from late July to mid August were held up. I am only now receiving parcels ordered during that time...what normally takes a week is taking a month or longer!
So, I am keeping everything crossed that perhaps your special parcel is in the same predicament...simply held up somewhere, but still safe.
B.
-xxx-
Pacrcels are taking longer at the moment for lots of reasons,
up to a month is not unusual so do not give up hope yet.
If it is coming to the uk it could be delayed by customs so the local Royal Mail or Parcel Force sorting office could help by giving the customer advice and a contact number so that they might trace the parcel through the custom and excise sorting office?
Hope this info helps - although you have probably done all this already
I will keep my fingers crossed
I'm so sorry that you are having to deal with this. Even though the piece was bought and paid for, I know you feel like a little piece of you was stolen right out of your hands. I've only had this happen to me when shipping to Canada. I talked to the buyer and he paid me the price for a second necklace (it was for his fiance) and told me to ship it with a private carrier. He said that not only are they more reliable, but that they are much faster as well. I'm truly sorry and here's hoping that it's merely misplaced and will eventually make its way home!
Ladies,
You are lighthouses for me in this matter: thank you so much for your wisdom and most of all for giving me a more than a sliver of light to see this might not be a tragedy after all.
xoxox,
Allison
If it was going out internationally it could be held up in customs. If you are thinking of changing carriers,one thing to keep in mind for your international customers is the brokerage fees that some companies like ups and fedex charge, as your clients may have to pay significant fees to accept the package. I once bought $100 worth of specialty papers for wedding invitations. The duty was reasonable, but the brokerage fee charged by ups was $50.
I dearly hope you receive an excited e- mail from your customer in the near future advising you the package has arrived!
Crisis averted, all!!!! package foundddd!!!!!
xoxoox,
A
Post a Comment