How to Ship Expensive Antique Scientific Instruments

We have been shipping antique scientific instruments around the world for nearly 20 years and have tried a wide range of delivery services. For domestic shipping, the clear winner has always been USPS Registered Mail. It has always proven to be more reliable, less expensive, and at least as fast as any other service. The size limit is 108" (length plus girth - we stock double wall 20"x20"x20" boxes as the largest box we regularly ship by registered mail); the weight limit is 70 pounds; and the insurance limit is $25,000 - yielding a maximum shipping cost of $141.85. We have had only one registered mail package lost (over 10 years ago, an entire locked bag of registered mail was lost with one of our packages in it) and we have had only one package arrive with damage - in both cases, we simply filed the necessary insurance claim forms and we received a check for the total insured value of the package plus the shipping charges within about 60 days, with no questions. This is in stark contrast to our experiences with the package delivery services (UPS, FedEx, etc.) - basic shipping charges are usually at least 50% higher (usually much higher) and it is virtually impossible to get an acceptable resolution on insurance claim for damages to a shipment of expensive antique items.

For international shipping, we have successfully been using USPS Express Mail International for several years. It has also proved to be more reliable, less expensive, and at least as fast as any other service for packages up to 79" or 108" (length plus girth), 44 or 66 pounds, and $650 - $5,000 maximum insured value (specific limits depending on destination country). We have had one express mail package to Canada arrive with damage - we had to fill out insurance claim forms several times, send in catalog photos & descriptions of the damaged item several times, fill out several other forms that were sent to us, and make several calls to the Post Office international claims office to finally get a check for the total insured value of the package plus the shipping charges (approximately $1,400). This is again in contrast to our experience with the package delivery services - we have never received any payment for any damages to any insured international package (the claims that we have filed have been denied or simply ignored, with no one to appeal to).