Shipping your camera gear. Reasonable or ridiculous?
It’s that time of year again. I’m shooting tropical birds in Florida!
Every year, the topic comes up. Should I carry my gear on the airplane, check it with luggage or ship it to myself?
I’m a fan of the latter.
Shipping your equipment reduces your stress and your workload.
But it comes at a price. And whether it’s worth it is a strictly personal decision. For me, it is!
But there are some important things you should know before you make the decision to place your mission-critical camera gear in the tender loving care of UPS or FedEx. Here are some things to consider…
1. When you decide to ship your equipment *insure it*.
I went through PPA (Professional Photographers of America) because they were over $200 less than my commercial liability carrier, and because they will insure for full replacement value – not depreciated value.
2. Be sure you have a complete inventory, including serial numbers so you can claim all losses if the unthinkable happens.
3. If you want to ship your gear, ground is MUCH cheaper than air. Leave enough time to get your gear to its destination at least one business day early. If something goes wrong with UPS or FedEx shipping, that one extra day gives you a much better chance of getting your gear on time.
4. If you insure your gear with the shipping store, make sure that the insurance goes through the carrier, not through an outside insurance company. Outside insurance carriers seem to play “gotcha”, looking for every reason to deny a claim.
And insure your gear for FULL VALUE. Otherwise you will incur a co-insurance penalty. It’s too long to explain here, but it will result in a drastically lower settlement in the event of damage or loss.
5. Track your shipment early in the process. The faster you can jump on a shipping problem the better your chance of getting it fixed in time to save your shoot.
6. Put padlocks on your bag.
7. Use either FedEx or UPS. Avoid the Post Office like the plague. I have seen too many incidents where things like Certified and Return Receipt have failed due to USPS error. And I can’t remember where I read it, but I have seen that the Post Office denies something like 87% of insurance claims. I just don’t feel like I can count on that insurance.
UPS has special handling for items that are shipped via Next Day Air with a value claimed at or above $5000.00.
Such items get special segregated handling and kid-glove treatment. But the air shipping is really expensive.
I ship mine by ground.
I ship my gear in a Seahorse case (similar to Pelican). Whatever you use, plan on it getting dropped from 6′ onto a concrete floor. Pad it to that standard and you’ll be fine. And I’m pleased to report that the luxury of traveling without bags is well worth the price. It’s really great not to have to feel like a beast of burden when you’re going through the airport.
So that’s my take on the issue of shipping your camera equipment.
Do it wrong and you’ll be cleaning up the mess for a long time to come.
Do it right and you’ll find it to be a luxury that is worth every cent!
