Comment by kgo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kgo | Hacker News Reader

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But what does that actually prove? I can put an already broken laptop in a box, ship it, and blame it on UPS.

How is a shock sensor any different? Even if it's on the outside of the box, the pickup guy isn't exactly trained to confirm it's in good shape, he's not signing anything to certify that the sensor is intact and operating properly.

And as far as I know, none of the major carriers actually declare anything like "packages will not be subjected to more than X G-forces during transit." So even if the sensors did trip, that only indicates that they tripped. It doesn't prove the shipping company did anything 'wrong'.

And seeing as the guy behind the counter or on the phone isn't an expert in accelerometers, any explanation is going to be over their head. And once again, how do you establish you didn't mess with the accelerometers ahead of time?

I can actually understand the human-nature behind trashing something marked fragile, or something with shock sensors stuck all over the exterior. Not that it's justifiable. Basically, you're saying that this person treats all the normal packages like shit and just throws them around for no reason. That they're not even trying to be good at their job by default. Not to mention that you're asking for special treatment without providing additional compensation.

Which explains the best way to keep your package safe. Insure it. You probably don't even need to insure it for the full value. Just spend the 70 cents to get $200 dollars coverage. Everyone handling it knows there will be an internal follow up if the company has to pay out on the claim, because it actually costs them something.

Insurance is a ripoff if you are an ecommerce company. In my last company we shipped $5,000 a day in product and insured all of it for the first couple of years. One day I got a postcard that was trying to get me to insure with an outside company when I shipped UPS. I got wondering how they could do that, did some math on what we were spending and then asked my warehouse manager how much we had lost (in actual costs to us) in the last two years and was stunned at the answer - $600 total out of several thousand shipments. At that point we began self-insuring.

This is a little late...

But yeah in that case I agree 100%. Different case if you're shipping some scientific equipment worth 1500 dollars now and then.

And if that equipment is 50,000 bucks, maybe you start looking at a private courier.

I have a friend who used to work as a registrar for a museum, shipping stuff that was worth millions, or even arguably priceless. She'd ride on the planes and ride in the backs of the trucks that transported this stuff. She'd have to document every scratch, every discoloration, etc, and sign off on it, before shipping began so they could compare at the end of the trip.

But I was suggesting a hedge. Come up with your own numbers, but if item is worth greater than 2000, insure for 200, costing 70 cents for UPS. That way it gets UPS internal stickers saying it's insured, probably beeps or something every time someone scans it, and provokes an entirely different attitude than marking it "FRAGILE", according to antecdotal evidence.

As far as 'FRAGILE' markings making a difference I can assure you, since I ship UPS every day, that they treat every box equally (poorly). There is no preferential treatment for any package, and the heavier the packages are the worse they travel. I watched my driver knock over a flat-screen TV three times one day during a pickup. He had it standing on edge and it wouldn't stay upright, but after three tries at knocking it over he put it flat under a shelf.

The shock meter could be certified and sealed by NIST or an agreed third party. The delivery company could then advertise as "the world leaders in package handling". Insurance companies would have a stake in this as well.

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