Urban Art Association

There probably isn't one answer, since multiple factors can influence in different ways the rates charged by various courier companies — including the dimensions of your parcel, its weight, the proposed date of shipment, and the speed of service required.

Note that "best value" typically translates into longer delivery times, meaning an increased risk of loss, damage or destruction in transit. This could then end up being a false economy for you.


__________



One of the most obvious first ports of call is a courier-comparison website.

Did you try one of those already? If not, why not?



Remember that knocking and bashing in transit is inevitable.

It would be best to therefore work on the assumption that, during its journey, the parcel that will contain your music award will be thrown with force against hard surfaces or jagged edges a few times. Make sure to package your music award accordingly — using suitably-robust cardboard (possibly more than one layer thereof), along with sufficient buffer space inside that is stuffed with crumpled brown paper and/or bubble wrap.

Now determine the dimensions and weight of your parcel, and fill in those details and the destination country (USA) on a comparison site like Parcel2Go.com:


www.parcel2go.com/






Next, click 'Quote & Book' to see what your options are with companies like Evri, DPD, Parcelforce and FedEx. You can list the results by:

(a) speed of delivery (Express, Economy, or Super Economy);
(b) price; or
(c) the ratings of the courier companies.


While the default level of insurance on Parcel2Go is typically £25 or £50, additional protection (up to £5,000) can be added to your order during the booking process.

Thank you for the reminder.

Indeed, this point was a glaring omission from my initial post.

Always read the exclusion clauses if placing any reliance on insurance.



Courier companies and intermediary platforms like Parcel2Go can easily instill a false sense of security — encouraging their customers to think they're covered or partly covered, and even allowing those customers to senselessly pay extra for additional insurance.

But, as mentioned in a separate thread*, if a problem later arises and a customer then files a claim, it is at that moment they will be pointed to the relevant exclusion clause in their contract.

The onus is always on each individual to do their own due diligence and ensure they aren't taking out insurance on excluded items. Perhaps unjustly, a courier company or intermediary platform has no duty to warn its customers when, through ignorance, the latter choose to waste their money on invalid insurance.

Artwork, watches and jewellery are commonly-excluded items.


__________



In this particular case, with Parcel2Go's exclusion of Perspex, things do not look very promising insurance-wise:


www.parcel2go.com/prohibited-items



Options available will then include:

(i)  first seeking express clarification in writing from a senior and duly-authorised representative of Parcel2Go (regarding the insurance status of the Perspex-framed music award) before moving forward;

(ii)  taking the risk of shipping uninsured; or

(iii)  finding a more specialised courier — perhaps one whose focus is art and antiques — that expressly agrees to insure the Perspex-framed music award (no doubt at additional cost, and possibly significant additional cost).