Art insurance is often a really sticky point. The standard insurance that couriers such as DPD, TNT UPS etc default to paying out for the goods, the amount that you purchased it for - Not good if you are shipping a Banksy that you have owned for 15 years. It is possible to get the full amount for the goods but you have to prove what the cost of a replacement would be on a like for like basis.

A cheaper way to get insurance on standard courier services is to use a company like this www.secursus.com/ who will insure individual consignments often much cheaper than the courier being used. Just beware for Art, only Loss and theft is covered.

Using specialist art couriers like www.fragilistics.co.uk/ or www.aardvarkartservices.com/ is often much less risky (although more expensive) as they keep the goods in their possession (door to door) the whole time and it doesn't go through large sorting warehouses being thrown around for amusement sake.

There are policies out there that will only payout the cost of the materials, in the case of a Banksy that would be the paper it was printed on - always read the small print!
Jay

yeah, insurance is a fucker, I hate them with a passion, family issue years back.

I think we all know the big couriers don't care about the goods they ship, they typically get dumped on and off vans into regional hubs about 4 times on their journey from collection to final destination. For my business I send quite a bit out and I have had a few calls from customers saying the box I sent them has foot prints on them and what should they do. I think the driver walks over boxes to get to the box they want, would be cool if they signed the footprint, or even do a Gavin Turk on them.

I think the drivers get paid about 60p a drop, my mate is one and he has to do about 160 drops a day to make it worthwhile

Typical cost to send a parcel is around £6.00

Glass and couriers do not mix

There are fragile goods couriers who employ people that know it's not a good thing to walk on boxes, but they charge quite a bit more

Adding to this thread a little further, I have a couple of pieces that I’m looking to send to MFM shortly, one of which will be sent flat as received from Rhodes Contemporary, the other as received created by Avant Arte. I was initially looking to have this collected and delivered door to door using Parcel2go but their additional insurance seems a bit woolly. I also looked into sending via UPS/FedEx but going directly through their own website but the artwork (based on current values) exceeds their maximum declared amount and I could see no way to add beyond that. Both of these insurances only seem to cover against loss and I wonder if anyone would be able to advise whether I should be looking insure these with another party and, if so, who? Also, would you advise just taking out the Parcel2go insurance? I didn’t take this through all stages but I couldn’t actually see where you declared the value of the items at the point I had gotten to.

For information, the value of the pieces is somewhere between £1250 and £1400 (each) based on the secondary market. I assume that I should be looking to insure to this figure? The items were well packaged and will be sent on as received so do I even need additional insurance to guard against damage do you think? Also, are there any couriers who you’d really advise using/not using? I’d be looking to go with one of the bigger couriers and was thinking perhaps UPS or FedEx. Do you think I am just better off using a specialist courier such as FL and paying the extra costs?

Sorry for all of the questions but I know that there are many people here who will have experience with this and really looking to you wonderful lot for some advice and help please.

Speak to MFM, he has a company that will collect and deliver to him, then return to you once he’s framed them.

Hi, we are considering moving to Australia sometime next year. Are there any duties or taxes to pay if we take along our bits of art? We have lots of small pieces, none of great value, but was wondering if anyone had any experiences. Most expensive are probably the recent Hirst Virtue to give you an idea.
Thx

I am moving from NY to Milan and was advised by both my US and Italian accountants that there is no duty paid on personal effects during a move.

You may not have to pay customs duty and GST if you meet certain eligibility requirements.
To be eligible for the UPE concession you must have arrived on a ship or aircraft from a place outside Australia, meet permanent residency requirements and the goods must be:
your personal property suitable and intended for use by you in Australia
personally owned and used overseas by you for a specified length of time. Generally, this is 12 months prior to your departure for Australia.

www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/moving-to-australia/upe

I need an oil on canvas collected of about 80 x 60cm (30' x 24') and packed in LA. It's already collared and just needs strong outer packaging for international shipping. Can anyone suggest a company that is reasonably priced and reliable, the artist has provided some recommendations but they are outrageous, 4 or 5 times the price of the companies I use on the East Coast. 

Castelli

SF express shipping

Try Mailboxes www.mbe.co.uk/

They work with auction houses and ship art all of the time. If they pack it themselves it is insured under their policy

Mailboxes are a franchise so it may well be different depending upon where you are.

I have not had an issue with my local branch. I tend to use RM special delivery or TNT for domestic shipping.

These people pack although I have never used them. www.packsend.co.uk/
Jay

in that case fragilistics

Can I also recommend Fragilistics for this Ildefonso77??

I don't work for them I would add, but I know their main business is shipping mirrors, so I'm sure they can help you with these items.

The print I used them for was quite large to say the least, so sure they will help with your items.

If you need contact details, just message me, deal with a nice lady there who I'm sure will assist if they can.