Questions about shipping high value items to auction houses.

[Paul Godfrey]

First off, apologies if this is not the right part of the board for this. 
For those of you who have shipped high value objects to auction houses, how did you insure your shipment? I understand declared value through FedEx or UPS is not the way to go, and a traditional “all risk” insurance is preferable. If you have done this in the past, I would like to know who you used.
 

Thank you.

Paul 

[atm]

When shipping in the United States, USPS Registered Mail is best for high value items up to $50,000. It is slow but secure, as the  package is signed for each time it is handed off internally and it is held in a secured area while waiting for the next leg of the journey. And the insurance is relatively inexpensive. Otherwise, I insure collectible items using a special policy (like this) that covers items in transit, and I ship them UPS Next Day Air to minimize the item they are in the UPS system.

[Mark]

maybe the auction house has coverage?  When i send a sword i had completed the "paperwork" in advance and they sent me shipping label/instructions and it was covered by them as it was already "under contract" 

[Paul Godfrey]

Which auction house were you dealing with Mark?

 

Morphy tells me they can’t insure the shipment unless they pack it. 

Edited December 23, 2025 by Paul Godfrey

[Paul Godfrey]

On 12/20/2025 at 10:30 AM, atm said:

When shipping in the United States, USPS Registered Mail is best for high value items up to $50,000. It is slow but secure, as the  package is signed for each time it is handed off internally and it is held in a secured area while waiting for the next leg of the journey. And the insurance is relatively inexpensive. Otherwise, I insure collectible items using a special policy (like this) that covers items in transit, and I ship them UPS Next Day Air to minimize the item they are in the UPS system.

I will give Gallagher a call thank you. I have tried multiple other similar places with no luck.

Edited December 23, 2025 by Paul Godfrey