[meteorite-list] Insuring shipments: fors & againsts

Wed Jun 3 04:07:55 EDT 2009

I must agree with Matteo.

Whenever I had insured some parcel containing 
mineral or meteorite samples (I insure on very, 
very rare occasions), although the packs were not lost, I had problems in
- delays (packs quenched at the customs for long, long time),
- taxes to pay (sometimes "prohibitive", though I 
agree it is a minor problem far less harmful than loosing the precious stuff)
- and mostly through checking the contents by the "cautious" customs officers!

Indeed, I use to say that they probably "play 
basketball" with our beloved (and fragile!) 
samples, by handling them without any care.
Imagine the tiny slices resistance....
And this, not counting their wet and greasy hands 
running all throughout the fragile irons. 
Something to wake up for sure any dormant Lawrencite (or alike) disease!

This being, and as I suggest to most of my 
suppliers (especially from the US) with whom I 
have business since decades, please just put on the customs green tag:

"(geological) ROCKS for (scientific) study (research), no commercial value"
  (options in parenthesis)

This means the supplier obviously should never 
write on the customs tag  (declaration sheet) 
"METEORITE" but also not "MINERAL" either 
(mineral specimens are known by customs to have a commercial value!).

Indeed, what resembles better a meteorite than a 
"simple geological ROCK" ?. A basalt is a basalt 
and I defy any customs officer to discern its 
Martian, Vestan or Terrestrial origin ("who is that Mrs Vesta ?")
Believe me this always worked so far with 100% efficiency.
Not any loss noticed for hundreds, perhaps 
thousands of transactions since...the early 
1980's (mostly minerals at the time, as 
meteorites started to be sent that way since 1992)

Well, this is of course a statistic statement, 
neither a suggestion, certainly not an advice 
(imagine my responsibility!) for any of you.

I therefore also always specify in a selected way 
the procedure to adopt for each particular trade 
or purchase, in full agreement between the supplier.
And I also respect the customer's suggestions 
(whatever they be) when I send my own stuff.

Logically, if I suggest not to insure the parcel, 
it is entirely at my own responsibility and I fully accept to take the risk.
Luckily this never resulted to a loss.
Better, parcels always arrived rapidly without any checking (in 99+ % cases)
Of course I may possibly benefit from my position 
as "teacher and researcher in a mineral chemistry 
lab", but yet, I also never got any loss or 
damage when parcels are sent at my private 
address as well (here again, as I live in a small 
village, I might be known as an eccentric or 
"lunatic" collector of "ugly rocks"...but still...).

Understand me well, I neither prone or discourage 
insuring parcels, just wanting to describe some 
"fors and againsts" regarding insuring parcels 
containing our beloved and so precious ROCKS (from space!).
Each case is different, risk zero does not exist 
and custom officer's behaviors are just 
unpredictable, especially in these crazy and uncertain times...!

Good luck and thanks everybody for past and 
future comments on this important topic.

Zelimir

At 06:11 03/06/2009, M come Meteorite Meteorites wrote:
>Depend, the unique time I have insured a pack this is go
>lost immediatly...never again
>
>Matteo
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>Da : "John.L.Cabassi" <John at Cabassi.net>
>A : "'meteoritelist meteoritelist'"
><meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>Oggetto : Re: [meteorite-list] Dealers, Sellers: Please
>INSURE your shipments
>Data : Tue, 2 Jun 2009 19:16:25 -0700
>
> > G'Day List
> > Ahh, mailing problems. It's interesting that this should
> > pop up on the same day that I also received a package from
> > Argentina. It possibly could have been from the same
> > supplier. But my package was also tampered with, either by
> > mechanical sources due to sorting or human influence, but
> > whatever it was, it only managed to open half the package.
> > Maybe the machine broke down or the human was interrupted.
> > Either way, I did not lose anything.
> >
> > As for declarations, I don't sell, but from time to time,
> > I give some away and I always put "No Value" and "Mineral
> > Specimen" But for the first time, this package from
> > Argentina had the full value and on the green declaration
> > stamp it is written "Rocks for study without commercial
> > value - meteorites" But the value was also included.  This
> > is the first time this has ever happened to me.
> >
> > Cheers
> > John
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> > [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On
> > Behalf Of Galactic Stone & Ironworks
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:41 PM
> > To: Pete Pete
> > Cc: meteoritelist meteoritelist
> > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Dealers, Sellers: Please
> > INSURE your shipments
> >
> >
> > Hi Pete and List,
> >
> > When shipping meteorites outside the US, I declare them as
> > "mineral specimens for study".
> >
> > Most of the overseas dealers I buy from mark their forms
> > in a similar manner.
> >
> > I rarely, if ever, see "meteorite" on the declaration
> > form.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > MikeG
> >
> >
> > On 6/2/09, Pete Pete <rsvp321 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi, Aubrey and List,
> > >
> > > One package I received labelled "Mineral Specimens" was
> > > taxed as  vitamins.
> > >
> > > Another package I received labelled "Meteorites" was
> > > taxed as  antiques!
> > >
> > > I have never had a problem with (what the vast majority
> > > of sellers  use) "Rock Specimens for Scientific Study",
> > with little or no monetary
> >
> > > value.
> > >
> > > For what it's worth,
> > > Pete
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ----------------------------------------
> > >> Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2009 22:31:03 +0300
> > >> From: tektites at googlemail.com
> > >> To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> > >> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Dealers, Sellers: Please
> > INSURE your  >> shipments
> > >>
> > >> I am always careful about declaring a meteorite - it
> > makes it  >> tempting to steal. 'Mineral specimen for
> > research' is accurate and  >> yet far less tempting to
> > steal. Also I prefer not to declare the full
> >
> > >> value. When I have stuff sent to the Philippines I like
> > a low value  >> as again it reduces the risk of theft
> > (although I have never  >> experienced a problem). The
> > main problem I have is that if a high  >> value is
> > declared then I have to pay import duties, and various
> > other
> >
> > >> taxes and post office expenses that basically convert a
> > bargain ebay  >> purchase into very expense deal - almost
> > to the point that it's not  >> worth picking up, due to
> > the expense. I once bought $120 of tektites  >> and then
> > had to pay $60 to the post office to get them! >>
> > >> Aubrey
> > >> ______________________________________________
> > >> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
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> >
> >
> > --
> > ........................................................
> > Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)
> > Member of the Meteoritical Society.
> > Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.
> > Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and
> > http://www.glassthrower.com
> > .........................................................
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>
>M come Meteorite Meteoriti
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Prof. Zelimir Gabelica
Université de Haute Alsace
ENSCMu, Lab. GSEC,
3, Rue A. Werner,
F-68093 Mulhouse Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 94
Fax: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 15 