A True Test for Pirate Ship and UPS (Claim Paid!)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Meeotch
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Meeotch

Meeotch

Well-known member
Call me lucky, but as a seller I've never had an item damaged in transit. I always pack the hell out of my items. Well a guitar of mine sold, this time on Reverb, and after reading some horror stories about Reverb failing to honor damage claims within their "Safe Ship" agenda, I decided instead to give Pirate Ship a try. They have very competitive pricing (maybe the cheapest even) and it only cost me $16 to insure my $2k guitar with their 3rd party "ShipSurance" company. All said and done, I saved $35 in shipping by choosing Pirate Ship over Reverb Safe Ship.

I packaged the guitar carefully in its hardshell case with extra padding on the inside, then packed that inside the OG guitar box again with extra padding. Off it goes, and when it arrives the case is cracked and the guitar body has a chunk missing. Thanks UPS.

I pull up the chat window on Pirate Ship and within seconds I'm chatting with a real human. The agent guided me through the process of filing a claim which was straightforward but note they require some specifics like original purchase receipt/proof of value, receipt of the sale to the buyer, a copy of the communications with the buyer, specific photos of internal and external packaging, damage photos, etc. I went ahead and got a quote from my local tech for repairing the chip and included that, as well as the price of a new case.

Now the Pirate Ship claim team takes over and I should hear back in 3 days. So far I'm cautiously optimistic. To be continued...
 
At least they let you spill your beans to give your case a fighting chance no pun intended. If you can provide the proof and they’re a stand up company I’ll default to them for everything.

I think you should post a “ if you ship piratebay, document your sale to have these things” and keep us updated. Always good to learn from the process both good and bad.
 
Very curious how this pans out. I’ve had two UPS claims, both eventually paid out but it was MONTHS like 6 or longer.
 
I tried stamps.com for a shipment to Australia. Shipsurance was the extra insurer on the two speakers. USPS did ok, but the company in Australia punched a six inch hole in the box diagonally. Needless to say both speakers were bent beyond repair.

But good old Shipsurance (Shit?) decided that the USPS claim with pics wasn't enough. Then Stamps.com refunded my money after seeing the USPS claim, but the last $239 I had to duke out with SS. Three separate uploads of jpegs, pdf's, etc and they still said "We can't read your files..." I finally contacted Stamps.com and said "Cancel my membership, refund my money...these assholes are too stupid!"

36 hours later, SS approves my claim, Stamps.com gave me 3 months free for the hassle.

But this started on July 10th, and I only got the last $239 check on Friday. Be prepared for stupidity on a massive scale.
 
leib10 said:
Same. The last amp I shipped cost over $200 with insurance. That's ridiculous, and I'm looking for an alternative.
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Here's an excellent option... I have not used them but for those that have, they claim the service is VERY GOOD !

NOTE: Please keep in mind this is for coverage, not shipping.

https://musicins.com/
 
RedPlated said:
Me too.

The Shipsurance terms of service seems like a claim would be a breeze. I read the whole thing. But reality is likely a different story.
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I thought it would be easier, too. There were about 25 emails involved with getting the claim dialed in over two months.
 
Update - I can happily report that my claim was successfully paid out! Here's how it all went down:

As I mentioned before, Shipsurance is the third party company providing the shipping insurance, and Pirate Ship acts as the middle man between Shipsurance and the shipper. I filed my claim and within a few days Pirate Ship emailed me back saying the claim was received and they would be in touch. A few days after that they emailed me with some follow up questions, specifically asking me where the packing material was placed inside the guitar box (difficult to photograph) and requesting a copy of my driver's license.

The next day, they emailed me with a "low ball offer" as I would call it, offering to pay for roughly 2/3 of my stated value on the claim. I stood my ground and replied with a statement reiterating the value of the guitar's damage (as noted in the quote from my tech) and the value of the guitar case that would need to be replaced due to the crack jeopardizing it's ability to adequately offer further protection. They replied with a request for photos of the case prior to shipping, which luckily I had.

A few days later they emailed me back offering to pay my full claim amount, and I accepted. There are a few options in getting the reimbursement, and I chose "paper check" because it was the only way to avoid additional fees. About 2 weeks later the check showed up for the full claim amount, plus reimbursement for the original shipping charges!

So yes, there was some back and forth and even a little haggling but overall I thought the process went smoothly. Pirate Ship reliably kept me in the loop and was immediately responsive to additional questions I had. Here is a list of the questions you will be asked when you initially file a claim:

Amount Being Claimed
Tracking Number
Please provide an itemized list of ALL items shipped, including the number of items damaged, and a brief description of the nature of the damage.
Invoice / Proof of Value (Required)
Proof of Payment / Transaction (Required)
Messages between the Shipper and Recipient (Required)
Photos of Damaged Item(s) (Required)
Photos of Internal Packaging (Required)
Photos of External Packaging (Showing all sides of the package) (Required)
Has the package been returned to you? (Warning: Returning a damaged package is prohibited per coverage terms)
Have you refunded your recipient, or sent a replacement? (We recommend waiting to issue refunds/replacements until the claim decision is final)
If your claim is approved, how would you like to receive those funds?
If you selected PayPal, let us know your PayPal email address. If you selected Paper Check, let us know your best mailing address.
Additional Comments

Basically what I learned is that as the seller, you need to take extensive photos of everything you are selling. Hell even a video of you packing up the item would be helpful. Overall I probably sent 25 photos to Pirate Ship. Luckily the buyer was cool and sent me extensive photos of the damage as well, including photos of the box and all the internal packaging. I also think getting the quote from my tech greatly helped justify the repair costs, and fortunately he was willing to provide a ballpark quote based on photos. It was also helpful to have all of my communications with the buyer in writing because this was specifically requested.

I hope this has been a helpful review of my experience using Pirate Ship. Selling online/shipping gear is really one of the hardest and most dreadful aspects of being a gear junkie, but if you are diligent rest assured Pirate Ship is legit and will be my go-to moving forward. Oh and fuck UPS!!
 
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Meeotch said:
as the seller, you need to take extensive photos of everything you are selling. Hell even a video of you packing up the item would be helpful.
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I've started doing this the past year myself. Most of the time it doesn't matter, but I like to be prepared. Plus if your buyer ends up being shady, you have proof how it was packed up. Also with amps I usually take a short little clip proving that it turns on, makes noise, switches channels, etc, time stamped in my phone.
 
That's very good news....in the past, the ONLY way UPS will pay a claim is if you take it to a UPS store, and pay a shit ton extra for them to pack it. Even in that case, UPS will deny the claim but in the end someone will pay, either the store or UPS itself.

Pirate Ship for the win!
 
Scumback Speakers said:
I tried stamps.com for a shipment to Australia. Shipsurance was the extra insurer on the two speakers. USPS did ok, but the company in Australia punched a six inch hole in the box diagonally. Needless to say both speakers were bent beyond repair.

But good old Shipsurance (Shit?) decided that the USPS claim with pics wasn't enough. Then Stamps.com refunded my money after seeing the USPS claim, but the last $239 I had to duke out with SS. Three separate uploads of jpegs, pdf's, etc and they still said "We can't read your files..." I finally contacted Stamps.com and said "Cancel my membership, refund my money...these assholes are too stupid!"

36 hours later, SS approves my claim, Stamps.com gave me 3 months free for the hassle.

But this started on July 10th, and I only got the last $239 check on Friday. Be prepared for stupidity on a massive scale.
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Australian customs are absolute barbarians. I sent a guitar and at some point in its life someone must have touched some form of drugs and touched the guitar or case.

They cut the hard case in half thinking it was secretly stuffed with drugs and drilled holes INTO THE GUITAR!! Of course, neither had anything in them, but they were very unapologetic about it and basically said, “oh well, shit happens.”

Eventually, I got back about half the money. Of course, the buyer didn’t want the guitar after holes were drilled through it looking for secret compartments.

The buyer, who I got to know, said that this happens from time to time. We ended up doing a few more deals. He was a good guy.
 
mooncobra said:
Australian customs are absolute barbarians. I sent a guitar and at some point in its life someone must have touched some form of drugs and touched the guitar or case.

They cut the hard case in half thinking it was secretly stuffed with drugs and drilled holes INTO THE GUITAR!! Of course, neither had anything in them, but they were very unapologetic about it and basically said, “oh well, shit happens.”

Eventually, I got back about half the money. Of course, the buyer didn’t want the guitar after holes were drilled through it looking for secret compartments.

The buyer, who I got to know, said that this happens from time to time. We ended up doing a few more deals. He was a good guy.
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holy shit.
 
mooncobra said:
Australian customs are absolute barbarians. I sent a guitar and at some point in its life someone must have touched some form of drugs and touched the guitar or case.

They cut the hard case in half thinking it was secretly stuffed with drugs and drilled holes INTO THE GUITAR!! Of course, neither had anything in them, but they were very unapologetic about it and basically said, “oh well, shit happens.”

Eventually, I got back about half the money. Of course, the buyer didn’t want the guitar after holes were drilled through it looking for secret compartments.

The buyer, who I got to know, said that this happens from time to time. We ended up doing a few more deals. He was a good guy.
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I would have started actually sending drugs because the odds are in your favor that it wouldn't happen again. I also would have listed those guitars on reverb as having "tone holes".
 
japetus said:
I would have started actually sending drugs because the odds are in your favor that it wouldn't happen again. I also would have listed those guitars on reverb as having "tone holes".
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"Tone holes for mid-solo speed boost"
 
japetus said:
I would have started actually sending drugs because the odds are in your favor that it wouldn't happen again. I also would have listed those guitars on reverb as having "tone holes".
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Hahahaha! Tone holes!!!!! When the guitar eventually made it to him, he said it looked like a shark bit the case!!
 
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