How to Send a Watch: Pack and send a watch
Hello!
My name is Valentin and I'm the co-founder and CEO of Secursus, the online shipping insurance.
A few years ago, I used to work in the vintage watch industry, and I often had to send and receive watches through carriers. At that time, my main concern was the shipping insurance, as watches were almost always excluded from courier coverage I was using. Secursus was the insurance shipping service I could only dream of to insure my watches and no longer worry about potential loss or theft of my parcels.
Since no relevant shipping insurance was available at the time, I decided that it was my opportunity to start Secursus.com, an online shipping insurance specialised in insuring expensive watches and luxurious items in general. If you are wondering how to send a watch domestically or internationally and how to fully insure your watch against loss, theft and damage, **please read the following :)
Here are my tips for shipping a watch.
Sending Watches? Discretion Is Mandatory
The most important rule is to keep thieves away from your parcel. To do so, you must not write anything on the outside of the packaging that could indicate that there is a watch inside it.
When the carrier asks what is inside the shipped parcel, you must declare "Precision instrument" or "Mechanical instrument" but you must not write the word "watch" at all.
If you are a watch company, your company name/email address may contain a sensitive word such as "watch", "Rolex", "Omega", "luxury watch", “jewellery” etc. Delete these words and shorten them. For example, change "Vintage Watch Company" to "VW Co". Always check the shipping labels for any sensitive words.
At Secursus, it is a mandatory rule to insure your watch. This is called a risk mitigation technique that decreases the risk of theft and also decreases the cost of insurance.
How to Pack a Watch for Shipping
Here is the best way to pack and ship a watch:
- Properly pack your watch (or watch box) with bubble wrap
- Put this first packaging in a small box
- Put this smaller box inside a bigger box (also called pizza box)
- Add an extra shipping label on the small box. If the main label falls off, at least the carrier will open it and find another label inside.
- Make sure the main shipping label is stuck on a hard surface
CAUTION: Never send your watch in a plastic envelope or a bag. Always use a sturdy cardboard box as the outer packaging.
Shipping a Watch: Choose The Best Carriers and Delivery Service
Even if you have insurance, you don't want to send a watch with the wrong carrier. Bad carriers lose parcels and if they do, they will not admit it.
As previously mentioned, always consider fast and reliable carriers for domestic delivery or for international shipments such as mail express shipping, priority mail international, or mail express carriers, like DHL, Fedex, UPS to send your watches (You can easily find cheap prices online).
The shipping method you will choose is very important! You have multiple shipping options when making shipments, multiple shipping costs and different shipping charges and shipping costs as well. The shipping cost are usually based on your package weigh, size, the shipping options choosen and the destination of the parcel and the transit-time (when do you want your parcel to arrive: the next-day...).
Do not forget to add the signature option, which is very important, otherwise your parcel will be delivered to your porch, or possibly to someone else.
Moreover, you can find great rates online thanks to Overland Express for example, this way you will get a range of rates based on your parcel destination, weight and size and you will be able to choose the best offers to send your watch.
Always double check that the signature on receipt is mandatory, and that the carrier is not allowed to give the parcel to someone else, or even worse, to a collection shop such as a grocery store, a supermarket etc.
Selling Watchs Online? BE CAREFUL WHO YOU SELL TO
Watches are expensive and that is exactly what scammers are looking for. This is why I would definitely recommend never shipping a watch without receiving a payment first.
Beware of buyers who don't seem interested in the watch itself, but are primarily interested in a quick transaction. Always Google buyers’ names to see if they have a history of scamming. The most common scam comes from private buyers: they will tell you that they never received the parcel but in fact, they are already wearing your watch on their wrist! They will try to defraud you and the insurance company as well.
Make sure you use your parcel's tracking information and tracking number to follow and track your shipments progress in case your buyer would want to fraud.
How To Insure a Watch during Shipping?
Did you know? At Secursus, we handle a lot of claims, and watches are often involved in insurance fraud. If you are shipping watches and need parcel insurance to protect your watch during shipping, Secursus will insure it in just a few clicks and at the best possible rate. If you are a watch seller or buyer, please feel free to reach out to me if you need advice on how to send a watch.
