Quote:
Originally Posted by gzman
Hi Scott,
Is there any reason for an auction house to have a separate % insurance coverage if they have a policy covering their entire operation like Collectibles Insurance?
Mailing and Shipping – For shipments to your customers anywhere in the world. Temporary and permanent shipping coverages are available to accommodate your delivery needs.
Thanks for your insight!
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Because that policy isn't free so why would you get the coverage for free? It costs thousands of dollars a quarter, even for our coverage which I am sure is lower in dollar value than the huge companies. We basically figured out, over the course of a year, what the insurance cost us compared to using postal or carrier insurance per package and pass along a HUGE discount (less than 50%) compared to the various carrier rates.
We lose a good amount of money on shipping every auction (we charge actual postage or shipping plus the discounted insurance rate plus $5, which in most cases doesn't even cover the supplies let alone the labor) so the idea that now we're going to insure for free is a non-starter. But I get it, half of the posts I respond to seem to take the point of view that auctions don't deserve to make money because they make too much money...