[NHCOLL-L:117] re: insuring specimen shipments

[Mike Taylor]

>I beg to differ.  Registering a package slows its delivery considerably.  This
>is because every person who handles the package must fill out a form stating
>where and when s/he did so.  I would expect that this is true of almost any
>form of package-tracing in the USPS.

Nor do you always get efficient tracking of registered mail. We once sent
spms by registered USPS mail that never arrived at its destination. I
filled out the forms requesting the post office to find the package. This
was 4-5 years ago and I have never, EVER received an answer. Registered
mail is NOT tracked by computer, but merely by a number written down on
various pieces of paper as the package makes its way to the destination.

(It turns out the above package never left the campus mail center, but the
USPS never even responded saying they never heard of the registration
number.)

>On the other hand, UPS has automatic tracking with those bar codes they put on
>every package.  You can track it yourself on the web and it doesn't seem to
>slow things down.

I agree that insuring specimens that can't be replaced with a mere monetary
value is pointless. For most specimens, we ship regular US mail and have
never lost a package. (The above situation doesn't count. We got the spms
back and it wasn't the USPS's fault.) For important specimens and
paratypes, we ship second day UPS for computer tracking.


Mike
--
Michael S. Taylor                              mike at museum.tulane.edu
Manager of Collections                         Phone: (504) 394-1711
Tulane Museum of Natural History               Fax: (504) 394-5045
Belle Chasse, Louisiana  70037          http://www.museum.tulane.edu/