UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

This gives me hives. 

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/family-angry-after-artwork-destroyed-391392931.html

 

Family angry after artwork destroyed
UPS says it has the right to discard anything that may 'harm' an employee

 

Basically, the family paid UPS extra to safely pack the artwork, it was broken in transit, and then thrown away. I think the insult here is that UPS packed the order themselves. Well, and then broke it. And then threw it in the trash. How could it have gone any worse?

 

 

 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

And threw it in the trash without warning, I might add. 

 

It's like every sender's nightmare. 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

They could've at least only thrown away the glass and kept the painting? That's horrible especially considering UPS packed it themselves!
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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

I know. It was huge, so I understand the reason the family opted to pay UPS to do the packing. 

 

It just seems like madness that they'd mishandle it so badly. Breaking it, and then just chucking the whole thing into the garbage without trying to see what might be saved? It doesn't make sense. I'd like to know what happened. 

 

And obviously the item had value as art as well as real sentimental value to the family who owned it. 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

Now here is some pure speculation on my part: what if the item HAD to be thrown out? The family was told at one point it was damaged, stained, discarded. In that order. Maybe the item broke, glass cut the worker who then bled all over it, and necessitated the throwing-out because it was then obviously both dangerous to workers as well as truly ruined? Like a horror movie.

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

The artwork was appraised at $9,000

 

The police have been informed..

 

There is no guarantee the artwork was actually destroyed....  Could have been a..... break the glass staged theft.

 

 

 

 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

It's an awful thought. It was large. An acrylic collage by an abstract painter.' "She doesn’t have photos of the large painting — a metre wide, 11/2 metres long and 18 centimetres deep, weighing about 16 kilograms — but said family members are searching for photos in which it appears in the background.' I wonder where the glass came in if it was 18 cm deep. Like an enormous shadow box? Maybe it should have been crated like you see sometimes. But if ups did the packing, and the family had owned a gallery, I'd assume these were people who knew what they were doing.
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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

UPS did exactly the same thing to me.  I spent six months buying inexpensive knick-knacks locally for a friend in the southern US, stuff I knew she couldn't buy there, like small Algonquin handicrafts and maple sugar candies.  When I had a whole boxload of stuff the total value of the goods was only about $100 but I'd spent months selecting each item from many different places.  UPS packed it all themselves and I insured it.  A small bottle of maple syrup apparently broke in transit and UPS simply tossed everything in the trash and handed me a cheque for a hundred bucks.

 

I have never used UPS again.

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

Holy cow! 

 

Like you, I would be so very upset.

 

Is it possible the staff simply isn't trained to pack properly? Or too pressed for time to do it properly? 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

(I'd be heartbroken in either case. I take things too seriously and attach obscene amounts of sentimental value to items where others cannot see it. And that's odd because I'm not really that mushy of a gal.) 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

I think it's more a case that packages are treated roughly by people who don't care, and that since it's not coming out of their pocket, it's a lot easier for them to simply trash everything and press a button on a computer to trigger a pay-out than take the time to figure out if anything can be salvaged.

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY


@nojusticenopeace wrote:

UPS did exactly the same thing to me.  I spent six months buying inexpensive knick-knacks locally for a friend in the southern US, stuff I knew she couldn't buy there, like small Algonquin handicrafts and maple sugar candies.  When I had a whole boxload of stuff the total value of the goods was only about $100 but I'd spent months selecting each item from many different places.  UPS packed it all themselves and I insured it.  A small bottle of maple syrup apparently broke in transit and UPS simply tossed everything in the trash and handed me a cheque for a hundred bucks.

 

I have never used UPS again.


That's horrible. I have a lot of inexpensive items that I collected over the years like that too, that they are worth a lot to me because of the time I spent looking for them, not their price tags. I'd hate to mail something of sentimental value like that and then only get $100 back - the time and effort spent is priceless. 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

a metre wide, 11/2 metres long and 18 centimetres deep, weighing about 16 kilograms —

 

We moved an oil painting that was larger than that with us. It's a lifesize portrait of a mother and child.

I suspect the 18 cm is the depth of the frame plus the packing material.

We had the framer we usually use (we have a lot of art) to pack it. Cost us over $200 including materials and labour and i believe he lost money on it.

Then we had to hire another guy to unpack and mount it. We have the sheets of plywood in the garage in case we ever need to move it again.

Worth every penny.

 

But we also have our collection, and the oil specifically, insured by Hugh Wood International, who I have mentioned before as specialist insurers for collectors and dealers.

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

Yes, I don't think I'd consign artwork of any value to UPS to pack for shipping.  

 

As unfortunate as that story was, this was the real mistake the woman in the article made, although people who aren't fine artists and/or don't collect art seriously likely wouldn't know there is a proper way to crate such things (and might not know that UPS doesn't know either!).  As a matter of fact, if it had been properly crated, even if the glass had broken it would likely not have protruded or fallen outside the crate.  It's like moving pianos -- you don't just hire ABC moving company down the street.

 

UPS has the responsibility in this.  If they can't pack a piece of valuable artwork to gallery or museum standards, they should be turning down such packing jobs or referring them to an expert.  Or at least telling the customer to remove the glass (usually easy enough to do) and ship without. 

 

Since this piece was apparently acrylic on paper, chances are that tossing it would have ruined it completely, either by crushing, creasing, or cutting through by the glass.  Very sad. 

 

 

 

 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

The Free Press article mentions one of the family members had been an art gallery owner or something. Maybe she just trusted UPS to do the job right. Unfortunately.
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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

Anonymous
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They should send it to the frame store to pack it professional.  They have proper materials for packing.  Sorry that they use UPS.  UPS is not a professional place for packing the artworks.

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY


@mjwl2006 wrote:
The Free Press article mentions one of the family members had been an art gallery owner or something. Maybe she just trusted UPS to do the job right. Unfortunately.

Oh yes, now that you mention it, you're right.  I recall I was really surprised about that when I read the article.  Mind you, there are art galleries and art galleries.  Sometimes small galleries that deal only in local artists' work never have occasion to pack a painting for shipment.  

 

The fact that the painting in question was an acrylic on paper may say something about the level of sophistication of the owner.  It's unusual that a work in that media would be valued as highly as she claims.  Very unusual actually.  But then there are valuations and valuations too.

 

Of course in fairness, that wasn't the point.  It had a great deal of sentimental value to her.  For that I can only fault UPS. 

 

 

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

I sometimes post about getting collections appraised before selling (either privately or on eBay).

 

One thing most owners don't understand is that an heirloom may have several appraised values and all of them could be correct.'

 

Insurance value is the cost of replacing the item exactly. Easy enough with Royal Doulton Figurines, even the retired ones, since there are lots of them and an active market.

With vintage fine jewelry, it can cost as much for the time finding the right stones as it does for the work of the jeweler reproducing the item exactly.

These appraisals are going to be the highest-- catalogue value or time +materials.

 

Cash value is what a dealer will offer for immediate purchase. This is usually the lowest, because the dealer has to think how long it will take him to find a customer and what that customer will pay.

 

And auction value is between those two. In a public auction the underbids are set by the dealers, and then collectors take them higher . At least that's how it usually works out. A determined collector can always outbid a dealer.

 

And of course, Ian told lots of sellers that their collections were priceless as family history and should be passed on to the most interested eight year old available.

 

I suspect the $9 000 was a number someone pulled out of googling. There was no mention of the shipment being insured for the full amount, possibly to avoid paying duty and sales tax on importation.

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UPS TOSSES HEIRLOOM ART: NEWSTORY

Very interesting explanation. Thank you for sharing that perspective.

I think one of the stories said the shipment had been insured (with UPS) for the maximum value allowed which was $2500. The story also said that since the artist had since passed away and had been an acquaintance of the family, it would be difficult to replace.

A sad tale.

Nonetheless, when I last moved, the professional packers who came to my house wrapped most of my large paintings (my own work) in my fleece blankets and taped them closed.

I don't recall any paintings getting wrecked.

But I was moving only a few blocks. And none of the art was valuable..... except to me and my six-year-old who also loved it.
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