Each year we send crew and managers out, sometimes at our own expense, sometimes charged to the client, to take a look at inventories to be moved and/or to assess various logistics issues at a given physical location. This “site visit” is required where very large collections are to be relocated or where the client, for whatever reason, is unable to provide an accurate or complete inventory. The site visit becomes necessary to produce the estimate, which then becomes the basis for accomplishing the required scope of work.

      There are two kinds of site visits: useful and useless. You should go on the useful ones, and avoid the useless ones. Trouble is, telling which is which in advance.

      Customer A is very insistent that someone come out and take a look at their “large inventory of major artworks” which they want to store or ship. Sounds juicy. Sure we will do a site visit, no charge, be right over.

      Customer B says we don’t need to come out in advance, they only have a couple of pieces, just send a truck and two guys on the day of the job, no problem, piece of cake, yawn.

      Which is the difficult job for which a site visit would have been hugely beneficial?

      Customer A turns out to have five or six perfectly ordinary oil on canvas paintings, not terribly large, a straightforward job to be deinstalled, wrapped, and removed by two art handlers in a relative trice.

      Customer B on the other hand has two very difficult sculptural works, delicate and top heavy, which really should have had frames built in advance of removal to provide proper support. Not to mention  some wacky “artist installed” logistics which have to be figured out and undone before the pieces can be removed from their respective perches. Oh, and the through the doorway clearances are very tight. Oh, and the house is on a hill with overhanding trees over the driveway so the sculptures have to be dollied down the driveway to a truck at the bottom.

      Where site visits aren’t done, peril often looms. Some examples from our experience:

      – the artist who has added to his creation in the studio without considering whether it will fit back out through the studio door. It won’t.

      — the “five or six” artworks which the caller described on the phone somehow morph into fifty or sixty upon our arrival.

      — the “perfectly friendly” dogs who nevertheless have to be shut away in advance to avoid our art handlers being bitten in the driveway (Two dog bites in 15 years…)

     – the gallerist who “forgets” to mention that the large sculpture or crate we are picking up for a third party is buried in the rear of the gallery’s storage area, where it has not been seen since 1957. The estimated one hour pickup/delivery turns into a multi-hour affair as our art handlers move everything else out of the way to access that piece.

      – the overhanging trees which make an accessible driveway into a “no truck” zone. We have paid reparations to more than one homeowner’s tree surgeon over the years. Often trees and landscaping have changed character since the owner moved in 15 years ago, so the fact that “the moving truck got in just fine” has past it’s fresh information expiry date. Better to go and measure.

     — and my personal favorite, the collector who had us pick up a painting from a gallery, only to find that the piece would not fit through any door in his residence. Whereupon he refused to pay anything, saying that as professionals we should be familiar with doorway sizes and we should have advised him not to buy the painting. This really happened.

      A successful site visit begins with the customer service person taking the phone call or answering the email asking the right questions. This means not accepting vagaries such as “large” or “heavy” or “small” or “easy access.” These are relative terms, and one person’s “pretty heavy but four guys could probably do it” is another person’s “get a crane.” You really need to know which job is which.

     For all the sleuthing in advance, there are always going to be useless site visits. Sometimes the visit was not strictly necessary from the scope of work point of view, but the manager bonds with the client and secures the job, turning useless into very useful indeed.

     When in doubt, as with most things in life, it is best to show up.

       Betsy Dorfman

 

We get calls and emails regularly from customers looking for rates to ship artworks of certain sizes from point A (typically their gallery or studio location) to several sample point B’s. Their expectation is that the cost will vary relative to volume and distance shipped, yes? Well, maybe.

 

The art shipping business is, fundamentally, the “what if” business. Cost depends upon a great many variables, which is why we will ask you (sorry) a raft of questions before responding with an estimate. We are also in the disclaimer business, but will save that for a later blog.

 

The first and most important variable is: what are we shipping? For artworks of low or modest value which can be rolled and secured in sturdy tubes, or boxed or crated and sent via package service such as UPS or Federal Express, yes, it is possible to create what is essentially a “tariff” based on distance shipped.  The artworks needless to say have to be durable enough to survive freight handling unharmed.  This is not recommended for fragile, hinged or delicate works where damage could ensue if the packages are turned topsy turvy. They will be turned topsy turvy, and no number of “this way up” arrows and markings is going to change that.

 

For more valuable artworks, larger scale artworks, and for delicate works the answer is, well, sometimes. Most of the United States is served by a network of art shuttles; these are insurable carriers whose trucks and crew are trained and qualified to handle fine art. Artworks are hand carried, tied into the vehicle, and orientation markings are observed. In many cases the trucks are climate controlled as well. They typically run on a predetermined route and schedule with a couple of days spent in each city or region picking up and dropping off. Pricing is largely determined by volume and distance so you could, theoretically, develop a model for a “typical” box or crate to travel to multiple cities, for example. But here the words “schedule” and “city” are key.

 

If the destination is rural, or the artwork has to meet a deadline which does not conform to the shuttle schedule, then the cost goes off the tariff and into the “custom” bin. And the relationship of distance to cost? Can be totally undone. For example, on our Los Angeles to San Francisco shuttle we can ship a large 50 x 4 x 60″ softpacked painting from city center to city center for under $ 200. That’s a trip of about 380 miles, 6 -7 hours in a truck depending upon stops. But to deliver that same artwork to Palm Springs, roughly 110 miles, the rate is going to be $300 at least, and higher if a date and time specific service is requested. And to deliver that same painting from Los Angeles up the coast to what we call “far Malibu”, in traffic, could run the same $300 or higher, based on hourly rates. Why? The shuttle is a consolidated service and pools multiple orders to a common destination. The Palm Springs and Malibu deliveries are custom services or, if consolidated, carry only one or two orders at a time, so the cost to each customer is greater. And the same math holds true for regions around other major cities as well.

 

Furthermore, if our San Francisco shuttle goes “off route”, i.e. makes a stop far off one of the major highways, then the cost increases as well, sometimes considerably. It can cost hundreds of dollars extra to pick up from our artist customers in what we affectionately call the “troll and redwood” reaches of Northern California; unfortunately bucolic often equals big ticket.

 

So for predictability of cost and most economical rates, ship major city to major city, have a flexible schedule, and do your own packing where feasible. For the rest, contact a fine art shipping company for a custom quote.

 

Betsy Dorfman

 

 

 

 

At Fine Art Shipping we broker art shipments to or from virtually any location worldwide. And because we book frequently and often in bulk with carriers, we keep our prices competitive — sometimes less than what you would pay for the same service if you booked independently.

 

You:

– Save staff time and hence $$

– Fill out one form online, or send one email

– Receive an estimate reflecting the best combination of pricing and schedule to suit your needs

– Deal with one person in our office from soup to nuts

– Multi stop exhibitions also booked this simply

– Pay one invoice even for services performed in multiple locations by multiple providers

– Don’t require a staffer experienced with shipping to arrange for even complicated projects – we’ll help!

 

We:

 – Survey qualified carriers who serve the requested route or region

– Maintain a roster of fine art services providers worldwide, and know their track record and strong suits

– Have ongoing relationships with carriers resulting in best pricing and attentive service

– Obtain bids from subcontractors as needed

– Contact artists, studios or institutions to obtain information as needed for the estimate  

– Submit one comprehensive estimate to you detailing all aspects of a project

– Prepare all paperwork including international documents, and arrange for customs clearances   

– Contact all venues and handle all aspects of multi stop tours and exhibitions

– Maintain records of past shipments for 7 years in case proof of shipping documents are needed for tax or other purposes

 

So if you’re feeling a little bit broker (sorry, but who isn’t?) give us a call and see if we can’t turn “broker” into a positive concept!

 

Betsy Dorfman