But sometimes the best thing we can say is no, or don’t.

Some examples:

An artist or gallery wants to ship a cardboard soft-packed painting overseas via air freight, as it is, without the protection of a wooden crate. In that case, we respectfully advise against it. If they insist, we politely insist back, and perhaps send them a few photos of the crates we routinely receive with footprints all over them. Or mention the percentage of crates returned to us with the shock watches triggered, suggesting the crate has been dropped or roughly handled.

Or, a potential client who is shipping a very valuable work overseas wants to declare a significantly lower value for customs purposes, sometimes far lower than the insurance coverage they have purchased on the piece. While shying away from using a hot button term like “fraud” we simply advise against it, as the undervaluation, if detected by customs, could result in seizure of the work or other unpleasantness involving financial penalties.

A favorite of our “please don’t” examples comes at holiday time. During peak travel times many airlines which normally carry packages and freight actually “bump” those cargoes in favor of carrying additional passengers. The result is often a glut of freight which can turn 2 day freight for example into 3 or 4 day freight, or worse. And “next day” becomes the next day they have room. We counsel callers during this time to add contingency days to their shipping schedule, especially where they have exhibition or other critical dates to meet. Where the time frame can’t be adjusted, we work with them to place the shipment with a specialty cargo shipper where a firm booking can be obtained in advance. Sometimes this costs more, but “costs more” is a lot better than “still sitting at the airport on the day show opened.”

Professional art handling companies like ours use their experience to guide clients to packing solutions and best carriers under a given set of circumstances. We’ve made quite a few client friends over the years by understanding when to say no and suggest an alternative. Sometimes our advice isn’t taken, and the soft-packed box shipped on December 23^rd arrives intact and on time the next day and breezes through customs without the valuation fudge being noticed. Could happen. Undoubtedly has happened, but the probabilities aren’t robust. When the object or objects are irreplaceable, we want the shipping gods and odds on our side.

So if there’s anything we can don’t for you, we’re listening.

Betsy Dorfman

No tickets/receipts issued.

Just a uniformed man armed with a scanner who shows up once or twice a day in a car and opens the box to see if you’ve stuffed 5 x one dollar bills into the slot that matches the number on your parking bay.

The thingy on the length of braided picture wire is used for poking the folded dollar bills thru’ the slot.

Plus you have to fold each dollar bill three times along its length to make it narrow enough to pass through the slot entry.

Discover the difference indeed!  Hereafter to be knows as origami parking…

Michael Thomas

Betsy Dorfman

So the reality is that fine art handlers necessarily have limited liability, typically capped at 60 cents per pound per article, for uninsured items. That is barely salvage value and completely useless in the realm of fine art coverage, where values range from hundreds into the millions of dollars. Beyond that point, unless a value is declared and a premium paid, there is no coverage. Zero. No matter what the circumstances of the loss. Even if we knock it off a shelf and run a forklift over it. We really try not to do that, by the way.

Every customer who calls to book a service or receive an estimate is asked if they wish to take or decline the insurance we provide, and every transaction processed – estimate, bill of lading, invoice – shows the status of the account or shipment as insured for a specified value or insurance declined. If you are working with a carrier or fine art shipper and there is no notice of insurance status on the document, get that fixed. If there is no value declared and shown in writing then chances are 99.9% that you are not insured with that provider.

Despite this clarity, some customers remain confused or subject to wishful thinking, typically after a loss has occurred. To banish this “gray area” insurance underwriters, including ours, have introduced an additional step into the process: customers declining insurance must sign and return an OPT OUT form, a sample of which is below.

The form is kept on file and applies to all transactions for that customer or account, unless or until rescinded in writing. In some cases a museum, collector or gallery will have their own all risk policy in place, and sending us proof of such coverage will serve the same purpose as the OPT OUT form.

Asking our customers to return this form has been instructive. It has turned up some who thought they were insured, despite receiving in some cases years of notices to the contrary, and others who realized their own independent coverage had lapsed and/or that they need to update their appraised values and coverage. Many clients had questions, which served to show that the waters were murky indeed. A few interpreted this to be an entirely new policy limiting our liability and were concerned that we were now cutting them off from some delectable free coverage they had enjoyed in the past– not the case. As I hastened to explain. And a few others thought the document somehow related to their own independent insurance policies, which it does not.

And so, unaccustomed as I am to praising insurance companies, my chapeau is off to the folks at Lloyd’s of London and our agent at Willis Fine Art & Specie for adding this document into the mix. Nobody likes more paperwork, but where irreplaceable art and artifacts are concerned the fewer twilight zones the better.

Betsy Dorfman

Sample notice:

NOTICE OF OPT OUT of insurance offered

This will confirm that I/We have been offered purchase of “Customers’ All Risk Fine Art Insurance” by Fine Art Shipping/Bilton Arts Inc. and that I/We OPT OUT and decline to accept this coverage.

By opting out and signing below I understand that Fine Art Shipping/Bilton Arts Inc. has limited liability for any loss or damage, as specified in their documents and waybills, as do their agents and affiliated providers.

( ) I/We decline to accept coverage as noted above and this relates to ALL SERVICES performed by Fine Art Shipping/Bilton Arts Inc. I/We further understand that this OPT OUT declination can only be rescinded by myself or an authorized representative and requires a statement of acceptance in writing from Fine Art Shipping/Bilton Arts Inc. to take effect.<

COMPANY or INDIVIDUAL NAME: _____________________

ADDRESS__________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE of individual or COMPANY authorized representative __________________________

DATE ______//_______//______

NOTE: Failure to return this document to Fine Art Shipping/Bilton Arts prior to performing the requested service will constitute acceptance of “Customers’ All Risk Insurance” together with any related fees and expenses for same.<

Compounding the horror, “free shipping” among online retailers has reached epidemic proportions and in fact has come to seem the norm. We feel shortchanged these days if we have to pay, or pay much, for shipping. It seems our birthright NOT to pay for shipping, not after we have just forked out for the thing/object/gadget itself. The giddy days of online sellers getting away with charging $8.99 to ship a $10 item seem lost in the quaint cyberpast.

So having promised the client the impossible, and feeling entitled to discounted shipping no matter what the commodity, the gallery or dealer then calls us seeking to send the artwork as cheaply as possible. We’ve been asked to put $30,000 artworks in cardboard boxes and ship them on UPS. Which, I hasten to add, we won’t do. It also explains why galleries often consign the job of arranging shipping to the lowest status employee who is newest on the job. Shipping is the last and least glamorous step in the dealer to customer transfer of title and custody. Basically, it’s a bore and a chore and, they would like us to think, it subtracts from rather than augments the bottom line. It’s the necessary evil mop up after the master has done his thing; hold your nose and dial the shipper.

But the truth is “free shipping” as anyone willing to reflect can probably deduce, is actually factored into the cost of the “thing” and so is not really free. We choose to perceive it as free because we want to feel like we are getting something for nothing, even when we know we aren’t. Art buyers, are you listening?

It would hardly be a sensible business model for art sellers to routinely “eat” shipping costs,. More likely they are factoring shipping into the cost and then, post sale, simply trying to maximize their profits by pressuring shippers to provide the most economical possible service. In this way everyone is happy except, well, me. I am stuck trying to persuade that new person at the gallery front desk that they really, really, really need to part with some actual money to protect their art in transit. That’s me, the bad guy spoiling everyone’s spoils.

Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the gallery typically wants the artwork off the premises and in the hands/on the wall of the customer as soon as possible before the glow of acquisition fades. So now we have a request for fast service, often a custom pickup at the gallery, plus expedited packing and shipping, plus custom delivery and installation all to be done on the cheap. Even after a couple of martinis, I can’t see a way to make that happen.

In a perfect world, everyone would recognize the service companies like ours provide and be willing to pay fair value for it. Santa, are you listening? In the meantime I continue my lonely battle against the tide of “free shipping” – with just a short time out this holiday season to transfer the items in my cart to the checkout window and collect my free 2-day shipping. Which they still call my “free 2 day shipping” even after charging my credit card $79 for yearly access to this privilege. Such a deal.

Betsy Dorfman

 So we send off an estimate and very often the result is: nothing. We understand: it is expensive to ship a single artwork as many art shuttles, including ourselves, have a minimum charge.

 If you understand the power of the minimum, however, you can use it to your advantage. On our Los Angeles to San Francisco shuttle, for example, you can ship two or even three modest sizes works for the same price as shipping one. Up to ten cubic feet, all passengers ride for one price, rather like a NYC taxi. (And we don’t stop for women with strollers, either…)

 For many of the high value and trade show divisions of van lines, a 500 pound minimum applies. In that instance you could ship as many as ten artworks of moderate size in one crate and still stay within the minimum weight by volume.

 Hence our advice to artists and galleries: ask thy neighbor! Tweet, email, phone or stroll at lunchtime to the gallery down the street and ask if they might have anything going where you need to go. A big element here, however, is flexibility in timing. The more leeway you have in whatever schedule you have promised your buyer the more time there is to “partner” with another sender.

 Pooling resources can save serious money and is win/win for us shippers, too. We get to make two customers happy who hopefully will return next time around.

Betsy Dorfman

In the next few posts we’ll take a look at art handlers and art handling; the more the public understands what we do and why and how, the better. And perhaps there are some future art handling superstars out there in cyberville waiting to be discovered!

So, for starters, what is an art handler?

An art handler typically works for an art services, transportation, or storage company and performs some or all of the following tasks:

• Drives a truck, either locally or long distance between cities
• Picks up and delivers a variety of artworks including paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works of all descriptions
• Inspects artworks to determine how, where, when, or if to touch them and how to pack for transport
• Understands how to properly wrap, load, span, tie in artworks within a truck to keep then safe and stable during transport
• Selects proper archival and other packing materials depending upon the medium, surfaces, condition and fragility of the works in question
• Packs and crates artworks of all descriptions
• Interacts positively with a typically educated, professional, and often opinionated customer base in the field
• Installs artworks professionally in settings ranging from corporate to residential, including selection of proper hardware and exercise of aesthetic judgment as needed
• Prepares condition reports and photographs artworks as needed
• Completes critical paperwork such as inventories and bills of lading with accuracy and attention to detail
• Has the “people” skills and situational awareness to work with a partner or larger crew in a seamless way, taking leadership and direction as needed to complete the task at hand
• Is familiar with basic art terminology and art history

Not all art handlers necessarily need to drive trucks, crate, or install artworks; in larger companies there are departments and an art handler may never be required to drive a large truck, make a crate or softpack paintings. But the wider the applicant’s skill set the more valuable he or she is potentially to any employer.

It should be noted that art handling in a for profit competitive business like art transportation is quite different from the job of a preparator or art handler in a museum or gallery setting. There is a tremendous emphasis on dealing with the public and many services of necessity are are performed with third parties looking on. Ever put a $5 million dollar painting into a crate with a room full of museum staffers looking on? Or install a painting on a 20 foot white wall in a living room overlooking the ocean with the owners of the artwork, gallery representative, art consultant, and artist all offering input and suggestions?

It takes a certain personality and sense of forward motion to get the job done both safely for the artworks and expeditiously enough to keep the company in business. Time counts, and the extra caution slow motion rules which are standard operating procedure in some institutional committee cultures simply don’t apply. Many otherwise talented art handlers can’t make the shift to the “for profit” culture or are fine working alone in a shop but not comfortable out in the field with onlookers checking their watches, asking questions, and sometimes second guessing methods and materials. Whatever their other qualifications, art handlers who are loners, can’t do paperwork, or who fail to develop a good “art side” manner with customers don’t last long.

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