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Buyer and seller guide
A safe shipment combines physical protection, truthful documentation, current carrier terms, and jurisdiction-specific customs research. No carrier, service level, tariff code, or insurance product is automatically best for every fossil.
Photograph every side of the specimen with scale, close-ups of existing cracks and repairs, the inner cradle, the sealed inner container, cushioning, and the final label. Keep the original files and shipment receipt. These records help a carrier, insurer, buyer, or seller understand when damage may have occurred; they do not guarantee a claim will be paid.
Support the entire fossil with conservation-appropriate tissue and closed-cell foam. Do not allow a tooth tip, root, spine, thin plate, or projecting bone to carry the specimen's weight. The wrapped object should not move when the inner container is handled gently.
Place the immobilized specimen in a rigid inner container, then place that container inside a larger, sturdy outer box with cushioning on every side. Heavy or unusually fragile objects may need a custom crate and a professional packer. Ask the carrier or insurer to approve the packing method when coverage depends on it.
If damage occurs, stop unpacking once it is safe, photograph the package and specimen, and keep all materials. Follow the carrier's current claim instructions and deadlines. A buyer should report damage promptly without repairing or discarding evidence first.
Declared value can limit a carrier's liability, but it is not automatically insurance and does not override exclusions. Collectibles, antiques, unusually valuable articles, insufficient packaging, prohibited goods, and international services may have special limits.
Before purchase, ask the carrier or insurer—in writing—whether the exact fossil, value, packing method, route, and service are eligible. Keep a purchase record or defensible statement of value and understand what evidence a claim requires. For an irreplaceable or high-value specimen, consider a specialist art, museum, or collectibles shipper and insurer.
Jurassic Depot can publish packing and disclosure standards now. Platform-held funds, inspection windows, carrier coordination, and dispute evidence rules must be treated as planned controls until live checkout terms and operational workflows explicitly activate them. Buyers and sellers should rely on the written terms shown at the time of a real transaction.