Thanks for all the helpful chat.
Have a question-has anyone insured their package to TKGA and/or found a way to prepay insuring it as it goes from TKGA to reviewer to committee chair and home again?
Probably more an issue with 2 & 3, but I'm still curious.
Thanks!
Monica

Congratulations!

As for your question, I didn't insure mine.

I did insure my Level I package for $200 plus Track & Confirm delivery.
Doing this really gave me piece of mind as all my hard work was sent off. It was never lost/damaged so I was happy about that.

Later on, I read that if the package were to be lost, I would need to provide proof (receipts, etc) that it was really worth $200 to collect any insurance. Of course, there was not $200 worth of yarn, papers, etc in the package.

I do think I would send Level II (when I finish it, hopefully) insured if only to highlight to the USPS that, "Hey, this package is super important!"

You bring up an excellent concern in wondering how to account for the package as it travels from one committee member to another. It would be a nightmare to be told that one's package (all that hard work, sweat, and tears!) has been lost in transit. How awful! I hope it has never happened to anyone in the Master's Program and never will in the future.
Theresa

Thanks for the good vibe. I'm pretty sure we'd have heard tears if someone lost their package.
Level 1 = "intellectual property", IMHO. Beyond that, we're talkning some serious $$$.
Off the the PO, while I still have one nearby.
Monica

I didn't insure mine. I bought and used a lot of yarn for Level I, most of which went into all those swatches that I rejected. The actual cost of the yarn contained inside the package was relatively small. Maybe $30 worth. Insurance money would never compensate me for the loss, other than finance the purchase of more yarn. I'd still have to do all the work again.

Having said that, if it makes you feel better or more relaxed to have it insured, then you should do it. I would consider paying for package *tracking* if that were an option, but once it gets to the first destination, the tracking is complete. Perhaps there is a way to pay TKGA to provide tracking for the subsequent trips the package makes as it goes from judge to judge.

I remember checking my instructions for guidance on this matter, and they did say something about it: Recommended delivery confirmation but not insurance (for reasons mentioned above), and advised that the evaluators would not be insuring the box on later legs of its journey. I certainly imagined all sorts of scenarios as I awaited return of my Level 2 materials! But, as rox points out, an insurance reimbursement would hardly make up for the loss of time/effort! At one point, I wrote in to the main office and their response about my box's "progress" was very reassuring. Of course, not everything is within their control. . . . (All worked out OK in the end, btw.)

I suppose one could enclose an envelope of cash, to be used by each subsequent mailer, but we don't want to add an extra burden to these valiant volunteers, do we! They may already be doing Delivery Confirmation; I'm not sure on that one.

They charge what they do for the program because of mailing costs; if we were to insist on insurance, the cost might reduce the number of people who can afford to enroll in the future.

As for insuring as a signal to the post office--they might well figure that since you've arranged to be compensated, what's the big deal?:-)

I would have been irate if my work had been lost, but the designs and other paperwork were stored online and the cost of the yarn was minimal, so it would have been a matter of reproducing the knitting--which I should be capable of if I want my "master's" standing to have meaning. So ultimately, what I would have actually lost would have been my time--which no money could replace anyway.

I sent my Level 1 package Priority with delivery confirmation.
The counter clerk and I figured that without address-to-address info, actually insuring it on its journey would be difficult.
So for Level 2 & 3 (being optimistic), I will value it at yarn $ +( yardage X $0.15/yard) + office supplies/printing.
I will include stamps, not money for the insurance cost from CT to CA (sentimental: where I can from to where I am), and notes to explain/request the additional coverage from place to place.
That should leave no one out of pocket but me, no worries about actual money involved, and some relief if my package heads for the Bremuda Triangle.
Thanks all.
Monica

I don't recall that I insured my level 1 package, but might consider it for level 2 and more possibly, level 3 (whenever I get that far!).
So I will be interested to know if the reviewers do take you up on using your stamps to insure the package as it goes from place to place. If I'm correct, I believe that each level has 1 more person added to the review process than the level before, so level 1 has two people, level 2 has three, and level 3 has four. So that is a lot of insuring going on!

Diana,
I think you're right about an increasing number of people involved: +1 for each level.
Maybe I'm overly cautious, but my outgoing mail and my luggage always seem to go more interesting places than I do.
Most knitters seem to respect other peoples' work, so I'm optimistic that the reviewers will.
But that's really putting the cart before the horse for me-with Level 1 in the mail X 1 day.
Good luck with your work.
Monica

The reviewers are extremely careful of your work. You have no need of any worries there. But they can't control the post office. (Not that I'm knocking USPS either--they took excellent care of all my mailings. I sent everything Priority Mail, by the way.)

I know the reviewers will handle our knits with respect and I'm sure the USPS will deliver our packages in a safe and timely manner. I think what makes any of us concerned is that when that package is mailed, it's out of our control, and the uncertainty of it all just makes us nervous wrecks. Just for level 1 our package goes from home to Ohio, to the first reviewer, to the Committee Co-Chair, and back home. Four mailings!

And I had to laugh when Monican said sometimes her mail and luggage went to more interesting places then she did. Considering I'm not a traveler, everything goes to more interesting places then I do!

I am only aware of one package that went astray in all of the years I have worked on the committee. I send the packages USPS and I pay for delivery confirmation.

Arenda