Man ships $1 million family heirloom by express delivery, regrets it immediately
A man in southern China saw no issue sending a 6.8 million yuan ($985,000) antique bronze pot by express delivery across the country.
The man, surnamed Tan, from Hunan was shipping the family heirloom to a buyer in Shenzhen, and decided to pack the fragile item in some bubble wrap, and send it on its way in a cardboard box.
Upon delivery, the antique was found to have been smashed into pieces, said local reports.
The bronze pot purportedly comes from the Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) period, making it around 3,000 years old.
But despite the value of the item, the courier company said it's only going to compensate Tan 30,000 yuan ($4,300) by an insurance payout.
A lawyer speaking to the Southern Metropolis Daily confirmed that the courier service is only obligated to provide compensation up to the insured amount.
Tan said he paid about 900 yuan ($130) for the delivery service, but pointed out that the item is worth more than its paper value, since it's an heirloom.
Netizens on Weibo weren't sympathetic to the seller, however.
"Why didn't you personally deliver the pot?" asked one.
"I'm speechless. You sent such a priceless thing by express delivery? This isn't Taobao," said another.
Some blamed the courier service.
"How do you manage to smash something made of bronze? It isn't porcelain!"
"Couriers break everything I buy online," said one.
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
