Insurance?

the4th said:
Wrong! My daughter recently sold a camera on eBay to finance her Japan trip. The buyer claims they never received the camera even though we had a tracking number. PayPal says, "Oh, you didn't get signature confirmation? Too bad, we're refunding their money." We now have a locked out eBay account and owe PayPal nearly $400.00.
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and that is why I dont sell on ebay and take paypal any more. it is just one screw up after another.money order dont get charge back.
 
Insurance is worth the costs IMHO. I have only had one knife stolen and the PO paid off on it. Why did they pay? Because I bought insurance, saved all my receipts, and jumped through their hoops. Was it easy? No. But it was definitely worth it. I learned from the experience. Now I save all my paperwork, write down all the info from money orders, and know how to prove value on my shipped item. Know that the PO will take every bit of 90 days to pay but they will pay. I believe that unless the receiver agrees to accept responsibility for loss, the sender is responsible for delivery. Reputation is all any of us have online. Don't throw it away by being cheap! CYA folks!!! CYA!
 
If I sell here or on eBay I leave always use insurance. It's my goods, my money, and most important it is my reputation. I would never leave the decision to the buyer.
 
I sell on the auction sites and I never used delivery confirmation at all. then I read here or some where else about some one didnt get there knife and wanted one shiped to them. after that I started using delivery confirmation all of the time. I have never lost a knife yet. the only time I have used insurance is when I sold something really expenses and I also made them sigh for it. I thought I was going to get a bad review for doing that but he was very happy about it.
 
jill jackson said:
Besides if paypal is involved they will hold you responsible if the item is never scanned delivered, insurance or not.
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Can you elaborate on this a little more please? Who is responsible, the shipper or the receiver? If an item is not scanned as delivered, doesn't the insurance reimburse the seller?
 
the4th said:
Wrong! My daughter recently sold a camera on eBay to finance her Japan trip. The buyer claims they never received the camera even though we had a tracking number. PayPal says, "Oh, you didn't get signature confirmation? Too bad, we're refunding their money." We now have a locked out eBay account and owe PayPal nearly $400.00.
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Thats why I always add SC when I ship, no matter the price.
PP states that it must be signed for, and shipped to the buyers PP address for the seller to be protected.
Very sorry to hear about that happening to your daughter.
 
Any seller who does not insure is a fool, and that goes for the buyer as well if he lets it fly. I just sold the knife that I'm sure prompted this thread, and it will be insured for the full amount, and sig confirmation added. Yes, insured over $200 has to be signed for, but I will still add sig con, and get it signed for twice. Also it will be shipped only to the the confirmed PP address.

I will never accept a knife without insurance again..... EVER!!!!
 
A related issue is proper packaging. I received a package from an ebay purchase that was empty as the seller didn't tape the seams well and failed to fill dead space to prevent shifting and the item (presumably) fell out. It was marked Delivered by USPS, but was also noted as damaged in transit. There was no insurance involved and I prevailed in a paypal dispute as I should have.

I feel my responsibility as a buyer is to make prompt payment, provide a valid shipping address and report to the seller that I received the item and the condition at the time of receipt. I feel my responsibility as a seller is to properly package the item, select the carrier and insure (self or 3rd party) that the item is delivered to the shipping address provided.

Sellers that attempt to shift the responsibility of insuring a shipment that they packaged, labeled, and shipped with a carrier of their choosing to the buyer may be in for a rude awakening should there be a shipping issue and a paypal dispute ensues.
 
Ray Settanta said:
Can you elaborate on this a little more please? Who is responsible, the shipper or the receiver? If an item is not scanned as delivered, doesn't the insurance reimburse the seller?
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Yes, the insurance does, but you still have to make good with the buyer, not the insurance the shipper has to collect from them.
 
I have a question that I hope someone can answer.

If you ship a customized or valuable item which cannot be furnished with an accurate value then how can you prove to the postal service that it was worth what you insured it for?

It seems silly to insure an item for $1000 when the only receipts you have show it's worth $500. I'm thinking along the lines of a coin which has appreciated in value since you first purchased it. Or a collector knife for example.
 
Another note on insurance from USPS, if a package is lost you need proof of the money lost, say a Paypal recept or MO recept of payment for the lost item. So if you insure something for $500 and it gets lost you need to prove the $500. If you get $600 of insurance and the item was sold for $500, that is what you would receive $500, not the $600 you insured it for. So always insure for what the item was sold for, no need for any more.
Not sure for other carriers.
 
digdeep said:
I have a question that I hope someone can answer.

If you ship a customized or valuable item which cannot be furnished with an accurate value then how can you prove to the postal service that it was worth what you insured it for?

It seems silly to insure an item for $1000 when the only receipts you have show it's worth $500. I'm thinking along the lines of a coin which has appreciated in value since you first purchased it. Or a collector knife for example.
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For that you'd either have to -

1) Establish current value of the knife from both the maker and customizer, and hope the accept it.

or

2) Have a certified appriser in the field look for comparative examples of similar work, and attest to it on your behalf.

I know that's how it works for regular insurance claims, I'm not sure if the Post Office has any other special rules though.
 
digdeep said:
I have a question that I hope someone can answer.

If you ship a customized or valuable item which cannot be furnished with an accurate value then how can you prove to the postal service that it was worth what you insured it for?

It seems silly to insure an item for $1000 when the only receipts you have show it's worth $500. I'm thinking along the lines of a coin which has appreciated in value since you first purchased it. Or a collector knife for example.
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When I asked the USPS this very question they said I would have to get the item appraised prior to shipping in order to prove it's current value.

If you have the appraisal you can prove what it was worth if it is lost.

Not very realistic in most situations involving knives. Especially with lower end knives. Not even sure who would be considered qualified or an authority to provide the service for lets say a discontinued production knife.

Coins or customs shouldn't be to difficult though.

If your unsure and have concerns you can call the USPS directly and they will answer your questions. I wouldn't take any chances with any high end items. Best to be sure.

I don't know UPS or Fed-Ex's policy. Never asked them but think I may now.
 
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Chuck Gedraitis Knives said:
I do not charge customers for insurance, it's included in the price and the cost of doing business and when I mail a knife it is covered by my insurance policy. I would rather pay $300 a year then have to front the cost of a 2K knife getting lost in the mail.
Here is a link to their website.
http://www.collectinsure.com/
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Chuck,

Have you ever had to file a claim with them? If so, did they handle it to to your satisfaction? I'm thinking of buying insurance for my knives and guns from them but I have nothing but a website to evaluate them.
 
jill jackson said:
I've had 500 dollar knives delivered with only DC.
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That's something I wouldn't dare do. I trade CRK's and Hinderers a lot, and every one of them is signed for on the other end. Once you buy or agree to trade with me, it's my responsibility to put it in your hands. I don't consider putting it in your mailbox to be putting it in your hands. I've had stuff stolen and know of others who have, too.
 
I also self-insure up to $100.00. I've bought and sold a lot of knives and so far (knock on wood) I've never had one go missing, either inbound or outbound, regardless of whether it was insured or uninsured. But then I almost always use Priority Mail for my shipments. That gives me a way to track them.
 
I have not had to make a claim for a knife (knock on wood). The purpose of the insurance is that if the knife gets lost and the seller used paypal or any other payment method they get a refund and I still get paid for my knife. It's one thing to have to refund the buyers money but without the insurance I would not get compensated for my time or materials. It's one of those things where I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
How much do you spend a year on insurance through the post office? If it's over $150 every 6 months then you are paying too much.

A friend of mine did have knives stolen out of his bag while traveling home from the blade show. He submitted a claim, pictures of the knives and pictures of similar pieces to show the value and was cut a check within a couple of weeks.

I know another maker that lost a 5K knife in the mail. No insurance ect. That put a big dent in his knife making business. It was an engraved piece so he was out the money that he paid the engraver and had to refund the buyer.
 
You're in a far different position that the rest of us, Chuck. You sell knives for a living. We sell knives as part of our hobby. But I get your point.

I think each person has to set an exposure limit that they're willing to live with if something bad happens . . . sort of like accepting a deductible to lower their premium. My "deductible" is $100.00 and that's regardless of whether a person pays me by PayPal or Money Order. The only difference is, if I sell something for more than $100, I insure it for the full amount, not just the amount above the "deductible".
 
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I learned a lesson today that i think is relevant to this thread. Signature confirmation only protects the seller NOT the customer. Here is why. I bought some knives online. The shipper said they preffered to send them ups adult signature required. I said ok. I was expecting the knives yesterday or today at the latest. When the knives had not shown up by 6 pm today i tracked the package. Ups showed the package as delivered at 11:37 am this morning and singed for by ME!! I was not home at that time and definitely did not/could not have signed for any package. I checked with a couple of my neighbors and it turns out that it was delivered to and signed for by one of my neighbor's wife.

She said the guy handed her a package then imediatetly handed her the little signature pad and she signed for it without even looking at the package. She just assumed it was for her or her husband or one of their kids. When she finally realized the package was delivered to the wrong address the ups guy was gone. Again the UPS site shows the package delivered and signed for by ME! Our names are not even close to being similar. I have a very manly man's name:cool: and she does not.

If my neighbors weren't honest people i could be without the knives i paid for and UPS would be calling me a liar. Im not saying this ups driver is a bad guy but they just want somebody, anybody to sign for the package so they can move on to the next delivery. i doubt very highly that they are looking to make sure that the signature matches the name on the package every time (if at all).

Moral of the story is the delivery people don't look at what anyone scribbles on their little pad. Even with SC things can go wrong. You (the customer) are at the mercy of the package gods. knocks on wood for good package luck.
 
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