USPS insurance - why pass the cost onto the buyer?

How many of you tell potential sellers that you're not buying from them because of policies like adding additional fees, I, insurance, Paypal, etc.?
 
How many potential buyers try to barter with a seller who is selling an item and the listed price includes insured shipping and paypal fees and use another post where someone has a similar item posted for less with uninsured shipping and gift only as a policy?
 
I agree. I just dealt with an individual here on BF that refused to put insurance on a knife even though his ad said that shipping and insurance was included in the price! He said I'd have to pay for it. I tried to explain to him that if the knife gets lost in the mail that I'll file a claim with Paypal and will get my money back, therefore, the insurance is for him, not me. He got butt hurt and decided he didn't want to sell me the knife after that. I'm glad I didn't get a chance to give the guy my $700, the knife probably had bad juju attached to it.
 
Unless I'm willing to pay out of pocket for an item lost in shipping I Buy Insurance.

I've had to file 1 USPS Insurance Claim and it was paid promptly without issue for the full sale price of the item.
 
Why would I as a buyer pay for insurance? I can not file a claim.
Buying and selling online requires a quick overall judgement if the other person can be somewhat trusted and is somewhat honest.
Sellers who do not want to pay the PayPal fees or the insurance cost help me make that decision
 
I like when the Seller says things like "you cover the insurance." It's immediately tells me that the individual is out for #1 only. I'm always alert to red flags that tell me don't trust or buy from this seller.
 
Scurvy092 said:
How many potential buyers try to barter with a seller who is selling an item and the listed price includes insured shipping and paypal fees and use another post where someone has a similar item posted for less with uninsured shipping and gift only as a policy?
Click to expand...

I've had this happen more than once. I've done a fair amount of selling on BF over the years and occasionally someone will ask me to drop the insurance or accept PP "gift" and reduce the knife price. I always decline, even if I lose the sale. Insurance protects me because what I'm selling or trading is mine until the other party receives it and confirms that they want to keep it. PP fees for "Goods and Services" is simply part of what I accept if I want to deal with PP. It's their system and if I'm going to choose to use it I owe them their share of what I get.
 
bonzodog said:
When I sell ,the price given includes pp fees/shipping/insurance.Keep it simple.:D
Click to expand...

As a buyer more than a seller I do appreciate the simplicity of listings that are priced 'to your door' or the equivalent of that. I try to treat my customers like I would like to be treated as a customer, and listing the exact amount they need to type into Paypal is what I like the best when I'm buying a knife. As a buyer I most certainly am turned off by folks listing prices as PP gift prices and asking for extra for insurance, as it makes me the buyer do more to purchase the knife than I would normally do.
 
If you have the 3 things you need.. Reciept when mailed...proof of value...and proof of loss or non delivery - your insurance claim should be easy. I believe they make you wait 30 days now (in case the item is delivered). It might take a trip to the post office, but it isn't a dificult process.
 
These days with paypal being WAY more protection for the buyer than the seller, it's kind of silly to ask the buyer to pay for insurance, I prefer seeing one "out the door" price. Plus the shipping/insurance etc. costs are ALWAYS passed onto the buyer, some roll it into the total price, others separate it. That said I don't think "less" of a seller that stipulates that shipping options like insurance, expedited shipping, shipping to AK/HI etc. They are options provided for the buyer to choose.

That said, as a seller, I often don't bother with insurance, in 20 years and well over 1000 packages, I've only had to make two claims and both were a ridiculous hassle that never recouped my money. One of those I have my suspicions was dishonesty on the buyers part, and taught me a good lesson to keep ALL selling/buying correspondence well after the package is delivered. I figure the risk of loss is so low that what I'm saving on insurance costs more than pays for one item lost every 10 years. Damage is even worse to try and make a claim on on a shipment compared to total loss. Now if it's a very expensive or fragile item I'll do insurance, some carriers handle packages differently if they are insured over a certain amount.

Some buyers don't like insurance or a signature requirement, in my case it might be a couple weeks before my job lets me get to a post office during open hours, and there's no option to ship packages to my work. UPS has addressed this by letting the buyer release the signature requirement, and/or have the package go to a UPS store that's open later in the evening. I have a large security box for packages so I'm not worried about normal sized USPS packages being stolen off my door step. As a buyer over my lifetime I can only think of a couple things that never made it to me.

If you are a business shipping and insurance is drastically different, at work I can ship a large 10lb box overnight with fedex for under $10, and if they loose it, they reimburse us without significant hassle, because we are large account. As an individual it's a drastically different experience.
 
It's the sellers responsibility to make sure the buyer receives the package or refund their money, end of story. If the seller is stupid enough to not insure the package, it's on them.
 
asdf12345 said:
USPS insurance claims are very difficult. Unless you have original sales receipts and proof that what you say you packed is in there, and that it was packed correctly, there's little chance of ever seeing the amount you insured for. Even if you have all the proof you need USPS will make excuses why they can't pay you and try to pay out less than you insured for. Even if you take the time to fight them for the money it could take months before you see a cent.

Since it's not the buyer's responsibility to replace missing items or funds what do they have to lose by not paying for extra insurance? If the package is lost or the item goes missing during transit it will be the seller's responsibility to reimburse the buyer whether insurance was purchased or not. It makes no difference to the buyer, and considering how convoluted a process USPS claims are, the reimbursement will probably just come out of pocket either way.

I think many sellers at this point are aware of what a joke USPS insurance is and that it will not help them very much to get their money back, especially if original sales receipts are nonexistent or the item has a secondary market value that USPS will not recognize for insurance purposes. So if they are going to spend several additional dollars on every package they send they might feel that they don't want that to come entirely out of pocket, and will ask the buyer to cover the expense.
Click to expand...


My experience was quite different.

One item, I sold, was lost in shipping. I had, and always do, purchased insurance (and signature confirmation) - the package was tracked to the delivering Post Office and then just seemed to disappear (it was listed as "Out for Delivery"). I contacted the buyer to see if he had received the package and he went to his local Post Office to ask about the item. The buyer agreed to wait a few more days, just to see if it would be delivered.

After 4-5 days had gone by, I refunded the full payment and filed a claim with the Post Office. I included a PDF copy of the sales price, the listing itself, the payment received and the payment reimbursed. I also included a PDF copy of the tracking page - showing the item was scanned into the delivery Post Office but not actually delivered.

My local Post Office contacted me (via email) and I went to talk to the lady in charge there. Neither of us could figure out why the PO had her contact me, as the item had been scanned out of her location and into the delivery location (showing the item to be out for delivery).

Roughly 4 weeks after I filed the claim, I was reimbursed (fully) for the lost item. I never did find out what happened to the lost item, but didn't care since the would-be buyer was reimbursed (by myself) and I had been reimbursed by the Post Office.

In my experience, the process was quick (about 15 minutes - online) and simple. Other than being contacted by the local Post Office, the only communication I received (other than initial confirmation of the claim being filed) was my reimbursement.

I wouldn't classify myself as someone who does a lot of selling, but I always include shipping, insurance, and signature confirmation into the final price (even on the auction site). I consider those costs to be justified by the protection it offers for both ends of the sales process. I also make it very clear that anything I ship will be shipped with signature confirmation. That has cost me a sale once or twice, but I consider myself lucky to have avoided a potential problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top