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How does postal insurance work?

J

JBaker122586

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 21, 2007
1,378
83
I know this might not be the best place to ask this, but as I've mentioned in a couple other threads, I am currently selling my iPhone on eBay (along with half of the rest of you), with worldwide shipping.

Now, regardless of whether the purchaser asks for it, I plan on taking out about $500 worth of insurance on it through USPS when I ship it, to cover my back.
Now, let's say the buyer claims they never received it, that it didn't come as advertised, or does whatever to screw me over and makes PayPal take back my money (I'm a first time seller).

How would I go about making a claim with USPS so that I'm not accountable for that and will get my money? Thanks.
 
As far as I know, postal insurance is only going to cover the cost if the item is damaged during shipping. Thats it. Anything else they do to screw you over has nothing to do with the post office. http://www.usps.com/insurance/ you'll get delivery confirmation, so they can't argue about that. That's about the only protection you'll get.
 
Postal insurance works for errors made in the postal system. Put delivery confirmation on it as well to know when they get it. If the person claims to have never received the phone, but delivery confirmation says otherwise, paypal can still side with them on the issue and force a refund. USPS cannot help you there since it has nothing to do with shipping. Basically if the package gets lost or damaged in the mail, they'll cover it. Anything else is your responsibility to work out.
 
So, then, what's the best way of covering my ass?
And I don't mind spending a few bucks for the piece of mind that I'm not getting screwed...
 
JBaker122586 said:
So, then, what's the best way of covering my ass?
And I don't mind spending a few bucks for the piece of mind that I'm not getting screwed...
Click to expand...
If the person claims to have not received it or a false description, that's a problem between you and the person you sold it to. Nobody will insure a buyer's honesty.
 
It just seems like bullsh*t that someone could tell PayPal they didn't receive it, I have a signature from them saying they did, and I'm still out $350?
 
JBaker122586 said:
Because that's what eBay and PayPal claim to do.
Click to expand...
Yes, but they almost always favor the buyer. Like I said, if the person wants to lie, even if there's evidence against them, they will. Postal insurance covers postal stuff, not the receiver's actions. If you can't accept this, I really wouldn't suggest doing transactions online. There are scammers on the internet, yes. But there are a helluva lot more honest people that just want a smooth sale. As long as you don't fall for a Nigeria scam, you're probably safe. Just get paid in paypal before you ship and everything should be fine.
 
I realize there's always the potential to get screwed, it just seems a bit crazy that I can go out of my way to do everything to prove that things went down legitimately, and they can just say, "Well, that was a nice $400 mistake you just made. I know all the evidence proves indisputably that the package was delivered, but we decided to believe this guy."

I'd wager there are a lot more fraudulent "buyers" than there are sellers on eBay. The fact that they made it so you can't give negative feedback to a buyer now is ridiculous. Make a few legit transactions, get positive feedback from them, then screw people over at your heart's content, and other sellers are none the wiser.
 
Here's what happened to me.

I bought a diecast scale car on EBay. USPS damaged it in shipping. The seller refunded my Paypal payment in full, but had to wait 21 days to file a claim. Then the claim got processed through my post office. I received a claim check yesterday made out to me. It seems to me the shipper making the claim should have gotten the money. Now I have the hassle of getting the money to him myself.
 
JBaker122586 said:
I realize there's always the potential to get screwed, it just seems a bit crazy that I can go out of my way to do everything to prove that things went down legitimately, and they can just say, "Well, that was a nice $400 mistake you just made. I know all the evidence proves indisputably that the package was delivered, but we decided to believe this guy."

I'd wager there are a lot more fraudulent "buyers" than there are sellers on eBay. The fact that they made it so you can't give negative feedback to a buyer now is ridiculous. Make a few legit transactions, get positive feedback from them, then screw people over at your heart's content, and other sellers are none the wiser.
Click to expand...
If you're selling it for $350, put it up on the marketplace here. It will be a more pleasant experience than ebay, for sure. And, I wouldn't suggest selling an iPhone without any feedback at all. Sell smaller stuff first.
 
akonradi said:
If you're selling it for $350, put it up on the marketplace here. It will be a more pleasant experience than ebay, for sure. And, I wouldn't suggest selling an iPhone without any feedback at all. Sell smaller stuff first.
Click to expand...

Well, I'd like to get it sold before Monday when the new iPhone is announced, thus reducing the value of this one.
 
I used to sell iPhones unlocked worldwide. To be honest, i marked them each as $50. Both for US and international. USPS isn't going to lose the package, and if they did, then i might as well just quit life :)

But seriously, don't worry. Cover it for $500. Doesn't cost much to insure, but if you are shipping out of the country, remember they have to pay customs.
 
nickspohn said:
I used to sell iPhones unlocked worldwide. To be honest, i marked them each as $50. Both for US and international. USPS isn't going to lose the package, and if they did, then i might as well just quit life :)

But seriously, don't worry. Cover it for $500. Doesn't cost much to insure, but if you are shipping out of the country, remember they have to pay customs.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the assurance. I definitely plan on covering it for $500, and as that link showed, that's only like $6.50. I'm hoping I only have to ship to the US, so it'll barely cost me in the double digits. If I do have to ship worldwide, I know it'll end up being a lot more, so hopefully I'll get $350 for it. It's used and has what I described as "average wear and tear" on the back shell (a few small little nicks on the top two corners from gunk getting under the case I was using), so hopefully that doesn't adversely affect me too much.
Again, thanks for a bit of assurance.
 
Yeah you don't have to worry. I sold around 15 iPhones and never had an issue. Shipping in the country is so cheap. It's about $15 all togethor nationwide for priority (2 day shipping).

As far as international, Europe is $24, so it isn't much to be honest. If someone buys it out of country, they will probably request for you to mark the iPhone at $50 and as a gift so they pay little in customs. Otherwise they pay a lot more to get their iPhone at customs. Shipping with USPS worldwide though is very slow though. The phone can get their in 5 days, or 3 weeks. It's random.


You also can't track packages worth a certain amount anymore online, or something like that so don't get worried if it says "Tracking for this item is not available via this website". It's normal.
 
hey JBaker, so how did you deal with this? I got same s* with customer claiming lost item so over $1k flew out of my pocket and i had to take all the loss =,=
More terrible, I made a claim with USPS since i bought insurance for my package ($1000 value, paid ~$20) and the claim result arrived today that they'll pay me $50 for my loss. like wtf??? this really pissed me off.
Has anyone been thru this and has any suggestion?
 
pucca said:
hey JBaker, so how did you deal with this? I got same s* with customer claiming lost item so over $1k flew out of my pocket and i had to take all the loss =,=
More terrible, I made a claim with USPS since i bought insurance for my package ($1000 value, paid ~$20) and the claim result arrived today that they'll pay me $50 for my loss. like wtf??? this really pissed me off.
Has anyone been thru this and has any suggestion?
Click to expand...

What was their reasoning of why your purchased insurance up to $1000 would not pay you $1000 and would only pay you $50? Sounds odd.
 
pucca said:
hey JBaker, so how did you deal with this? I got same s* with customer claiming lost item so over $1k flew out of my pocket and i had to take all the loss =,=
More terrible, I made a claim with USPS since i bought insurance for my package ($1000 value, paid ~$20) and the claim result arrived today that they'll pay me $50 for my loss. like wtf??? this really pissed me off.
Has anyone been thru this and has any suggestion?
Click to expand...

That post was over 9 yrs. ago.
 
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