Buy insurance when you ship!!!
11-25-2011, 07:17 PM
#1
Buy insurance when you ship!!!
I've sold a couple items on Tech and never thought twice about buying insurance when I shipped until I had an item damaged by usps priority mail. I'm not sure how they did it, but the motor tabs on the motor I sent were completely bent--and it was sufficiently packed and sealed. Had it been a more expensive item, I would have been screwed.
The chances of something happening to your shipment is small, but it's cheap to insure it (just a few bucks will cover a $500 item) and could save you a lot in the long run.
The chances of something happening to your shipment is small, but it's cheap to insure it (just a few bucks will cover a $500 item) and could save you a lot in the long run.
11-25-2011, 09:23 PM
#2
We ship USPS Priority Mail every day. It's an excellent service: 3-day delivery anywhere in the lower 48 for far less than UPS, and UPS is 5 days to the west coast from here!
In the 7 years we've been doing this, they have never damaged anything enough that we've had a claim, and only one package has ever been "lost" in the U.S. Three have been "lost" overseas, so that's a very good record.
We used to insure everything. However, we have never been able to collect on any claim. You have to go see your local postmaster with a confirmation number, then file a claim which goes to HQ in D.C. There it disappears into the bureaucracy, never to surface again. Calling the 800 number is a waste of time.
We stopped paying extra for insurance long ago, and figure we have saved more than we could ever collect.
One important thing: When shipping within the U.S. make sure you spend the small extra amount to get Delivery Confirmation. USPS has never "lost" even one of our packages which had Delivery Confirmation, and you get web site proof of when you shipped it and delivery. (No tracking in between.)
In the 7 years we've been doing this, they have never damaged anything enough that we've had a claim, and only one package has ever been "lost" in the U.S. Three have been "lost" overseas, so that's a very good record.
We used to insure everything. However, we have never been able to collect on any claim. You have to go see your local postmaster with a confirmation number, then file a claim which goes to HQ in D.C. There it disappears into the bureaucracy, never to surface again. Calling the 800 number is a waste of time.
We stopped paying extra for insurance long ago, and figure we have saved more than we could ever collect.
One important thing: When shipping within the U.S. make sure you spend the small extra amount to get Delivery Confirmation. USPS has never "lost" even one of our packages which had Delivery Confirmation, and you get web site proof of when you shipped it and delivery. (No tracking in between.)
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