I'm not feeling guilty anymore but ...

UncleJoe

I now have the opposite situation of a situation I wrote about in a previous thread.

To recap, (3) buyers sent me insurance money for $3. coins. I sent the coin uninsured and refunded the $1.30 insurance money in cash.

Thankfully it worked out as all three buyers gave me positives and never mentioned that I didn't send the package insured. However, based on members replies to my previous thread , even though I thought I had the best interests of the buyers' in mind, I did not know for sure their motives for wanting the coins sent insured and I shouldn't have taken it upon myself to decide for them.

Now, I recently had an auction close at $225.00. I basically use the same format to list my coins but most are under $50. and I neglected to adjust the insurance from $1.30. Oh well, I will honor the lower price. However, when the buyer paid for the auction he did not include insurance.

I was on my way to the post office with every intention of sending it insured (at my expense) when I realized I was doing it again. I have no idea why the buyer would not want insurance (maybe he didn't want to go to the post office to sign for it, maybe he didn't want someone to see the insured package etc.).

I didn't like sending an e-mail for the same reason I hate it when they ask me if I wanted cheese or fries with that, if I wanted cheese or fries I would've asked for them. (maybe I'm just getting old)

So now the package is sent uninsured but I do have a postal receipt showing that I mailed something to the correct city and state. Now what happens if the package doesn't make it? (in my auctions I have the common statement that shipping without insurance is at buyer's risk but am I protected?)

Any thoughts, suggestions etc. about my dilemma will be greatly appreciated.

Joe.

ccrdragon

You did exactly what the buyer requested, and you have a receipt to prove it. If it doesn't get there, it's the
buyer's fault for not paying for/requesting insurance.

If it doesn't get there, you will probably spend some time explaining to the buyer and you might get a real hassle,
but you were correct in not insuring the package.


edited for spelling

IrishMike

Joe, here is my thoughts on the matter, its a lot less hassle to require insurance. I decided my comfort level was $50. This way I don't worry aboutr a buyer receiving the package and I have a receipt showing that the package was mailed, should a buyer ever question it. I enter the receipt number into my Ebay software, which gives me a permanent record. If they don't want to bid because I require it, so be it. It gives me much more peace of mind, knowing that was sent that way. Never had a package not get there.

braddick

I'd have gone for my own peace of mind, not theirs in this sitsuation. I'd have gone with insurance on your $225.00 coin.

MikeSettles

Don't feel guilty about a satisfied customer. For the future, I would say do what the buyer wants and has paid for. I have had some sellers send insured when I didn't request insurance and they did it at their cost. I did not object to that. Sending uninsured and refunding their money probably made them happy because they got the coin cheaper. However when the coin does not arrive would they still be happy thinking it may have arrived safely had it been insured.

I have not sold anything myself yet, but when I do, I plan to factor in $0.90 for mailing confirmation on items under $50.00 and make insurance optional. The cost of the mailer, postage and confimation fee comes to about $2.00 for S/H. For items over $50.00 I plan to also factor in the first $1.30 for insurance making the S/H $3.50 and eat the additional insurance. It is a minimal percentage of the resulting price.

I know I like fixed shipping costs when I bid. I consider shipping part of the price when figuring my max bid. I usually buy low dollar items.

Valuable and rare coins should probably be sent registered. Registered mail is transported under lock and key until delivered making it very difficult to steal the contents.

supercoin

Uh-oh, now you went the wrong way the other direction. Most likely they did want it insured and just made a mistake. If in doubt, probably best to e-mail the buyer to verify.

Both situations, I think, are a good argument to just go with a flat shipping charge, and you ship it however you feel best -- insured or not.

As soon as you make something optional you've introduced the potential of confusion and problems. Many buyers are not careful readers.

leothelyon

I think there is a code of good ethics to follow here, to win a repeat buyer over. Believe me, there are all kinds in this world and a simple email explaining the benefits to insure a coin of this value would be beneficial to both sides. If that package gets lost and the buyer gets his money back and it was you who reminded him of it, you've won a friend (buyer) for life. Most of the time the other party will thank you for the "heads up." Seldom has a buyer or seller been rude to me in this situation, I can't recall any off hand.

Leo