OT: Newspaper article about postal insurance from the post office

tribeman

Seems like a waste of money

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1083238200129020.xmlarticle

goodriddance189

doesn't surprise me, really. the post office, much like every other government entity, is a complete crock

scottsusor

Nothing new here -- its been this way for many years. Unfortunately, unless and until somebody comes up with a better alternative (which includes as many branches as the USPS) it will continue. To a large extent, the value of that little blue and white insurance sticker is in perception only. At least it provides a tracking number -- its only worthwhile benefit. If you've never tried to collect insurance from the USPS, try it sometime.

Scott

Mantlefan

I've had 2 cards lost in the past 5 years. Both were insured [about $100 each] and in both cases, I had payment in 45 days.

On the other hand, I could have saved thousands by not insuring and using that money to pay off these 2 claims!

norty

We've had 2 winning bidders (out of about 10,000) who have had to file a Post Office claim for damage/loss of their cards. Payment was made without any problems.

BugOnTheRug

<< <i>the post office, much like every other government entity, is a complete crock >>


Yep, time to pack up the family and move to another country...........hummm, I wonder what Mexico, Russia, or Madagascar is like these days?

BOTR

Ripken

I too have never had a problem filing a postal insurance claim on the few occasions I've had one. In fact, my local p.o. usually calls to verify and payment is usually received pretty quickly. And to call the postal system a "crock" is pretty baffling. I think any system that can move millions of pieces of mail every day--get my letter from here to a either coast in 2-3 days for a grand total of 37 cents (or to Europe for less than a buck)-- is amazing. I'm sure there are horror stories but when you're dealing with this kind of volume and this many employees, let alone federal bureaucracy, I think the percentage is pretty small.

dude

Well, well, the wonders of the internet never cease to amaze me. Another "the sky is falling" story. I've filed about 6 claims with the USPS over the past 5 years and all claims went without a hitch. I wonder if this reporter got his "facts" from a UPS or Fed Ex Message Board by posters named "Tiger" or "Frank"?

I'd be curious to know how many of these claims were for broken stereos that were not working before they were mailed? I once saw a story about that on TV - I think it was 60 Minutes or was it 20/20? Oh wait, no it was Seinfeld.

joker73

<< <i>The Postal Service honored 200,000 claims in 2002; customers insured 59.8 million pieces of mail.
In addition, the vast majority of claims - 85 percent - fell under $300, Quirk said. The average claim is $97.
>>



So let's see: people insure *way* too many lower-value packages, and the USPS does *way* too good of a job delivering them intact. Boy, I'd really be ticked off too, since it's obviously the Post Office's fault. The only "crock" here is the inappropriate use of the payout ratio. I've had buyers pay $1.30 insurance for a $2 card they won (their choice), and plenty of others insure cards not worth much more than that. If you think they're overcharging, then don't buy insurance - or if it's a valuable enough item, just use one of their cheaper competitors and save some money.

And like others here, I've filed 2 claims since 1998 (one $50 and under green form, the other the over $50 blue/white form) and both were settled in a very satisfactory manner in under a month. Say what you will, but on average the USPS does a pretty darn good job of getting mail/cards from one place to another quickly (for less than the price of a candy bar). Some people are never satisfied I guess ...

Robert

packCollector

well as is always the case I read this and received a box today which the tape was cut open on one end and the cards are gone. you could not tell by the box as it was a psa box with 1 layer of tape so I didn't notice it until I pulled all of the days packages and said , "sh*t!!!!!!!! this box is light , f**k there is nothing inside. I wasn't going to open it and go straight there when I noticed the slit on the tape. $1200 with $14.20 insurance for 4 cards. I hope the process is not as bad as some are saying. I have been to the post office already but I am completely in shock and pretty depressed right now

goodriddance189

Duncan,

are you implying that a postal employee blatantly stole them? if so, it sounds like my story.

the postal delivery guy regularly delivers cards to my door, since i get insurance on everything. he always asks if i collect cards (since most of my packages are sent in bubble mailers), and i always say No. well one time i got something with a return address from a card company, he asked again. i finally said yeah i do, and his eyes lit up and he said he collects as well. this was about 2 months ago. since then, i've noticed that several packages haven't arrived. i suspect that the postal employee is stealing them.

does PSA add the serial numbers online for cards before they're shipped to you? if so, i would keep those numbers and start checking ebay religiously.

carewfan4life

Hey, maybe we can outsoursce the USPS.

It's better to be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt!!

goodriddance189

what is that supposed to mean?

mojorob

Duncan,
Wow......good luck, this will be VERY, VERY interesting.
I had one instance, where I had a claim and it took easily over 2 months.
I did FINALLY get paid, but it was a long drawn out PAIN IN THE A$$ and frustrating process.
I was actually very surprised when I finally rec'd my check, as up to that point I thought the post office was going to stiff me on the whole transaction as there was absolutely no communication from the time I submitted my paperwork to finally receiving payment.
My advice.........don't expect proffesionalism in this exercise.
Be surprised if you even get to talk to anyone LIVE.
The post office.......won't even give you a phone number in most instances.
Your best bet is to get with the post master in your area, and have him or her TRACK IT....STAY ON TOP OF IT for you.
Just words to the wise.
Good Luck, let us know how it all comes out.

Kirk

packCollector

well I just wrote my letter that I am sending to the seller so that he can make the claim. I have the cert #'s and if they pop up , the proverbial sh*t will hit the fan. what sucks is I am more upset that I don't have the cards and don't know when I will find them again at the fair prices I paid for strong cards in the grade. and now I am stuck waiting for my $$ , I looked it up and it was actually 6 cards at $1300. . I will give an update after this insurance process is finished. I spoke with the dispatch manager and my carrier and they said I shopuld not have any problem with the claim.

also , I do not think it was my carrier that stole them. He delivers lots of packages every week and is very honest, I feel bad for him also becasue he will get thrown into this since he was the last person to touch the package. I think they were taken from a mail sorter somewhere in the long treck from arizona to boston.

Tipem

packcollector,


Contact the postal inspectors.


Vic

murcerfan

For all you dealers and wannabe's reading this.

DO NOT use return address labels that say things like:

Joe's Expensive Baseball Card Company

OR............ Rare and Fine Sports Collectibles !!

use an anacronym or your last name or whatever......DO NOT advertise that something valueable and very easy to "pawn" is inside.

Only idiots are still doing this......and you know who you are ???.

qualitycards

MF - I agree! It burns me up when I see the return address of "Joe's Baseball Cards" and such on my packages. Although 99% of my incomings are insured, and I'm sure I'll get the money back in case of theft. Who wants the hassle of filing out claims and waiting for my money back. I don't want the money!, I want the cards. If I wanted the money, I wouldn't have bid or bought the item in the 1st place. By the way, I am not one of the idiots, I put my last name, not my company name on all my outgoing packages ...jay


<< <i>Only idiots are still doing this......and you know who you are ???. >>

murcerfan

Who wants the hassle of filing out claims and waiting for my money back. I don't want the money!, I want the cards. If I wanted the money, I wouldn't have bid or bought the item in the 1st place

could not agree with you more Jay.

Along the same line, is my other pet peeve, the guys who don't protect the card properly and then shrug it off and say something self-righteous like :

"IF the Post Office did their job right it would not have gotten damaged, and what's the big deal they (Mr. Lazy Ass dealer) have sent hundreds (or thousands) of cards like that, so what... yours happened to get damaged, most don't, don't blame me.... it's only a baseball card, and it was insured.... right?

Tipem

Come on Murcerfan,


Don't beat around the bush,just tell us how you feel.


Vic

murcerfan

I feel like the postal service gets the job done 99.9% of the time.

.........despite employees like you

edited to add:

............and remember that delivery of cards is subjective and everybody makes mistakes

packCollector

to go along with murcerfan , another suggestion , don't use interlocking boxes , like psa boxes, with clear tape. it is so easy to open and no one will know. that's what happened here. you see a small box like that with $14 postage and an insurance sticker , anyone who touches the box knows it's something valuable. split the tape with a key and close it back and no one will know until it gets to a buyer and he gets nothing.

I always use paper tape myself when I use boxes like this and always put a piece of clear tape across a bubble mailer so that any tampering will be evident.

vic , if you have any inside info that could help please post or pm me.

this whole thing sucks and now I don't have 6 cards, 5 that I need for my set and they don't come up in strong condition all the time. I have been told that the claim will not be aproblem by my mail carrier and the dispatch manager but who cares about the money , I want the cards!!