EBays "SELLER Protection", do any coin sellers rely on it instead of purchasing postal ins

BigE

I noticed that if you follow EBays rules and get delivery/signature confirmation when shipping items, they make sellers whole if the buyer claims the item was never received. Is this true, anyone ever tried to use it after a buyers claim something was never received? Any experience with this? Thanks--------BigE

notwilight

In my close to 10,000 domestic shipments over the past few years using barcoded shipping labels, the USPS has not lost a single item (knock on wood). You mentioned postal insurance. Look at the rates. For postal insurance to pay off on low value items (less than $500) they would have to lose about 1 in 20. the don't even lose 1 in 5000.

Your best insurance is to package it well, address it right with a barcoded label printer, and if you still want a little more insurance, I recommend tape.

If you still feel funny about this, then every time you ship an item take $4 and put it in a coffee can. When they finally lose an item, pay for it out of the can. Whey you retire, take the money in the can an buy yourself a present.

As for the ebay seller protection, that seem similar to paypal rules. you get the confirmation and they can't claim not-rec'd. that is different that insurance against loss. if the package shows delivered, insurance won't pay anyway. --jerry

derryb

Paypal/Ebay make BUYERS whole if the item was never received. They do that by taking it the money back from the seller. Your only protection of loss while enroute is as Jerry said, self insurance, or as I prefer postal insurance. I consider it a cost of doing business and enjoy the peace of mind it provides. Shipping insurance does nothing for the buyer, it protects the seller from shipping loss or damage. Buyer is protected by paypal buyer protection and should never pay extra for insurance and should care less if item is insured. Claims of shipping loss are between the insurance carrier and the shipper; buyer will take his claim of non receipt to paypal/ebay and win every time.

OPA

Insurance is a waste of your $$$...As stated before, proper packaging & correct postage, preferably electronic with Del. or Signature confirmation, is your best bet. In most cases, when an item is not received, it's due to improper packaging that gets shewed up in the machine sorting process. Make sure your bubble mailer is more than 3/4 thick, this will allow for manual & not machine sorting.

Coinlearner

Have a related question/comment on topic; Is this currently correct?..A seller today messaged me that USPS will NOT insure BULLION if it does not go REGISTERED.I have read many threads on topic and answers go both ways,Yes/No. USPS did refund a 10 oz silver bar 2-3 years ago, removed from package................So..It may not be worth it or do no good to "insure" lesser value items or bullion related coins, not registered.

RRich2004

<< <i>buyer will take his claim of non receipt to paypal/ebay and win every time. >>



That's not as much of a given as you state.

I had an instance not long ago, I sold a 2008 proof set on eBay as BIN for $70 plus $4.95 shipping. I sent them item with delivery confirmation and restricted signature only(buyer had to sign for it in person).

I received payment within 3 days of the item purchase, and sent it out. A week later the buyer contacted me and claimed he never received the item. I ran a track on postal service's website and found the last update was item was out for delivery. I took a screenshot of the delivery confirmation page, and sent it to the buyer and told him to expect that day.

The next day he contacted me claiming the item was not delivered and wanted a full refund. When I tracked the item again, it said Item delivered and signed for. a few days later I received the delivery confirmation along with the receipt of his signature. He made a claim with PayPal for a refund, I provided PayPal and eBay with a scanned copy of his signature on the receipt.

His claim was denied and his PayPal and eBay account closed.

LindeDad

Agree with Jerry coffee can and PayPal labels have worked fine lately.

airplanenut

As Jerry said, that only works in the case that the item scans as delivered/signed, but the buyer claims it wasn't received. If the package simply doesn't arrive, or if the buyer makes the claim noticing that the USPS didn't provide the required scan/signature, then you're SOL.

vann

<< <i>As Jerry said, that only works in the case that the item scans as delivered/signed, but the buyer claims it wasn't received. If the package simply doesn't arrive, or if the buyer makes the claim noticing that the USPS didn't provide the required scan/signature, then you're SOL. >>


Postal insurance protects a seller in the event of a lost shipment or damaged item on receipt (as long as it was well protected). I know that if the item is scanned as delivered at the buyer's destination and the seller proves it was shipped to the buyer's requested address provided by PayPal on the payment record, the buyer's claim for non-receipt will be denied by PayPal. If there is a delivery scan made a postal insurance claim for non-receipt will be denied as well. However in the cases where the shipper has proved it was shipped to the correct address and the buyer claims non-receipt even after a delivery scan is made, eBay may (at it's discretion) cover the transaction and make all parties whole through the buyer and seller protection programs.

OPA

<< <i>However in the cases where the shipper has proved it was shipped to the correct address and the buyer claims non-receipt even after a delivery scan is made, eBay may (at it's discretion) cover the transaction and make all parties whole through the buyer and seller protection programs. >>



Not gonna happen, unless there is a proven incident ie mailbox broken into, hurricane damage & your item is now in Kansas.

vann

<< <i>

<< <i>However in the cases where the shipper has proved it was shipped to the correct address and the buyer claims non-receipt even after a delivery scan is made, eBay may (at it's discretion) cover the transaction and make all parties whole through the buyer and seller protection programs. >>



Not gonna happen, unless there is a proven incident ie mailbox broken into, hurricane damage & your item is now in Kansas. >>


Depending on the circumstances there are situations where eBay does cover an item that is 'missing in action' despite being scanned as delivered. I believe they view it as double jeopardy being that once an item is scanned as delivered, any claim through a seller's postal insurance would be denied even though he did what is required of him. A mailbox broken into or natural calamity should be covered by your homeowners policy.

derryb

<< <i>

<< <i>buyer will take his claim of non receipt to paypal/ebay and win every time. >>



That's not as much of a given as you state.

I had an instance not long ago, I sold a 2008 proof set on eBay as BIN for $70 plus $4.95 shipping. I sent them item with delivery confirmation and restricted signature only(buyer had to sign for it in person).

I received payment within 3 days of the item purchase, and sent it out. A week later the buyer contacted me and claimed he never received the item. I ran a track on postal service's website and found the last update was item was out for delivery. I took a screenshot of the delivery confirmation page, and sent it to the buyer and told him to expect that day.

The next day he contacted me claiming the item was not delivered and wanted a full refund. When I tracked the item again, it said Item delivered and signed for. a few days later I received the delivery confirmation along with the receipt of his signature. He made a claim with PayPal for a refund, I provided PayPal and eBay with a scanned copy of his signature on the receipt.

His claim was denied and his PayPal and eBay account closed. >>


Guess I should have been more clear: If item is not delivered buyer will take his claim of non receipt to paypal/ebay and win every time. Proof of delivery, per paypal rules, is important for the seller. For those that choose to "self insure," is it really worth it on a $1400 coin?

Barndog

I've sold a lot of inexpensive stuff on ebay lately and have opted to send stuff uninsured if the value is less than $30. With $50 worth of insurance costing $1.75 (IIRC), it doesn't make sense to spend 5-10% of an item's value on insurance while in transit.

MadMax67

I am not a seller of coins or precious metals but an aggressive buyer of both and if i bid on an item that is in excess of 1k i ask that the seller add shipping insurance to the package, delivery confirmation only states that the package arrived to me ,it doesn't cover my purchase if they didn't put a roll of packaging tape on the package and all of the coins/bullion fell out,i would be the one taking the loss then and i don't take kindly to taking a loss on anything,i also sell high end items ( not coins or silver) and i pay the extra amount for insurance when i ship via USPS/UPS or FED-EX no matter what the selling price is,just to provide my buyers with piece of mind to me it is the right thing to do and NOT a waste of money in my opinion- I have recieved packages that it looks like the shipping provider played a game of soccer with,so you never know.