Insurance on eBay sales
howards
Posts: 1,241 ✭✭✭
Just sold my first coin on eBay after many years of not doing business there.
I liked the streamlined way you can get a shipping label printed, not to mention the discount on US postage. This was new to me. But it looks like if you try to add insurance, the insurance page says it does not cover coins.
Am I reading that correctly? How do you eBay sellers ship insured?
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I haven't used ebay in years, but I imagine that many who sell on ebay either have private insurance or self-insure. Of course, you might insure through the USPS as well, but I don't know if that would defeat the benefit of printing out your shipping label at home.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
the default insurance option on the label maker page is a vendor.
usps insurance has to be specially selected.
usps does not insure cash and coin unless they go registered. numismatic items are covered universally via usps up to the insurance limits and with proof of value (like your auction page)
If you were paid with PayPal and it says you have seller protection, then there is ZERO need to pay for insurance.
even in the case of damaged in transit?
I play poker, I play the odds.
I have shipped thousands of coins thru the US mail.
Not Once have they damaged a coin.
BTW, I Luv your avatar
Don't forget that lots of extra tape on the package and double boxing the items can be some great added insurance that doesn't cost you very much.
If you're selling just a few things here and there, using USPS insurance is probably best. But if you do a lot of shipping, then getting a private policy to cover your shipping will likely make more sense financially.
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
Usps insurance rates are multiples higher than ship and insure and Hugh Wood, I don't know how they get away with that with the low loss rates. What are they insuring anyway? Their own financial positions?
yes.
rate on most everything has skyrocketed. the 1st class is one area where increases are regulated.
express insurance went so ballistic that private insurance is cheaper on anything over their free $100.
they also did away with their express mail flat rate box. that is a killer for me.
Never buy the ebay offered insurance as it's worthless. I buy USPS insurance on shipments over $500 and usually insure for 50% to 70% of the package value. Under $500 and I self insure. Registered Mail on anything over $1500. Always follow Paypal shipping guidelines.
Package your items well. I hand deliver packages over ~$200 in value directly to a USPS employee and get a receipt of shipment. I have never had a package lost, damaged or stolen in many hundreds of shipments.
Their failure to perform if a shipment gets lost or stolen.
I beg to differ! If the USPS looses the shipment Paypal will not cover it!
Usps rates: https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2007/html/pb22218/kit1_011.html
Ship and Insure: https://www.shipandinsure.com/
Hugh Wood, under $1000 a year for under a million with other things covered. There are comparable companies.
I self-insure almost everything up to $1k. With tracking and secure wrapping, not much to fear. To me worst thing is when USPS tracking fails.
I self insure but have a lower threshold for signature confirmation, usually anything over $600.
Over $1.5k I will usually use insured registered mail.
I probably should track how much I'm saving by not buying insurance so when I do lose a coin I'll know it it was a smart move or not.
But USPS hasn't let me down yet.
I use USPS for low value shipments..never a problem...... Registered mail for high value... Of course, I am not a business, so my shipments are minimal compared to those of you who are selling at volume. Cheers, RickO
If mail in the US, I use Ebay to print the label and I don't buy insurance. Ebay doesn't require seller to buy insurance. For high price coin I use express to get the tracking for international shipping.
Seller protection covers you in the limited case that an item is signed or marked as delivered and the buyer claims it hasn't arrived. If it's just lost in transit or damaged, you're not covered. I'm not saying this means insurance is necessary in the sense that the USPS is reliable enough that you'll probably pay more for insurance than you'll ever collect if you sell in volume, but if you ship only a few things and the loss would be hard to bear, PayPal isn't the insurance policy to fall back on.
I do think private insurance is generally the way to go. For smaller shippers, there are plenty of firms that will sell on a per-package basis. I've included it in my overall policy with Hugh Wood, so my packages are simply covered.
You have to select USPS insurance.