@TwoSides2aCoin said:
They’re cheap , but also costly due to the lack of proof of delivery and many users game that very system for free stuff which costs the seller, or always has, thus far. For me.
90% of the time, there is proof of delivery. If not and the buyer makes a claim, I file the insurance claim and have never had one declined. Haven't lost a nickel on these and I've shipped over 3000 of them.
Really. I’ve lost almost $3000 since November of ‘25. All because I cannot prove delivery. (Not all was standard delivery). A couple international delivery claims were also paid.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
@TwoSides2aCoin said:
Also I have no clue how to file an insurance claim on a $.78 label or the $20 worth inside, since the post office doesn’t insure coins.
The PO certainly does insure coins. I ship by USPS all the time.
The 78 cent USPS label does include insurance for up to $20.00 value. There is a way to tile a insurance claim on eBay.
The "Delivered But Not Really Delivered " happens so often that I just use this standard cut & paste reply:
"Since it was under $20 and small, it was sent using eBay's Standard Envelope with tracking. Since it is an eBay tracking system and not USPS it is done differently. The final tracking scan is done at the distribution center and not at your local P.O. or by your carrier so an envelope may show as Delivered but not actually show up until a day or two or more later. This is a regular occurrence using eBay tracking and does not mean an item is missing. Give it a day or two to show up - if it is more than a week then let me know. Thank you for your business."
I have had negligible problems with Standard Envelopes over thousands of mailings.
@logger7 said:
A buyer/dealer bought two groups of small size currency, 5 notes in total. I got the 3 ounce eBay standard postage for one and uploaded the tracking number for the other.
Obviously, it's too late for this shipment but next time, instead of printing one shipping label and using it for two orders, combine the orders first on eBay and then print the label.
I suspect part of the confusion in this case is that there were two individual orders but only one tracking number. If you combine the orders, there is only one order and one tracking number.
@TwoSides2aCoin said:
Also I have no clue how to file an insurance claim on a $.78 label or the $20 worth inside, since the post office doesn’t insure coins.
All eBay standard envelopes include full insurance for the value of the item. Just file a claim if a buyer indicates they did not receive it.
@jmlanzaf said:
International wouldn't be ebay standard???
I had a claim of a loss with an international shipment earlier this year that went through eBay's international shipping facility. Tracking showed "Delivered". eBay handled it, I kept the sale.
And they pay very promptly. Much faster than USPS.
Just a heads-up on this... if tracking shows "Delivered", you can't claim a loss using that form even if the buyer says he never received the shipment.
And they pay very promptly. Much faster than USPS.
Just a heads-up on this... if tracking shows "Delivered", you can't claim a loss using that form even if the buyer says he never received the shipment.
Yes, but you could claim a loss if he claims contents were missing.
Sounds reasonable but that's never happened to me, so I can't report the results of such a claim.
Actually you can ship relatively large items but they must be slim:
"Standard Letter LimitsHeight: No more than 6-1/8 inches (6.125")Length: No more than 11-1/2 inches (11.5")Thickness: No more than 1/4 inch (0.25")Weight limit: Up to 3.5 ounces for standard letter postage via the USPS First-Class Mail guidelines. "
@logger7 said:
Actually you can ship relatively large items but they must be slim:
"Standard Letter LimitsHeight: No more than 6-1/8 inches (6.125")Length: No more than 11-1/2 inches (11.5")Thickness: No more than 1/4 inch (0.25")Weight limit: Up to 3.5 ounces for standard letter postage via the USPS First-Class Mail guidelines. "
They have to also be flexible enough to go through automated sorting machines.
Is a coin or 3 flexible enough to go through mail sorting machines? How about a flat key? Personally, I don't understand "not too rigid". My post office uses a category slip for 030 Manual Letters which translates as Non-machinable Letters. Whoever negotiated that contract for eBay did really well for eBay Sellers and Buyers. PO rep did not do any good for
PO, jmo.
I quit using this a while back for $20 and under items, its cheaper, but half the time no evidence of delivery and had to refund the buyer. One of my customers is a card guy, and he said same thing, lack of delivery notifications, so it looks as if it was lost.
One of the problems is buyers actually getting what they ordered looking to get something for nothing, free of charge. I'd never try to do that. The system will pay out on the insurance if the tracking does not show delivered. In the recent case that showed as not delivered only "out for delivery" yet did not get actually delivered until the next week, the buyer dealer still wanted the item for free, the "five finger discount". Ebay knows buyers who are abusing their system and will make decisions on them if they are repeat offenders.
@HoledandCreative said:
Is a coin or 3 flexible enough to go through mail sorting machines?
USPS DMM
200 Commercial Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
3.0 Physical Standards for Machinable and Automation Letters and Cards
3.10 Rigid and Odd-Shaped Items
Rigid items (e.g., pens, pencils, keys, bottle caps) are prohibited within mailpieces. Reasonably flexible items (e.g., credit cards) are permitted. Subject to 3.12, odd-shaped items (e.g., coins and tokens) are permitted if firmly affixed to and wrapped within the contents of the mailpiece and envelope to streamline the shape of the mailpiece for automated processing.
@jmlanzaf said:
I ship over 2000 ebay orders per year and I have no more than 5 or 6 combined returns and list packages, almost no damage. Close to 75% of those are ebay standard. If they're were all of these buyers trying to scam me, I would have way more claims.
My experience tracks yours. I ship probably about half what you do but the percentages are similar. This past year, I've had 2 or 3 claims for lost eBay Standard Envelope shipments and no reports of damage. The most frustrating part is trying to explain to compulsive tracking checkers that when eBay says "Delivered", that doesn't mean "Delivered to their mailbox".
@logger7 said:
One of the problems is buyers actually getting what they ordered looking to get something for nothing, free of charge. I'd never try to do that. The system will pay out on the insurance if the tracking does not show delivered. In the recent case that showed as not delivered only "out for delivery" yet did not get actually delivered until the next week, the buyer dealer still wanted the item for free, the "five finger discount". Ebay knows buyers who are abusing their system and will make decisions on them if they are repeat offenders.
Could happen, but there's nothing I can do about it. I also think it's rare given the very few claims I get.
In fact, one of the claims showed up after 30 days and the buyer contacted me to offer to pay. I told him there was no way for me to pay the insurance back.
Even in your case, did you ever talk with the buyer? It's possible he just checked off the one item when it arrived and didn't associate both orders because you hadn't combined them in ebay. So when he later saw it unchecked, he assumed non-receipt.
I ship over 2000 ebay orders per year and I have no more than 5 or 6 combined returns and list packages, almost no damage. Close to 75% of those are ebay standard. If they're were all of these buyers trying to scam me, I would have way more claims.
No response or communication regarding his claimed loss; he called ebay to ask for his money back after opening a claim of delivery failure when it showed both orders delivered. I asked him whether he got either, no common courtesy response.
Comments
Really. I’ve lost almost $3000 since November of ‘25. All because I cannot prove delivery. (Not all was standard delivery). A couple international delivery claims were also paid.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
Also I have no clue how to file an insurance claim on a $.78 label or the $20 worth inside, since the post office doesn’t insure coins.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
The PO certainly does insure coins. I ship by USPS all the time.
The 78 cent USPS label does include insurance for up to $20.00 value. There is a way to tile a insurance claim on eBay.
The "Delivered But Not Really Delivered " happens so often that I just use this standard cut & paste reply:
"Since it was under $20 and small, it was sent using eBay's Standard Envelope with tracking. Since it is an eBay tracking system and not USPS it is done differently. The final tracking scan is done at the distribution center and not at your local P.O. or by your carrier so an envelope may show as Delivered but not actually show up until a day or two or more later. This is a regular occurrence using eBay tracking and does not mean an item is missing. Give it a day or two to show up - if it is more than a week then let me know. Thank you for your business."
I have had negligible problems with Standard Envelopes over thousands of mailings.
Obviously, it's too late for this shipment but next time, instead of printing one shipping label and using it for two orders, combine the orders first on eBay and then print the label.
I suspect part of the confusion in this case is that there were two individual orders but only one tracking number. If you combine the orders, there is only one order and one tracking number.
All eBay standard envelopes include full insurance for the value of the item. Just file a claim if a buyer indicates they did not receive it.
https://www.pip-claim.com/PIPClaim/eBayIntClaim/CreateeBayClaim
I've gotten the standard envelope insurance payments without much trouble unless you've shipped something in a category they don't cover.
Thank you, all.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
I had a claim of a loss with an international shipment earlier this year that went through eBay's international shipping facility. Tracking showed "Delivered". eBay handled it, I kept the sale.
Just a heads-up on this... if tracking shows "Delivered", you can't claim a loss using that form even if the buyer says he never received the shipment.
Sounds reasonable but that's never happened to me, so I can't report the results of such a claim.
Actually you can ship relatively large items but they must be slim:
"Standard Letter LimitsHeight: No more than 6-1/8 inches (6.125")Length: No more than 11-1/2 inches (11.5")Thickness: No more than 1/4 inch (0.25")Weight limit: Up to 3.5 ounces for standard letter postage via the USPS First-Class Mail guidelines. "
They have to also be flexible enough to go through automated sorting machines.
Is a coin or 3 flexible enough to go through mail sorting machines? How about a flat key? Personally, I don't understand "not too rigid". My post office uses a category slip for 030 Manual Letters which translates as Non-machinable Letters. Whoever negotiated that contract for eBay did really well for eBay Sellers and Buyers. PO rep did not do any good for
PO, jmo.
I quit using this a while back for $20 and under items, its cheaper, but half the time no evidence of delivery and had to refund the buyer. One of my customers is a card guy, and he said same thing, lack of delivery notifications, so it looks as if it was lost.
One of the problems is buyers actually getting what they ordered looking to get something for nothing, free of charge. I'd never try to do that. The system will pay out on the insurance if the tracking does not show delivered. In the recent case that showed as not delivered only "out for delivery" yet did not get actually delivered until the next week, the buyer dealer still wanted the item for free, the "five finger discount". Ebay knows buyers who are abusing their system and will make decisions on them if they are repeat offenders.
USPS DMM
200 Commercial Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
3.0 Physical Standards for Machinable and Automation Letters and Cards
3.10 Rigid and Odd-Shaped Items
Rigid items (e.g., pens, pencils, keys, bottle caps) are prohibited within mailpieces. Reasonably flexible items (e.g., credit cards) are permitted. Subject to 3.12, odd-shaped items (e.g., coins and tokens) are permitted if firmly affixed to and wrapped within the contents of the mailpiece and envelope to streamline the shape of the mailpiece for automated processing.
Bold added.
My experience tracks yours. I ship probably about half what you do but the percentages are similar. This past year, I've had 2 or 3 claims for lost eBay Standard Envelope shipments and no reports of damage. The most frustrating part is trying to explain to compulsive tracking checkers that when eBay says "Delivered", that doesn't mean "Delivered to their mailbox".
No response or communication regarding his claimed loss; he called ebay to ask for his money back after opening a claim of delivery failure when it showed both orders delivered. I asked him whether he got either, no common courtesy response.
I was not aware that these were automatically insured similar to the ground advantage package rate
Yep.
Ground advantage insured w/tracking, 1 oz. = $6, more or less.
eBay standard envelope insured w/tracking, 1 oz. = 78 cents.