posted on December 27, 2000 09:40:54 PM new
Quit paying the USPS high rates for insurance [soon to be higher]!
Purchase a "dealer" policy at low cost, approx. $100 - $150 per year. It covers shipping loss [breakage and lost mail], inventory, and even personal collections. Then "self insure" parcels using delivery confirmation. Any risky shipments use Postal insurance.
It's completely legal because you have a shipping insurance policy backing you [which you can use on a very limited basis if desired].
Pocket the profit, or offer your customers reduced rate insurance as an enticement to bid.
posted on December 28, 2000 02:12:40 AM new
Pocono, I have started doing the same thing. I received a package the other day that had a little note in it explaining that seller self insures under a certain dollar amount. That's fine with me. It sure beats fighting the PO if something goes wrong.
posted on December 28, 2000 07:26:05 AM new
I self Insure as well. I offer the customer Optional insurance and it's up to them to pay for it. If they do then they get covered far better than the PO and I have a pool of monies to cover the odd claim. I still use PO Insurance on bigger items and delivery confirmation just to CMA.
posted on December 28, 2000 10:09:40 AM new
Hi Guys,
I have a couple of questions about self insured items. I was thinking of doing that myself but unsure of how to handle it. Do you state in your auctions that you self insure? If not, how do you let the customer know that the item is self insured? How much do you charge? Is it a set amount, or is it some sort of sliding scale depending on the price of item? Or do you not say anything and just add a handling fee?
I now insure any item that sells over $25.00 and state that the buyer is responsible for insurance on those items. But now that the PO is charging an extremely high amount to use their bogus insurance, I no longer want to use them.
posted on December 28, 2000 11:58:24 AM new
What is your protection against buyers who see that the package is missing it's official post office "INSURANCE" stamp on the package and just claim that something has been broken or damaged in shipment? Because they know that they don't have to take the offending item down to the post office and show the proof of damage and fill out forms.
Aside question on postal insurance...Have you noticed that the post office has gotten more picky about damage claims? My postmaster has started to claim that if the item does not have obvious damage to the box on the outside it has not been damaged in shipping. Has the post office cracked down???
posted on December 28, 2000 12:02:22 PM new
Great topic! I sell a lot of low-cost items so I find this concept intriguing. I'll be reading this thread with great interest!
posted on December 28, 2000 01:05:55 PM new
Marvey, I was wondering the same thing! What if the customer says they never received item or it was damaged? Does the self insurer just pay out. I would think that people would be more inclined to fib and state item was damaged or whatever if they know there is not a legal document that they need to complete.
Anyway, I would really like to self insure if possible. Maybe charging .25 or something like that. Would have to figure out a way to do it...........
posted on December 28, 2000 03:32:59 PM newI have a couple of questions about self insured items. I was thinking of doing that myself but unsure of how to handle it. Do you state in your auctions that you self insure?
I state "Priority shipping $5".
If not, how do you let the customer know that the item is self insured?
If customer asks, you reassure customer that you take your responsibility to deliver the stuff very seriously.
How much do you charge?
About $0.40 out of that $5.00.
Is it a set amount, or is it some sort of sliding scale depending on the price of item?
A sliding scale. Sometimes I say "Priority Shipping $6.00".
Or do you not say anything and just add a handling fee?
posted on December 29, 2000 12:35:34 AM new
"Delivery Confirmation" (offered by USPS for 35¢) and requiring returns (at buyer's or seller's expense - your call) keeps illegit claims to a minimum.
posted on December 29, 2000 06:02:38 AM new
If you state in your auction that the item is "insured" against damage or loss, you need to have an insurance company to back it up. (such as USPS, Upic, etc.) One of the companies that offers the blanket coverage is CollectInsure.com.
If you are planning to absorb the losses yourself,(whether or not you collect money for it) you should state that the items are "guaranteed" to arrive undamaged. This will keep you on the right side of the laws regarding insurance companies.
We "guarantee" all of our shipments. Sometimes we buy insurance, sometimes we don't. If a customer offers to pay extra for insurance, we take the money and buy the insurance to make them feel better. Even though we would have "guaranteed" it for free. (we also use DC on all packages and have never had a lost package in the US)
posted on December 29, 2000 07:30:13 AM new
I will keep an eye on this thread, as it is of great interest, but at the moment I see too many loop holes in self-insuring.
Because we have an account with UPS, we started a few months ago, switching many of our smaller items to UPS shipping, because with their automatic $100 of insurance, very often it is less costly than USPS PLUS insurance.
DOES anyone know if the cost of "delivery confirmation" will be going up on NON-Priority mail?
I just checked the USPS site and didn't seen any information relating to this.
posted on December 29, 2000 08:19:21 AM new
I have self-insured on items under $50 since '96, on thousands of packages. What I tell people is that total guaranteed Priority Mail delivery is $X.00.
posted on December 29, 2000 01:34:44 PM new
My "kitty" of self insuring over 2 1/2 years is in excess of $12,700.
Granted, that's on a lot of packages, but I can tell you that I have only paid out less then $500. in claims in that time.
I also use DC, and insist that the item is returned to me at MY EXPENSE, and then an immediate refund will be issued.
I have had NO abuse of this policy whatsoever, and self-insuring MY way IS completely legal, at least as far as my attorney is concerned.
I provide this self-insurance to my customers for free, and they love it!.
My handling charge however, did go up 85 cents.
I would tell you to definately get a cheap commercial policy of some type as well, just so that you have a "paper" policy if the need should arise, which it never has for me.
posted on December 29, 2000 08:24:16 PM new
Hi folks:
I'll explain how we "self insure," and it's working well - so far. We are making profit on it.
First, it is illegal to self insure packages, if you actually charge for insurance and do
not buy it from a licensed agent, i.e., USPS, UPS, FedEx, or commercial. If you
provide insurance to your customers for free via self insuring this is OK.
Second, we do not strictly "self insure." We purchased a dealer policy from
Collectinsure.com. It covers shipping loss and damage, our personal collection,
business stock, travel for shows, and NSF checks. The cost is low [$100-$150 per year]. However, I'd suspect that anyone who put in a large amount of claims for shipping
damage would find their policy canceled rather quickly; therefore, use the dealer
policy as a legal way to "self insure."
You are charging for insurance [we charge postal rates] and have an actual policy as proof. If someone ever questioned you, the number to collectinsure, or a web page address with a photograph of your policy could be supplied.
Sooner or later, no matter how good you are in the packing department, breakage or loss will occur. You will need to snail mail a claim form of your own design to the customer. Model it after the USPS or other claim form. DO NOT pay the claim until the form is signed and returned to you. Pay the return postage. Pay the claim promptly and keep a database of claims paid.
Self insuring is a risky business. You must decide how much risk you are willing to
take. For example, you could self insure shipments with value under $20. Anything
over that delivery confirmation or, U-Pic or USPS insurance could be purchased.
DO NOT tell customers outright that you self-insure. That would open you up to
lots of fraudulent claims. Imagine and think about it! Instead, place a disclaimer somewhere on your TOS website, auction page, or ME page, that states "We reserve the right to choose insurance carrier, i.e., USPS, UPS, FedEx, or commercial." Nobody has ever questioned us...
You MUST purchase an "INSURED" stamp. I have not seen any on the shelves, ours was custom ordered. We use a rectangular stamp with a border, it looks professional and has not been questioned. Make certain you don't try to imitate the OVAL USPS "insured" stamp. Your package could be returned for postage due.
I typed this information up in a hurry, most likely I've left out information!
posted on December 29, 2000 09:41:12 PM new
I was all excited too, until I went to the site & saw that the insurance isn't available to Californians. Probably because they insure against earthquake damage, huh? Anyway, I'm totally disappointed.
