posted on April 10, 2002 12:44:50 PM new
Some time ago a seller posted a message here about how he/she self-insures their shipments. I thought this was a clever idea but I didn't pursue it then. But now, after almost 200 successful shipments without a single damage claim, I'm starting to think I'm wasting both time and my customer's money. I wanted to give the self-insurance route a second look.
Unfortunately, since AuctionWatch decided that our messages to one another no longer merit a search capability, finding anything is pretty much impossible. I've just wasted nearly an hour fruitlessly crawling through past messages trying to find the original posting. I'll refrain from further ascerbic comments on this...
Anyway, if anyone out there managed to capture that posting, or if the seller in question happens to read this, I'd sure appreciate any information you might be able to offer; i.e. how you do it.
Some sellers collect for insurance and instead of buying insurance, they use the money as a back up in case an item mailed is lost or damaged. This policy can cause problems because buyers resent the fact that they are being charged for insurance that wasn't purchased.
I have never charged for insurance because like you say, it's such a hassel and very seldom needed. Of course, I'm only dealing in low cost items...less than 50.00.
posted on April 10, 2002 01:23:18 PM new
I read about one eBay seller doing it this way:
He offers a full replacement guarantee if item is lost or arrives damaged. He charges a dollar for this personal insurance, which is ten cents less than basic USPS insurance for a fifty-dollar item. His experience, after hundreds of glitch-free postal experiences, told him that he'd very rarely be called upon to make good on his guarantee and if/when he ever did have to, he wouldn't further aggravate himself or his buyer with the ridiculous, convoluted process of filing a USPS insurance claim.
Seems like a smart idea to me -- provided you pack your items well and address them properly. And, theoretically, you could chuck all those "insurance" dollars into their own account -- be a tidy nest egg in no time and could be used for their intended purpose should the need arise.
(I think I'd only self-insure in conjunction with Delivery Confirmation, though.)
posted on April 10, 2002 01:37:49 PM new
For anyone else interested in this topic, I found what I was looking for (thank you Helenjw). It was posted on March 7. Here's the link to the message thread:
posted on April 10, 2002 02:50:31 PM new
After 4 years of selling on eBay, I recently had the need to use the USPS insurance and it was such a hassle, I just refunded the money and now self insure all packages. I charge $0.85 for this and put the money into a kitty for a rainy day. If someone ever has a problem, I will require a written later stating the nature of the loss and will just file it and mark it off as a loss for taxes.
posted on April 10, 2002 06:29:06 PM new
Seems stupid to put in your auction that you self insure. Seems to me that would invite fraud. I charge a set amount, which includes extra (to cover ebay, paypal, and a little more so I don't have to get a $10 item insured) - I have noticed an increase in lost packages though and may reconsider. I hate getting insurance, what a pain.
