USPS shipping and insured up to $100.00 per website and ebay

[dofed_13]

I stopped off at USPS the other day to inquire about damaged / slow shipping on USPS Ground Advantage.

Per the USPS Mgr at our Branch,  if the item container (box) is smashed, crushed, pushed in, it is not considered damage, until there is a hole!  Seriously,  I was advised that the USPS cannot tell if that is the way we as sellers shipped the box out.  Again, Really.  We receive noticed from our buyer showing damaged box along with the contents, broken, cracked, etc.  We don't ask our buyer to return to us, as it is clear to see the damage.  We file a claim as USPS states insured up to $100.00.  The Catch, we must give the USPS the box, contents, packaging, our invoice to the USPS for them to inspect.   There is no guarantee USPS will approved claim.  2nd.  USPS stated they do not guarantee the delivery date of 2 to 5 days, as per they website states that the package will arrive.  If you check the USPS website it will give you a time frame of arrival.  But the USPS tracking does not show updated status, as UPS or Federal Express.  If you have some fragile, don't ship USPS. bottom line.  As USPS will not honor what they say on the website.    I refunded the buyer and I am out from the claim.  Never had this problem with UPS or Federal Express.   Lesson Learned

[stainlessenginecovers]

 Yes; all that has been known for a few years now. They inspect. Buyer must take it to inspect because if buyer ships it BACK to you, ALL BETS are off! 

Sellers should DOUBLE box breakables, with a 'cushion between' outer and inner box, as well as bubble wrap/protect item inside the Inside box. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Insurance works for lost packages. 

"delivery date of 2 to 5 days"...that's for a letter with no tracking.

[davidstarcher]

Yes USPS has had this policy for many years which is why I consider their claim of insurance to be deceptive at best and don't use them for expensive or fragile items(it works fine for missing items). USPS insists the claimant physically show them the damaged goods including the box it was sent in which a seller can't do without a return of the entire package damaged box included; as if a buyer would actually be willing to do that which I submit most would not. eBay, good customer service, and common sense say that it is the responsibility of the seller to immediately reimburse the buyer (not the carrier who delivered the goods) and and must do so regardless of any outcome of an insurance claim and therefore the seller who should file a claim with the carrier after the fact; the exact opposite of what USPS demands. UPS and FedEx will usually accept photographic evidence, a statement of damage from the buyer, and a statement of the packing protection used from the seller as being sufficient to process a claim. In my experience doing this 50% of UPS and 90% of FedEx claims are successful.

In the past when USPS was still the cheapest shipping options for large packages I used to select additional insurance option when creating the label which meant claims for loss or damage was covered by ShipCover Insurance instead of USPS. ShipCover Insurance processed claims by seeing the actual claim filed by the buyer on eBay and had a very high approval rate for claims. I haven't used them for many years so I can't say for sure if that is still true or how they currently operate but the option to select them for USPS packages is still there. You can see their Terms of Coverage at: https://pages.ebay.com/insurance/shipping/coverage.html#notinsure

[yuzuha]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

Sellers should DOUBLE box breakables, with a 'cushion between' outer and inner box, as well as bubble wrap/protect item inside the Inside box. 

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Adding in that if breakables are NOT double-boxed, it's pretty much guaranteed the USPS will deny your claim.

[buyselljack2016]

Most of my GA packages arrive in 2-5 days, but........................................ it just like Priority, the "estimate" is not a USPS guarantee of delivery time😊