Insurance for sellers

[beerman_1001]

Most of my sales are for $20-100.  I usually ship USPS.  Over the course of a few years, I've had  a few things arrive damaged, or not arrive at all.  The hoops that one has to go through to claim the $100 included with Priority Mail, have not been worth it to submit-although I think I would try it again, if it came to it-IIRC they didn't want to accept my proof of value as to what I was owed.

Having said that, I'm currently trying to sell something that I expect to sell between $1100-and $1500.  I'd like to buy the insurance for said sale (when it occurs) and I've built that into the shipping price.  

Has anyone dealt with the insurance that eBay offers that ISN'T through the USPS??  On some level, how difficult is it to file a claim, should it be necessary??   The item in question is a vintage, one of a kind item and it would not be easy to find comps-since it's so rare.  In a perfect world, if I sold it for say, $1400 and I insured it for that, I'd expect to receive exactly that if it A. Failed to arrive or B. became partially damaged during shipment.  I certainly expect to pay more to insure a higher priced item than I would a $50 item,  but want to know what to expect if something goes wrong.

Thoughts???

[wastingtime101]

The ultimate goal here should be to pack in such a way that there's virtually no chance of damage occurring with regular handling, which includes the box being dropped off a conveyor belt from a high height into a bin below, then having the corner of a 70 lb box landing on top at high speed.

If you want some packing tips, let us know what you're shipping and we can help.

To your question about insurance, do a search on this board for ShipCover and you'll see a lot of posts on the Shipping forum. Some like it better than USPS and others have had issues, lack of communication when ShipCover didn't receive a response from the buyer, etc.

These days most carriers will deny damage claims after inspecting item and packaging citing "insufficient packaging" and insurance is primarily for loss over damage. They pay out some damage claims, but it's much harder to get a payout and buyer has to be cooperative and turn over the item and all packing materials.

[12345jamesstamps]

Insurance is for package lost when shipping. Almost impossible to collect on something damaged unless it got burned in a plane crash(just a metaphor). 

Google address to see where package is going...is it USA or International...freight forward...and so on.

Check buyer's feedback...are they good. Is this someone who has a lot of feedback and kinda buys the same stuff. I never had a package lost coming in to me or going out. 

I prefer package with written confirmation signature and not digital conformation signature of anybody.

[beerman_1001]

I'm willing to pay extra in insurance, NOT TO GET GYPPED BY THE INSUARANCE COMPANY.

In my case, I'm selling a vintage tool set from pre-WWII.  It has a early form of plastic around the handles of SOME of the tools-that's where the value is.  So the VAST majority of what I'm selling is more than robust enough to survive some rough handling-but approximately 10% IS NOT.  

I'm going to pack the fragile portion to survive a nuclear strike.  But I'd like the piece of mind to know that I'm insured should some damage occur.

[rfmtm]

If you want reasonably priced insurance with an easy claims process checkout ShipSaver (not ebay's ShipCover, or USPS).   It imports directly from ebay and has the best rates and customer service that I have found.   While nothing replaces proper packing or is cheaper than self insurance, sometimes insurance can be a good idea, especially if it is reasonable and you can actually and timely collect on a claim.

[kensgiftshop]

One thing to remember, insurance doesn't cover return shipping.

If the buyer files an INAD, and you want it insured, you'll have to pay for it again