USPS Claims

[valsun_28]

Once again, a claim has been denied by USPS.  Since I have had claims denied by the USPS in the past, I have taken extra care in packing and shipping my items.  Since I ship mostly breakable vintage items, I wrap, double box, and add air pillows (if that's what they are called).  For the most part this has been successful but here is the scenario of this last sale.

Sold a vintage cookie jar to a customer.

She notified me the item was shipped and broken when she received it.  She took pictures and sent them to me, and I issued the buyer a full refund

I asked her to keep the box, packing materials, and the cookie jar so I could submit a claim.  In the meantime, I filed a claim online which requires a ton of information including proof of when the item was purchased and price paid, all of the information including date sold, amount, tracking number and the buyer's address, telephone number and non-e-bay e-mail address (which I "think" is against E-bay policy).  I provided all of this information (with permission from the buyer) on the online form and submitted the claim.  I received a letter about 10 days later requesting the item, box, and packing materials be taken to the nearest post office.  I e-mailed a copy of the USPS letter to my buyer, and she graciously took everything to her local post office.   I just received notification from the USPS that my claim was denied!  Why? Because they said the damage was not caused by the USPS!  REALLY?  Who was the damaged caused by, then? Gremlins?  USPS $100 coverage for Priority shipments is a joke if they deny your claim after you provide them with everything to legitimize the claim.  Oh, and not to mention a vintage 1940's Cookie Jar is not something that be re-ordered online.    This is my third claim with USPS and will be the last time I ship using the USPS.  I would be interested in others weighing in and if they had a similar situation and what the resolution was.   Thank you for allowing me to vent!  That and a glass of wine!

[vsbelgians]

Here's a good one....we sent a large tote USPS full of fragile antique glass from NY to GA. Buyer received just the lid of the tote...no items, no tote. USPS noted this and said they didn't know what happened. They actually admitted they screwed up and STILL didn't pay (yes, we bought extra insurance AND signature required). It was so awful it was almost funny. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

do you use 'fragile'. 'handle with care', or 'glass' labels? It's worth the investment. You can get rolls of them on eBay for a reasonable price. 

What type of shipping service are you using? Slow boat or priority? My thought is always if it goes slow boat, it may get bounced around more. 

best wishes!

[wrong66]

That's doubtful.

[wrong66]

I worked the docks at the USPS Processing Center for 10 years. NEVER is anything dropped from 60 ft. into a container. Not even 6 ft.

[lakefor94]

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@wrong66 wrote:

I worked the docks at the USPS Processing Center for 10 years. NEVER is anything dropped from 60 ft. into a container. Not even 6 ft.

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Agreed, That 60 foot high dive sounded stupid. 

[lakefor94]

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@vsbelgians wrote:

Wrong! We have a stellar reputation for excellent packing but here's the story....USPS (and all the others) drop boxes from heights of 60+ feet into hard plastic bins and then drop packages, no matter what the weight, on top of the already dropped boxes. Packages get thrown and kicked. Joke in USPS community is "if it says fragile it is Italian for throw higher and harder". Ive seen this all happen and most of my family works at USPS..they say the only way to get something to a customer safe is to hand deliver it and we all know that isn't possible. SO...if packaged correctly it wont break?? ROFLOL!

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The state of the package upon delivery is determined by the shipper before it is in the hands of the carrier. The item is packaged to be the shipment doing the crushing on the conveyer or in the bin OR the shipment is packaged destined as vulnerable to being crushed/damaged. 

It is a choice the shipper makes. 

USPS is for lower cost items. UPS is the shipper for the expensive items. 

[lakefor94]

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@vsbelgians wrote:

Here's a good one....we sent a large tote USPS full of fragile antique glass from NY to GA. Buyer received just the lid of the tote...no items, no tote. USPS noted this and said they didn't know what happened. They actually admitted they screwed up and STILL didn't pay (yes, we bought extra insurance AND signature required). It was so awful it was almost funny. 

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The correct packaging was not available and a tote was used with a lid. Can't say I ever would have even considered that one.  This place cracks me up.  How do you sell 10,000+ items and come up with shipping in a tote? 

[lakefor94]

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@valsun_28 wrote:

I have been shipping USPS (United States Postal Service) not UPS (United Parcel Service).  And I have taken extra steps to pack well.  In fact, the last several comments from buyers has been how well my items have been packed.  

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If your eBay selling experience has been from this account, you probably have processed ~200+ orders.  At this point there is still a ton to learn. Your only negative was due to a broken item. 

In my book, shipping is the toughest part of this business, hands down.  It is what I spend the most of my time doing. It takes significant time to develop those methods and skills and it is an ongoing process. It always improves over time. 

[varebelrose]

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@lamber9347 wrote:

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The only time I've heard of USPS refunding anyone is for a legitimate lost package, after several months. I just never see anyone say they prevailed in an insurance claim with USPS.... 

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Out of maybe 4 times that I have had to file a USPS insurance claim, I had the payment within a week at most. One time it was for a $2000 laptop that we sent to my son at an FPO in Afghanistan, he had to send it back to us damaged but they paid every penny, no problem.

OP: ""telephone number and non-e-bay e-mail address (which I "think" is against E-bay policy)."
Once you have had a transaction with a buyer, you are allowed to exchange contact information.

[bearswatching]

You seriously want us to believe the USPS  and. Others-routinely drop packages from the equivalent of a 6 story building into hard plastic bins. Seriously? Nothing breakable would survive that. Picture that. A six story office building and USPS throwing packages out the windows to test their resilience.  No one here is that gullible. No one.

[mam98031]

I understand you are upset.  I respect that.  I would be upset too if this happened to me.

In post #9 I asked you a question that still remains unanswered.  Here is a link below that will take you directly to my post.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/USPS-Claims/m-p/33211262#M2074577

What was the condition of the outer box?  You haven't shared that with us yet and it is a very important piece of information.  As I stated in my other post [link above].

[bauble-babes]

All said and done, if USPS will not issue a refund, save your paperwork and the photos and write this off as a loss on your taxes.

As a seller, here's the way I look at these things:

If getting my money back is going to be a gargantuan headache for both me and the buyer, I write it off. I always owe the IRS $ anyway and the loss amount will be that much less I have to give to the government (so they can promptly waste it). 

Sounds like you strive to pack well, but let me ask you this: Did you stuff the inside of your cookie jar with paper, etc? If not, ALWAYS do this because it displaces the air within which can cause explosive breakage if item is dropped. I stuff glasses, vases, & anything hollow. Haven't had breakage in years (knock on wood).

[yuzuha]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@gemarakop_trading wrote:

Ship ups 

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They kick boxes around just like USPS does.  I get damaged boxes in from them all the time.

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At one of my old jobs our shipments used to be sent by UPS, and we jokingly called them "United Parcel Smashers" because of how many boxes would show up all beat up.

[yuzuha]

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@bauble-babes wrote:

Sounds like you strive to pack well, but let me ask you this: Did you stuff the inside of your cookie jar with paper, etc? If not, ALWAYS do this because it displaces the air within which can cause explosive breakage if item is dropped. I stuff glasses, vases, & anything hollow. Haven't had breakage in years (knock on wood).

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Yes, this is a necessity for anything of that sort.

Also, OP, I see you said you add air pillows... I hope you aren't using those in place of packing peanuts, because they really do not do a good job of absorbing impact. They're really more for filling space or cushioning lightweight, nonbreakable items.

[chapeau-noir]

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@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

do you use 'fragile'. 'handle with care', or 'glass' labels? It's worth the investment. You can get rolls of them on eBay for a reasonable price. 

What type of shipping service are you using? Slow boat or priority? My thought is always if it goes slow boat, it may get bounced around more. 

best wishes!

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I tend not to believe the usual line that using stickers like that actually *causes* more damage (though both packages I got that said "do not crush" on the outside were, in fact, crushed - they were also poorly packed), but I do believe this is pretty much what happens: