I happened to be on the phone with the national USPS customer support center working an issue with a lost first class mail package. Of course as we all know, or at least most of us do, that first class packages do not have insurance coverage from USPS unless you purchase it at the time you buy the label. On a number of occasions I have shipped items using some form of priority mail that qualified for first class simply for the insurance included with priority mail. It was the cheaper option as opposed to purchasing insurance for the first class package.
While I had the customer rep on the phone I asked them about the information posted on their web site about the new USPS ground advantage and the $100 USPS insurance included with that service and whether it applied to all items shipped using that service including what would have been first class packages prior to its incorporation into ground advantage. She checked with several senior officers and confirmed that USPS ground advantage does include $100 insurance coverage both on the outbound and return shipment legs. You can also purchase additional insurance up to $5,000.
While this may not improve the battles with USPS over damaged shipments it certainly adds a new aspect to any lost shipments. I will have to make a few adjustments to some of my listings that I currently have as priority mail shipping to the new ground advantage once eBay has everything setup on Sunday 9 July.
She also provided me with a number for the shipping and mailing solutions support center that operates 7-7 central time. That number is 877-672-0007 which you can also find on the USPS site. The support officers are specialist on everything related to USPS shipping.
