filing claim with USPS

Question

When a buyer receives a damaged parcel is it the buyers responsibility to file a claim with USPS or the sellers?

selforfun · Answer

@fabdejavu

@mr_lincoln is correct. The seller, as the shipper of record, is the one responsible for filing a USPS claim. The buyer must cooperate (provide photos, retain packaging, bring it to USPS if requested), but the claim itself comes from the seller.

I recently had a related situation (not damage, but misdelivery at a forwarding hub). USPS tracking showed â€œDelivered, left with individual,â€ so eBay closed the case in my favor. However, the buyerâ€™s forwarder had no record of the parcel. After some digging, and since we as sellers have more access and options to contact various agencies, I learned that in areas with multiple forwarders USPS scanners often log delivery at the post office facility around 3 PM, after which bulk shipments go out to different hubs. Occasionally parcels are misrouted to the wrong forwarder, and in those cases the forwarder eventually returns them to USPS, but it can take 1â€“3 weeks.

Technically I was no longer responsible, but I still opened an internal USPS investigation for my buyer. Why? Because when sellers step in, whether for a damaged parcel or a misdelivered one, it protects the buyerâ€™s trust and strengthens reliability across the eBay platform.

comics-scifi-collectibles · Answer

@fabdejavu Insurance is for the SELLER the buyer is covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee. The seller files the insurance claim.

Contact your buyer and ask for pictures of the item, the packing material and the box. Ask the buyer to hold on to all items as the postal carrier may wish to see everything before they decide your insurance claim.
USPS is now REQUIRING buyers to bring the items to a local post office before they will pay on a claim.

Insurance claims are not paid for damage in shipping if the seller didn't package the item well enough.

Then you refund the buyer as soon as you have your pictures. The buyer doesn't wait for the insurance payout if any.

eBay shipping labels come with $100 insurance except for media mail.

Here's how to file insurance claims with each postal carrier or insurance provider>

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/shipping-insurance?id=4643&st=

mr_lincoln · Answer

Hi @fabdejavu

You are the shipper of record and good customer service means you should file the claim. The Buyer will have to retain the item and packaging incase the carrier wants to inspect it as part of the claim.

You should also ask the Buyer to send you pictures of BOTH the item and package showing the label and damage.

NOTE: Buyers can actually file a return for a damaged item forcing the Seller to pay for a return shipping label and refunding upon receipt of the returned item.