USPS now rejecting eBay screenshots as proof for insurance claims
Summary: originalskincoins discussed issues with USPS rejecting insurance claims for lost packages, despite previously accepting eBay order screenshots as proof of value. tobaccocardyahoo noted currency-related insurance nuances, while others shared mixed experiences with claim approvals and denials. Some participants suggested providing additional documentation like order receipts or PDFs, with gurlcat emphasizing USPS’s subjective decision-making. thecrazyham indicated USPS sometimes demands proof of purchase cost rather than sale price, causing challenges for resellers.
I ship via USPS and they typically lose 1-2 of my packages a year. Previously, I've had no issues submitting USPS insurance claims with a screenshot of the eBay order details page showing the sale price of the item and the refund I've given the buyer. I recently submitted another claim for a lost package with the same screenshot of the transaction but it was rejected. I submitted an appeal, providing a few more eBay screenshots showing additional views and more details of the transaction, and that appeal was rejected as well.
USPS gave the same reason when rejecting both my original submission and first appeal, providing no other information than this:
> Insufficient Evidence of Value. Reference Domestic Mail Manual section 609.3.2
-- The amount claimed must be supported by acceptable proof of value such as a dated sales receipt, money order, credit card statement, a copy of the front and back of a cancelled check or proof of completed Internet payment transaction, paid invoice or bill of sale, or statement of value from a reputable dealer.
For Internet transactions conducted through a Web-based payment network that offers payment services through a stored value account, provide a computer printout of the online transaction identifying the purchaser and seller, price paid, date of transaction, description of item purchased, and assurance that the transaction status is completed. The printout must clearly identify the Web-based payment network provider through which the Internet transaction was conducted.
I'm wondering if they changed their policy and now want sellers to provide proof of their purchase price of the item rather than the sale price, and will only cover that amount.
Has anyone here submitted a USPS claim recently and either had the same experience or managed to get it approved?
greatstuff80
·Aug 13, 2026 at 4:57 PMThey've been doing that for a quite a while. I've dealt with a couple. A year ago, one was paid when the buyer took it to the PO for review. One was denied because the buyer would not. You can thank AI. "photos and videos can be faked too easily" is now the thinking and excuse for shippers to deny claims. So if your buyer will not take the item to the PO for an inspection which is what they usually insist on now, you're out of luck. Few buyers will go to that trouble. That's why I over pack items, make sure I get an acceptance scan when I ship and don't sell anything online I'm not willing to eat the cost of.
kibble-net
·Aug 13, 2026 at 1:53 PMI had my very first lost package last month (pretty impressive that they've only lost one parcel of mine in 27 years, out of 20,000+)
I submitted my claim using the order receipt, and had no problem being paid out quickly. Even the cost of shipping was reimbursed too.
redprint
·3 weeks agoThey pay for lost packages, but won’t for damaged items. You can’t expect the buyer to bring the damaged item to a post office to get your 40$ back.
eastlaneave
·1 month ago@originalskincoins
Use the Order Receipt from the Get Packing Slip menu to file your insurance claim.
That's the form they want to see. Save as a PDF and send with your claim.
adamcartwright
·Aug 13, 2026 at 4:12 AMThank you so much.
I have used the Order Details page before.
How did you learn the Order Receipt is what they need?
eastlaneave
·Aug 13, 2026 at 1:38 PM@adamcartwright
It has all the information they need, proof of sale price, proof of payment, tracking, etc.
I learned about it by working with other sellers and insurance claims.
adamcartwright
·Aug 13, 2026 at 4:49 PM · EditedOrder Details has all that same info (and has worked for me in the past), but the Receipt is buyer-facing, and maybe they prefer that.
eastlaneave
·Aug 13, 2026 at 7:10 PM · Edited@adamcartwright
I am glad it has worked for you.
Order receipt is for seller records, rather than the buyerr.
It's clean, has all the information laid out in 'invoice' like style.
None of the extraneous infomation.
adamcartwright
·Aug 13, 2026 at 7:36 PMYes, it is cleaner.
It also has the Ship From info, which is lacking in Order Details -- and I think that's probably the clincher.
njones1952
·3 weeks ago · EditedWhere is the Get Packing Slip menu. When I click on Print Packing Slip all I get is a packing slip no order receipt ?
eastlaneave
·3 weeks ago@njones1952
Step 1 from Orders page
Step 2
roastedsaurus
·1 month ago · Edited2 for "not received" the week before last, both paid, both using a PDF of the order details page. 1 claim for damaged, they are asking to inspect the item and packaging, which I don't have and am not about to put that on the buyer. I may fight that one a little more. Finally, 1 more "not received" filed just this morning with no response yet.
UPDATE: latest INR claim approved this morning
UPDATE: buyer agreed to take item and packaging in for inspection of damage claim. This will be interesting because we all know they will claim inadequate packaging every time. Its a vintage calender rolled up in a box. The box had large chunks torn out of it and was completely flattened putting creases in the calander photos. Obviously it got caught in their machinery and was pounded.
originalskincoins
OP1 month agoThanks for sharing! Just based on comments in this thread (a mix of rejections and approvals, all sharing the same Order Details page), it kind of seems like it's just up to the whims of whichever USPS employee is reviewing the claim.
greatstuff80
·Aug 13, 2026 at 4:59 PMBased on my limited past experience, if they ask for inspection and the buyer won't take it to the PO, you'll be out of luck.
kennys-kollectibles
·1 month agoAnd this is coming at a time where delivery issues are increasing alot.
I myself have had issues with carriers not very smart, can't find my apt. because they are looking for it, at the wrong apt. complex. If they don't want to issue insurance claims maybe they should deliver packages to the correct address and not mangle packages either.
kennys-kollectibles
·1 month agoSo, let me understand this....there are millions of items bought at a garage sales in which you wont' get a reciept and you sell it on ebay and they lose it, they won't pay?
That sounds like it against the law. How is that fair? You will now have postal employees stealing things now.
thecrazyham
·1 month agoI had this on one as well, they told me what i sold something for is not the value, the replacement value or insurance value is what I PAID FOR IT, so you now have to provide proof of what you paid for it before reselling it... Total BS i know, but i gave them a receipt showing what i paid for an item i resold and at least i got them to pay out on that, of course i lost the profit i got on the sale but at least i got my original purchase amount back.
billk21093
·1 month agoI am having the same problem on a claim. I sent a screen shot of order details and was denied, and then sent a PDF making certain everything was present. Denied again. Anyone know what works?
chubbycatcollectibles
·1 month agoyes. I have a couple claims right now and they say the eBay sold site is not valid. They want you to give up. USPS has been absolute crap the past couple of years. Keep trying. Don't give up.
tsme35
·1 month ago"feedback wanted on USPS insurance claims"
one of the eCommerce sites has a link for feedback
https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/abblog/blog.pl?/pl/2026/8/1786239547.html
shado-x
·1 month agoThe USPS is running out of money!
robot-hands
·1 month agoThey have denied every single claim I have ever made and then made good on appeal.
I think they deny nearly all of them in hopes some of you just go away.
gurlcat
·1 month agoThey have awarded every single claim I have ever made, and I didn't have to appeal any of them.
adamcartwright
·1 month agoI"ve only made one, and I did have to appeal it.
I didn't even add new info to my appeal. I just said "please review the evidence presented in my claim."
gurlcat
·1 month agoI've even won both times I filed a DAMAGE claim, which some people say is next to impossible, and I get why, because the time when damage occurred is impossible to prove. But somehow all it took was submitting the 2-3 photos from my buyers, and I got the claims awarded.
I think it's just like anything where there are policies but ultimately a human employee makes the call, you never can know what's going to happen.
robot-hands
·1 month agoThat is definitely a hot streak.
I had to triple appeal a package that had a metal rod shot through it...rod still in it upon arrival.
I had to appeal one where a flattened package had tire marks on it.
gurlcat
·1 month ago · Edited@robot-hands Typically when a package is so damaged the contents obviously were affected (or missing, in the case of packages with a hole big enough for contents to fall out), the post office of the delivery address will notice it and place a sticker on the package, basically taking responsibility for the horror show.
Did you not find that sticker in either of those crazy damage situations? Or rather I should ask, did your BUYERS not find the sticker?
If not, that could be why the claims were rejected. As far as USPS knew, and as far as you knew, the buyer could have simulated those catastrophes themselves. It would be especially dubious if they didn't show proof that the items themselves were damaged, just the packaging. And even if the items WERE damaged, I see you have 'Buyer Pays' for remorse returns, and there absolutely are dog turd buyers out there who will destroy an item just to get a refund without paying for return shipping. Of course they could just LIE and say an item is INAD, and eBay will approve the free return regardless, but some don't know that, and think there has to be actual damage, so they pull grotesque stunts.
I had a buyer do this with $400 designer boots, obviously slashed one with a knife, claiming it arrived that way (a whole week after delivery -pretty clear she just wanted to wear the boots to some event that weekend). That was in 2019, and the very next day I changed all my listings to Free returns so I could be certain to get my inventory back, intact and re-sellable, even in cases of buyer remorse.
robot-hands
·1 month agoThere were no tags on either. The picture that had the rod shot through it had obviously broken glass in it when it was delivered and the flat package was intact...just flat when it wasn't supposed to be.
All free returns did was increase my remorse returns by about 400%. I lost so much money in the 2 months I had it on that I cannot believe anyone would willingly offer it.
gurlcat
·1 month ago · EditedWell I like your username. Reminds me of one of the best episodes of one of the best comedy shows ever: ♥️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkvlBP7-Q8Q&list=PLJx3sufKzM6Z10Z6IWokmKqApshIw0f15&index=3
gurlcat
·1 month agoWait a minute, I just noticed THIS gem: "Provide a computer printout.... " WHAT?!!!
selsa84
·1 month agoWhat? Okay! That is easily one of his best skits. Also the Prince one is hilarious.
gurlcat
·1 month ago · EditedYyy-yeay-uh!!!
gurlcat
·1 month agoThis is troubling. I've never had a problem with an Order Details screenshot, but it's been close to a year since my last claim. So just to be clear -you're saying this happened with only your most recent claim, correct? I wonder if you just had a crappy employee who processed it. But then what about the appeal? And you said you supplied additional images for that -what were they?
Do you have one more appeal? If so, I think it would be a good idea to contact them for clarification on the requirements lingo. I sure can't guess what the mean by some of it. "Web-based payment network provider through which the Internet transaction was conducted" Huh? Also, "description of item purchased" -you already do that on the main claim page. So are they saying they want evidence backing that? Like what, a screenshot of the listing's item Description? -The way eBay separates that from everything else is just going to make that extra fishy looking, like you could have created it on any white background screen and took a screenshot.
originalskincoins
OP1 month agoYep, this was my first claim this year but all of my others in previous years were approved with the same Order Details screenshot. For the appeal, I added a couple of screenshots from the Transactions page.
I do have one more appeal. Apparently there's a phone line for the USPS Claims department so I'll try calling them and banging my head against that wall to get any clarification before submitting my final appeal.
bashort
·1 month agoI have been using the original invoice and the order detail page that shows the buyer, tracking # and refund
stephenmorgan
·1 month agoAre you allowed to provide a PDF copy of the order details? It would have everything about the sale.
originalskincoins
OP1 month agoI think they limit you to image attachments, but that's exactly the page that I took a full screenshot of for the original claim.
adamcartwright
·1 month agoThat's what I provided the last time I made a claim for a lost package -- a PDF of the Order Details page. It worked fine.
kalyoth
·1 month agoI'd not want to give them that image. I would want the Order total paid & that image shows them lower values they would be drawn into paying. I would provide them an order receipt (what ebay calls an invoice) from the seller hub, print packing slip and more. I do not use this option frequently. But it comes in handy when necessary. Has all the info they are looking for without the varying amounts.
ten_o_nine
·1 month agoI am surprised they paid you in the past, all my 3 claims with USPS in the past got rejected the same way, then you submit more screenshots and get rejected the 2nd time, and by the 3rd submission, you're over the 30 day window.
mamacassidy
·1 month agoI had to file a claim for a lost package last month. I sent the screenshot of the order that also showed the tracking number. I took the screenshot before I sent any refund. I was approved within 2 days and received a check in the mail about a week later.
The lost item was clothing.
Here is the screenshot with the buyer's info marked out:
originalskincoins
OP1 month agoThanks for replying! Interesting that they granted the claim even without you showing the refund - maybe they are less stringent with relatively low-value claims.
gurlcat
·1 month agoIn my experiences there has never been a requirement to show that the buyer was refunded. And dang straight because it's none of their business. They agreed to safely ship a package .... they failed .... they owe a claim award to the label purchaser. What that person does with the money is not their purview, just like it's not Geico's whether a claim award is actually used to fix a bumper dent or whatever.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 month agoNot surprising that USPS is rejecting valuations on coin claims.
You may be getting an incorrect reason for the rejection. Currency is not insurable under most of their services.
originalskincoins
OP1 month agoYeah, I'm aware of the currency nuances and have dealt with that in the past - there's a distinction in the USPS handbook between monetized currency and collectible currency, and collectible currency is actually covered under insurance.
For monetized currency, they max out their indemnity at $15. I don't think this is that issue, as when they've gotten confused by that previously they just granted a $15+postage claim.