eBay

lindaegret8 · ‎02-15-2020

I had a very bad experience with a buyer.The item arrived damaged by USPS and I filed a claim but she ignored it.I was told by USPS that she must bring it to her local post office which was in the midwest and I am in the northeast.I was so upset it felt helpless and hopeless- ebay does nothing to insist that the buyer document the damage with the carrier that caused it and embay gave e totally wrong info about the insurance process.Long and short of it is the seller is responsible from beginning to end and there is no rule in place that the buyer has to document the damage.Apparently PayPal does require documentation but not ebay.So with a difficult uncommunicative buyer my item was never taken to the post office.( this is required by USPS)I refunded the buyer and had a 3 week window for the USPS insurance which the buyer ignored.It was a heavy fragile casserole vintage and gorgeous total loss .Lesson learned the USPS priority insurance is never going to work unless the buyer cooperates ebay has no provisions in place to make the buyer comply and document the damage.You will be responsible if you have an unhelpful buyer like I did.I will now only use ebay for items that are less prone to breakage and I am going to use many other platforms to sell- I was only using ebay and that will now change- was going to close the account but instead will pare it down and explore all those other possibilities out there.If you send an item priority and feel good that it has the insurance be aware that ebay wont help and if the buyer doesn't cooperate the insurance is worthless as mine was.

gramophone-georg · ‎02-19-2020

@wastingtime101 wrote:
eBay said they don't publish nuances of all policies in an effort to prevent scammers from taking advantage.

I don't make the rules but I try to stay informed about things that can affect my business here.

Nonsense.

The UA is supposed to be a contract. Only eBay and the Mob force you to agree to a contract that you are not allowed to see.

Chaos is NOT an "industry standard".

albany_sellers · ‎02-19-2020

This is one of my gripes about the USPS.

Out of thousands of orders shipped with no issue, I have filed exactly 14 claims for damage, but was told by the post master that it does not matter, they don't consider the volume of packages sent compared to the number of claims filed.

Someone shipping 10 orders and filing claims on 10 packages is the same as someone shipping 10,000 packages and filing 10 claims. In their eyes, 10 or however many claims are an excessive number of claims regardless.

I have two claims right now under appeal that were denied because my buyer couldn't or wouldn't take the packages for inspection. I uploaded proof of damage, value and photos of packaging but they still denied for that reason. When I asked about it, and questioned why I would use USPS if they will not honor the insurance I use them specifically for when i ship such a high volume, I was told in so many words that it's just too bad and that volume does not matter.

Now that FedEx has dropped their eBay rates, I have been using them a lot more since 14 claims out of thousands of shipments that the USPS toss around like footballs is considered excessive.

albany_sellers · ‎02-19-2020

If I could opt out of USPS insurance and replace it with shipcover before the free $100 insurance they offer, instead of only after I pass the $100 limit, I would in an instant.

albany_sellers · ‎02-19-2020

@true-blue1 wrote:
That is how we do it too. We go to the USPS web site and file a claim ourselve. Buyers always uploaded damaged pictures to ebay. I would save the image on my PC and then upload into the USPS site. We would get the insurance check within two weeks or so.

Until you hit an arbitrary number of claims, regardless of how many packages you have successfully mailed out. I have shipped thousands of orders and on my 13th and 14th claim over 4 years they deemed it excessive and denied after my buyer wouldn't cooperate with inspection.

At a certain point, USPS insurance might as well not exist.

albany_sellers · ‎02-19-2020

brian@ebay wrote:
@genv wrote:
brian@ebay
If my car is in an accident, and I file a Claim, the Insurer must see the damage.
Why is it different on eBay ?
Hi @genv, based on the information in this thread the company insuring the package (USPS in this case) is asking to see the damage. eBay is not the insurer, so we do not have the ability to force a buyer to provide proof to the shipping company. If a seller wants to pursue a return through the eBay site, we will facilitate that. If the seller wants to pursue a claim through the shipping company they purchased insurance from, that is also an option but since eBay is not involved in that claim process the buyer and seller will need to work together to resolve that claim.

Is eBay unable to amend the buyer protection rules to include cooperating with an insurance claim? The only buyers you have to worry about losing over such a policy are buyers you shouldn't want on eBay anyhow. It would be such a simple fix to add a couple sentences to the agreement.

sg51 · ‎02-19-2020

It was an unwritten rule. If it's not in the policy pages there's technically nothing to announce.

I guess you're saying that blues posting to this forum do not speak for eBay.

That's not what Brian said.

Rather, he said that trinton was speaking for ebay, but that the policy changed, and he, Brian, is now speaking for ebay in making that belated announcement.

paradoxchad · ‎02-19-2020

I have now run into the same issue. The process was so simple with the post office over the years. But now it's becoming impossible, it's terrible customer service on our end to ask a customer to take there damaged item to the post office and have it inspected. This requires lots of time on their end. Which is nearly impossible to get then to do it.

I provided all the documentation of the damage in my last two cases with no result. I use to be able to upload the damage and that was it. Now they have made it impossible for sellers. I will no longer be shipping fragile items, and eBay will be losing out on final value fees as more and more sellers will stop shipping items that are no longer protected. Something has to be done , because this is unacceptable.

slippinjimmy · ‎02-19-2020

@paradoxchad wrote:
I have now run into the same issue. The process was so simple with the post office over the years. But now it's becoming impossible, it's terrible customer service on our end to ask a customer to take there damaged item to the post office and have it inspected. This requires lots of time on their end. Which is nearly impossible to get then to do it.

I provided all the documentation of the damage in my last two cases with no result. I use to be able to upload the damage and that was it. Now they have made it impossible for sellers. I will no longer be shipping fragile items, and eBay will be losing out on final value fees as more and more sellers will stop shipping items that are no longer protected. Something has to be done , because this is unacceptable.

Are you refunding the buyer immediately or telling them to wait until the claim is in process?

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

wastingtime101 · ‎02-19-2020

@sg51 wrote:
I guess you're saying that blues posting to this forum do not speak for eBay.

Not even close to what I was saying. 😁

GLORIOUS!

picknparley · ‎02-19-2020

Is it possible USPS is also being over-run with claims due to the same scammers we're having to deal with here?

And that now the good shippers are being scrutinized because of the mountain of claims in the entire system?

Just like on ebay, the good are punished because of the bad.

echo_and_zip · ‎02-19-2020

@picknparley

Is it possible USPS is also being over-run with claims due to the same scammers we're having to deal with here?

BINGO ^ And, IF the buyer was told, to QUALIFY for a Refund, PROOF MUST BE SUBMITTED, I bet LOTS of Claims would NEVER be opened, saving Seller, eBay AND Carrier money.

And that now the good shippers are being scrutinized because of the mountain of claims in the entire system? Just like on ebay, the good are punished because of the bad.

Shipping is not an entitlement, it's a convenience.
Convenience costs money.
Shipping ain't free.
All Customers have a need,
Some are more needy than others.

bar-29368 · ‎02-19-2020

There are plenty of websites where you can't even continue with a NAD claim unless you upload a picture of the alleged issue.

sodelight · ‎02-19-2020

My guess is USPS has experienced a huge claims increase due to the automatic inclusion of insurance! The combination of package mishandling and underpacking is to blame. When insurance wasn't included in USPS priority, I'd imagine the majority of packages went uninsured, thus a fraction of claims compared to now despite arriving damaged. So they're being very particular about claim payouts and wanting to personally inspect pkgs instead of the simple uploaded pics of prior claims process. I'm not at all surprised it's come to this, I figured it would sooner or later with included priority insurance.

It's as if USPS has gone back to the dark ages and done a 360 in wanting to personally inspect! I recall a few years ago wanting to bring in a damaged package, they absolutely refused and insisted ONLY website pics upload!

USPS now actually sees how many packages arrive damaged, unlike when insurance wasn't included! Perhaps they need to stop handling them like they're going for a winning touchdown, throwing or tackling!