Combining insurance after buyer pays?

[cmdpowell]

I can’t figure out any way to do this, but maybe someone knows...

I had a number of auctions close for books in the same afternoon and while I instruct buyers to PLEASE wait until ALL of their auctions close, if they are closing on the same day, so that I can include the correct amount for insurance, apparently it wasn’t clear enough. I had a buyer who, as they were winning auctions, paid for all of them separately instead of allowing me to send them a combined invoice. 

I’m not concerned about shipping, as i can just add tracking numbers to the other auctions wins. However, I offered to ship the books fully insured and I can’t figure out any way to insure all of the books in one package.  If I do the most expensive one first, I can adjust the shipping weight to cover all the other books and add the tracking number to the other sales. Unfortunately, it seems that I can only insure the first book and there’s no way to adjust the insurance amount to cover all the other books as you can’t make the insurance amount higher than the single item. So because the buyer was unable to follow simple instructions, I have a bit of a mess. 

Does anyone know a workaround for this? I hate to only have the package insured for the value of a single book, instead of the four or five that are actually in there. 

I’m wondering, although I hate to do this, if I could refund or cancel the funds on PayPal and start fresh. I don’t even know if that would work because they’ve already paid once and that might make it impossible to ever combine them. Or i could just roll the dice and ship all of the books with only the most expensive one being insured. 

If anyone has any ideas, I’m open. Thanks. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

How expensive were these books?  USPS is very reliable. Just pack them well.

[kensgiftshop]

If you want to insure them, you either include the insurance in the item price or pay for the insurance when you buy the shipping label.

You can't add the price of insurance after they buy.

[mr_lincoln]

@cmdpowell   Pack them up in one box, take them to the Post Office and pay at the counter fully insured.  Get a counter receipt and go back home and add the tracking number to all the items the Buyer purchased.  You can do partial refunds for each to give them a discount on their shipping.

btw: the tracking number on the USPS receipt is really long BUT you only want the last 22 digits ...

[eunster1313]

Although you can include the cost of insurance in the cost of shipping

to protect yourself from loss.

You are not allowed to require or charge a buyer separately for insurance.

Shipping policy

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/default/shipping-policy?id=5035&st=12&pos=6&query=Shipping%20poli... 

Plain and simply a buyer doesn't need insurance. They are covered buy

the eBay money back guarantee.

eBay Money Back Guarantee policy

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy... 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

If you want to insure them, you either include the insurance in the item price or pay for the insurance when you buy the shipping label....

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That's the problem here: Since the items were paid for separately, it's not possible for the seller to purchase insurance for the total value of all the books:  " I offered to ship the books fully insured and I can’t figure out any way to insure all of the books in one package.  If I do the most expensive one first, I can adjust the shipping weight to cover all the other books and add the tracking number to the other sales. Unfortunately, it seems that I can only insure the first book".

He's not trying to charge the buyer for insurance. The books have been paid for. The seller is now trying to purchase the postage label for the package.  The problem is: How can the seller insure the combined package for the  full combined value of the books.

[gracieallen01]

Take it to the Post Office?

[penguins_dont_fly]

Is the problem that eBay labels won't let you insure over the value if the single item?

Buy the label on Stamps.com or Pirateship.com

Add insurance for the full value of the shipment.

Come back and add that tracking # on all of the individual orders.

[csbbct]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

If you want to insure them, you either include the insurance in the item price or pay for the insurance when you buy the shipping label....

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That's the problem here: Since the items were paid for separately, it's not possible for the seller to purchase insurance for the total value of all the books:  " I offered to ship the books fully insured and I can’t figure out any way to insure all of the books in one package.  If I do the most expensive one first, I can adjust the shipping weight to cover all the other books and add the tracking number to the other sales. Unfortunately, it seems that I can only insure the first book".

He's not trying to charge the buyer for insurance. The books have been paid for. The seller is now trying to purchase the postage label for the package.  The problem is: How can the seller insure the combined package for the  full combined value of the books.

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Yes, I believe this is the problem they are having.  I don't currently have anything I can test it with, but I think I saw at one time a Merge Transaction Records feature?

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

Is the problem that eBay labels won't let you insure over the value if the single item?

Buy the label on Stamps.com or Pirateship.com

Add insurance for the full value of the shipment....

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Or at www.PayPal.com/shipnow

[nc-daydreamer]

I don't think you understand. Buyers DO NOT pay for insurance as a separate line item charge.  Seller's pay this bill. If you want to insure an item, you inflate the cost in the ad and make a note that the charge for the item includes insurance. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@nc-daydreamer wrote: ... .  Seller's pay this bill. If you want to insure an item, you inflate the cost in the ad and make a note that the charge for the item includes insurance. 

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That's what he's trying to do: Purchase a shipping label with sufficient insurance, after telling the buyer that the package would be shipped with insurance.

[csbbct]

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@nc-daydreamer wrote:

I don't think you understand. Buyers DO NOT pay for insurance as a separate line item charge.  Seller's pay this bill. If you want to insure an item, you inflate the cost in the ad and make a note that the charge for the item includes insurance. 

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@nc-daydreamer  I think the problem he's asking about has nothing to do with trying to collect insurance from the buyer.  The buyer paid for each book separately so they have individual records.  The seller will be combining all books into one package.  When they try to print the label they're only able to buy insurance for the value of one book, NOT the value of all the books that will be combined in the package.  So, if each book is worth $50 but all five combined is a value of $250, eBay's label is not allowing him to buy $250, only the $50 for that one book.    They're asking for recommendations for how to do this.

[fern*wood]

Ship them all separately.  

I would never bother mentioning you will ship fully insured, since that really shouldn't be any concern for the buyer whether it's insured or not. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Buyers sometimes have valid reasons for caring about insurance.  I once had a buyer ask to insure a $10 item (looong ago when sellers could offer it and when it wasn't automatically included with Priority Mail) and she explained that uninsured packages would be left on her doorstep to get stolen, but if a package was insured her carrier would leave a pickup slip and take it back to the PO.