Postage not refunded on damaged insured Priority Mail

[flamingirl]

I sold a ceramic plate and shipped it Priority Mail with insurance.  The package was badly damaged and unfortunately, the plate broke.  I refunded the buyer the full amount plus shipping and filed a claim with USPS.  When filing the claim, I was only allowed to put the amount of the item - not the cost of postage.  The claim was accepted and I received a refund, but only for the amount of the item, not the postage (postage was $14.95).  Is there any recourse, or do I just have to eat the cost of shipping when it was clearly the fault of the Post Office - the package looked like it had been run over by a truck!

[donsdetour]

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@flamingirl wrote:

I sold a ceramic plate and shipped it Priority Mail with insurance.  The package was badly damaged and unfortunately, the plate broke.  I refunded the buyer the full amount plus shipping and filed a claim with USPS.  When filing the claim, I was only allowed to put the amount of the item - not the cost of postage.  The claim was accepted and I received a refund, but only for the amount of the item, not the postage (postage was $14.95).  Is there any recourse, or do I just have to eat the cost of shipping when it was clearly the fault of the Post Office - the package looked like it had been run over by a truck!

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You are lucky you got anything: with fragile items they usually say improper packing...

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

That has been the USPS policy for several years now: Postage is refunded only if the package is lost, not if the item is damaged.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/609.htm#ep1097274

[bonjourami]

USPS has never refunded the postage on a claim.

[nobody*s_perfect]

The DMM used to say that postage would be refunded if the item was "totally destroyed" but apparently USPS got tired of arguing about it.

[bonjourami]

I remember filing a claim on a damaged insured pkg twenty years ago and they refused to reimburse the postage.

[troyalg]

I'd really like to know how you got a refund for even the shipping. Same thing just happened to me for the first time and USPS is saying I have to have the item in hand for a refund --but I'm the seller and, of course, don't have the item.

[ms.rodriguez*]

When you total your car, you don't get the insurance fee back either.

[stuffgreat]

Hello, This recently happed to me. I have been selling on eBay 10+ years and have in the past been reimbursed from USPS the full amount the buyer paid, item and postage. I sold a glass item 12/3/22 and refunded the buyer the full amount. USPS kept denying the claim. March 1, 2023, the post office refunded me the cost of the item NOT the insurance paid.  They referred (Domestic  Mail Manual 609.5.4), a lost package would be refunded, breakage in shipping is not refunded.  Ebay seller policy states, seller is to refund postage and cost of the item. Now I am deciding if I want to keep selling breakables on eBay.