USPS Shipping Priority Insured Not Paying for Broken Items

[dawnmarie25]

Seriously considering boycotting the USPS at this point.  Their new policy before paying out on a broken item claim requires the BUYER  to take the packaging (box, bubble wrap, peanuts etc)  to the post office  and have it inspected by a postal employee.   This is a ridiculous expectation for a buyer who has already received an item that was damaged in shipping.   If the post office isn't going to insure their packages properly I'm going to UPS or FedEx.  

[nobody*s_perfect]

UPS and FedEx will probably also want to inspect the damage.  The USPS policy about inspecting a damaged item isn't new, though they seem to be requesting it more often.  

The best solution isn't to change carrier; the solution is to pack better.

[southern*sweet*tea]

USPS, Fedex and UPS all reserve the right to inspect a damaged item. Once they inspect it, if they decide to pay out in the insurance, the item is theirs to do with as they see fit. They can leave it with the buyer, or they can keep it.

All carriers will deny an insurance claim if they think the item wasn't packaged properly.  Either Fedex or UPS (maybe both) require new packaging for their insurance to be valid. If they're going to pay out an insurance claim, they have the right to see what was damaged.

[collectintime]

That was quite a smug reply possibly from an over paid clerk for USPS. I cannot think of anyone else who would say such an obnoxious thing.   I have sold on eBay for over 20 years.  I sell for the most part very fragile items. I rarely have a broken item, but in 2020 I have had five broken items with USPS taking no responsibility what so ever for their pathetic handling of packages. If anything my packing has improved every year. 

It is impossible to believe in the middle of a pandemic the post office thinks absolutely nothing about telling a buyer to take this in to the post office. Even worse, the clerks have no idea what to do with the item. One buyer who was nice enough to take the package in with the letter requesting it be brought in,  although I had sent perfect pictures of the item completely smashed, was told by the clerk she did not know what to do, so she wrote a note saying this item was destroyed in transit, the postal clerk signed the letter and then put a postmark on the letter. I added this to my claim. The claim was denied, and I was told the package had not been brought in to the post office. Once denied I attempted the appeal process which now allows you to write about 25 words and then the limit is hit. It took 6 weeks but was then denied. I received a letter explaining that this was denied because it was not taken into a post office and the proof of payment was not enough just by sending an eBay page that the item had sold and was paid for. What?????? I don't even know what they would expect as proof.  This is the first time this was ever mentioned. (In the past when I had one package destroyed in 2018, there was no problem with the proof of purchase.) I would prefer USPS just to say: Mail at your own risk. We are extremely rough on your packages, and we are not ever going to pay an insurance claim again. This is our new policy. You can take it or leave it. We are a government agency certainly you cannot expect anything more than a below average performance. That is what we strive for, and we hope to meet that goal soon. 

[collectintime]

By the way both UPS and Fed Ex will pick up the package at the buyer's home. I would certainly prefer that rather than telling the buyer to mask up and roll the dice that you will not get Covid in the post office and stand in a long line with three clerks on break and one slow Mo "working". The problem is UPS will take your money for insurance, but they are only insuring it for loss. If it is packed by a UPS store employee it is also insured for damage and unlike USPS, UPS will refund you for the shipping price you paid as well if packed, once again, by one of their employees. USPS will not refund the fee they charged you for mailing. Hey, they got it there. It is completely destroyed, but it was delivered. 

[fab_finds4u]

Gee whiz  this is nothing new. Sometmes they'll accept a  picture as proof.  Sometimes not.

 The PO wants to examine the package and all the packing material to make sure you packaged it sufficiently. Sometimes they want to keep the package if they pay the claim.  Or they want to see if it can be repaired and  they might prorate it unless it's a total loss.

Insurance is basically only good for lost items because it requires the buyer to cooperate with the claim. When they file a dispute they're issued a return label and told to return it to the seller for a refund, which voids the insurance. 

You have to package it so well that the box can be thrown down a flight of steps and not get damaged.

[ronsam-197]

I wonder if this insistence on having the parcel returned to the post office for inspections started before or after De Joy took charge?

[lja440]

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@dawnmarie25 wrote:

Seriously considering boycotting the USPS at this point.  Their new policy before paying out on a broken item claim requires the BUYER  to take the packaging (box, bubble wrap, peanuts etc)  to the post office  and have it inspected by a postal employee.   This is a ridiculous expectation for a buyer who has already received an item that was damaged in shipping.   If the post office isn't going to insure their packages properly I'm going to UPS or FedEx.  

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As someone who for years have had around half of the FedEx packages that I have recieved damaged and filed insurance on too many to count (and only one each via UPS and USPS),(Both of those senders admitted poor packing and refunded themselves). I have always had to provide the items for FedEx and because of my remote rural location they come to get them. Most damage was due to the delivery and many of the packages that did make it did so because of the senders excelent packing skills, such as the phone that was thrown so hard it hit the back wall of my garage skidding through sawdust on the floor from a DYI project, and another that was PLACED behind the rear tire of my SUV and I backed over it not seeing the small box. 

So my advice to you is if you don't want to worry about insurance claims, PACK BETTER, because it is proper for ANY carrier to require inspection of damage before pay out.

[nuvistors]

Many sellers think they pack well  do  , in fact ,  pack their items very poorly.

Mostly from ignorance but some from cheapness.

[nuvistors]

Do not forget that when insurance is paid the item belongs to the insurer.

[collectintime]

You do not have to be the judge and jury of good packing.  USPS puts out very specific guidelines to follow when packing fragile items. I don't think these insurance claims are being turned down because of poor packing, but because during one of the worst pandemics the world has experienced, the post office expects you to understand how slow their service is now, but wants you to ask a disappointed, possibly angry buyer to stand in line at the post office with the general public and let a clerk look at the package. Your two points are hard to follow.  I am not sure how ignorance would come in to play when packing.  There is not an IQ requirement for packing items properly.  I believe anyone could be taught the basics of good packing.  I also see no point in you calling a seller cheap when eBay takes between 13 and 19 percent of the packing price and any box that is larger than 12 X 12 X 12 or over 2 lbs., the price of shipping goes from ridiculous to shocking.  That seller may be trying to save the buyer some money. With a 12 X 12 X 16, more space, safer shipping could add $30 to a buyer's shipping fee. So that seller may follow the postal guidelines, but would really rather use a bigger box since the post office now has no regard for the safety of  packages.  In conclusion,  I find it offensive that people who sell very little on eBay, dare to profess to be "experts." Why antagonize an upset seller? 

[moo*cow*corner]

Wow. Lots of posters here have just as much experience as you do. They are using posting or buying IDs. There's even an actual USPS carrier here trying to help you. I sell fragiles too, and I've been around much longer than this ID indicates. If you are feeling antagonized, that's on you.

Expecting carriers to pay out insurance without inspecting the items is unreasonable.

When all the carrriers got bombed in the spring with online shoppers, I had two instances of breakage in the same month. Usually, I have one or two per year. My average is one out of approximately every 200 shipments being damaged. You know what I did? I immediately started packing everything like it was Christmas season. Boxes got bigger. More bubble wrap. More peanuts. You know the drill. No more breakage for the rest of the entire year.

You have some nice things that require careful packing. I get that. For me, a lot of that stuff just wouldn't be suitable for ecommerce right now. Sure, buyers balk at high shipping prices. But, either they pay what it takes to get them the item safely, or they don't get that thing from me.

I'll send a buyer a link to the ebay shipping estimator in a heartbeat. Give them the weight and dimensions and they can see for themselves what each carrier estimates. 

With the extreme delays during holiday shopping season, I basically quit adding new listings. It wasn't worth the risk for me. I'll be listing more again soon. A seller has to keep adapting on the fly.

You may pack well. The problem is, you are not packing well enough for what you are selling, and you are not adjusting to the current carrier conditions. Adapt or else. It's up to you.

P.S. I've heard of sellers being banned from carrier insurance policies because of too many claims. You may want to consider "cookie jar" insurance for lower value items and save the hassles for the expensive stuff. That's what I do.

[lja440]

I thought you may like to see what my Jeep looks like most days now when leaving to deliver my route. I took a few days off to let some aches heal and get a few things fixed on my jeep. 

 

[lja440]

 

[lja440]