USPS receipt

[cykla1]

Along with many others I have had a lot of miss-directed packages and lost packages. To file an insurance claim with USPS it says provide shipping receipt. I use e-bay shipping. How do I get a receipt that the USPS will accept?

[ebooksdiva]

That would require you to walk into the PO with your packages with eBay labels and have the postal clerk scan them then hand you a receipt. 
But after fact there is no way. 

[christworks · Accepted solution]

You do not need a physical receipt to file a USPS claim, if you buy your labels on eBay. 

When you purchase a label, eBay should email you a purchase receipt. That e-mail suffices. You can take a screenshot of it if you file your claim online or print it out if you are filing by mail.  The receipt from eBay has the tracking number, order number, what the item is, how much it sold for, where it is going, and how much you paid for the label. Make sure your screenshot shows all of that information. 

Then, you need evidence of an acceptance scan.  If the tracking number has an acceptance scan associated with it, then all you need to do is take a screenshot of the tracking information. It needs to show the origin zip code, the date/time of the acceptance scan, along with the tracking number. If you are filing by mail, you can print out this information. 

If you do not have an acceptance scan, then your claim will be denied.  There is nothing you can do. That is the risk of just dropping off packages without the clerk scanning them in front of you, or having your mailman pick things up. 

If your claim is approved, the approval letter then serves as the evidence needed to file a claim for reimbursement of the shipping label. That is a separate claim process. The initial claim is only for the value of the item, which is whatever price it sold for. 

I would recommend doing a missing mail search on any "lost" package before you file claim. This will speed up the approval process. You can file claims on Ground Advantage or Priority Mail starting 15 calendar days after the acceptance scan, but it needs to be filed before 60 days. The timeframes are different if you are shipping to an APO/FPO/DPO address. I would actually wait until 30-days have passed, because that is when USPS internally deems Ground Advantage packages lost. You can file at the 15-day mark, but they probably won't approve it until the full 30-days has lapsed, especially if you have not filed a missing mail search. 

[cykla1]

Thank you for that excellent answer. Wouldn't the tracking that shows receipt of package be as good as the clerk acceptance scan?

[christworks]

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@cykla1 wrote:

Thank you for that excellent answer. Wouldn't the tracking that shows receipt of package be as good as the clerk acceptance scan?

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If you see Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending, that is not sufficient. It must say "Accepted" or "Accepted by USPS." This is because the acceptance scan is a hand scanned. Someone physically put eyes on the package and the tracking number and scanned that package. Anything other than that is a mere acknowledgment that you gave them something, but they have not confirmed it was the package with that tracking number. That's why the SCAN Forms while convenient and the clerks like them, they are no good should you need to file an insurance claim because the package got lost. They are supposed to hand scan them later, but sometimes that does not happen. Packages get mixed up, someone does not know what they are doing, or they want to go home.

In a hurry one day I dropped off about a dozen packages without having them scanned. When I got home I had a couple of confused buyers message me because they got notified their packages had been delivered. Of course, that was physically impossible because I had just dropped them off. I pulled up the tracking information and whoever scanned the packages had the scanner set to the delivery setting, instead of the acceptance setting. I spent over 2 hours going back to the post office to get it straightened out, and then messaging the rest of my customers to let them know what happened so they wouldn't be alarmed by the delivery scan. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@cykla1 wrote:

Thank you for that excellent answer. Wouldn't the tracking that shows receipt of package be as good as the clerk acceptance scan?

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If I don't go to the post office to have an acceptance scan, I hand it to my regular carrier and he scans it. Online tracking will show as "USPS picked up item" with my city, state, zip code. 

That shows that it is in USPS possession.

[babyers88]

I think this went off topic, but your sales receipt & copy of the shipping label purchase shown within your ebay account (order details) is probably the best (take a screen shot) and upload it to the claim.

that covers the purchase of the label and value of the item being claimed.

[dogpound1677]

Thanks to everyone that answered. It would be nice if I never have to test these methods, but out of 300 mailings this year, 6 have been lost or damaged, and I am tired of eating the cost of refunds. 

[better_bette]

A physical receipt should be printed with every label, every time, always.  This is a transaction between the USPS and me, and eBay needs to stay out of it.

PRINT THE RECEIPT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[better_bette]

eBay has NEVER emailed me a receipt for a label.