questions about shipping insurance via USPS and Shipcover

[actnow!]

Been a while since I sold anything, but did today and I have a couple of questions.  I tried calling eBay, but I am getting cut off due to technical difficulties on their end.  

Is it still Shipcover's policy to pay item cost only and not shipping amount?

A buyer bought something for $200 plus paid $50 in shipping.  I was option to choose USPS insurance and tried to manually put in $250, but red text came up saying the limit was $200.  Ok, now the question is, if a claim was filed with USPS with the $200 limit, would they also pay the additional $50 shipping amount?  Not comfortable not being able to enter the full amount plus shipping, but if USPS still covers, no problem.  By the way, it will be sent Priority so really insured for $200 since the first $50 is covered, correct? 

Thank you!

[martin2001]

I don't use ebay to print label but I assume all 3rd party insurers are the same.

pirateship.com is a great provider of shipping labels that I have been using. Check their prices, should be comparable to ebay's. They also offer 3rd party insurance, I think it is currently $0.80 per each $100 of the insured value.

Priority mail offers up to $100 coverage, but if you need to insure your package for $250, you have to insure it for $250, not $250 - $100 = $150.

If you insure it for $150, the 3rd party insurer will ask you to submit the claim for  $100 to USPS and they will reimburse you for the remaining $50. As I said, I don't know whether shipcover use the same logic, but it is very likely they do.

[greatmidwestcoin]

The cost of shipping is never insurable, just the item.

[actnow! · Accepted solution]

Thanks to you both.  I contacted eBay directly and they told me there was $100 cap.  I ended up just going to the USPS website and proceeding from there.  

Not to disagree and maybe things have changed now, but whenever I have insured with USPS in the past for full amounts, including shipping, anytime there have been claims the full cost was refunded.  That was not true with Shipcover. 

[misskitty144]

shipcover will cover the exact amount the buyer paid for the item, no more... it does not cover the cost of postage, so as a seller you are out that money

[misskitty144]

You can purchase additional insurance for the actual sold value of an item, or the sale price of the item, not necessarily the appraised value... there is a minimum amount automatically covered by USPS for all priority shipments up to $50 and eBay extends the coverage to $100 for sellers with at least 300 transactions that month. If you want additional coverage, you have to buy it separately, over and above the cost of the postage. You can purchase up to the value of the item, and be prepared to offer proof of the value if you want to recover... for example, if you sell a phone you believe has $400 value, yet it sold for only $275, you will only be able to collect $275 because that is what the sale price shows. Good luck everyone!

[bauble-babes]

I just had a claim with USPS on a package they lost. I was refunded in 5 days and that included the shipping cost. Same thing about a year ago, quick and full refund. VERY happy with the speed of their resolution!