papaswindy
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posted on February 19, 2001 01:53:40 AM new
Okay i bought some widgets on ebay that you can't find everyday. There were three of them in a set. I paid and paid for insurance on these. They came the other day and before i even opened the box you could hear a lot of rattling so i just knew they were all broken. Well i opened the box and didn't unpack anything but the first one i started to pick up was shattered and when i felt the other ones they were all shattered also. Everything in the box is intact just the way she sent them. They were wrapped in a sheet of newspaper with newspaper shredding and that was all that protected them. Very poor packaging on something that is highly breakable. I know the post office won't pay off on the insurance because of the way they were packed. I want my money refunded from her. What do you all think and how would you handle it? Thanks for the help.
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georgeviscomi
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posted on February 19, 2001 02:29:01 AM new
I would email her and tell her the problem and if you have a digital camera email her a pic of the broken stuff.I would ask for my money back.
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papaswindy
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posted on February 19, 2001 03:49:39 AM new
Hi i did email after i received it and found out it was broken and how it was packed and asked for a refund and her reply was that she has never had anything she sent broken . I even offered to send it back it back to her so she could take it to the post office and try to get her insurance claimed and she said i would have to wait. I don't think i should have to wait since it was her fault it got broken. I have never had anything i sent broken cause i always over pack but i have had lost packages and i refund immediately. That is just what i think is fair.
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nanastuff
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posted on February 19, 2001 03:59:33 AM new
Do you have a digital camera, as georgeviscomi suggested? Have you asked her why you have to wait? I am curious to know what her excuse is. I mostly sell, and would never treat a customer this way. I, like you tend to overpack.
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gravid
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posted on February 19, 2001 04:12:40 AM new
Do you mean you have to wait until the post office pays her? She will try to get out of it if they won't I am thinking. As the others
have said I don't treat my customers that way, but I also pack for nuclear attack.
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papaswindy
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posted on February 19, 2001 02:37:30 PM new
Hi thanks for replying. I don't have a digital camera yet so i can take pictures that way. I offered to send them back to her but she told me no because then they would think they got broken on the way back to her. They are not gonna pay off on this i just know it because of the packing. It's not a lot of money but $30 is still $30. She said she had never done this before and didn't know what to do. If someone isn't happy i refund right away and deal with whatever later cause i think that is fair. I am gonna write her one more time and see what happens. THanks for everyones help.
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pcalton
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posted on February 19, 2001 03:05:38 PM new
I am not sure of what the items were and how much they were packaged but the insurance should still cover the loss.
I have never had insurance turned down by the USPS and I have never had my post office inspect the packaging techniques and materials.
I may be wrong, but I say "file the insurance claim and get your money back."
pcalton
Perry Calton
[email protected]
http://www.pcalton.com
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violetta
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posted on February 19, 2001 03:20:06 PM new
If the package was not properly packed, the USPS will turn down the insurance claim. I have had it happen. But I think you should take the (entire) package just as it is, to the post office and attempt to file the claim. If they turn it down, see if you can get them to put the denial in writing. That will give you some more facts to work with your seller with...
USPS insurance is worthless if the seller didn't pack the items appropriately. 
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
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jrb3
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posted on February 19, 2001 03:43:59 PM new
I had a similiar situation and was informed by the manager of my local post office who is a great guy that.
"IF USPS Accepts the package for insurance they have to pay the claim."
Just make sure you bring Claim form, insurance receipt, proof of value (printed out paypal or billpoint receipt, cancelled check money order stub etc.
So the fact is THEY MUST PAY YOUR CLAIM.
Joe B
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toybuyer
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posted on February 19, 2001 03:53:02 PM new
I've been advised by several postal clerks at different locations, that it is difficult to collect insurance on items that have been packed just in newspaper or shredded newspaper (no matter how much) since this is not considered sufficient support. I think the original poster knows, accurately, he may have problems collecting. Can always try. Good Luck!
not toybuyer on ebay
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violetta
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posted on February 19, 2001 04:01:13 PM new
That is interesting, Joe! I will keep that in mind as I am filing my Denial Dispute to St. Louis over a denied claim for something that actually was packed reasonably well. It was denied by my local postmaster for "inadequate packing." (It is my personal belief that they should honor the claim... but my experience is that they won't if it's "inadequately packed." This is not my first claim denial, but it's the first I'm disputing -- because the postmaster is wrong this time. (BTW, my experiences are as buyer -- I have not yet had a breakage on things I've sold.)
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
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puppypumoo
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posted on February 19, 2001 04:03:35 PM new
I would goto the Post Office and file a claim. They will mail the form to her as she will need the green insurance slip to file with the claim.
If you paid with a CC and you still have problems do a chargeback. Its your only protection these days with bad sellers. I have not used a check or money order since I had a problem back in Dec of 95. If the seller does not accept paypal or credit cards I go to the next auction. I have no time for games or problems.
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papaswindy
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posted on February 19, 2001 04:15:14 PM new
Boy you guys are good. I do not have the insurance receipt and she did not offer to send it to me. I know my post office people well since i am there a lot but i just know they will turn it down because it is definitely not packed well at all for such a breakable items. They are thin ceramic and there was 6 pieces total and they were all in one small box together with only a thin piece of newspaper protecting them. I am a seller also and i would never send something that way. Ihave never had anything break but if i did i would not do things this way.
I have never had to file an insurance claim but i thought you had to take the box in and they inspect the packaging to determine whose fault it was. The box was in tact so it wasn't smashed or ran over or anything like that.
I really wanted these cause they are to find where i live and i don/t see them very often on ebay either.
By the way i paid with paypal but it was with funds that were already in there so i don't think i can do a chargeback because of that.
I have never had to go thru this. Any other time anything came broken the seller refunded and i shipped the items back and they dealt with the insurance process. So i am lost here.
KC
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pcalton
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posted on February 19, 2001 04:31:58 PM new
if the items were insured for $50 and under then you do not need to take the package in, at least we don't have to at our post office. If the package was insured, the box should have some kind of proof on the outside that it was insured...if you had to sign for the package, then it was insured for over $50 and there is an insurance slip attached to the box with the insurance V number....if you paid by paypal and the seller was verified then you can file a claim with paypal.....if the seller is not verified, try making a mental note Not to pay sellers who have not become verified by paypal.....I do a lot of buying and selling and many items are shipped and received by me that comes by way of the USPS....it is a challenge to stay up with changes and prices, especially International shipping, but IMHO it is important that all buyers and sellers do their best to get and stay educated on as many aspects of shipping and receiving as possible...something else, I have discovered is that postal workers can disagree with each other, information on the web page can conflict with what postal workers say, and that postal workers in one station, or city, or state can differ with other postal workers in another station, city, or state...
pcalton
Perry Calton
[email protected]
http://www.pcalton.com
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amy
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posted on February 19, 2001 06:23:10 PM new
Although you think the post office will refuse your claim, if you don't attempt to file the insurance claim the seller could legitimately refuse to refund.
Both you and the seller are going to have to sign the claim form. And although every post office seems to interpet the rules differently, most times the recipient (you) has to bring the package into the post office in order to start the claim.
You can't send it back to her for her to start the claim because she is right...the post office can say it did not arrive at the original destination damaged. I guess you could insure it for the return trip and have her claim it broke on the trip to her but then she doesn't have proof of its value..not the value you paid anyway...and she will need proof of value. And you will still have to sign the insurance claim form, this time as the shipper.
I'm not so sure she is a bad seller. If she has never had an item arrive broken then she may not know how to proceed at this point and her telling you that you would have to wait was because she needed to find out what to do.
If the post office refuses the claim THEN you can ask for a refund...but right now you should be trying to collect on the insurance.
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be3
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posted on February 19, 2001 06:55:03 PM new
Good Luck at getting the insurance. I speak from experience. The post office will not pay if the item is wrapped poorly. I received a $500 dollar item broken due to poor packing. I went through the post office insurance process including appeals. The P.O. didn't pay and the seller said it was our problem not his. By the time we'd been through the appeals process it was too late to neg the seller. One more fact of this story-the seller just happened to be a post office clerk.
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