posted on April 4, 2001 02:11:35 PM
Is a copy of an auction page (auction ended, of course) sufficient evidence of value when making a loss or stolen claim on a package? I got mixed signals from a postal clerk on this. He claimed you had to produce an original receipt of what you paid for something. But mostly he pleaded ignorance. Thanks.
posted on April 4, 2001 02:18:05 PM
Ask three different clerks and you'll get three different answers. Keep trying different clerks until you get an answer you like.
The way it was explain to me is that postal insurance only reimburses you for your "loss". The definition of "loss" is kind of funny. If you are a seller, the "loss" is define as your cost - not the selling price. I guess the concept is you can send another item to the customer and thus should be reimburse for the cost of the item and not the price that the item sold for. Not sure how this works with one of a kind collectible.
In practice, I am not sure how many postal employees filling out the insurance claim will understand the process enough to denied a claim amount based on a printout of the auction result. Of course, if they request the invoice to prove what you pay for the item, than you will be out of luck unless you happen to sell the item for a loss.
By the way, they will not reimburse you for the postage or the insurance fee. Thus, you or the buyer will not be make whole. As the seller, I always reimburse the buyer the full amount including the insurance fee. However, I am not sure you are obligate to do so.
posted on April 5, 2001 05:44:02 AM
Seems like the upshot of this is that insuring a USPS package which contains a family heirloom or personal item with no purchase receipt is a total waste of money and gives a false sense of security. Not to mention that you could end up with a fraction of the value even if the claim was paid. Thanks for the input folks.
Perhaps UPS is a better way to go if you're really concerned about insuring an item.
Regarding your comment on UPS, the answer is once again technically no.
For the courier services, UPS or FEDEX, have restrictions on reimbursing you for collectibles if you need to take out additional insurance. That is, in some cases, they have very small dollar limits on collectibles. I found this out when I was trying to ship a certain collectible to an auction house. I ended up having to send it registered via USPS.
I believe most sellers and most UPS employees are not aware of these restrictions. Your problem may come at the time you need to file a claim. Be sure you check out conditions thoroughly before sending high price items via courier services.
posted on April 5, 2001 10:27:03 AM
And be aware, they NEVER reimburse the cost of shipping either.
Postal insurance is a *HUGE* scam. As is "Delivery Confirmation". I liken both to extended warranties, which are useless on 90% of the products you buy.
If anything, use UPic since it's SOO much cheaper. Don't give the PO any more money for services that don't live up to their "billing".
posted on April 5, 2001 02:48:47 PM
This has been illuminating. I've always had a funny feeling about trying to collect insurance on a mailed item. Fortunately I don't sell particularly high dollar items. I'd really be put out if a thousand dollar antique got lost and the post office said forget it.
