posted on July 29, 2013 09:35:12 AM new
I would celebrate, but USPS insurance and guarantees are the pits. I'd almost go as far as to say the coverage is fraudulent.
If you've ever had to file a claim for damaged goods, you know how much work it takes. I imagine it is better for lost items, but we haven't had a lost package.
One International package was guaranteed delivered by a certain date. It arrived 2 days later. USPS denied the claim because the UK Post office denied it due the package being slowed in UK customs. No mention of any stipulations. I bought the shipping from USPS, not UK.
Same package was returned undelivered. Item arrived with 1 of 4 glasses broken. Box was opened and inner box removed and then repacked. USPS denied claim on damages. I had to appeal. Received a check for $20 on $80 coverage.
I can't sell a set of 3 vintage glasses for $60. People consider 4, 6, 8 a set and I can't go out and get a replacement.
posted on July 29, 2013 09:42:46 AM new
For overseas shipment,it is better to use private insurer like U-PIC,unfortunately it does not cover countries like Peru ,Russua,and some Middle Eastern countries.
posted on July 29, 2013 08:29:55 PM new
From USPS web page:
8) What else has changed with Priority Mail?
Most domestic Priority Mail products** now include up to $50 or $100 of insurance based on the payment method used. If you’re using a stamp or meter to add postage to your package, and a package barcode is not applied, bring your package to the retail counter at the Post Office to receive the automatic insurance.
Subject to the exclusions described below, the Postal Service provides up to $50 of insurance for Priority Mail shipments sent at the Post Office (retail) and for Priority Mail sent using Commercial Base™ Pricing. The Postal Service provides up to $100 of insurance for Priority Mail sent using Commercial Plus™ Pricing.
Insurance will not be included with the following: Merchandise Return Service (MRS), Priority Mail Open and Distribute®, Premium Forwarding Service®, Priority Mail Reship, and Priority Mail packages paid for using meters and stamps (when an Intelligent Mail® package barcode (IMpb) or Retail Tracking Barcode is not applied).
9) Has anything changed with Priority Mail International?
Priority Mail International service has not changed.
posted on July 30, 2013 04:56:33 AM new
Does it mean if we print our USPS priority mail shipping label on line,we get $50 insurance for domestic shipment and nothing,zero,zilch for intl shipment?
I print a domestic USPS priority shipping label online yesterday,I dont see any information which said it is insured?
[ edited by lostmymojo on Jul 30, 2013 04:57 AM ]
posted on July 30, 2013 09:04:52 AM new
I printed a Priority label yesterday on eBay. I didn't notice any insurance info, but I wasn't looking. I will keep an eye on it and see what I find out.
One thing that I did notice was that my Priority Mail label did say, "2 Day Shipping" on it. I'm not sure I like that. I may be overreacting, but I foresee some headaches from buyers who get their packages 3-4 days. Refund requests, negative feedback, lower DSRs... all something out of our control.
posted on July 30, 2013 10:01:18 AM new
I don't think it will remove feedback when a buyer is claiming it took too long to arrive for no obvious reason. It would only apply to significant circumstances like fires, earthquakes, snow storms, etc. Things that can be easily verified.
posted on July 30, 2013 11:17:38 AM new
Last year,the flood in the NE caused USPS to reroute many packages,going to NE via Puerto Rico,some packages which are not going to NE are also affected,as the imtermediate stations are overloaded with packages.
Going to west coast,USPS priority packages are laoded on the planes before first class packages,this has nothing to do with weather,just a seasonal priority issue.
I got two negs,one from a buyer in Australia,it took 30 days,another neg from CA buyer ,Ebay has pasted on my item page,first class takes 3-5 days and it took 30 days and missed Xmas gift giving.
Ebay refused to remove the negs.
[ edited by lostmymojo on Jul 30, 2013 11:19 AM ]
posted on July 31, 2013 07:06:38 AM new
What is tha saying,
History always repeat itself?
or
What is old is new again !
Black swan,black tulips,now are available on Ebay !
posted on August 1, 2013 06:42:36 AM new
I don't know what's going on with UPS but I've had 2 claims in the last month that they paid. Both were glass items and were packed to their specs - one was even double boxed.
The first one they never even inspected - paid for a comparable item off ebay.
The second one was a set of 26 glasses - only 2 broke but it happen to be the Water Goblets which is why my buyer purchased all the others. The only comparables I could find were Wine goblets from Replacements. They were asking $60 each. I filed the claim for $120 plus $10 shipping. She only paid $225 for all 26. Darn if UPS didn't pay the full claim amount!!!
posted on August 1, 2013 07:27:16 AM new
I use U-PIC,I have been using them for almost ten years,so far so good.
Sometimes they will ask for a copy of email correspondence I have with my buyer or extra pictures.
They have just recenly removed Russia from the list of countries they cover.
posted on August 1, 2013 08:04:58 AM new
I just spoke with a friend who operates a Wine business yesterday about issues with Google search. Mainly that they still provide old information even though it has been pulled from our respective websites. My issue has been they haven't updated our addresses or phone numbers for years.
Anyhow, one thing he mentioned was that he used to sell a brand of wine glasses, but quit because they were having problems with UPS claims whenever something would break. UPS refused to cover it. That has been my experience as well.
UPS may have federal investigators sniffing around their claims department after so many people complained. You shouldn't be able to accept money to cover items and then not pay when there is a claim. It's one thing to investigate legitimacy of claims, and another to blanket deny them.
Glad to hear you have had better experiences as of late, but UPS lost my business after several fiasco's.
They even tried to bill our business for something a customer purchased, had a delivery service take to the UPS store and had shipped to himself in California. They quoted him a price that offered a 50% discount for signing up for their freight account. They shipped the item to his billing address instead of his delivery address and then billed him full rate. He refused to pay, so UPS came after us even though we didn't ship the item. He apparently used our business name as the "shipper" since he didn't live here. He said The UPS store required him to have different shipper/receiver info. It took months to resolve it.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Aug 1, 2013 08:06 AM ]
posted on August 1, 2013 10:17:26 AM new
Shag I think you are spot on about UPS being investigated and it's about time. They really do need to train their people to take better care in handling the package.
What really gets me is that at times we have added wooden frames to the outside of the box to make them UPS proof - then they charge you a crate fee???
I've had tons of issues with them in the past but there is a UPS store one block from my house - FedEx is 3 or 4 miles.
It seems like UPS has lower their price as well or if not Greyhound went up. I used Greyhound with home delivery a lot but now it just cost too much. 9 times out of 10 UPS is cheaper.
posted on August 1, 2013 04:19:12 PM new
My experience has been that UPS is always more expensive than Fed Ex, even via Home Delivery with the added surcharges. Do you have a UPS account?
If so, lets do some comparative pricing.
I'm curious to know what the following would cost via UPS with an account:
from 97214 to 32073
5 lbs 12 x 12 x 12, value $100
Fed Ex Home Delivery Standard: $16.78
UPS Ground Standard: $18.94
Fed Ex Home Delivery w/Discount: $12.87
UPS Ground w/Discount: ???
10 lbs 16 x 16 x 16, value $200
Fed Ex Home Delivery Standard: $19.16
UPS Ground Standard: $25.01
Fed Ex Home Delivery w/Discount: $17.61
UPS Ground w/Discount: ???
I know those are general examples, but it would be a cross country shipment which tends to be most expensive.
Let me know if you need any rates on my end.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Aug 1, 2013 04:19 PM ]
