Recently, I bought a ucs set from a seller on ebay. It cost me almost 500 dollars. He shipped it usps priority mail with a tracking number, which i checked twice a day, of course. Everything looked good until it said out for delivery, and i waited, and it never arrived, and then it said package delivered. Well, long story short, the idiot mailman delivered it to the wrong address. My neighbor is an honest and decent fellow, so he brought it to me. Two days after the usps claimed i received it on my front porch. Now, what happens next time they screw up, and my other neighbor decides to keep my lego set? Is the seller going to refund my money? Is the usps going to reimburse me? Is ebay? Or am i just out 500 bucks and probably finding a new hobby? And who is responsible for insuring the shipment against this sort of nonsense? The buyer or the seller? Any insight or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure I'll ever buy online again unless you guys can reassure me that i would somehow get my 500 bucks back if this happened again.

Recently, I bought a ucs set from a seller on ebay. It cost me almost 500 dollars. He shipped it usps priority mail with a tracking number, which i checked twice a day, of course. Everything looked good until it said out for delivery, and i waited, and it never arrived, and then it said package delivered. Well, long story short, the idiot mailman delivered it to the wrong address. My neighbor is an honest and decent fellow, so he brought it to me. Two days after the usps claimed i received it on my front porch. Now, what happens next time they screw up, and my other neighbor decides to keep my lego set? Is the seller going to refund my money? Is the usps going to reimburse me? Is ebay? Or am i just out 500 bucks and probably finding a new hobby? And who is responsible for insuring the shipment against this sort of nonsense? The buyer or the seller? Any insight or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure I'll ever buy online again unless you guys can reassure me that i would somehow get my 500 bucks back if this happened again.

Ebay sides with the buyers, even though it says delivered the shipper would be responsible. I have had people claim that they did not receive something, the UPS confirmation said it was left on their porch, long story short I had to file a claim with UPS. I have a feeling that this buyer got a nice new PS3 and his $500 back, but there is no way to prove it... Always insure your packages (over a certain amount anyways, $100 is the threshold for me).

Recently, I bought a ucs set from a seller on ebay. It cost me almost 500 dollars. He shipped it usps priority mail with a tracking number, which i checked twice a day, of course. Everything looked good until it said out for delivery, and i waited, and it never arrived, and then it said package delivered. Well, long story short, the idoit mailman delivered it to the wrong address. My neighbor is an honest and decent fellow, so he brought it to me. Two days after the usps claimed i received it on my front porch. Now, what happens next time they screw up, and my other neighbor decides to keep my lego set? Is the seller going to refund my money? Is the usps going to reimburse me? Is ebay? Or am i just out 500 bucks and probably finding a new hobby? And who is responsible for insuring the shipment against this sort of nonsense? The buyer or the seller? Any insight or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure I'll ever buy online again unless you guys can reassure me that i would somehow get my 500 bucks back if this happened again.

On any expensive set, request UPS or Fed Ex. They have better tracking and usually don't mess up as bad as the USPS. I would never send a high ticket item by USPS. Never.

Recently, I bought a ucs set from a seller on ebay. It cost me almost 500 dollars. He shipped it usps priority mail with a tracking number, which i checked twice a day, of course. Everything looked good until it said out for delivery, and i waited, and it never arrived, and then it said package delivered. Well, long story short, the idiot mailman delivered it to the wrong address. My neighbor is an honest and decent fellow, so he brought it to me. Two days after the usps claimed i received it on my front porch. Now, what happens next time they screw up, and my other neighbor decides to keep my lego set? Is the seller going to refund my money? Is the usps going to reimburse me? Is ebay? Or am i just out 500 bucks and probably finding a new hobby? And who is responsible for insuring the shipment against this sort of nonsense? The buyer or the seller? Any insight or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure I'll ever buy online again unless you guys can reassure me that i would somehow get my 500 bucks back if this happened again.

First, I must say that this was either an isolated incident or you have a really bad postal worker delivering your mail.

As far as ebay - They require a signature for anything over $250 or they would find in the buyers favor. Did your neighbor sign for it?

The seller is very very lucky that you have an honest neighbor. eBay/PayPal's Seller Protection requires a signature for anything over $250 for the seller to be covered for packages that are not received, even if the confirmation/tracking says it is. Without a signature, they are well aware that people will take "big" things from people's mailboxes/porches, etc. For a $500 item, the seller should have spent the extra $5-$10 to require a signature. For expensive items, I use FedEx and choose the "Direct Signature" option which means only the buyer himself (not his wife/kid/neighbor) has to sign for it. That way, I am as covered as I can be if there is a damaged or not received claim. And insure it for the full value in case it's damaged in shipping. Unlike the old days, eBay now explicitly says that sellers are responsible for the condition the items arrive in, meaning it has to match the listing description. So, if you ship out a MISB item and it's damaged by the shipping company, the buyer can return it and get his money back and the seller can then at least file a claim with the shipping company to get some reimbursement. Otherwise, the seller is stuck.

First, I must say that this was either an isolated incident or you have a really bad postal worker delivering your mail.

As far as ebay - They require a signature for anything over $250 or they would find in the buyers favor. Did your neighbor sign for it?

Rule number 1: anyone who defends the united states post office probably works for them. They're terrible. If i started a new thread on usps incompetence, the volume of replies would break the internet. Just saying. Anyway, thanks guys for your answers, it's good to know that ebay buyer protection isn't just a fancy font.

First, I must say that this was either an isolated incident or you have a really bad postal worker delivering your mail.

As far as ebay - They require a signature for anything over $250 or they would find in the buyers favor. Did your neighbor sign for it?

Rule number 1: anyone who defends the united states post office probably works for them. They're terrible. If i started a new thread on usps incompetence, the volume of replies would break the internet. Just saying. Anyway, thanks guys for your answers, it's good to know that ebay buyer protection isn't just a fancy font.

Wow - I am pretty sure that I don't work for them.

I hate this, even a seller. I have shipped multiple few hundred dollar sets that never seem to be "delivered" on the USPS tracking site even when I pay for signature confirmation. I will contact the buyer and they have been delivered but you are paying for a service that isn't being used correctly. Geez, no wonder the USPS is losing money and customers left and right.

The US Postal Service is fine and the best value for light ( < 4 lbs) and not-highly valuable packages. FedEx and UPS don't exactly treat packages well all the time either. There are plenty of stories of boxes that are "out for delivery" that don't actually make it to the actual recipient because it "fell off the truck". How do you think some of the Craiglist/eBay sellers who sell stuff for ridiculously low prices get their inventory? It's well known that UPS drivers "lose" packages all the time. At least with FedEx Ground, each driver is their own small business/independent contractor and therefore responsible for all the packages that they are given by FedEx so there is less of a chance of it getting "lost". That's one major reason why I prefer FedEx over UPS. If all packages are packed well (tight, non-creased/damaged boxes, lots of tape, good/safe packing material) and address correctly (printed and NOT hand written, barcoded, large print), etc, there shouldn't be any problems (except lost/mis-directed packages). Most of the shipping issues that people have are because the seller/sender is too lazy/cheap to pack and ship their items in a professional way. We need the US Postal Service around. It's needed competition to keep FedEx/UPS rates reasonable. Yes, I have had terrible service more often with the USPS than with FedEx/UPS but I also ship a lot more with them. And, no, I don't work for or have any family/friends who work for the US Postal Service.

I hate this, even a seller. I have shipped multiple few hundred dollar sets that never seem to be "delivered" on the USPS tracking site even when I pay for signature confirmation. I will contact the buyer and they have been delivered but you are paying for a service that isn't being used correctly. Geez, no wonder the USPS is losing money and customers left and right.

You need to use either FedEx or UPS for valuable items. There is a FedEx or UPS shipping center almost everywhere (Kinko's, Mailboxes Etc, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc).

The USPS still has a long ways to go as a package delivery service for valuable items. They are relatively new to this. For example, they just recently decided it was a good idea to include tracking on all packages as a default and just renamed Delivery Confirmation to be USPS Tracking. The only real semi-trustworthly USPS package delivery service is Express Mail or Registered Mail.

Starcitybrickcompany: twas a joke my friend. I see by your username that you work for the star city brick company, which, to my knowledge, is not associated with the usps. But maybe you own black market Usps stocks, i don't know :)

At my work, we send everything via Fedex or UPS. Never USPS. Tiny little electronics worth $1000's. I've personally sent a package to our office with $70,000+ worth of electronics. No insurance. The electronics were from a parted out machine. If you claim X, their insurance requires that you prove you paid X amount for the item. If you don't have a receipt, or if you're selling parted out pieces, you're SOL basically.

At my work, we send everything via Fedex or UPS. Never USPS. Tiny little electronics worth $1000's. I've personally sent a package to our office with $70,000+ worth of electronics. No insurance. The electronics were from a parted out machine. If you claim X, their insurance requires that you prove you paid X amount for the item. If you don't have a receipt, or if you're selling parted out pieces, you're SOL basically.

So, does an ebay invoice count as a receipt? Anyone here have a personal experience filing an insurance claim for an ebay item?

So, does an ebay invoice count as a receipt? Anyone here have a personal experience filing an insurance claim for an ebay item?

Yes it does...

Wait wait wait... So, if i'm shipping an imperial flagship i sold on ebay for $300+, i want to insure it. So, does my ebay sales invoice work as proof of the item's value? Obviously i couldn't offer the insurance company the retail receipt. But the ebay invoice doesn't prove what I paid for it... Sorry this keeps dragging on, but i guess that's to be expected when insurance is the topic...

For over a year, I have shipped probably an average of 200 packages per month via USPS. In my limited personal experience, USPS has rarely made a mistake.

Can anyone advise how to get insurance on items that I'm selling that are worth more than $1,000.  I get mixed answers from Fedex as to whether they'll insure for that much.

Not to hijack the resurrection of this topic, but it seems the most appropriate thread for it:

 

 

Anyone have advice on dealing with USPS insurance claims through the local office?

 

In short:

 

I've made three previous online claims this year of approx. $50 each on Priority Mail packages that showed up smashed and consequently smashified the Lego box inside. Each was quickly granted and a check showed up in the mail 1-2 weeks later.

 

Last month, I made another pair of claims (on the same day, possibly a big mistake) of the same type and received notice nearly two weeks later to take the items and packaging materials in for inspection.

So a few days later, I end up trying to explain to two middle-aged women at my local Post Office that it's the multiple creases on the previously pristine Lego boxes that constitute damage, as they are collector's items when unopened for years, and that I'm sure the Lego pieces inside are undamaged but that isn't the issue, and I don't need to break the seals to figure out if my item was damaged.

After re-wrapping each item in the bubble wrap, placing it in its box, and showing how the damage must have occurred, skeptical doesn't begin to describe the way in which they filled out the forms and retained my Lego sets. One of them even commented that she didn't believe the damage could have happened because of how well it was packaged - despite the 2" hole in the outer box that lined up exactly with the dent and crease in the Lego box.

 

When I asked what to expect next in the process, I was shortly but politely informed that they would be in touch, and I would receive further instructions when a decision was made.

 

That was three weeks ago.

 

Help.... please?