USPS Lost item, buyer refunded, does seller protection cover my loss?

[patoline]

Hello,

I'm pretty sure I'm SOL but I thought I'd ask.  I shipped an item, without insurance, and the seller never received it.  2 weeks later, I received a letter from the USPS, with my original shipping label and delivery confirmation sticker enclosed, stating that the shipping information (the label mentioned above) had somehow gotten separated from the package.  I take this to mean that the package must have been ripped apart because the label was held down by a ton of clear packing tape.  Anyway, the buyer was breathing down my neck so I refunded his money as it appears that by EBAY rules I am responsible for the item until it reaches the buyer.  The USPS offered to search for the item if I can provide a description but I doubt it will be found or if it is found it will be damaged and worth much less than the auction sale price.  Does paypal seller protection cover this type of incident?

I guess from now on I will require shipping insurance....

Thansk in advance.

[Oboe]

I think the seller protection is more to protect you from an unruly buyer, rather than USPS messing up and eating your package. Insurance is to cover that part. I apologize if I steer you in the wrong direction- but I am not sure I'd count on it. Did you get tracking at all>

[patoline]

Yeah, I don't think I'm covered.  Delivery confirmation still shows the item as being in transit.  USPS says they'll refund my postage if they can't find my item which doesn't help much ($12 postage, $175 item).  I will now have to add shipping insurance to all future items so buyers get to pay more....

[eskoto]

I have been a PayPal member since 1998 and a seller on Ebay for the same. I just ran into the same problem, an eleven dollar item shipped to Russia never made it. A claim was put in by the buyer for the 11.00. I provided him and Paypal with the customs form and postal receipt. PayPal says it has no choice but to take the 11.00 from my account and pay him. No buyer in his right mind would want to pay for insurance on an 11.00 item.

My checkout instruction give the buyer to pay for insurance, with very few taking it because PayPal will give them the money back even though you can prove you shipped it.

TIME FOR EBAY AND PAYPAL TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR SELLERS AND CHANGE THEIR POLICY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[geetar-player]

I agree totally with the need for policy change. It is as simple as adding an automated shipping insurance calculator underneath the shipping method/company.

As an example, I sell premium vintage guitars and I pack like a pro using new boxes. While the packing and box costs are not billed to the customer, it is prudent to cover the item value with insurance. Given many guitars I sell are between $500 and $3000, and insurance for say UPS is $2 per $100 value, the $3000 item would cost me $60 insurance to cover. This is a cost item I do not wish to pay and I intend insurance coverage to be a term of sale. This can mean the difference between profit and loss given the cost for both E Bay and Paypal fees. So the only recourse I have left is to include a handling fee for what I estimate the final sale price to be to cover insurance or depend on buyer intelligence to want and expect to pay for insured shipping. 

Now, dare I not to simply include verbiage in my ad that clearly states insurance is mandatory. E Bay will smack my hands, end my ad, and make me take some "driver's training school"  as penalty.

[bvaz]

Seller protection do not cover your lost.

And by eBay rules you can't charge the buyer for separated insurance, you have to add the insurance to the shipping and handling charges.

If you are selling an expensive item is better for you to add the insurance to the shipping charges this way you protect yourself of this situations.

This was a very expensive lesson, but from now on just add the insurance price to the total of the shipping charges.