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Hey gang.. We Don’t ship out items over a $100 most days but made a $175 sale on some cast iron book ends and as I was filling out the online form for shipping something just struck me and I didn’t recall an answer.
As TRS Plus we already get commercial rates, then as a 100% TRS+ we also get our discount off of the shipping costs. That’s all well and good, AND we also get $100 of FREE INSURANCE having a Premium Store. So when I went to pay for the label and add insurance the database requests the amount of insurance. I first entered $175 but go a $3.93 charge for the insurance rate. Then I thought, if we already get $100 of insurance shouldn’t I just put in the $75 [over and above the $100 limit] and only pay for insurance on that extra $75. But no where does Ebay provide a declaration that if you put in $75 that your sold item will actually be covered for $175 total.
I have had a few claims in the past and the Ebay sales data suffices as evidence of the items value and have been reimbursed. But, what about trying to say, well I sold it for $175, you already offer $100 and I only insured the extra $75 so please Mr. USPS person, combine both of my insurances and reimburse me for the total amount.
So, with other members here, when you sell items for over the $100 mark what are you entering into the Insurance Vale Field? Total amount or only that over the $100?
Also I would think if every one is putting in the total value is Ebay taking a slice of that 1st $100 and that is something we are already entitled to due to our store and rating status?
Just wondering. Probably is a moot point. On a $175 sale $3 or $4 dollars doesn’t make much of a difference.
Mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta
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When we pay for the extra insurance, it is the full amount of the sale. So if the sale is $150, we put in $150.
With that said, we rarely pay extra for insurance. If an item is $120, I will put the value for insurance at $100, not pay for the extra, and we are done. If the item is broken or lost, I will get $100 back. I lost out on $20, but I saved the $2 extra insurance charge (guessing here how much that is, it has been a while) on this item, as well as every other item in that same range, so we are ahead in the long run.
I look at it in an actuarial way. Taking your example, is $3.93 worth it to recover the extra $75 if the item is damaged or lost? Based on the potential that the item may be broken or lost, I make my decision. In this example, if I could ship this item 18 times without it being broken or lost, I would break even if it broke on the 19th trip and I have to eat the extra $75. $75 / $3.93 = 19.1 — The number of times that you can ship the item without it being broken/lost, not pay for insurance, but break even if it breaks once.
Hope that makes sense.
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Mike,
On a similar note, I always wonder the pros/cons of the two insurance carriers offered through eBay. I’m always presented with the lower-cost option, but always use USPS since they are the one’s responsible for the package and I would prefer to deal with them directly rather than through a third-party.As anything dealing with insurance, I only insure what I can’t afford to lose. And price and likelihood of loss is also a consideration. I’ve been fortunate enough to have sold a few items in the last couple months for hundreds of $$. A book purchased for $4 sold for $500+, a tube radio purchased for $10 sold for $450 and just last week a bottle of perfume purchased for $1.00 sold for $400+.
As discussed on this forum earlier, I was forced into adding insurance to the book because it was $500. The perfume, I insured for $200 because that’s in the range of where the multiple offers came in. And the radio I think I insured it for $125 (what I felt I could quickly resell it at). Price paid really wasn’t a consideration.
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Hey Mike – I’ve wondered about that in the past, but I never researched for an answer. One issue is you have to submit two insurance claims if something is damaged in shipping. I’m not sure that would be worth the headache.
That said, I think you should ask your question directly to eBay. Perhaps you should save it for a time when you another reason to call them. Or, if I have to call them first, I’ll ask. I’ll be interested to hear the answer.
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Addressing (and agreeing with) the original point..
I just sold a book for $200.
If I send it Media Mail the cost is $3.35 for USPS insurance.
If I send it Priority Mail, the cost is $3.35 for USPS insurance.
The $200 value is automatically filled it by Ebay/USPS.
I guess we only get $100 of free insurance if we don’t try to buy insurance for an item worth more than $100. After that the free portion goes away.
It looks like it’s going to ship Media Mail.
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