USPS Insurance Claims

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Nov 12, 2012 10:06 pm

Hey, how do these work? A few months ago I sold a RoadBlasters PCB to a guy on KLOV. He said it arrived damaged. I got insurance on the PCB but because it was so little money, I just sent him a refund through Paypal.

AMAZINGLY, the guy has extra Road Blasters PCBs to sell this week. What are the odds? http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=255885

So, are insurance claims done completely on the side of the buyer? I will never refund someone without getting the merch back first because of this clown, but I am curious as to exactly how it works.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 1:17 pm

This is the way it was explained to me.

If a buyer receives damaged goods, s/he has to take the packaging and the item to the USPS to file a claim. While there, the USPS will look at everything and determine whether it was the fault of the USPS or the fault of a poorly packed package (seller's fault). Note that the USPS has pretty much already determined it is not their fault if they delivered it and didn't mark it as damaged. In other words if the box looks fine but whatever inside is rattling it's not their fault. If (when) it is determined that the damage was the seller's fault, the USPS won't pay the buyer anything. (Their insurance covers damage by the USPS.) At that point it is up to the buyer to recoup his/her losses from the seller. If the purchase was done through Paypal, it is ridiculously easy to do and almost 100% of the time goes in the favor of the buyer.

PayPal is different, and if you file a claim with PayPal you will almost always get your money back. There are people out there who any time you mail them a package without delivery confirmation will immediately file a PayPal claim and get their money back. It really sucks.

I would never give anyone a refund unless they sent the goods back. Too many rip off artists out there. I'd rather pay the double shipping than lie in bed at night wondering whether or not I got ripped off.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:53 pm

Yeah, knowing this little shit put it back for sale on KLOV, I would definitely make him fill out the insurance claim if I wasn't inherently a nice guy.

If you get a payment through Paypal as a "gift", though, they won't let a buyer file a claim. Doesn't work with eBay, but would work otherwise.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:34 am

When I was spending a lot of time on Digital Press, lots of people said that if someone received a package and there was no delivery confirmation they would immediately e-mail PayPal and say they never received the package and get a refund. At least with PayPal, the onus is on the seller to prove the package went out, which is asinine.