eBay/insurance question

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, I''ve started selling things on eBay. . .I''ve sold in the past, but mostly just sold off old items around the house that we no longer are using (old CDs and clothes). . .but recently, I''ve been trying to sell items to make money. Not a lot of money, but enough to help support my makeup/face cream habit

.

I decided to charge insurance on items that cannot be easily broken in the mail, but if LOST in the mail, would put me out $20 or so, per item, because I''d have to reimburse the buyer.

So my question is, is it unreasonable for me to ask that for a $18-$25 item that a buyer pay insurance of $1.30? Personally, I see not. . .but the deal is these buyers are all insane. I''ve received a barrage of emails from buyers asking if I really have to charge insurance. One person even won the auction and now is whinning about the $1.30 charge and hasn''t paid me. What a PITA. So, am I being unreasonable?

 

[cnspotts]

I''m not sure if this helps you, but my coworker sells professional skin care products on ebay and has for some time, she is a "power seller". She requires that every buyer purchase insurance along with the actual shipping costs plus she does delivery confirmation also. Apparently it''s saved her plenty of headaches that have popped up along the way.

Good luck selling!

 

[belle]

i just state in my auctions that insurance is recommended as i am not responsible for lost or damaged merchandise and then leave it up to the buyer. i think the fee for delivery confirmation is much more reasonable, perhaps you could tag that on instead of the insurance.

 

[AndyRosse]

I don''t think $1.30 is ridiculous at all!!

However if people are being PITAs, how about just saying "insurance is included in the shipping price." That is what I do when I use just a flat shipping rate. When I sell an item, I figure out the cost to ship it to the furthest shipping zone in the continential US (so for me in CT, I chose 90210 or something on the west coast). That way, I never lose money (I make a note that people in Alaska and Hawaii might have additional shipping costs). Usually the little bit I make on the shipping just goes toward the packing materials anyway.

I always insist on insurance because if a package is lost or damaged, suddenly the buyer is throwing a fit even though they opted out of the insurance. Suddenly it''s "I thought it was included!" or "I didn''t know I had the option" or "It wasn''t clear" or "It''s your fault it broke, not mine, you should have the insurance for yourself" etc....

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/14/2005 12:32:23 PM
Author: Rascal49
I don't think $1.30 is ridiculous at all!!

I always insist on insurance because if a package is lost or damaged, suddenly the buyer is throwing a fit even though they opted out of the insurance.

Exactly! This is what I'm thinking, too. Okay, I'll switch the listings to just include insurance in the shipping cost. I'm always worried that someone will find some reason to give me negative feedback - like saying I didn't charge exact shipping when instead the cost includes packaging (mostly just tape since I use USPS priority boxes) & delivery comformation, so I like to keep the shipping price as low as possible.

Anyway the one whinning chick still hasn't paid. . .She only has two feedback and both say she paid very quickly. GRRRRR!!!!

 

[Mara]

I used to give people the option, buy it or don''t, but if you don''t, you waive the rights to complain about it if it is lost.

Most of the time people pay the extra $1.30. Or you could say something in your auctions like ''the shipping fee includes an insurance fee of $1.30 which is non-negotiable to ensure your package is covered should anything happen''.

If this person doesn''t pay and defaults over insurance, it also goes as a negative on her too...you can leave a negative feedback AND file for a non-paying bidder...I bet she will eventually pay if she values her eBay status.

 

[butterfly 17]

I would leave the insurance as an option, but clearly state that I am not responsible in case of loss/theft.

Speaking of ebay and insurance, I bid and won a Victoria's Secret clutch for fairly cheap- $3 or $4 and with shipping, I paid a total of $7.75. Insurance was an option, but of course, I didn't pay for it and guess what? It is lost in the mail!!!

I contacted the seller to find out if there was a tracking number or something, but she did not have one.
I am not sure what type of feedback I should leave?

The funny thing is, this is the first time I opted to not purchase the insurance. I have paid for insurance on every single thing I have purchased on ebay, in fact, even if insurance wasn't an option, I have always added an extra $5 to $10 to insure the item and requested that the seller insure it for me.

What really bugs me is that sometimes when I pay for the insurance, the seller doesn't bother to insure the item. I have found lots of items left on my doorstep or in my mail box that was supposed to be insured, but wasn't.

Oh well!

ETA: The seller of the VS clutch did not mention anything about not being responsible for loss if not insured. So I am not sure what I should do.

 

[Mara]

Kayla, you had the chance to insure, and turned it down, that is not her fault. Don''t leave her negative feedback...you would hate if someone did that to you and in reality it''s a tiny amount to be out and maybe now you will insure? I almost ALWAYS insure just to have that peace of mind and it''s usually pretty cheap! I only don''t insure if I am okay with that particular package being lost in the mail...

 

[AndyRosse]

Kayla, I agree with Mara. You turned down insurance and unfortunately have to eat the loss. Thankfully it wasn''t much! I ALWAYS ask for the item to be insured, even if they say that don''t offer it. I just politely tell them that I would like insurance and ask how much should I add to the final price. I have never had a problem.

If it were me, I would leave neutral feedback like this: "Package was lost in the mail and I did not choose to insure the package." Or don''t leave any at all. But don''t leave negative feedback because you took the risk.

However, I''m one of those people who thinks about the strangest possibilities sometimes....and I have often thought that if I wanted to be a mean, mean, mean seller, if a person refused insurance, I could just never send out the package and make more money. (Not that I would EVER do such a thing, I promise!) Hence why I was thinking that you could leave that feedback about not getting the package, that way in the future, a pattern might develop with that seller if they are in fact being less than honest.

 

[butterfly 17]

Oh, I was definitely not planning on leaving negative feedback. I just wasn''t sure if I should leave neutral or any at all.
For all I know, maybe she wasn''t happy that it didn''t end at a higher price and didn''t send it out at all.

The funny thing is, she sent me positive feedback right away, I think the next day after auction ended.

I was thinking of leaving neutral feedback and saying something like- "the only reason why this is neutral is b/c item was never received, next time I''ll get insurance".

What do you think?

 

[Mara]

well if she left you positive, i''d feel bad even leaving neutral...

you could leave positive and write that the EXPERIENCE with the seller was great but that the package was lost and never received.

i think that for me feedback is not just about the product and item but the experience with the seller aka friendliness, quickness of response, being accommodating.

i had a recent experience on ebay where i bought a PB rug that was typically $800 and got it for $200, and i wanted it before thanksgiving for our party and shipping was cutting it close for UPS ground ($~45 shipping), but UPS 3 day was like $70. well she offered to send it USPS 2-3 day instead of UPS, and it was cheaper for me to ship that way ($50!) AND it arrived in 2 days. she was so great about it and i really appreciated it!! sometimes sellers will not go that extra mile.

 

[moremoremore]

MC- I have sold so many things on ebay, including nearly all of my china that I didn''t like anymore...I used good bubble wrap and noted in the auction that I''m not responsible for breakage and insurance was optional...I didn''t have one problem...but I guess mandatory insurance simplifies too....

By the way, since you mentioned it, e/t I don''t want to add to the habit....and I don''t need to add to the backorder...but Biologique Recherche P 50 Lotion (liquid) is a pure miracle sent from sweet heaven above...I''ve always had good skin on my face (e/t the rest of me is a dry mess)....But it is SOOOO bright and perfect. Really perfect I dare say. Never dry. Never oily. It''s like a miracle in a bottle. Exfoliating, moisturizing, drying, toning, cleansing, totally beautifying!!!! I almost don''t want to tell people about it. I told belle but wasn''t even going to tell my friends b/s it''s so backordered LOL

 

[butterfly 17]

Date: 12/15/2005 6:00:44 PM
Author: Mara
well if she left you positive, i''d feel bad even leaving neutral...

you could leave positive and write that the EXPERIENCE with the seller was great but that the package was lost and never received.

Well, I don''t want to leave positive because I actually had no contact with the seller while the auction was active and I don''t have anything positive to say about the item because I never got it.
I saw it and bid and won.
When I paid, I asked that she let me know when she would be shipping out the item. I never got a reply.
I only realized a few days ago that it never came in the mail, so I let her know. It took a few days to get back to me.

I can''t really say that the seller was great, because I really did not have much of any experience with her.

 

[moremoremore]

Of course she left you positive....you paid her! LOL...
If you never got it ... and she never got a tracking number for her own protection, that's her problem....I guess you could be partly to blame for not getting insurance (I never do) .. but she didn't engage you in a dialogue to help assure you it was actually mailed.....prognosis negative!