So it has been three weeks since I shipped a $300 item through Parcel Post w/sig confirm and no insurance. Tracking says electronic info has been received. Buyer has been patient. Started an investigation with USPS, and will refund the buyer soon if no results.

Yes, I should've sent with Priority and bought insurance and blahblahblah...

I lie in my bed last night thinking about this, and here's what got me so pissed off! Why the @#$% should I buy insurance? No, I'm not talking about winning Paypal disputes or whatever...I'm talking about the CONCEPT of USPS insurance. If I rent a car, I purchase insurance just in case I screw up. I get life/health insurance if something happens to ME! Think about it...I'm paying USPS insurance just in case THEY MESS UP?!?!? That makes no freaking sense at all! What the F@#$ am I paying postage for then?!?!? It's like having to pay them once just so they can do their job...and having the option to pay them AGAIN just so I can MAKE SURE they do their job! It's the most ridiculous thing I've every heard!

I'm not even that angry at losing the $300...I'm angry that USPS can't do the job that I PAID them to do.

Oh and you know what? Reading that crap about "Electronic Info Received..." when I check the tracking number pisses me off too! I now have absolutely no proof that I actually shipped the package. I started asking for them to scan my package even though I paid online through Paypal postage. I got this answer from two different person at two different post office: "The reason you get a 10% discount online is so we don't have to scan these in and do any work".

Ok...I'm done ranting

welcome to a government-run organization

I told the buyer that I'd set a deadline and if they don't receive it by then, I will refund. I hope you're right that it takes a long time...USPS told me that it's possible that the package is sitting in the post office somewhere and they "forgot" to ship it. WTF!!!

cughre said:FYI, for a $300 item, I would have bought $50 worth of insurance. Why? I think that the USPS will be more likely to ship and take care of the item when there is a perceived threat of a payout.

Further, the result is significantly better than what you are facing here. Why?:
(1) You get $50 back at the least
(2) I think you get better service as the USPS has a perceived loss if they lose the package
(3) The margin hit should be relatively minimal on a $300 item as the insurance cost is $1.65

I agree with the rant above, and despise the USPS for that as well. In addition, they won't even refund you the postage or services that you paid for when they do not deliver the service that you paid for. It's aggravating.

That's a great idea. But do we really know they put more effort when a threat is perceived? They might just be big enough to not give a rat's arse about payout unless it's over a certain threshold.

cughre said:FYI, for a $300 item, I would have bought $50 worth of insurance. Why? I think that the USPS will be more likely to ship and take care of the item when there is a perceived threat of a payout.

Further, the result is significantly better than what you are facing here. Why?:
(1) You get $50 back at the least
(2) I think you get better service as the USPS has a perceived loss if they lose the package
(3) The margin hit should be relatively minimal on a $300 item as the insurance cost is $1.65

I agree with the rant above, and despise the USPS for that as well. In addition, they won't even refund you the postage or services that you paid for when they do not deliver the service that you paid for. It's aggravating.

That's what I do when I have to ship expensive packages via USPS. Also, no freaking way a mailman will leave a package with word "Insured" printed above DC barcode, so you can save your money on signature

Wreptyle said:Wait...so if you buy insurance, you won't have to by signature confirmation? Will Paypal accept that for >$250 items? The problem with this is, what if somebody ELSE signs for it and the buyer didn't get the item...you'd lose the Paypal claim AND the insurance.

LINK

The nice lady at our local PO told me that packages insured for over $100+ automatically require a signature and they would supply me with a copy if there were any problems with PayPal or FleaBay.

Never use Parcel Post. I have had packages from 50 miles away take 2 months to arrive. Your item is probably not lost and will show up any day. The USPS DC# is not a tracking # and might only get scanned when it is delivered or sometimes not at all.

begunn said:The nice lady at our local PO told me that packages insured for over $100+ automatically require a signature and they would supply me with a copy if there were any problems with PayPal or FleaBay.

The PO could give you a copy of the signature on Jesus' buttcheek and PayPal wouldn't care. It needs to viewable online.

Wreptyle said:reminbi2000 said:Agree. I had a printer taking 5 weeks to arrival using Parcle Post Server BEFORE I realized UPS ground shipping actually would have been cheaper, faster and RELIABLE (with $100 Insurance already paid for).

I think we all use USPS because it is the cheapest option. What ground service with UPS that is actually cheaper than USPS? I've done various comparisons and I've NEVER seen a UPS quote cheaper than a USPS quote...even using Priority.

UPS retail is never cheaper. daily rates for zone 1 i think are cheaper.