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You can read "eBay Insurance Change Takes Effect " here. Reply to this message to discuss it.

quote:

Originally posted by AuctivaEditor2:
You can read "eBay Insurance Change Takes Effect " here. Reply to this message to discuss it.

If we, the sellers, pay for the insurance and the item arrives broken, the buyer expects a full refund + their shipping cost they paid. Does USPS refund both those costs to me, the seller or just the value of the item? Also, what is the process or procedure to recoup our money through the insurer if we don't have the package to take to the post office to file a claim. Do we have to depend on the buyer to file the claim or do they have to return the broken item to the seller? If that's the case, then we have to also pay for return shipping? What proof is required for a buyer to demand a refund for a broken item? I just refunded purchase price + shipping to a lady for her broken lamp and how do I know it was really broken? I'm very confused and would appreciate any help understanding this. Thanks! Jeanie

Sounds like eBay is just putting the squeeze on small sellers even further. We were always liable for shipping the item safely to the buyer but for eBay to require all sellers to add handling fees (buyers just LOVE those) or "move the [insurance] cost into" our item price is giving eBay bigger FEES too, just by *coincidence* of course <cough>

Or just roll the dice and hope the buyer doesn't file a claim like JeanieB is now facing (post above).

Sorry Jeanie I have little experience w/buyer claims so will let others answer your questions....Good luck.

The gall of Ponzi-bay is just mind boggling....
You will be required to remove any reference to purchasing optional or required insurance in your item description; however, adding a statement like "insurance included" in your item description is fine if you've moved the cost into your item price or shipping and handling costs.

ALSO now the Buy It Now price must be at least 10% higher than the starting auction price.

So if you sell items that normally you would insure, and you don't want to charge a handling fee, but don't want to eat the insurance, you are now forced to build the insurance into the cost of the item - forget about $.99 actions anymore....and however high you have to go to build in the insurance, you have to add at least 10% to that for any BIN price.

Crazy

What if my item on auction sells for $700 but I only built in enough insurance for $400? Eat the extra....or overestimate up front and get no buyers....

If I had an item sell for $700 that I was only expecting to get $400 for, I'd be happy to eat the insurance difference.

booklady

Just pointing out how arbitrary Ponzibay's rules are and how they are finding new and clever ways to take bigger fees.....

To JeanieB
I try to UPS whenever possible on breakables since the insurance is included and it is a good rate, My experience over the past 10 years is that the USPS is brutal on fragile packages.

Personally, I've had nearly enough of being nickeled and dimed to death. There are other auction sites (and of course Craigslist) that I will be investigating for future use of selling items. This whole thing now with the insurance is just ridiculous. I'm not going to pay insurance for an item unless that's what the customer wants. And, I don't see where eBay gets off making that decision. It should be between the buyer and the seller...PERIOD.

And I'm going to be doing a lot more Craig's List too. Let the BUYER come pick it up, forget about insurance and delivery confirmation! And free - no fees!

I've had an on and off relationship with ebay. I get psyched when I begin to sell and then something stupid happens. I had a copyright thing that the copyright owner didn't recognize but ebay did. Three other sellers were selling the same item but I was shut down and given a bad mark! who makes up this stuff. Some weird people run ebay and they are cheap, control freaks.
No one answers my questions correctly and all I see is that they try to remove small sellers so that few real people are left. I had a few estates that I had to liquidate. I did Craigslist. It was less hassel than ebay. I still buy but the shipping is creeping up to $7 due to ebay's policies. I think WE the small guys should start another ebay for small guys. I'm tired of sifting through junk made in china when I'm looking for vintage jewelry. Send me an email it can't be so difficult ebay was started by a couple of yuppies trading PEZ dispensers. Dah!

You should try ioffer.com. They charge no listing fee. Plus, you can import your eBay listings with their free software download. You only pay when the item sells. I can't guarantee you will get any sales. I haven't tried to sell anything for several years anywhere.

I used to sell on ioffer years ago; but decided to try eBay again through Auctiva. I may go back to ioffer. I didn't start doing eBay until about a month ago. I have been busy setting up my Auctiva Commerce store.

There are many other auction sites out there; but Ebay does continue to be the most popular auction and selling site. I do agree they charge too much and have far to many rules and restrictions.

I have found out about the new insurance policy the hard way (to the tune of over $400) which is the seller of the item is responsible for paying to insure items, not the buyer as in the past. I sold an item (as I had for the past 7 years of selling on Ebay), and offered the customer the option to insure the package. I assumed (as in all type of auction purchases) that the buyer has an inherent risk because of the opportunity to purchase an item for much less than the retail value. The overnight package was lost by UPS. The buyer requested a refund. As the tracking number I provided them stated the package was LOST by UPS, they received a full refund as mandated by EBay from ME. My understanding of ebay as a member (potentially ex member) is that the reason a Feed back score was invented and created was to separate minor risk from major risk as a buyer (otherwise, WHY WOULD A SCORE BE CREATED?). So, food for thought: Ebay has effectively REMOVED liability to the buyer. That feedback score that all of us have put so much work into over the year is MEANINGLESS. Why would I care if I was purchasing an item from a seller that only has 4 total feedbacks and 2 of them are negative. If the seller doesn't send the item, I get my money back if they can't prove it was delivered (even if the shipping company lost it and it was not the sellers fault). If they do send it...AWESOME, you usually get a huge discount for sellers with poor feedback or very little feedback.

I wonder if Ebay actually thought about the ramifications of what they have done with this policy change!?!
Food for thought: As a seller, I am responsible to pay for the time cost involved with creating a listing, listing fees, upgrade fees, final valuation fees (both ebay & paypal), shipping insurance fee and the time to package and ship an item. I am at FULL risk, so I must now have tracking on EVERYTHING I sell, regardless of the price of the item, as that is my only recourse to prove the customer received their item. The auction winner either receives the item or their money back.
Here are the predictions I see arising from this new insurance policy:
1. Your feedback score as a seller now means nothing. Why? Because as a buyer, you either receive the item or you request your money back regardless of the sellers score.
2. Ebay will become the largest marketplace for moving stolen goods. Before, I would never bid on an expensive item from a seller that has 0 feedback, but now I could care less. A thief has a zero out of pocket cost for an item, so what do they care if a $3000 item sells for $400? Its pure profit. Meanwhile, the quality businesses that sell the same item that have great feedback scores can't compete.
3. Auction style listings will dry up or disappear (or the original asking price listed will be the exact minimum price the seller can still make money with). Soon the risk to reward aspect will become too great. Buy it now will be the only type of listing, which means that Ebay will effectively become an online shopping mall that will attempt to compete with Amazon (and fail) for retail business, and craigslist will take over the used item for sale.