I recently switched from using Auctiva checkout to eBay checkout; many of my buyers had problems with Auctiva checkout, to the point where it was untenable.
I had been using Auctiva insurance, and read in the FAQ that I can still use it even if I'm not using Auctiva checkout. All I have to do is click on the 'Purchase Insurance' link next to the item in the Transactions screen.
The problem is that there doesn't seem to be any way to combine the items so that I can buy just one policy for all those items shipping together. Most of my items are for small dollar values ($5-$10) and many of my buyers will purchase several of my items at once. So I can have a total shipment value of maybe $35, which ought to cost $1.30; but to buy Auctiva insurance I have to buy a separate policy for each item, making the insurance cost around $6-$7 instead!
I didn't have a problem getting a single policy on a combined shipment when I was using Auctiva checkout. I'm sure there's a way for me to do the same thing now that I'm using eBay checkout, but I can't figure it out. What am I missing here?
While it is possible to generate combine insurance policies if you are using Auctiva Checkout, we have not yet designed a way for eBay Checkout users to purchase insurance manually for their combined shipments.
Until we make this development, if you would like to purchase a combined shipping insurance policy for items that went through eBay Checkout, please file a support case and our support staff will assist you with your insurance purchase.
Thanks for your quick reply. Filing a support case every time I want to buy a combined insurance policy doesn't appeal to me, I'm afraid.
I guarantee to my buyers that every item will be shipped the day after payment is received. I pride myself on quick shipping, and it's one of my major selling points. When Auctiva checkout was giving me problems, I had to file support cases to purchase a couple of insurance policies. In each case, the first person responding wasn't able to help and had to refer me to his supervisor, who responded a day later, and issued the policy a day after that. In all, it took me two days to get each policy.
This leaves me with two choices: First, I can ship before the policy is issued. It is my understanding that policies purchased after the item ships are void. Second, I can delay shipment until support gets around to issuing the policy. For the reasons outlined above, that's not acceptable.
Is there any way for me to modify the policy amount myself? I don't mind doing the extra work, but same day turnaround time is critical for me.
Purchasing the insurance policy after the item has shipped is a viable option. While that is customarily unacceptable, if your reason for doing so is due to our delay in generating your shipping insurance policies, the policies will still be valid. Just make sure to file you initial request before you've shipped the item and that will suffice.
Unfortunately, there is no way for you to modify the policy amount without contacting our support department.
It's definitely understandable if these circumstances cause you to not use Auctiva Shipping Insurance. We're definitely aware this situation is less than ideal and we will be developing a method which will allow eBay Checkout users to manually purchase combined shipping insurance policies for a future release. However, this development will not likely be implemented before our next big release, which is tentatively scheduled for February 2007.
If your buyers are paying through ebay checkout and the entire order is combined...and "hopefully" if they pay via PayPal, their combined purchases will still be on that single payment, so when you go to ship, all of your items are there and it automatically covers your "subtotal" amount.
If they pay individually and they still pay via PayPal, and this is assuming you ship via USPS or UPS, you can simply use one single payment received and change the "insured value" amount to cover the combined shipment total and then go back in the other payments received and click "details" instead of "ship" and then click the link towards the bottom where it says "add tracking info" and simply add the tracking number from the 1st (and only shipment) to all of the other items.
Also, if you are saying that most of your items and shipments are less than $50, USPS insurance covers in increments of $50.00...so 1 policy will cover all the items...just remember to add the tracking info to the other single payments.
I'm confused. Are you talking about Auctiva? I don't see any of the things you describe. It doesn't look to me like there's any way to get a combined Auctiva policy except by filing a support request, which gets pretty tedious.
I still haven't decided what I'm going to do. I like the concept of Auctiva insurance, but the execution is lacking. The help section on using Auctiva insurance doesn't indicate that there's any problem generating combined policies when not using Auctiva checkout. To be honest, I would have appreciated knowing that -- instead I made a decision based on incomplete information. Now it's a choice between the major hassle of updating the insurance rates on all of my templates or losing money on each insurance purchase.
As an aside, what's up with the board for feedback? (http://community.auctiva.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/638609941) I posted a question there a couple of weeks ago, but I just noticed that the board isn't linked from the message boards main page.
oookkkk....I get what you're saying. duh! I was coming from the angle that you just wanted insurance on your items..I wasn't thinking about the 'discounted rates' angle that Auctiva offers.
So, in light of that.....what Auctiva Mike was saying is pretty much the bottom line right now. If they're not using the Auctiva checkout process, you won't be able to add the insurance.
Perhaps if you contact the U-Pic insurance people directly, you might be able to work something out. Their site is: U-PIC Insurance Services
I contacted them directly once before regarding a claim issue and asked about rates and such, and because my volume is low right now :-( the rates were better at Auctiva because of some discount Auctiva has made with them I'm sure.
So if you still want to do that insurance, try contacting them directly to see if their rates will be something that will work for you, and hopefully they'll be better than the USPS rates which are only $1.35....so I'm thinking, all-in-all, that because your sales, or combined items, are on low dollar amounts, the rates that U-PIC can offer you directly are not going to be better than the $1.30 that you can get here at Auctiva or the $1.35 from the USPS...but because your customers aren't able to use the checkout feature, you will be better using the insurance from the USPS via PayPal or directly at the post office.
So, basically, regarding your request...until Auctiva has some site updates that Mike had mentioned, you cannot currently do what you are wanting to....recieve the cheaper auctiva insurance on your customers' items.
Sorry I wasn't able to help..but I hope I cleared up my earlier 'solution' up for you...LOL.
Checking with U-Pic is something I hadn't thought of. Good idea! I'll check it out, though I suspect you're right about their rates being much higher for my merchandise.
USPS insurance isn't viable for me because I do a lot of international shipping. It's virtually impossible to get paid on a claim for something shipped outside the United States. The position of USPS is basically that once the package leaves the country, it's no longer their responsibility. If it gets lost, they say, "Well, we did OUR job, it's not our fault that some other nation's post office screwed up," and deny the claim. I can see their point, but that doesn't make their insurance useful to me.
That's the other reason Auctiva insurance was attractive: the relative ease of making an international claim. It's really a shame that it's not intelligently implemented; I'd be all over it.
As far as the feedback comment goes, check the URL I posted. It's Auctiva's message board regarding feedback issues, just like the one we're posting on now is the message board for checkout issues.
From the looks of it, though, the feedback message board has been abandoned for quite some time. There isn't any link TO it from anywhere; as far as I can tell, the only way to get there is by copy/pasting the URL I posted.
I was just puzzled because I was able to ask a question on a board that nobody can get to. Why does that board even exist if nobody can read it?
Auctiva Community 
Sorry.
