eBay

allegro917 · ‎12-15-2013

For you experienced ebay sellers shipping to Canada and USA, how much extra shipping insurance do you recommend buying for high value items over $1000 such as a camera lens? Do you declare the full selling value of the item?

mr.elmwood · ‎12-15-2013

I would. That is too much money, even for me. As long as you have the disclaimer as to buyers being responsible for "any" duty, fees, taxes.

Insure for true value. Note that declared value means exactly that, the value you declare. It means nothing else, not retail, wholesale, replacement.

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pocomocomputing · ‎12-15-2013

Since you appear to be a relatively new seller (because of your low feedback), are you aware of PayPal Seller Protection requirements?

To qualify for PayPal Seller Protection, proof of delivery is required. For a PayPal transaction value of under $250 (price plus shipping) must use a shipping service with delivery confirmation and for over that amount, a shipping service with signature confirmation.

PayPal Seller Protection provides a seller with protection against buyer fraud (claims of not receiving the item) and not against loss or damage. PayPal Seller Protection is not insurance.

Here is an interesting situation where a seller can be cheated by buyer fraud despite having proof of delivery. Notice that for sales over $250 require a signature confirmation and not just a delivery confirmation to qualify for PayPal Seller Protection.

If you look at your listing 291037001937, the sale price is $375 US $. You list the shipping options for Canada as Regular Parcel and the USA as Expedited Parcel. Since the item is over the $250 breakpoint, you must ship with signature confirmation to qualify for PayPal Seller Protection.

If you do not ship with signature confirmation and only with delivery confirmation, then the shipping can show that the item was successfully delivered yet the buyer can claim the item was not delivered and PayPal would refund the amount because you did not have signature confirmation. You would also not be able to claim insurance because as far as Canada Post is concerned, the item was delivered. So you can get cheated by a smart buyer who knows about this loophole.

For Canada, the option for signature confirmation for Regular Parcel is available ($1.50 I believe). For the USA, Expedited Parcel USA has only delivery confirmation available. You have to use Xpresspost USA which has signature confirmation.

So be careful selling expensive items on eBay. Know how PayPal Seller Protection works and how you must provide acceptable proof of delivery (confirmation or signature) to the buyer otherwise you can be cheated by a smart buyer who knows the rules.

PayPal Seller Protection is for protection against buyer fraud. It is not insurance. Insurance is for loss or damage. Insurance is useful for real loss or damage on expensive items. Also make sure that the insurance covers the type of item that you are shipping.

But watch out for the $250 breakpoint for PayPal Seller Protection because it can render your insurance useless against buyer fraud if you do not ship with the signature confirmation option.

femmefan1946 · ‎12-15-2013

As I understand it the $250 is for the total sale, price plus shipping, since that is the amount Paypal would be handling. In any case, it would be better to be safe and pay for the Signature Confirmation than to lose both the money and your lens.

mr.elmwood · ‎12-15-2013

I was having a snit-fit argument with an eBay rep, through email. They used the figure $750. Yeah, $750. Found it, here is the quote:

"As far as ways eBay can protect our sellers, we need to have proof of delivery via tracking and a signature confirmation on orders over $750.00."

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tobyshitzu · ‎12-15-2013

the ebay.com seller protection was changed to $750 before signature is required

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/sellerprotection/faircaseresolution.html

allegro917 · ‎12-15-2013

Thanks for this info. This is really helpful and I didn't know about the signature requirement over $250. I wonder if it would be better selling this lens off locally or through a photography forum like fredmiranda.com.

pocomocomputing · ‎12-15-2013

PayPal.ca has $325 Can breakpoint, PayPay.com has $250 US, other PayPal sites have similar limits on their country sites in their local currency. And then eBay.com has eBay Seller Protection has $750 US.

Very hard to know which breakpoint to use when listing. Since a listing can be bought from different eBay sites and paid for by buyers registered on different PayPal sites. Which breakpoint does a seller use to decide what shipping options to use in a listing?

rose-dee · ‎12-16-2013

@pocomocomputing wrote:
PayPal.ca has $325 Can breakpoint, PayPay.com has $250 US, other PayPal sites have similar limits on their country sites in their local currency. And then eBay.com has eBay Seller Protection has $750 US.

Very hard to know which breakpoint to use when listing. Since a listing can be bought from different eBay sites and paid for by buyers registered on different PayPal sites. Which breakpoint does a seller use to decide what shipping options to use in a listing?

These figures you give were my understanding of the various breakpoints too. As for which one to choose, I think I'd always use the $250 US level, as presumably it will cover anything else.