Small Packet and Expedited insurance with CP

[audiblefrequency]

hi,

just wondering if anyone has had any experience with claiming the insurance for small packet and expedited to the US and expedited to Canada?

are there any special requirements you have to meet? do they give you any hassle? if one of the video games im selling got lost or damaged could i just call them up and claim the value of the game if i showed them the ebay invoice?

im currently in the middle of restructuring my item description and policies and i also came up with the idea to create my own insurance where the consumer would pay me(if he desired) a set amount of money for insurance against loss or damage. if the item doesnt get there for whatver reason i could refund them the money. that could permit me to keep shipping with non insurable lettermail and still offer insurance without paying the expedited rate.

does anyone see any problems with that idea or should i just go with the post office insurance and not offer insurance on lettermail?

any suggestions?

[vesivus]

I just had one small packet claim come in, but that Small Packet was to Argentina. It took about FIVE MONTHS to finally get resolved for a $35.00 payment.

Sheesh.

I have occassionally offered insurance over & above the $100 amount, but still shipped small packet. I'm not too sure, but I think that this may be illegal because the insurance industry in Canada is heavily regulated...

Any thoughts?

John

[recped]

Self insurance is a good way to go and it can be profitable as well!

I have shipped almost 10,000 packages and only had 3 not arrive (all lettermail and small packets). I'd say you could even offer "free" insurance on every order, the added PR would be well worth the rare payout for a lost shipment. If you added a small fee for this service you will quickly build a "fund" to cover any lost orders.

If you are selling high priced items or the kind of products which attract flaky buyers you might have a higher risk.

Ben

[ricarmic]

I use a combination of self insurance on packages below $100 and non-post office insurance for stuff over $100 (I sell postage stamps and there are insurers that will provide dealer rates for shipping, much cheaper than CP). I've found that it is cheaper to self insure the small stuff than it is to fight with people who don't insure then threaten you with a negative when it doesn't show up. I do a lot of overseas shipments. Latin America and Eastern Europe are more risky.

[aabros]

Canada Post lost one of our orders, shipped May 3rd, and we have received a refund last week, a cheque of $111.40 CDN ($100 for the item + $11.40 for postage) Excellent service at CP.

[phoebescollectables]

Did you have to do anything to prove the value of $100.

[muminlaw]

Also, if it was a small packet, what did you have to produce to prove you actually mailed it?

[vesivus]

What I had to do was fill out a form that provided the following:
- Original CP receipt
- Statement of value of item (as sold to client)
ie: the invoice
- Original proof of purchase of the item being claimed
- Any supporting documentation.

John

[aabros]

vesivus is EXACLY correct.

[shoplineca]

ricarmic
I attended an eBay session in Ottawa this morning and met an eBay seller that was interested in insuring items shipped through CP but insured with third party insurers.

Can you provide me the names of some of these insurers so I can advise this other eBay seller?

Thanks

Malcolm

[fenian]

Re having to supply "original proof of purchase of item being claimed".......does this mean the seller must have an original receipt ? Almost all of what I sell is from collections and accumulations where individual items are not broken down.......or from venues where receipts are not available (flea markets, garage sales etc). I frequently ship by small packet and advise buyers that insurance is provided (albeit limited). Any thoughts on how CP would deal with a claim for an item in such a category ??

[shoplineca]

fenian
Read another thread I started today as it appears that CP may become a bit more lenient in their insurance policy.

In the mean time I would suggest carrying a blank receipt book with you and filling in your purchase price for the items you buy individually.

With respect to lots of full collections, fill in the receipt with whatever amount you feel is appropriate at the time you are making the claim, signed JOHN DOE, Seller.

CP has rules that are in their favour. If you have to make a claim due to their mishandling of an item then I dont think lightning will strike you down for making up your own receipt for a reasonable $ amount, close to the selling price of the item to submit to CP for reimbursement, nor will they question it, unless we are talking big ticket items over $1,000.

Malcolm

[muminlaw]

Mike, one of the clerks at my PO suggested making a list with names & addresses of all items going out by small packet on any given day and ask the counter clerk to stamp and initial it as proof of mailing.

As far as proving value I think Malcolm is exactly right when you have a claim on items such as you and I sell ... if they want a receipt, make one for them! We haven't had a claim for many years, but they always accepted a copy of the invoice we sent the buyer as proof of value and that's what they reimbursed us -- mind you, it wasn't small packet then, it was Registered.

G.....

[issmomsells]

I had a claim with CP for a parcel to Australia. The parcel was shipped AIR PARCEL for $120.00. It took 6 weeks to get there. In the meantime, I filed a claim, which had to be after 1 month-even though the delivery time was said to be 7 business days. After tons of trouble, I finally had to produce a receipt for the contents of the package, a postal receipt and the expresspost form. Then they had an auditor assigned to it. In the meantime, the package that I paid $120.00 to send was delivered, but it had been sent by surface parcel ($60.00). I asked for a refund for the shipping and they told me that the delivery time to Australia was not guaranteed. Too Bad for You in other words.

They make it very difficult to file a claim and to collect on any insurance, so be sure to READ the WHOLE site if you are trying to extract any $$$ from them!!