eBay

sin-n-dex · ‎01-05-2025

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a problem like I had trying to get home insurance while selling on eBay.

Basically the company I was with decided to drop me because I ship items by mail outside of Canada (and their business policy says sales in Canada only). They wanted me to get a CGL with another company to be able to sell on eBay and qualify for home insurance.

The only quote I ever got for a CGL was Lloyds of London (the guys that insure against environmental spills and such) and they wanted $2400. I was told "what if you get sued?" Sue me for what? I sell coins and stamps, I don't make most of my items. They asked what if a customer doesn't like their item, well eBay says they have to return for refund. eBay's policy takes into account most people don't have liability insurance for what they sell, so they create rules to simplify things.

Anyway the problem I had with my broker is they couldn't find anyone who would give me home insurance (with a business exclusion on the policy) without having a CGL in place, and then no one wanted to quote me for a CGL (well except Lloyds of London).

One of the things I was told while trying to get a CGL is because I've had an eBay account since 1998 I've "obviously been operating a business for years without insurance" and how no insurance company is going to want to cover me because I might make a claim about something happening before coverage took place. (Um, the date of inception is when the policy starts, you can't go back before that and make claims, I worked in the industry for over a decade, this is bunk).

I finally did get home insurance through Desjardins. They did have some concern about packages being mailed outside of Canada but they said they can put a business exclusion on my policy so no business inventory is covered, no liability is covered if any customer comes to my house (btw, don't let customers come over, you won't be insured if they're injured on your property). And any "manufacturing" that goes on in the home is not covered if there's a fire or some other type of property loss. I don't manufacture anything, so not a concern. We use a Makerspace to make any home made type items (like puzzles, handbags, etc) that are put up on eBay, and it's an insignificant amount of stuff.

Anyway wondering if everyone else just doesn't bother telling their home insurance they are selling on eBay to avoid this whole problem, or if it's been a nightmare for anyone else. I've told the underwriters if they don't know how to deal with someone who sells stuff on eBay part time it's obvious most people who do this are not telling them or bothering to have the right insurance.

It was brought up in another thread that car insurance companies don't like cars being used for commercial purposes which includes bringing packages to the post office. This is very true, however I've found car insurance companies don't care too much about commercial activity if you tell them, so long as you're not doing food delivery, ride share, having passengers or anything else that's higher risk. My premium went from 2K a year to 2800 a year when they updated my quote to include commercial use, so I imagine most people forgo telling their car insurance company about their trips to the post office to save 25% of their premiums.

C.

gifts_of_elegance · ‎01-09-2025

You must tell your insurance company that you sell on eBay. I even send them an email so they can't say "We didn't know". They could void your insurance or refuse a claim if some mishap happens, so make sure you tell them. Some insurance companies might still refuse you. I have been selling since 1998. I mail my items, I never allow a customer to come to my house. They have accepted that I sell but my inventory is NOT covered.

Lots of people now work from home, so they will be more accepting or they will not get too many customers.

I drive to the post office to mail my items. They don't like you to use your car for commercial purposes? I sold real estate for more than two decades and I did not use a covered wagon.

sin-n-dex · ‎01-09-2025

@gifts_of_elegance wrote:
You must tell your insurance company that you sell on eBay. I even send them an email so they can't say "We didn't know". They could void your insurance or refuse a claim if some mishap happens, so make sure you tell them. Some insurance companies might still refuse you. I have been selling since 1998. I mail my items, I never allow a customer to come to my house. They have accepted that I sell but my inventory is NOT covered.
Lots of people now work from home, so they will be more accepting or they will not get too many customers.
I drive to the post office to mail my items. They don't like you to use your car for commercial purposes? I sold real estate for more than two decades and I did not use a covered wagon.

The lack of replies to my thread suggests most people are not telling their insurance company about their online selling. Gore Mutual (my previous insurance company) had sent a letter saying if you run a home business they want to know. So I let them know, and then they tell me "you're not allowed to sell items outside Canada". In fact, they told me I'm not even allowed to buy anything outside Canada to sell here.

I went back to my broker and told them Gore Mutual wanted me to get insurance elsewhere because of their rules. I asked Gore Mutual if I could get a storage locker for anything I store here and operate my business elsewhere. I do believe I was told "you can operate it on the moon, but since you are getting insurance from us you have to follow our rules", which basically means that I'm the problem, not the inventory, living in a house covered by them.

So my broker was going around for like a week and a half trying to find someone who would insure me. I called another broker, told them I sell on eBay and need home insurance. They said I needed a CGL (that's what I heard from every broker), but companies that offer CGL did not want to bother with my petty few thousands of dollars of inventory and sales (it's not so petty to me, but it was petty to them that they wouldn't even quote for a CGL). Then Lloyds of London offered me a CGL that would cover me if I'm sued because someone tried to eat one of my metal coins, and they wanted $2400 for this. (Basically they want money, and they only cover scenarios that are never going to happen, my inventory was not covered for any kind of loss, and they wanted me to keep a log of snow removal at my home in case a customer came by and slipped and fell).

I started calling around, I got Desjardins. They didn't want to give me insurance because I sell items to people in the US, but after consulting their underwriters, the underwriters said selling on an online marketplace with their rules and shipping items by Canada Post and USPS is not really a risk, they just won't cover any inventory. I don't keep most inventory at my house anyway, but Gore was concerned about me going to the B&M store, collecting a few items, and taking them home to mail them. The items transiting the house was the problem.

So I did get my insurance problem solved, however it was a big headache. It did occur to me if there was ever a loss, insurance companies are good at finding stuff out, and they will find out what people have in their homes. They can also request tax return information and having a business tax return will rat me out. Seemed safer to canvas until I found someone who would give me insurance.

Thanks for your reply, I was actually starting to think I was being singled out with this treatment... but more logically I'd say most people don't tell their insurance company they sell online (and from the insurance company's point of view, if it's just a few hundred dollars here and there, they consider it a hobby).

C.

dobo5250 · ‎01-09-2025

so running a home business and telling your home insurance company -- the major complaint i got was that they really didn't care i was selling on ebay that did not affect my household insurance --- it was where the inventory and value of that inventory they where concerned about so thats why when they where kind enough gave me a grace period - this was a few years ago when i first started - they let me get rid of the inventory of ebay material and i use a postbox at the post office - this eleveated any concerns they had about the house being used as commerical interprise -- just no differnt than a accountant /lawyer working out of their house- they only thing that i lost was the right to write off business expense of the storage area i had much like a office is wriiten off in case of a lawyer accountant - home comsultant -real estate etc etc i have seperate insurance with the storage company for the contents i store there --- its costs more i know to do it this way -- but at the time it kept my wife happy her household insurnace did not go up a lot(it still goes up )but not from that and we have had the same insurance companyy for 45 years

maybe others might chrip in and say what they do --- i do have a friend whom was selling on amazon and other sites not ebay he hates ebay and stored all his inventory at home -- then he had a flood and damaged some of his home quite extensivly and with it some of his inventory stored in the garage --- about a third of it was gone -- when the claims adjuster can to the house -- well he my friend was in big !@#$%^hit -- not only was the inventory not covered but because he had not disclosed the storage of inventory at his home he lost his home owners insurance coverage -- they did make the damage claim of flood damage to his home and then right after they dropped him from coverage then on ---and he had a hard time finding other coverage at a affordable rate he subuquintly he had expanded his business and taken a storgage locker a much larger one than mine but very near me in the complex and found at last home owners insurance - but even the new insurance company put his rates way up - all because he saved a few dollars not telling them about at the start his small inventory at home --so it buyer beware i guess ---

sin-n-dex · ‎01-10-2025

@dobo5250

I won't quote your whole post, but it's very valuable education to know what happens if there's a flood/fire and you don't disclose your inventory/business.

Desjardins asked how much space my inventory takes. Since the stuff in my house is mostly postcards and stamps, it fits in a closet, and one small box can hold 200 postcards. I have a shoebox that has 900+ postcards. So it doesn't take up room, just a lot of little things. Desjardins said inventory was not covered in the event of a loss, but it's not commodities that can just be replaced anyway, if something happens I will be starting the business over (if I want to).

My friend has a B&M store and gives me shelving in his store for more valuable items and to put items the store owns that I'm selling for him. Even that is just a giant bookshelf with baskets to sort inventory.

I worked in the insurance industry for a long time, and I'm going to point out if the insurance company cancels on someone (for whatever reason), it's like a black mark on your record in a source they all share access to, and it will be difficult to get covered by another insurance provider.

For anyone who sells online, I recommend contacting Desjardins. They are OK if you don't have customers coming over, trucks of stuff being delivered, mailing packages yourself at the post office, and inventory that either isn't too expensive or taking up lots of room. They also like things like having a PO Box so people don't know what you have in your home (by looking at your eBay store and knowing your address from where you ship from). I'm using Stallion Express so my return address is in NY and my eBay name is what's provided to customers. Desjardins liked all of this and said they thought I was low risk, but still excluded the business from my home insurance.

C.