I'm using this as a distraction to finishing off my year end book keeping....which I hate doing very much....
Notes:
-I live in the stamp collectors world, so these results are all from postage stamp selling categories
-I sell only on .COM, I ship worldwide, and I have no blocks on buyers (but I do maintain the blocked buyer list)
-this includes items lost to "crime" as well. "Crime" is defined here as situations where I think people purposefully buy with bad echeques, or claiming lost in transit but that is only from using my spider senses.
-I sell a lot of stuff internationally, over 35% of my packages go outside North America
-the numbers below are specific to eBay sales. As I mentioned in other threads, I experience losses both real and "crime" related via the other online venues I use so package loss rate is not only an ebay buyer issue.
It is also worth noting that for 2017 I continued to have 3 types of insurance:
1. Self insurance for the small stuff
2. Canada Post for the first $100 only when items are sent expedited, expresspost, or trackable (I have begun using tracked shipping more frequently moreso because I believe buyers expect it for larger purchases, or when my spider senses are tingling which seems to happen more now!)
3. 3rd party insurer (Hugh Wood) for stuff over $200
(Did not utilize 2 or 3 in 2017 (or 2016 either))
2017 results
% of shipments = .0071 = under 3/4 of 1% of packages lost, so about 1 in 140 packages are lost
(all lost packages were not tracked)
% of sales = .0044 = under 1/2 of one percent loss rate $ wise
13 items "lost"*** in 2017 Australia,Canada(5),Colombia,Italy,Russia(2),USA(3*)
3 believed to be lost to "crime" (Canada,Russia(2) based on spider senses)
10 lost and unrecovered(so far). 1 Found later** Canada, 2 arrived later & repaid Colombia, Italy
3 repaid (Buyer found or advised delivery later and repaid: Canada, Colombia, Italy)
*2 of the USA losses were to USA forwarding companies (1 buyer from Paraguay, 1 buyer from China)
** on return from vacation, lot was lost in a pile of junk mail which was not dealt with and found for a few weeks
*** 1 lost lot to Canada and 1 to Italy were lost to long time, regular buyers who have continued to purchase regularly since AOK.
Things I did in 2017.
-nothing new it seems in 2017 different from 2016
2016 results
% of shipments = .004 = under one half of 1% of packages are lost, so about 1 in 250 packages are lost
% of sales = .0024 = about one quarter of 1 percent loss rate
8 "lost" in 2016 USA(2),Canada,India,Oman,Russia,Australia,Bolivia
1 believed to be lost to "crime" (based on spider senses)
7 lost and unrecovered(so far). 1 USA advised arrival later and repaid
1 repaid (Buyer advised delivery later and repaid: USA)
1 odd situation, other USA buyer convinced me to unblock them and they successfully purchased 3 more items
Things I did in 2016.
-I China & Brazil require trackable shipping, ie lowest shipping $17.50 regardless item size. Number of buyers especially China increased over the year, they began buying batches of stuff to make the postage palatable.
-decided against adding extra custom shipping costs to Russian buyers (not tracking) so far, am also considering doing the same for others
-I sell in US$ so the lower $C rate gives me more room to make packages trackable, which I’ve been doing more to new buyers and/or buyers in scary countries
-I did change my flat rate shipping to Standard Shipping (outside the US) to add a few more days to the est delivery date
2015 results
% of shipments = .0097 = about 1% of packages are lost, so about 1 in 100 packages are lost
% of sales = .0090 = about 1 percent loss rate
13 "lost" in 2015 Russia(5) Belarus, Canada, China, French Polynesia, Kuwait, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka
3 believed to be lost to "crime" (Russia, ordered 3 separately close together)
9 lost and unrecovered(so far)
1 repaid (Buyer advised delivery later and repaid: Canada)
Things I did in 2015.
-I changed China and Brazil to custom shipping requiring trackable shipping, ie lowest shipping $17.50 regardless item size. Number of buyers dropped dramatically.
-am considering adding extra custom shipping costs to Russian buyers (not tracking), however had many sales, including one for $1500 which more than offsets the minor losses.
-I sell in US$ so the lower $C rate gives me more room to make packages trackable, which I’ve been doing more to new buyers and/or buyers in scary countries
2014 results
% of shipments = .0051 = 1/2 a % of packages are lost, so about 1 in 200 packages are lost
% of sales = .0040 = .4% of sales ie less than 1/2 of one percent loss rate
10 "lost" in 2014 USA(2) Nepal(1) China(2) Brazil(3) Germany(1) Russia (1)
2 believed to be lost to "crime" (China)
5 lost and unrecovered(so far) USA(2) Brazil (2) Russia
3 repaid (Buyer advised delivery later and repaid: Nepal,Germany,Brazil)
2013 results one half of one percent of sales loss rate:
0.51% "insurance" loss rate (10 unrecovered losses USAx3,Argentina,Chinax3,France,Israel,North Korea)
0.3% as a result of "crime" (6 shipments)
0.21% as a result of items lost in the mail (4 shipments)
(Note in 2013 2 packages “lost” and later arrived and Buyers repaid(Brazil, Russia), 1 package loss partially covered by Canada post, no losses covered by 3rd party insurer)
2012 results - under 1% of sales loss rate:
0.83% "insurance": loss rate (unrecovered loss 9 shipments Argentina,Australia,Brazil,Canada,Chinax2,Indonesia,Russia,Turkey)
0.78% as a result of "crime" (2 shipments)
0.04% as a result of items lost in the mail (7 shipments)
A reminder that 2012 is the year that CP covered the small packets, I had a few recoveries this way.
I had a big crime loss within Canada (this was also spelled out in a different thread).
