Shipping Insurance

Corkie Monster · 02-15-2007, 08:40 PM

How does the USPS get away with charging for shipping insurance

?

If you drop a package off to them to do a service they provide shouldn't they be responsible for your package if they fail to deliver it?

Would you pay an oil change place extra money on top of the regular price to ensure that your oil gets changed? Would you pay extra to cover your vehicle in case they damage your vehicle during the process?

Is there something I'm missing here? I just don't think it's right.

Thanks
CM

Cool Texan · 02-15-2007, 08:46 PM

Its an added product they sell....Insurance. It will probably be just fine either way...but for a little bit more, they will guarantee it. They are selling you peace of mind. If you feel like they're screwing you, dont pay for it...or use UPS (but even they lose stuff every now and then).

Corkie Monster · 02-15-2007, 08:56 PM

I haven't and I won't pay shipping insurance. I just don't think it's right to charge consumers extra to do their job correctly. It just gripes me that they do this to people.

CM

Cool Texan · 02-15-2007, 09:00 PM

You buy products that come with warranties....right? The price reflects that "insurance" already, you dont even get the choice with that. Same thing....in this case though, you can choose whether to spend the extra $$ or not.

RogueFishr · 02-15-2007, 09:03 PM

I use insurance with the USPS just to INSURE that it gets where it is going. Without it, you are out of luck if it never shows up. And, Delivery Confirmation isn't worth the paper it is printed on. I recently had a package shipped to me, with Delivery Confirmation. it never showed, even though the delivery tracking said it arrived. I was told that the delivery confirmation just means that it was ON the truck that delivered to the local sorting facility. It did NOT mean the package was actually off-loaded from the truck (turns out it wasn't). I have had packages lost or damaged by UPS also. But, at least there tracking MEANS something.

Corkie Monster · 02-15-2007, 09:13 PM

When you put it that way, it makes a little sense. The reason I bring this up, is I received an item I purchased from Ebay. The package was pretty much destroyed, the item was damaged but operational. It was clear that the item was packaged correctly but something tragic had happened during the delivery process. It wasn't the Ebayer's fault at all. When I took the package to the post office, they seemed like they didn't want to claim responsibility and said that I should pay for shipping insurance next time

. Anyway, my lead mold still works even with the deep gouges in the wooden handles, guess I should just be happy and forget about it.

Thanks
CM

Ryan Pultz · 02-15-2007, 09:33 PM

I two never understood it but I guess it is peace of mind rp

ampersat · 02-16-2007, 06:09 AM

The insurance part means that they will reimburse you for any damage to what's in the box (once you jump through all of the hoops). Without insurance, they punt the box off of the truck into the sorting facility, play hockey with it through the sorting facility and slap-shot it onto the next truck, laughing all the way. With insurance, they actually handle your package with a little more respect considering they might have to pay for what's in the box if something happens to it.

Herring Impaired · 02-16-2007, 10:14 AM

I'm reminded of the opening scene in "Ace Ventura:Pet Detective" where he's "Delivering" a package.

I always thought of insurance as a way to protect against the way some people package products to ship.

DanS · 02-16-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

With insurance, they actually handle your package with a little more respect considering they might have to pay for what's in the box if something happens to it.

The freight handlers have no idea which package is insured and which isn't......at least packages moving via UPS. USPS packages have an insurance tag attached, but it doesn't state how much the package is insured for.

Besides, the freight handlers don't have damage claims taken from their paychecks, so they have no real incentive to treat an insured package better than an uninsured one.

UPS insurance is way cheaper than USPS insurance. It doesn't seem right to have to purchase additional insurance, but I'd advise you to do it anyway because the way Amp descibed your package moving through the warehouses and trucks is pretty much spot-on.

SOL · 02-16-2007, 06:04 PM

I thought they insured goods up to $100 free... Or is that just UPS?

anglingaddict · 02-16-2007, 08:29 PM

OK, the resident ifish USPS letter carrier / former clerk is going to take a shot at explaining some of the issues that have been "vented" upon.

Just in case I fail to succeed or live up to all expectations
I hereby claim total POSTAL insanity and nobody should ever listen to me!

Alright here goes. First the issue of charging for insurance since that was what started this thread to begin with. I want to make it clear that I am not "knocking" any other shipping company with this, just doing my best to explain the way you as a customer are charged for the service. When you ship a package through the Postal Service we only charge you for the services you as a customer want. Meaning that you are paying for the cost to move said package from point A to point B. If you want that package to be protected against loss or damage then you need to purchase insurance. If you want proof of delivery there are ways you can do that as well by purchasing the appropriate service. The Postal Service has done it that way so that you as a customer know exactly what you are paying for with no hidden fees. UPS was mentioned so I will use them as an example. They are a "private" carrier and can roll many different fees into their shipping cost. You are paying for the insurance that you think is "included" in the cost to ship that package. You are also paying a fuel surcharge, a surcharge if the package you are shipping is delivered to a residence. I won't even mention how much you will get soaked if you request Saturday delivery!

(Which is included with packages shipped with USPS as we deliver 6 days a week.) This goes for any other private carrier as well, such as DHL, FedEx, etc.. Another misconception that many people have when they compare shipping costs is looking at what UPS will charge to ship something ground service and then compare it to Priority Mail which is a 2-3 day service. They have just compared apples and oranges. Many, many times the USPS priority mail 2-3 day service is cheaper than ANY other carriers ground service even and you can add insurance in most instances and still be cheaper. It is ALWAYS less expensive than any carriers 2-3 day service with or without insurance added! I still have the charts with the market studies from my training classes when I was a clerk. The only carrier that starts to beat us on price is UPS and only after the package gets over a certain weight, which I believe is about 5lbs. Now that is on ground service with the $50 (not $100 anymore) insurance added in which is what they like you to think they are "throwing in" by saying it is included. Marketing, gotta love it!

The reason that UPS insurance "appears" cheaper than the Postal Service's is that you are already paying for that initial "policy" in your shipping fee. After that all you are doing is adding value to the policy. Again, marketing. By saying that you won't pay for shipping insurance because you feel that you are then paying us "to do our job correctly", you are insinuating that for us to do our job correctly we cannot be human and must be perfect. I say this with no malice at all, just to make that point to you so that you can understand the overall picture better. I would hope and pray that I am correct in saying that my brother and sister postal workers did not intentionally harm your package, or anyone else's package that may get damaged for that matter. I know there are "bad apples" out there and I'm sure we have our share just like any company. I have been in the plant in Portland where the packages are handled and sorted and can assure you that ALL are treated the same way as if they were that persons package. We do contract out some shipping of packages for ground service and they are supposed to be held to the same standards that we are held to. I would ask from anyone who may observe ANY Postal employee or private contractor "playing hockey, soccer, croquet, or any other sport" with packages shipped via the Postal Service to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE report those actions!!! There are numerous ways to do that up to and including the inspection service. We don't need or want these people serving our customers.

Delivery Confirmation.....hhhhmmmmm..... not a whole lot to say about this animal other than it is a tool, albeit not a very good one, but a tool none the less. Personally, I haven't been a great fan of it but have learned to utilize it effectively. First, NEVER pay for it!!! You can get it free by printing your labels from click'n'ship on the USPS web site, printing your label with postage from paypal if you received funds for an item that way (make sure your weight and such are correct!! VERY IMPORTANT!!), or through shipping assistant (a program that can be downlaoded from the USPS web site for free that allows you to do MANY wonderful things besides just print shipping labels. Great for those of you who do lots of shipping from home. Not that great for larger businesses.). I have shipped my own eBay items and have not been able to print a label. Did I buy Del. Con. at the window when I shipped it? NO WAY!!

Delivery Confirmation does one thing only. It allows you to see when the package arrived. Now, if the package never arrived or if it was scanned as delivered but it was not delivered then the customer who shipped it is entitled to a refund for services not rendered. There is a process to go through for that and it should not be all that painful. The refund should be your postage and the Delivery confirmation fee. What makes any "processes" painful sad to say is the clerk's attitude that ends up helping you. Another side note for all you shippers who ever have to make an insurance claim on a package through USPS. When you file the claim make sure that you are also receiving a refund for your postage as well! Not the cost of the insurance as that is a service being fulfilled. The postage should be refunded as it was a service paid for and not rendered!!!! You know you have a GREAT clerk helping you when they tell you this voluntarily up front when explaining the process to get your claim taken care of. I have many customers from my office that are very grateful to this day for explaining that to them that way. Several of them ended up only waiting for me to help them as a result of that.

OK, I think I have babbled enough for sure now. CM, please understand that I am in no way offended by you being upset, only disappointed to hear that some of my fellow workers let you down. Even if they couldn't reimburse you I feel they should have at least taken the time, no matter how upset you were then, to listen to your concerns better and try to explain things in more detail. It sounds as if you were just blown off. As you can tell I'm rather passionate about my job. I used my eBay experience as a window clerk to make sure my customers knew exactly what they were getting with the services they were paying for. When they asked my opinion about shipping something I always told them how I would do it if it was mine, even if that meant not using USPS. As a carrier now I have my own "private group" of customers now that I have my own route. It may sound a bit corny, but I feel privileged to be able to be out in their neighborhood everyday taking care of their (I almost said POSTAL!!!

) mailing needs along with whatever other questions and such come up. So I hope this little "essay" helped at least a little bit for you even though it doesn't help with your lead mold. I'm glad to hear you can still use it though!!!

OK everyone reading this LONG rhetoric by anglingaddict can now WAKE UP!!!!

He is FINALLY finished and is willing to accept any questions from his fellow ifishers anytime they need help with USPS issues!

roadsend · 02-17-2007, 06:23 AM

anglingaddict,

Good explanation. Thank you.
Thanks to a suggestion from my local letter carrier, I have sent my last two care packages (fish and game products) to relatives down south via overnight mail.
Cost me about half the brand X shipping price and was actually delivered by noon the next day. Of the last four times I used brand X, I paid for one day service and actually received two and three day service on two of my shipments.

Corkie Monster · 02-18-2007, 06:51 PM

[quote=anglingaddict;1427872]OK, the resident ifish USPS letter carrier / former clerk is going to take a shot at explaining some of the issues that have been "vented" upon.

Just in case I fail to succeed or live up to all expectations
I hereby claim total POSTAL insanity and nobody should ever listen to me!

Thank you for taking the time to explain that to me. When I emailed my complaints to the USPS all I got was:

Shipping insurance is optional, you don't have to pay it. It is USPS policy

Well explained there.

Anyway, thank you for you help!!

CM

anglingaddict · 02-18-2007, 08:57 PM

Glad to hear that it helped some CM. I'm available anytime through here if you or any other fellow ifishers have USPS related questions. It's the least I can offer with the wealth of fishing advice I have received!!

SeanD · 02-19-2007, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anglingaddict

By saying that you won't pay for shipping insurance because you feel that you are then paying us "to do our job correctly", you are insinuating that for us to do our job correctly we cannot be human and must be perfect. I say this with no malice at all, just to make that point to you so that you can understand the overall picture better. I would hope and pray that I am correct in saying that my brother and sister postal workers did not intentionally harm your package, or anyone else's package that may get damaged for that matter.

Thanks for the time to write all that, but I still dont understand your reasoning. Insurance shouldnt be an extra, or even necessary to make sure that our packages arent beat up. When USPS takes a package they should be responsible for what happens to it, period. I am not saying that you cant be human and make a mistake, but USPS should be liable. Doesnt make sense that they wouldnt be. Why would it be my responsibility for the care of something that I paid someone else to take possesion of and transport?

I mean really, if you pay a towing company to move your car, and it shows up without the engine, is that thier responsibility or yours?

Cool Texan · 02-19-2007, 01:08 PM

Some things just dont make sense in this world....shipping insurance by your logic (I'm ok with this charge) and this scenario:

1) I do my taxes last year, and its determined by OR that I paid too much, so I get a refund.
2) I do my taxes THIS year, and that tax refund money is considered taxable income.

Go figure. So I have two choices.... spend hours and hours trying to figure out what in the heck is going on here, or spend hours and hours fishing and playing with my kids.

anglingaddict · 02-19-2007, 02:22 PM

CT..... No brainer... spend time fishing with kids!!

I never could figure out that tax the refund next year type of thing either.

Sean.... I'm not sure if this will make sense or just expose how strange my brain works!

I know the answer that might explain things to you a bit better, but am at a total loss of words when I try to sit down and write it out so that it all makes sense!

So hopefully soon all the circuits in my head may align so that they allow me to write in an understandable manner.

Until then I guess I'm just postal still.

Corkie Monster · 02-19-2007, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeanD

Thanks for the time to write all that, but I still dont understand your reasoning. Insurance shouldnt be an extra, or even necessary to make sure that our packages arent beat up. When USPS takes a package they should be responsible for what happens to it, period. I am not saying that you cant be human and make a mistake, but USPS should be liable. Doesnt make sense that they wouldnt be. Why would it be my responsibility for the care of something that I paid someone else to take possesion of and transport?

I mean really, if you pay a towing company to move your car, and it shows up without the engine, is that thier responsibility or yours?

I still don't agree with being charged for insurance, weather it be USPS, UPS, Fed Ex, etc. I feel it's just another unfair way to make money off people.

CM

Cool Texan · 02-19-2007, 06:27 PM

Tell that to State Farm, Allstate, Geico.... they dont even give you a service, JUST the insurance.

Corkie Monster · 02-19-2007, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool Texan

Tell that to State Farm, Allstate, Geico.... they dont even give you a service, JUST the insurance.

That is a battle that I don't even know where to begine

. What gets me is the Government will look into putting a cap on the cable companies but not put a cap on the biggest rip off in this nation, the insurance companies

. I think I'll stop there, I would like to go to bed tonight.

CM

Cool Texan · 02-19-2007, 07:45 PM

A ripoff?? Uh....ok.

G'nite!

wapiteaser · 02-20-2007, 11:21 AM

I use the Delivery Confirmation just to make sure it is delivered by USPS and picked up by the seller. Costs sixty five cents.

Finn Mac · 02-20-2007, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool Texan

Some things just dont make sense in this world....shipping insurance by your logic (I'm ok with this charge) and this scenario:

1) I do my taxes last year, and its determined by OR that I paid too much, so I get a refund.
2) I do my taxes THIS year, and that tax refund money is considered taxable income.

Go figure. So I have two choices.... spend hours and hours trying to figure out what in the heck is going on here, or spend hours and hours fishing and playing with my kids.

Roflmao!!!!

So True!!.... Fishin' /kids!