Many first time sellers on eBay, Bricklink or Brickowl worry about lost or damaged shipments. They fear wasting time and losing hard earned money. Here’s what you need to know before decided to insure your shipments.
Secure packing and proper shipping labels minimize lost packages
Using low quality packing material or printer ink may save money in the short term, but in the long term significantly increases your odds of lost packages. Occasionally, your shipment could get rained on or dropped in a puddle, causing the label ink to bleed or smudge. Unlike inkjet printers, laser printers and thermal label printers don’t bleed. Cheap envelopes or thin cardboard can get torn by mail sorting machines. Lost packages either mean you’ll need to absorb the costs or endure the time consuming and stress inducing hassle of filing an insurance claim.
Only some international shipments may be insured
If you ship internationally only shipments to some countries may be insured. Some sellers only ship to countries where shipments may be insured. Before deciding to ship to a country, understand your insurance options (or lack thereof) for that country. Also consider your lost sales opportunity by choosing NOT to ship to some countries.
Priority Mail includes some insurance for FREE
Priority Mail includes insurance coverage up to $50 and Priority Mail Express includes insurance coverage up to $100. Some exceptions do apply.
When you DO insure, get proof of shipping
Many insurance companies will only process insurance claims if you have proof of shipping. Some common acceptable forms of proof include: a tracking number (must be scanned as Accepted), a USPS receipt, Paypal screen shot of label, etc. Read the terms and conditions of the insurance company to find out what they accept as proof of shipping.
Many new sellers insure packages more often than necessary
Despite stories you may hear, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is actually very good at delivering your packages to buyers. Yes, sometimes the packages take the scenic route, delaying delivery by a few days for domestic packages to a few weeks for international packages. Nevertheless nearly all packages arrive. I ship hundreds of packages each month around the world and only experience lost packages a few times a year.
Usually insuring a shipment only makes sense for orders valued over $100 or whatever value you feel would “hurt” you. How much would a lost $10 shipment hurt you? How about $20 or $50? Choosing when to add shipping insurance is a personal choice, but consider both your added costs (insurance typically costs between $1 and $3 for each $100 of coverage) AND the headache of filing an insurance claim if you ever do need to collect.
Further reading:
It’s Not USPS, It’s Me: Why Some of Your eBay Packages Get “Lost” in the Mail (BrickingTips.com article)
8 Reasons NOT to Ship Internationally (BrickingTips.com article)