akator Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 For the first time in years, I have to make a postal insurance claim. I have photos of the items working and photos of it packed properly. I will go to the post office tomorrow with my insurance ticket... but what can I expect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cebus Capucinis Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 In my experience, the USPS insurance system doesn't work at all, sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otaku Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 in my experience they suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emehr Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 I had an old Powerbook shipped to me that had been dropped during shipment. Naturally, it was dropped on one of its corners and the screen hinge and case had broken. It was less of a hassle to find a new screen and hinge on ebay than dance through the hoops of the post office's insurance claim system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Never had to do it myself but have had friends go through the process and it sounds like a hassle, someone over on the KLOV forums posted about winning a claim recently, I seem to remember it took them a LONG time but the buyer was refunded the money and they eventually sent him back the item (arcade monitor) so he got to keep the broken item and the money (insurance paid the buyer) I'll try to find the link for you tonight as I remember it being pretty informative... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack702 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 It's a huge hassle and takes up to about six months , if the item is worth some money I would file the claim for sure. You might be waiting a long time but eventually with good proof you will get paid. It's just a big pain in the butt though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 That I recall it never has worked once for damage. Lost is another issue. They shirk their responsibility on damaged items, NO-MATTER-WHAT, as far as I've experienced. Even with that said, I've got customers that ask for it, and I'm even about to go buy some right now as we speak in the next few minutes. If they want to spend their money on insurance that's good with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grig Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 That I recall it never has worked once for damage. Lost is another issue. They shirk their responsibility on damaged items, NO-MATTER-WHAT, as far as I've experienced. Even with that said, I've got customers that ask for it, and I'm even about to go buy some right now as we speak in the next few minutes. If they want to spend their money on insurance that's good with me. Hmm ... could that possible be for my big dirty "give it to me baby" arcade stick? awww yeeeaaahhh! I'm actually hoping that the USPS will be a ilttle extra careful with a box marked "insured", that's my one and only reasoning for getting insurance on that bad boy (which I am just gushing with exceitement about! - My kids can't wait to play Donkey Kong and Pac-Man with that momma!) Ah, you know if they don't at least I can try to file. But Ak, I agree with everyone else - it doesn't really work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 It doesn't work. But seriously, you will need to file a claim, expect it to take forever, and not be sure they will pay up. If you have a buyer that wants a refund, well you might as well just pay them and then deal with the post office yourself. Otherwise, you'll have an angry customer waiting an eternity for possible cash. Especially if it's eBay. I would prefer to work with private insurers like u-pic and Endicia if I was doing a lot of insuring. If I was selling full time I'd probably pay for one of u-pic's 'all packages' policies, which would cost a lot, but you might actually get somewhere with them. Another option is to self-insure, which is basically what eBay insists you do whether you like it or not. You could take these out of your gross income or you could charge everyone $1 in addition to postage to try to hedge against your payouts over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 That I recall it never has worked once for damage. Lost is another issue. They shirk their responsibility on damaged items, NO-MATTER-WHAT, as far as I've experienced. Even with that said, I've got customers that ask for it, and I'm even about to go buy some right now as we speak in the next few minutes. If they want to spend their money on insurance that's good with me. Hmm ... could that possible be for my big dirty "give it to me baby" arcade stick? awww yeeeaaahhh! I'm actually hoping that the USPS will be a ilttle extra careful with a box marked "insured", that's my one and only reasoning for getting insurance on that bad boy (which I am just gushing with exceitement about! - My kids can't wait to play Donkey Kong and Pac-Man with that momma!) Ah, you know if they don't at least I can try to file. But Ak, I agree with everyone else - it doesn't really work. Indeed it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cebus Capucinis Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Not to derail, but I'm interested in what this "give it to my baby" arcade stick is, and if it's useable on 2600/7800/NES/SMS, I'm game for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grig Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Looks better than the X-Arcade. I'll add a trackball later to my cabinet that I'll build. There's some serious ASSAULT playing to be done with that (my all time favorite tank game) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 A loooong time ago (probably 2003/2004-ish), I sold an arcade board on eBay. It arrived non-functional (worked fine when it left my house), and the buyer noticed some damaged pins on it. I made a damaged claim, and was refunded the money. It took a little while to get the funds (maybe a month), but I don't recall the process being too bad. It's probably changed over the near-decade it has been since then though. Looks better than the X-Arcade. I'll add a trackball later to my cabinet that I'll build. There's some serious ASSAULT playing to be done with that (my all time favorite tank game) It looks cool (and I was tempted to spring for it when it was for sale), but at the same time it looks really, really cramped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Quasicade! I always wanted one of those, just don't really have a proper spot for it, looks cool though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grig Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 A loooong time ago (probably 2003/2004-ish), I sold an arcade board on eBay. It arrived non-functional (worked fine when it left my house), and the buyer noticed some damaged pins on it. I made a damaged claim, and was refunded the money. It took a little while to get the funds (maybe a month), but I don't recall the process being too bad. It's probably changed over the near-decade it's been though. Looks better than the X-Arcade. I'll add a trackball later to my cabinet that I'll build. There's some serious ASSAULT playing to be done with that (my all time favorite tank game) It looks cool (and I was tempted to spring for it when it was for sale), but at the same time it looks really, really cramped. I don't think it will be a problem. I like all of the different buttons and controllers where they are placed. This will be mounted into a custom cabinet and I'll be standing when using it so I'm sure it will work out OK. I'm going to make it playable for "Discs of Tron" too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Further derailment in 3... 2... 1... Good grief, that's a lot of buttons! The (presumably) analog sticks are a nice touch, but I think I'm happy enough with my X-Arcade stick. The extra controls just seem like they would get in the way when you're not actually using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grig Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Further derailment in 3... 2... 1... Good grief, that's a lot of buttons! The (presumably) analog sticks are a nice touch, but I think I'm happy enough with my X-Arcade stick. The extra controls just seem like they would get in the way when you're not actually using them. Possibly, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Should be great for N64 emulation and Sega emulation though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 If you have a buyer that wants a refund, well you might as well just pay them and then deal with the post office yourself. Otherwise, you'll have an angry customer waiting an eternity for possible cash. Especially if it's eBay. That's what happened, and what I've done. Yesterday I made a full refund and filed a claim on the USPS site (with photos showing it working and well packed for shipment) because the locals at the post office refused to deal with it at all. Today I called eBay and got a credit for the final value fees. Who knows if the USPS will do anything about the insurance claim, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grig Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 If you have a buyer that wants a refund, well you might as well just pay them and then deal with the post office yourself. Otherwise, you'll have an angry customer waiting an eternity for possible cash. Especially if it's eBay. That's what happened, and what I've done. Yesterday I made a full refund and filed a claim on the USPS site (with photos showing it working and well packed for shipment) because the locals at the post office refused to deal with it at all. Today I called eBay and got a credit for the final value fees. Who knows if the USPS will do anything about the insurance claim, though... I really wish you good luck and I hope for the sake of Pete that they refund you what is rightfully yours because of their complete incompetence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 If you have a buyer that wants a refund, well you might as well just pay them and then deal with the post office yourself. Otherwise, you'll have an angry customer waiting an eternity for possible cash. Especially if it's eBay. That's what happened, and what I've done. Yesterday I made a full refund and filed a claim on the USPS site (with photos showing it working and well packed for shipment) because the locals at the post office refused to deal with it at all. Today I called eBay and got a credit for the final value fees. Who knows if the USPS will do anything about the insurance claim, though... I really wish you good luck and I hope for the sake of Pete that they refund you what is rightfully yours because of their complete incompetence. Thanks I'm not expecting a good outcome, though. I know the USPS is full of it regarding these things. I insure anything over $20-30 in value to make them more conscientious about delivery, which so far has worked well. There is a good argument that the money saved from not paying for postal insurance would add up massively, and any losses I might have would be more than compensated by not paying for the insurance. Still, I like the fact that after a few years of selling things off and on that everything has been delivered appropriately, which is better than I can say for the personal items shipped without insurance. I know, it's all a scam on us, just like every other form of insurance... but it still takes a little bit of worry out of my life once these things I treasure part from my hands 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 There are defentily some things worth having insurance for. Cars, renting, computers, big screen TV's that cost a ton of money, and trip. Not to mention medical and dental. I think that's about it, though. Oh, I've also filed a claim with USPS for items lost in transist and got my money in a couple weeks. This was about four years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre81 Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 One of my packages (with 13 sealed Atari 2600 games ) has been lost. Claim was made 05/16 and USPS said they will reply no later then 06/08. Actually it was not USPS who has "lost" the package but DHL in Germany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 Unbelievable. I got my insurance check from USPS this week. They never contacted me or the buyer. That is the kind of luck I never have I think it helped that I had multiple photos of the system tested and working, then multiple photos of it being packed. There was no question that when the system left here it was tested and working, and that it was packed well. Of course, I have no expectations that if I need to make a USPS insurance claim again that things will go so smoothly... so hopefully, I won't ever have to do it again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grig Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Unbelievable. I got my insurance check from USPS this week. They never contacted me or the buyer. That is the kind of luck I never have I think it helped that I had multiple photos of the system tested and working, then multiple photos of it being packed. There was no question that when the system left here it was tested and working, and that it was packed well. Of course, I have no expectations that if I need to make a USPS insurance claim again that things will go so smoothly... so hopefully, I won't ever have to do it again I'm glad it worked out for you! :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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