Well, USPS has lost a 61 lb package that I had insured for $1000. How do you loose a 61 lb package that is roughly 2 foot by 3 foot? The purchaser wanted it shipped by USPS and only sent me the money for the shipping and did not figure insurance. I wanted to ship it insured UPS but USPS was $26 less and he insisted. I decided I would insure it out of my pocket. I almost never insure a package but this one was a high value and figured I had better be safe than sorry. Well, now it is 30 days and the package is lost and I now find out that making a claim is nearly impossible on used parts. They have to have proof of the parts value and will not accept an email where the guy agreed to pay that amount. There are none of these parts available anyplace on earth for them to get a value from so no proof of value. I assume they just get away with charging insurance knowing full well they will never pay it! I have a few hours into the claim and he didn't even pay for the insurance, grrr!

Just had a thought pop into my head, Maybe I could show them the value of the parts for a newer model? They don't know the year these come from.

 

Good luck with the claims process. It is hard enough without your situation.

The good news is....the contents are probably on ebay or craigslist.

 

All I can say is sorry to here that and you are in for a ride. I bought a carburetor from a follow member that he shipped with insurance. Someone who stole my identity had my mail held at the post office for several days in order to get some credit cards they applied for in my name. The post office actually had video of the guy picking up my mail and the package that contained the carb. I fought a battle with USPS for months and the claim along with 2 appeals was denied.

I truly wish you luck.
Jim

 

I discovered this hard truth about USPS insurance on an upper Cutlass dash speaker cover I shipped to Hawaii. Item arrived damaged and, even though I had purchased insurance, they denied the claim 3 times because I couldn't produce a receipt showing what I paid for it at a JY some 15 yrs ago as a basis for claim value. BTW...it doesn't seem to matter what your Buyer pays for it, so a receipt of sale doesn't mean doodley squat. I've never again wasted money on insurance as it's just a sham when shipping used parts.

 

I would never buy USPS insurance on anything that isn't brand new and that I don't have a receipt for. Anything else, and the post office will deny it. But you have to look at it from their point of view as the insurance system is ripe for fraud.

Remember, the post office never sees what it's the box when you ship something. They take your word for it that it's not damaged. For all they know, you could put a bunch of broken parts in a box that are worth $0, insurance it for some ungodly amount, ship it, claim that it was damaged in shipment, and collect the insurance on it. People can put anything they want on a "bill of sale," so it's no surprise that they'll never accept that. The bottom line is, you skip the insurance and just take your chances.

 

Hope your able to get the insurance to cover the loss. What kind of parts were lost? If they were heads or a carburetor maybe you could use the value of new aftermarket ones as a comparison?

Just brainstorming. Good luck

 

But the OP's shipped parts were used. There is no standard (that I know of) to establish the value of a used part. Age, condition, demand, etc. all affect value. You might show what similar parts have sold for on, say, ebay, but will the post office accept that? Seems unlikely because, again, how do you prove that the part that sold on ebay for $XX is similar enough in condition to the part you insured and then get the PO to accept it?

 

The way I read that is the buyer had the option but didn't want to pay for the insurance. IMO, the risk is 100% on them once USPS has possession of the item. If the buyer understands that and doesn't pay for the insurance, why should you care once you get their $1000? You gave them freedom of choice and they chose to trust USPS.

If anything, I'd get my $1000 back for the item, and keep the $1000 from the buyer and say tough luck. It's not like he has any skin in the insurance cost. This is totally between you and USPS. Legally, I'm pretty sure that would fly.

I get why this is bothering you. But it all depends if it's a friend or not. I mean, I'd take advantage of you too by not buying insurance, then whining when USPS lost it (a service I had insisted YOU use) and then you giving my money back and hoping you get your money from USPS. I'm out nothing but time. But for you, it's a huge PITA. I learned a long time ago if the buyer doesn't pay insurance, it's NOT going to be insured for whatever amount above what's already covered, if any.

 

Ive had no usps claims but one fedex claim.

mc rims arrived damaged and loose in a large box. I called the sellerwho confirmed the rims were correctly packed and not shipped loose in a box.
i called fedex who stated the seller had to file the claim because he bought the insurance. He also had to have the rims in his possesion to make the claim.
so i got the rims back to the seller who now had my money, the rims, and im relying on him to file a claim for insurance.
well he filed the claim, and after week had heard nothing i started calling fedex everyday and getting the run around.
Somewhere around the third or fourth day and call to fedex, the CSR mentions i dont understand why their giving you a hard time there is a note attached to your claim that states the box fell off the forklift was run over and was repackaged! It still took a couple more calls but i mentioned the forklift note everytime and eventually got the seller the insurance money and i got my money.
until the mention of the forklift note tho it appeared fedex was not going to payout the insurance money.

 

I did have a claim with UPS one time and was not a problem at all. They broke a Vista Cruiser glass. They said themselves that it was packaged very well. and that they broke it. I have never shipped a glass again after that.

If I don't get the money from USPS then I am not refunding him. He had the option and didn't take it. I will feel terrible but I can not afford to the the loss when I offered. It was power windows and a rebuilt power seat setup from a 63

 

Sounds to me like the fraud is the Post Office offering the insurance when they know they won't honor it when there's a problem.

 

I guess just ask usps to replace those parts then if they dont agree w your valuation. Ill bet the package isnt lost just damaged somewhere. Either that or it will eventually show up.

i forget which carrier it was but i was tracking a package I expected to be delivered days earlier I would see it make its way to CT, and then go to jersy (the wrong way)( i live in mass)

after 3-4 days of that i called and spoke w the CSR who was actually helpful and somehow determined the zip was incorrect sending it to jersey, but jersey would somehow send it to the next correct facility in CT. The CSR flagged the track number and was able to get it routed to me, when i got it the zip was crossed out and the correct zip written in.

point is maybe usps is buyingtime till it shows up!

 

Just wondering as I'm not seeing anything written here but there was a tracking number associated with your package since you insured it and did you file through the lost mail section of the USPS website to start the tracing route of the package? https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm I have used this twice and each time they were able to track the package down.

 

So i guess the part i just bought that came damaged that a member is doing a claim on is not even worth the time.
was a piece of moulding that got bent. i guess i should just straighten it as best i can or call it a loss.

 

I hope your package shows up soon.

As others said, maybe you could use the value of similar parts that sold on Ebay or from salvage yards as a price comparison. Keep us posted.

 

I have no reply from them yet.

 

After all this, the package has been found and delivered. Thank goodness.

 

That’s great to hear, I’m glad it worked it’s way through the system finally.

 

Wow. Cool. In my experience, that's rare. My lost package experiences, which fortunately haven't been many, have never ended well.

 

Now we can get some sleep tonight.

 

lol, More to the story now. They sent me a letter saying they reject my insurance claim because I did not supply significant proof of value. This must be the standard letter they send out. Why would they not say they will not honor the claim because it was found and delivered? Scum! At least I learned something over this without a loss.

 

Glad this ended well.