Shipping and Insurance

[Edwolf1963]

Curious about thoughts/feedback on a couple issues as it relates to shipping and insurance.

One issue that comes up from time to time is shipping. I know that legally, a binding transaction is when BOTH parties get what the agreed upon. If one (or more) do not receive, the transaction is not complete. In eBay and other forums, language to the effect of "not responsible if lost in shipping", "not responsible if not insurance taken..", "insurance at buyers option", etc isn't worth the key-strokes. Indeed eBay/PayPal will side with the buyer in these disputes. It is a sellers responsibility to make sure the buyer receives what he/she purchased. As a seller, in a binding two-party agreement, my contract is with that buyer - not the 3rd party (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc) My responsibility to that buyer doesn't end when it's picked up/dropped off w/the shipper - insured or not. Like most of us, I absolutely hate it if buyer says not received, but I know going in I am ultimately responsible for proving or refunding in those rare cases. I realize there are varying opinions on this and often with sound basis (especially if you've been burned by suspicious buyers/transactions) .. just know that legally, ultimately, "not responsible" language is largely untenable.

The second piece is insurance.

I have been told by UPS (and others) that just because you insure your cards for, say $500, as an example - you won't get that back if lost, stolen, damaged in shipping. Paper goods and perishables are hard to recover on - no matter what you insure them for. Which makes me wonder why insure in the first place then..? I realize there are fraud issues UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc have to contend with, and proof of value, purchase, etc should rest with the sender in cases of loss. But if they can put an asterisk next to paper/perishables, claim depreciation, book value/what you paid for it is largely immaterial - and pay you a small fraction of the value/insured amount, what's the point of insuring then..? It's an assigned risk on your part. Feels like an unregulated scam to allow them to charge for insurance and not back it in case of loss.

Curious if anyone has had any issues with this in the past..?

Thanks,

Ed