[78-L] International transactions

[Malcolm - Venerable Music]

Hi Cary - Actually, the same thing can happen domestically & as a seller 
I've come to the conclusion that buying insurance for packages is basically 
a waste of money. On Ebay, stating that you will not accept returns does not 
mean a thing. Any buyer can file an Item Not As Described claim and get 
their money back no matter your personal policy. As a buyer, I hate it when 
a seller buys insurance, does a poor job packing and then expects me to jump 
through the hoops of trying to get a refund. Insurance or not, I always just 
send the item back, file a paypal claim and let the seller file the claim 
with the PO.

Last year, I received a broken record from a seller who really did a solid 
packing job - totally the fault of the PO. The seller had purchased 
insurance and the record was an $80 record, so I decided to follow through 
with the postal claim to see what would happen. I told the seller what 
happened and what I was doing and he immediately mailed me the original 
receipt & the original insurance slip which I thought was strange at the 
time (I'm the buyer, I shouldn't have access to this stuff). I held on to it 
and filed the claim online. About 3-4 weeks later (seemed longer), I 
received a letter in the mail asking for the original receipt and insurance 
slip & that I had 10 days to mail it in or I would forfeit the insurance 
claim. Wow, I had them! I sent them in and received a check from the post 
office about 2-3 weeks after that.
The thing is, by waiting on the postal service, my paypal chargeback rights 
would have close to or already expired by the time I had figured everything 
out and that I needed the seller to send me his copy of the receipt. It's a 
terrible process & the post office wants it to be as many of their insurance 
claims are not paid out. I think Ebay even made it so sellers could not 
require buyers to purchase insurance as it was all on the shoulders of the 
seller. The $4 rate is BS & I see many sellers charging more for their 
service. They have a tendency to selectively enforce their own policies 
which also drives me crazy!

I don't sell on Ebay much anymore, but on vmauctions I sell and ship 
thousands of 78s every year. We insure every single package that is sent 
from the site as insurance on any package over $50 the price of insurance is 
built into the shipping costs (I cover anything under $50 out of my own 
pocket). I never actually purchase insurance with those funds but sock them 
away. If I ever get any complaints of loss or damage, I immediately refund 
the customer and tell them no need to send the item back - no questions 
asked (records are returned for grading discrepancies though). It is soooo 
much easier than dealing with the post office, and every year it actually 
ends up being profitable for me even covering other sellers losses under 
$50.

Buying insurance for international packages also makes it harder to under 
value them for customs. Valuing a package at a high price actually makes 
them less secure passing through customs. I have heard several stories of 
customs unpacking records with high values claimed only to repack them 
poorly causing them to arrive damaged.

If you are going to continue purchasing insurance, you should really check 
into the other services Benno mentioned earlier. I have never used them 
myself, but have heard they are much easier than dealing with the PO. But 
remember, don't expect the buyers not to file a paypal claim as it's easily 
the best way to go for them (I've never known paypal to rule against a 
buyer). Remember, your time and effort are worth money & for me, that almost 
always outweighs the trouble of dealing with the postal service (and ebay). 
I shouldn't just slam them, insurance does work well if the package never 
arrives - but over my last 5 years or so of buying and selling, it's only 
happened to me once (and it was as a buyer).

Best of Luck!
Malcolm

Venerable Music - http://www.venerablemusic.com
Venerable Radio - http://www.venerableradio.com
78rpm Record Auctions - http://www.vmauctions.com


-----Original Message----- 
From: Cary Ginell
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:36 PM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: [78-L] International transactions

Just a word of warning to those who sell 78s abroad. My recent issue with a 
Chinese buyer did not end well. Possibly due to language problems on the 
other end, the buyer never understood that he was to be reimbursed for the 
damage the USPS caused to the records I sent him by the Postal Service. All 
he needed to do was bring the original packaging and broken 78s to his post 
office to verify the damage and they would process the claim. Instead, he 
tossed the box, wrapped everything up in bubble wrap and shipped it back to 
me. He had claimed 2 of the 3 78s in the set were broken, but by the time 
they got back to me, all three were broken. PayPal reimbursed him without 
any proof for the full amount he paid, putting my PayPal balance under 
water. When I called USPS, they, in essence, said "Sorry, pal." Since they 
never verified the damage, the insurance I paid for is voided. So I am out 
the money as well as the records. Fortunately, I was able to file an 
internet fraud case with t
he U.S. Government for the third disc, which was broken in transit between 
China and here and at least I will get 1/3 of what I lost back.

So how does one deal with buyers who speak little English? Do I restrict 
sales to English-speaking countries from now on? Do I say "no returns" 
accepted? The post office was completely at fault for this, but found a way 
not to live up to their own insurance policy. Do I not use USPS for 
international transactions anymore? As horrific as they have been in this 
situation, they are still cheaper than other services - or are they?

Cary Ginell
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