USPS Shipment Damage

[Tamelesstgr]

Anyone have experience with insurance claim through USPS? Sold the King of Shaves P1 in mint condition. Packed everything in bubble wrap and foam. Box looks like hell, buyer not happy, spider cracking on bottom of hull items lost out of box. Thankfully I put $400 insurance of the package. Ugh, I feel like I am going to lose big on this one...

[longballlumber]

All I can say is good Luck!

Advice to anyone reading this; If you box shows up damaged in anyway start taking pictures before you unbox/untape your item. Then continue to take pictures as you unpack the item. That is your only line of defense. When a claim is made they will try and take the "the item of this size wasn't packed correctly" This is a huge grey area and we as buyers/sellers have little ground to stand on.

Later,
Ball

[oscarel]

Had a motor that was lost, insured for $100 and only got $35 back. Good luck.

[dmitry100]

Why would you only get $35 back, oscarel? Insurance would be very much like fraud/scam if they either never paid out, or just a certain small percentage.

[tlandauer]

All I can say is good Luck!

Advice to anyone reading this; If you box shows up damaged in anyway start taking pictures before you unbox/untape your item. Then continue to take pictures as you unpack the item. That is your only line of defense. When a claim is made they will try and take the "the item of this size wasn't packed correctly" This is a huge grey area and we as buyers/sellers have little ground to stand on.

Later,
Ball

+1!!!
I bought my Popeye Hydro directly from TFL a bit more than 2 years ago and the boat was damaged in the USA, I took pictures just as the above suggestions and went to USPS, first thing out of them is that if I want to go thru any claims they have to have the boat. PITA if you ask me, they say if I want the money back to the insured amount the boat then becomes the property of the USPS, I said "no thank you"!
In the end the China post was nice enough to issue a partial refund but not to me , to TFL instead, Monica was very nice and said I have some credits left with them which I have not claimed. In the end, a total lost on the damage for me, luckily I fixed the hull and now is better than new, still, it was a sour taste in my mouth after the episode and I won't buy from overseas now.......

[oscarel]

Why would you only get $35 back, oscarel? Insurance would be very much like fraud/scam if they either never paid out, or just a certain small percentage.

They will base the value of your parcel on their info. I sent the info on what I sold it for and what it cost new and that's what they valued it at.

[Tamelesstgr]

Got a letter from USPS yesterday, they want to inspect the item. I am going to have to refund the buyer and get the boat shipped back. He doesn't want to deal with all the claim stuff and just wants a refund.

[dmitry100]

That blows. Shipping companies are assholes. Especially if they're part of the govt and have govt employees that can never be fired for anything and they know it and don't give a crap. Sort of the like the DMV.

oscarel: How much did you sell the item for? I was assuming it was for over $100 at least.

[Tamelesstgr]

Boat is on it's way back today. So far the original shipment the stand, props, and rudder blade were lost. The gelcoat took a hit on the bottom and the inner trays came loose from the hull. I'm leaning towards parting the boat out and fixing the hull. Might be a good opportunity or me to learn how to do fiberglass repair and a carbon fiber inlay. Might be interesting how to learn to make a reverse mold and make some fiberglass hulls for myself too, then I could have a fleet of fountains!

Cracked Gel Coat 1.jpg

Cracked Gel Coat 2.jpg

Cracked Gel Coat 4.jpg

Damaged Hull 1.jpg

[Tamelesstgr]

So I got the Venom king of shaves back today. Not as bad of damage, hull has some gel coat stress cracks, and some of the gel coat flaked off in spots. Some components like the propeller and rudder are missing because they were lost in the first shipment. Part of the wooden tray inside is loose, nothing some glue can't fix, and the hatch is still in good shape.

[Tamelesstgr]

Got exactly nothing for my claim. Time to strip down the hull and fix the cracked deep-v. Probably strip off all the gelcoat and stickers so I can proceed with a reverse mold.

[dmitry100]

Seriously... What the heck? What did they say?

[Tamelesstgr]

I expected it honestly, the buyer didn't want to deal with the claim hassle, so he shipped it back to me. Post office asked to see item in person, said there wasn't enough info regarding the value and damage.

Just broke down the bare hull, I would be upset with this build quality for what this boat cost. This will be my winter learning project.

[runzwithsizorz]

i expected it honestly, the buyer didn't want to deal with the claim hassle, so he shipped it back to me. ** post office asked to see item in person,** said there wasn't enough info regarding the value and damage.

Just broke down the bare hull, i would be upset with this build quality for what this boat cost. This will be my winter learning project.

okie dokie. 13319729_1037669612992027_4222398952872485532_n.jpg BTW, do YOU have insurance?

[tlandauer]

I feel sorry for both of them,,,,,,

[boatsrnew2me]

i got to wonder was this delivery just dropped at the door? the best scenario for a insurance claim is signature delivery , when you get to the door and the box looks damaged refuse delivery , tell them to take it back to the post office and you will meet them there and open it in front of their postmaster general or whoever is in charge there .
take a camera with or have a phone with one .
opening it in front of them is probably your best chance at a insurance claim .

makes you wonder why they even offer insurance when they try every dirty trick in the book to not pay it . that said ,i have bought insurance too ,more for peace of mind ,but also knowing they will never pay ,and i would refund a buyer even at a loss to retain my spotless rep .

if i had received a damaged item i would just want a refund as well .we all know dealing with insurance claims is lengthy and a waste of time .

sorry this happened to you ,but you did the right thing .you can rest easy knowing that .

[dmitry100]

They make insane amounts of profits through insurance. That is why its offered.

They probably would want to make you jump through hoops do to all the fraud that is involved with insurance.

I bet you've never heard of people trying to ship so called crappy "expensive" items to their friends just to collect on the payouts.

[fweasel]

I know this thread is a little old, but my experience with insurance has been very different. I ship anything of value ups ground insured for the purchase price, packed the way I would want it sent to me, and assumed it will be lost or damaged beyond repair. As long as the packing wasn't negligent for the weight and size of the item, I've never had a problem with UPS claims,even on a $5000 piece of AV gear. Money well spent IMO.

[boatsrnew2me]

yeah but usps is a different game .they always deny,deny,deny, ,was it packed correctly ,was the correct rating box used ? thats a big one right there they use .the lb or crush rating of the box .