UPS broke a shaft

jacob7071 · July 16, 2023

Well it finally happened to me. I sold a shaft on ebay, shipped it via UPS in the same tube it was shipped to me in, and the buyer sent pictures this morning showing the tube was bent, punctured, straightened back out and reinforced with packing tape, and the shaft was snapped in half. Buyer told me he filed a claim with UPS. I'll make sure he's made whole, but I have a couple of questions as I've never gone through this process before.

When I bought a shipping label through ebay, I didn't see an option to add additional insurance. Does that mean ebay automatically prices it with insurance for the amount paid?
If so, is it the purchase price ($130) or the total the buyer paid including tax and shipping (~$155)?
If not, then I assume I got the standard $100 insurance. If that's the case, I don't want ebay keeping their fees if they didn't give me the option to increase the insurance. Can the buyer request to cancel the sale so that ebay refunds the taxes collected from him and the fees collected from me? That way, maybe I'm only out the $30.
Does ebay wait to see if UPS will pay insurance before having me refund the buyer? I had a cheap club delivered via USPS a couple of years ago that showed up broken. I filed the claim (I was the buyer) and was paid with no involvement from the seller. Will that be the case here? Do we wait and see what UPS pays and then refund the difference? I don't want to refund the buyer and then have UPS pay the claim to him.

Appreciate input from sellers who have gone through this before.

golffeen007 · July 16, 2023

The correct way for it to work is to refund the buyer and you file the claim. Not sure how the buyer could file the claim with ups and get paid.
There is a drop down on eBays label page to add additional insurance , but it’s not that easy to locate, but it’s there. In this case , it sounds like your value would not exceed $100 for the shaft per UPS standard coverage.
Did the buyer request a refund though eBay, because once you refund them , you shouldn’t be due any fees and I believe a final value credit will be applied to your account.

tomuch23 · July 16, 2023

I haven't seen any insurance option on ebay in the last couple years. Use pirateship now for any ebay sales strictly for this reason. Price is probably a little cheaper to and more options with different carriers.

golffeen007 · July 16, 2023

9 hours ago, tomuch23 said:

I haven't seen any insurance option on ebay in the last couple years. Use pirateship now for any ebay sales strictly for this reason. Price is probably a little cheaper to and more options with different carriers.

There’s a drop-down for “additional services” when you go to print your label. I used it 3 times in the last two weeks. Below is a link.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipcover/shipping-insurance-shipcover?id=4643

Edited July 16, 2023 by golffeen007

JMB3 · July 18, 2023

I know this doesn’t answer your questions, OP, but what in the world is up with UPS? I’ve had them break two shafts I sold this year, forcing me to pursue insurance claims. I have had no issues prior—about 10 years of buying/selling.

Good luck sorting things out, OP.

jacob7071 · July 18, 2023

4 hours ago, JMB3 said:

I know this doesn’t answer your questions, OP, but what in the world is up with UPS? I’ve had them break two shafts I sold this year, forcing me to pursue insurance claims. I have had no issues prior—about 10 years of buying/selling.

Good luck sorting things out, OP.

I've had no issues until now. Everything I've shipped with UPS has been delivered within 3-4 days of dropping it off. This one though, dropped off last Saturday mid-afternoon, but it wasn't scanned in until Tuesday evening. Then immediately scanned out and delivered on Friday. I'm wondering if the delay was someone stepped on it and broke it, then tried to tape it up and send it on.

Did UPS pay your claims? Did they also refund the shipping charges? The buyer hasn't updated me on his claim, so I haven't refunded anything. I told him he should take it back to UPS and refuse to accept delivery and have it sent back to me. That way I can handle the claim. But he's been silent since Saturday.

zip7111 · July 19, 2023

20 hours ago, jacob7071 said:

I've had no issues until now. Everything I've shipped with UPS has been delivered within 3-4 days of dropping it off. This one though, dropped off last Saturday mid-afternoon, but it wasn't scanned in until Tuesday evening. Then immediately scanned out and delivered on Friday. I'm wondering if the delay was someone stepped on it and broke it, then tried to tape it up and send it on.

Did UPS pay your claims? Did they also refund the shipping charges? The buyer hasn't updated me on his claim, so I haven't refunded anything. I told him he should take it back to UPS and refuse to accept delivery and have it sent back to me. That way I can handle the claim. But he's been silent since Saturday.

He should send you photos and you should submit the claim as the shipper. It is not his responsibility to file the claim as the receiver.

Edited July 19, 2023 by zip7111

JMB3 · July 22, 2023

On 7/18/2023 at 2:58 PM, jacob7071 said:

I've had no issues until now. Everything I've shipped with UPS has been delivered within 3-4 days of dropping it off. This one though, dropped off last Saturday mid-afternoon, but it wasn't scanned in until Tuesday evening. Then immediately scanned out and delivered on Friday. I'm wondering if the delay was someone stepped on it and broke it, then tried to tape it up and send it on.

Did UPS pay your claims? Did they also refund the shipping charges? The buyer hasn't updated me on his claim, so I haven't refunded anything. I told him he should take it back to UPS and refuse to accept delivery and have it sent back to me. That way I can handle the claim. But he's been silent since Saturday.

I use Shippo, so I purchased their insurance (Shipinsurance). I refunded the buyer, who helped me submit the claim, which was paid to me.

jacob7071 · July 25, 2023

On 7/21/2023 at 10:00 PM, JMB3 said:

I use Shippo, so I purchased their insurance (Shipinsurance). I refunded the buyer, who helped me submit the claim, which was paid to me.

Thanks. Ebay told me UPS pays the claim to me no matter who initiated it. So I told the buyer to process a return through ebay, and he's been refunded. UPS told me the claim was approved, although they can't tell me if they'll mail me a check or send the money back to ebay (since I bought the label through ebay's UPS account) who will then need to add it to my account. I might be done selling on ebay after this if I don't end up getting the claim money.