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OT: Do you think USPS will give me the insurance money for this damaged computer.

L

ljump12

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 10, 2006
254
0
philadelphia
I shipped a PC that i sold on ebay to somone... I have never shipped a computer before....

So i went out and bought a big cardboard box. Wrapped the comptuer in foam. Then put crumpled newspaper all around to fill in the spots so it would not shift around.

Shipped it USPS and insured it for $250...

The guy got it, and it was not booting; hes not too computer savvy to figure out what exactly was wrong with it. He took it to file for insurance.. they looked at it for 10 minutes, then gave him the sheet to mail in and whatnot. They told him that it wasnt a great packing job though....

Here are the pictures he took. The box was new when i shipped it, and the comptuer was in great cosmetic condition.

dentedcase.jpg

holeinbox1.jpg

holeinbox2.jpg

insidecomputer.jpg


Thanks!
 
Wouldn't it be the other guy's problem of filing and obtaining the insurance money?

At least in my auctions, I specify that I'm not reponsible for damage caused in transit.. that's the whole point of shipping insurance.
 
xfiftyfour said:
Wouldn't it be the other guy's problem of filing and obtaining the insurance money?

At least in my auctions, I specify that I'm not reponsible for damage caused in transit.. that's the whole point of shipping insurance.
Click to expand...

It would; but he claims i diddn't properly package it -- Which in all truth, is probally partly the problem.
This wasnt an ebay thing, rather it was a classified ads thing.
 
IMO, anything that causes a dent that big will most likely defy any sort of "good" packaging. USPS owes him the $250 but as can be expected getting that money will be difficult. After all insurance is supposed to be free money for them. The thought of anyone making a claim is simply appalling. If just a small percentage of those who pay for insurance make claims they will have to rasie stamp prices another .05 to cover their inept business practices. :rolleyes:
 
ljump12 said:
It would; but he claims i diddn't properly package it -- Which in all truth, is probally partly the problem.
This wasnt an ebay thing, rather it was a classified ads thing.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, but even if it was terrible packaging, the packaging itself did not cause that hole in the box. USPS was obviously not careful, so who knows if better packaging would have made a difference anyway. At any rate, it's really not your responsibility to package it full-proof - USPS still needs to do their part, and when they don't, that's when insurance comes into play.

If I were you, I'd tell the guy it's between him and USPS at this point. I've never gone through the process of trying to claim insurance, so I don't know first-hand, but I don't imagine it's too easy. Regardless, I don't see how it's your responsibility anymore. USPS was the one to drop/manhandle the package. They're the one at fault.
 
Ahh sounds like nearly the same issue I had with selling a computer on Ebay. Too much hassle so I cancelled the auction :(
 
ljump12 said:
It would; but he claims i diddn't properly package it -- Which in all truth, is probally partly the problem.
This wasnt an ebay thing, rather it was a classified ads thing.
Click to expand...

other guy's problem if he paid insurance, but i'm confused..here you say it wasn't an ebay thing , but your original post said it was?

i have to admit...my eyes did go wide with fear when you mentioned using crumpled newspaper too. i've used the large bubble wrap before..that stuff is pretty solid.

one of the other posters was right though..that was a pretty big dent..no doubt caused from something hitting it hard.

good luck.
 
In my past experience, it is the shipper who is responsible for filing insurance claims. I have been on both ends of a damaged goods scenario with FedEx and each time the required the shipper to do all the leg work.
 
topgunn said:
In my past experience, it is the shipper who is responsible for filing insurance claims. I have been on both ends of a damaged goods scenario with FedEx and each time the required the shipper to do all the leg work.
Click to expand...

yeah you are definitely correct. I sold a dell desktop on ebay and it was out for delivery for 2 days so the lady who bought it emailed me saying she was worried it was lost. So I called UPS bc she tried to call and they said they can't do anything unless they speak to the shipper. So yeah this may have to be a shipper communicating between usps and the receiver. Think of it if apple ships you a laptop and it's damaged don't you contact apple and they get you another one or they follow up with a claim? This is the same case.
 
KilGil27 said:
good thing you didn't ship it UPS... if they saw you used newspaper as packing material... they'd deny you in an instant
Click to expand...

hhaha definitely true. You pack it yourself and you bring on a big risk.

Although I was shocked to see how quickly UPS takes care of claims. by the time I shipped the item and when I received the check was less than 30 days....
 
All damage claims for insured items MUST be handled by the shipper. The shipper is the one who buys the insurance, not the adressee, even if they paid for it as part of the transaction, the coverage is still issued to the shipper........

And a dent that big WAS caused by improper handling and/or negligence, which IS USPS's responsibility!

been there, done that, many many times :)
 
I bought an item off eBay last year that arrived damaged and the seller told me it was MY responsibility to file the insurance claim.

I took the claim form along with the item to the post office and I walked out with cash in hand, granted it was only $40 but at least i didn't have to wait 30 days...
 
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