which postage options cover the seller should an Item not recieved claim be made via paypal?

[2007vera]

I THOUGHT i knew that sellers were only covered if they used signed for or registered mail - i.e a service with proper tracking.

A few people recenlty have said that the regular post systen - which gives very broad tracking - records the postcode on the docket - and tracks from PO to Po only is acdceptable to payapl as proof of postage if a claim is made.

I don't think it is

Could sellers who genuninely know for SURE reply please?

It will effect the postage options I give on my lisitngs

Thanks

[clarry100]

We send the vast majority of our items by large letter. In so doing we are automatically excluded for protection against INR and we recognise that. But if we used full tracking and/or SOD we would simply never sell anything at all.

We find that approx 1 in 500 items we mail out get lost by AP.

So when it happens we just ask the buyer to please validate the address we used, then check that the item is not being held at their local PO. If these chacks fail then we just mail out a replacement item. This always results in a glowing POS FB.

We then leave a comment on the FB we left the buyer that states simply that a lost item was reported by the buyer and was replaced by us and date it. This way other sellers can see if the buyer is potentially a repeat scammer by looking at their FB left by other sellers.

In a case just last week the buyer found the item being held at their local PO but no card had been left by the postie.

[kittinkaboodle]

Ok - so now I am confused - I am getting mixed messages here.

Sounds to me like  you are saying you believe you are NOT covered if you send regular post and get a tracking number on the receipt.I'm jsut a private seller sellign off excess clothes etc - I dont have repalcements etc to send.

I think I am just going to stick to my current policy - state I will only post signed for, for the more valuable items, and send regular post for the cheapies

[curraone]

have you tried the ebay postage labels, or the click and send labels, they will cover you more

[elisabethau-2013 · Accepted solution]

Large letters do not have tracking (unles you ad signature on delivery and/or insurance).

Parcels do have an unique (more or less traceable) number. Now: I haven't had a PayPal dispute in a couple of years or so but just on the basis of observing discussion forums I believe that standard parcel is not enough for PayPal protection.Go into the buyers forums and research postings on PayPal disputes, you will find a number of specific examples where postage via standard Australia Post parcel was not sufficient to protect the seller.

Again: this is not necessarily consistent with what PayPal policy states and it is not based on my personal experiences. I think this is an important issue and perhaps we should create a new thread on specific personal examples.

I myself use a lot of large letters and (fingers crossed) did not have anything lost yet. I do give buyers choice to pay for extra protection. IMHO if you don't take it it's your choice and you should accept consequences. I assume that it would be a moot point in a PayPal dispute.

I have another ID under which I sell items of significantly higher value: I would never ever post something worth $500 as standard parcel. Majority of my items go via courier, whatever goes via Australia Post is SOD with extra paperwork and/or pictures showing full delivery address, not just postcode.

[clarry100]

Regular post large letters have no tracking at all and just go into the local street red post box.

Mostly we use 2x stamps, sometimes 1x for a thin (under 5mm) DL envelope or 3x stamps for larger envelopes where the item is over 125gms and up to 20mm in thickness.

That is why we have no seller protection when using that method.

[chameleon54]

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@kittinkaboodle wrote:

Ok - so now I am confused - I am getting mixed messages here.

Sounds to me like  you are saying you believe you are NOT covered if you send regular post and get a tracking number on the receipt.I'm jsut a private seller sellign off excess clothes etc - I dont have repalcements etc to send.

I think I am just going to stick to my current policy - state I will only post signed for, for the more valuable items, and send regular post for the cheapies

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Another option which will give extra paypal protection at no cost is to use the red and yellow lodgement reciept ( The same form as you use for registered post and insurance which you tick thge boxes for ) You can fill in the purchasers address, date etc.  and have the post office stamp it. This will provide proof of address and date of posting and would not cost anything. If you ask the AP staff they will give you pages or books of these reciepts to take home and fill in with each parcel. I dont use these myself but I know some ebayers use this system.