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Hey Everyone,

I'm about to send out my end of a huge trade, about $600+ in aftermarket value of MTG for $600 of aftermarket value in 40k stuff. I'm thinking it might be worth it to Purchase Insurance. It's going to an APO address, not sure if that would make a difference.
It looks like the Max I can insure the package up to is $8, which will bring my total shipping costs to $17.42.


Do you purchase insurance on large trades? When do you think it's worth it?

Just curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

-BB

Personally, anything worth over $200 gets insured. I'd be highly jacked if I recieved a box of broken models, or a box of wet cards, and just for that extra few dollars, you can have some peace of mind, just in case.

That's my stance, anyway. Typically, I'm only sending high-value things due to ebay sales, so it's very worth it in that case, and in a situation like yours, I'd treat it the same way.

Insurance is near impossible to collect unless the package gets outright lost but I know if its going overseas USPS will not pay out if it was lost after it leaves the US. I am not sure how that applies to an APO. I would inquire about this.

Registered is a better option.

 Bi'ios wrote:
Personally, anything worth over $200 gets insured. I'd be highly jacked if I recieved a box of broken models, or a box of wet cards, and just for that extra few dollars, you can have some peace of mind, just in case.

That's my stance, anyway. Typically, I'm only sending high-value things due to ebay sales, so it's very worth it in that case, and in a situation like yours, I'd treat it the same way.

Oh really? I was more concerned about the package getting lost in the mail, but I guess damaged items can be a good case for insurance as well.

Yeah, I can only insure up to $500, but this is a huge amount of value @ 600, so I think I'm going to go ahead and do it. Thanks for the advice, Bi

I always get insurance unless the price of the thing I'm sending is so trivial that I wouldn't care if I have to give the buyer a full refund out of my own money. And since anything that cheap isn't worth selling that means every package I send has insurance. An extra $10 for insurance is a small price to pay to avoid the risk of losing all of your money.

I usually use insurance and pass the cost on to the buyer. If you're up front about the shipping costs they can take it or leave it. If it does get lost the seller will end up out of pocket and the buyer will expect reimbursement. Insurance protects yourself, not the package or the buyer.

 tenebre wrote:
Insurance is near impossible to collect unless the package gets outright lost but I know if its going overseas USPS will not pay out if it was lost after it leaves the US. I am not sure how that applies to an APO. I would inquire about this.

Registered is a better option.

Thanks for your insight Tenebre,

What's the difference between Registered and Insured? Does registered cover you overseas and what's the price difference?

To an extent it depends where you are

In the UK (and I think across the EU) a seller is responsible for the goods until they are actually delivered to the buyer, so if they go missing or get damaged you have to replace or refund

so insuring anything you are not prepared (or cannot afford) to deal with is the smart option, and insurance is for the sellers benefit (so in my case I'd choose an insured postage method for anything over $100)

From what I can gather in the US a sellers legal responsibility stops if they can prove the item was sent (not delivered), although some payment a seller could accept (like paypal) might give them more rights

so while you've got fewer legal obligations I'd still say insurance is smart

 tenebre wrote:
Insurance is near impossible to collect unless the package gets outright lost but I know if its going overseas USPS will not pay out if it was lost after it leaves the US. I am not sure how that applies to an APO. I would inquire about this.

Registered is a better option.

I was going to write that I had a different experience, but then I realized that I had been shipping to a US military base in Germany - so the rules are likely very different. (Also, it was the nineties... the rules were very different.)

More recently... nothing has been lost.

The Auld Grump

Just do what you think is right.

I've always hesitated, thinking that putting a label on the box that it is worth hundreds of dollars would make it a target... for instance, if I have $600 in models, and pay that much again to have them commission painted, I'm looking at $1200 total. Do I really insure it for $1K or even over? Just seems high, and chances of it getting lost low, so I've risked it... maybe I'll try insuring though if people haven't experienced any downsides to doing so?

pretty sure you cant insure anything fragile like glass etc, it is your own risk. So im not sure if that would apply to models.

In the case of commission i heard that you cannot insure value added. so you only get the base retail cost of the models, nothing for any of the painting (the painting is value added). Im with tenebre, would prob be a pain in the ass to collect anything.

and i feel that most of the time buyers asking to collect insurance are scammers who want free stuff. Just make sure you wrap it very well in bubble wrap and packing peanuts and make sure you get tracking so that the person cant claim it never showed up, this is the main one. maybe even get the signed for one - they have to sign off to receive the package. If they want to claim damage they will need to prove that with lots of pictures. and you would not be-able to claim a full refund unless every piece in there was smashed to bits.


edit-magic cards dont take up much space and could easily be placed into a hard plastic case. you don't need insurance for it IMO.

Darkzephyr wrote:

 tenebre wrote:
Insurance is near impossible to collect unless the package gets outright lost but I know if its going overseas USPS will not pay out if it was lost after it leaves the US. I am not sure how that applies to an APO. I would inquire about this.

Registered is a better option.

Thanks for your insight Tenebre,

What's the difference between Registered and Insured? Does registered cover you overseas and what's the price difference?

well registered is more expensive but is required to be checked in at every location (you will not lose a registered package). Its the most secure way to ship and also includes insurance. The advantage with registered is that it actually works overseas and tracking continues.

I have never had an issue with military posts though, they USPS tends to treat soldiers packages pretty well.

In the UK the Post Office is responsible for the goods once you and them in, but you need to get a proof of posting to be able to claim. This covers you up to I think £30. I have claimed under that rule.

If you pay for registered delivery the chance of a parcel going missing is dramatically reduced, and there is a higher level of insurance. If you want more insurance you can buy it.

The higher insurance cost is definitely worth it for very valuable items, especially if they are particularly fragile.

In the US anything you insure over $200 will require a signature. $200 and below does not.

The insurance number then becomes the tracking number as well.

I insure my packages every time. I don't want someone trying to demand their minis back because the Post Office screwed up.

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all your responses.

I did end up buying Insurance via Paypal for $8, since it was kinda part of our trade agreement, However, when I went to the post office, I asked if they covered it going all the way to the APO location. I was told by the post worker that it would ONLY be covered while inside the US. Registered insurance does sound like a betteer option, but also a good bit more expensive.

Also, when I bought insurance on this, there is no label indicating the value it's Insured for (at least not that I Noticed, however when they scan it, they might be able to see what it's worth).

Lastry, I appreciate everyone's responses about Seller buying insurance to cover their shipments, but in this case, we're just doing a huge trade.