Any luck with USPS claim? (received damaged product)

They denied it. I provided proof of purchase and the value I paid but since it was second hand off a seller, they deemed the information I provided was insufficient. I’m hesitant to buy anything used off the forums, even from known sellers as I lost out on the entire purchase.

 

Yes I am hoping for better results. This was a product I manufactured so it was "new" and the buyer has both the paypal receipt for purchase of goods and the postal receipt. Time will tell. I cannot complain because I have shipped well over 500 packages and this was the first damaged during shipping. If nothing else it encouraged me to reinforce my packaging particularly for shipping to HI. Lesson learned.

 

Id the box is damaged and you suspect the item is damaged
do not accept it
Or return it to sender

 

In my case the buyer was not home when the package was delivered. One end of the box was torn open. 80% of the contents were missing. There were no signs of debris around the mailbox leading us to believe that is how the USPS delivered it. For anyone looking to steal something these would have zero street value beyond the aluminum scrap weight. If someone were to steal it they would have certainly taken the fasteners and instructions that showed the products actual use. So he received fasteners and an instruction sheet with nothing to fasten. We could not believe the post office would deliver something damaged so badly.

 

USPS agreed to pay my claim. This is great news and restores some confidence in USPS. Everything I make and ship is sent using Priority mail which includes $50 insurance coverage. My advice to anyone selling or buying is to always hand carry packages to the post office and have the item scanned at the counter and keep the receipt. I also have receipts from buyers in my PayPal account. When the buyer received an open package missing parts I emailed a copy of the USPS receipt. They took that receipt, a copy of the PayPal receipt and the damaged package to their local post office and initiated the claim. Since I bought the postage the claim is paid to me. Most of my shipments are valued under $50. In this case the package was valued at $63. I lost $13 plus I sent the buyer replacements and paid (lost) another $8 in additional shipping costs. The lesson learned for me is to pay the additional insurance for higher valued shipments. I am still very happy and the buyer is happy which is the important thing. So there is hope for others making a claim. KEEP ALL RECEIPTS.

 

There’s never a good lawyer when you need one.