[ebailey001]

First of all I appreciate UserAccessDenied for standing behind his lens even though this was not his fault. I have to get repair estimates as trading lenses does not give you an estimated value that the post office will accept. The inside packaging was good but there is evidence the box was mishandled I will be attaching pictures to the claim. I unfortunately did not get to sign for the package as it was left in my front porch. I hope this isn't to drawn out .

[r0ckstarr]

Hopefully, if the package showed outside damage, the other party took photos of it before opening. Then more pictures after opening, showing the packaging & lens inside to show how it was packed. These photos would go a long way to settle a claim. Since you paid for the insurance, you will have to make the claim. And yes, if it's shipped back to you before the claim is settled, that would probably void the claim.

This.

[MadMathMind]

The first time you attempt to claim insurance, you will see what everyone is saying. Pick the line you will hear, because you'll hear all of them:

"You have to wait six months after the delivery to make a claim."

"You need to file with the other post office, not us."

"We can't track whether it got there."

"We don't handle that, you'll have to appeal to the regional branch."


Postal insurance is a waste of money. You'll never collect on it. A friend of mine sold an old, rare trading (Magic) on ebay and it was destroyed or lost or whatever. Had the bill of sale to show it was worth $100. The post office decided it was worth the price of a pack of cards from a current set (which could not contain said card, being 10 years too new), a product that sells for $3.29. That was his reward after three trips to the post office.

---------- Post added 02-05-16 at 08:15 PM ----------

Next time when insuring, make sure to add double shipping cost as in case of lose the first shipping cost will not come back to you.

They won't give you that unless you can prove the price of the item includes that. In this way, you can't insure a box of socks for $500 and then collect more than $10 or so when they lose it.

[klh]

The first time you attempt to claim insurance, you will see what everyone is saying. Pick the line you will hear, because you'll hear all of them:

"You have to wait six months after the delivery to make a claim."

"You need to file with the other post office, not us."

"We can't track whether it got there."

"We don't handle that, you'll have to appeal to the regional branch."


Postal insurance is a waste of money. You'll never collect on it. A friend of mine sold an old, rare trading (Magic) on ebay and it was destroyed or lost or whatever. Had the bill of sale to show it was worth $100. The post office decided it was worth the price of a pack of cards from a current set (which could not contain said card, being 10 years too new), a product that sells for $3.29. That was his reward after three trips to the post office.

---------- Post added 02-05-16 at 08:15 PM ----------



They won't give you that unless you can prove the price of the item includes that. In this way, you can't insure a box of socks for $500 and then collect more than $10 or so when they lose it.

You missed "our records show package was delivered". And when you try to speak with someone, there is no way to connect to a live person who can help.

[UncleVanya]

I sent a package to Canada for a sale not too long back. The package showed not less than 5 times that it had been delivered. And then suddenly status would change. At one point it was showing in the city of destination... only to show back up in the US at the origin point. Very weird stuff.

Grain of salt should be taken...

[Na Horuk]

I am just going through something similar, but international shipping in Europe, not USPS.
Basically, you want the person who received the package to fill out forms. You also want to collect as much evidence as possible:
- photos of damaged received package
- photos of package as it was sent (before damaged)
- witnesses (who has seen you pack the lens, who has seen the lens function normally, who has seen the package being opened)
- copies of the shipping and warranty receipt/bill
- copies of the original receipt of the item (lens) and examples of how much this item is worth in store at the moment (screenshots of webstores, I guess) - here it depends on how much value you insured it for. If you insured the package for a higher value than its in-store value is now, then don't mention that part. If you insured it for a low value, then let them know the value is actually much higher than the insurance, and that you want to get at least the full insurance.
- insurance-form or at least statement from the recipient (note: you do not want to come across as buddies. Tell USPS the recipient demands refund and that it is the Post's warranty responsibility and that you don't want to wait until legal action is taken or be forced to take it yourself. Make them see that the situation is or will get serious)
- find out exactly who handles these warranty claims, and write to them, and their boss.
- read up on their process. Over here, there are international post rules, where it clearly states how to handle situations and how long each stage of the process may take (wish I read up on this earlier, in my case)
- don't lose hope, keep calling.

Of course, this advice has not been tested in your country, so it is far from 100%. Good luck!

[UserAccessDenied]

Ok, I just wanted to touch base with everyone and leave the final result in case people come here as a point of reference in the future...
@ebailey001 submitted the claim for the damaged lens with USPS. I'll let him go into more detail if he wants but seems they cut a check for repairs and actually gave more than the estimated repair cost. This all happened within 30 days of claim submission...

What a relief this wasn't drawn out for months as some members have suggested!

Thanks again for all the support and advice PF community!

Cheers!