Business seller protection from eBay

[pegasuscards]

Hello everyone, I’d like to ask the experienced Business Sellers here — how do you deal with situations where the courier loses a parcel?

I switched from a private seller to a Business Seller in October. Before that, everything was sent via Simple Delivery, and as long as I posted on time, eBay would cover me. If a parcel was lost or damaged, eBay protected the seller.

But now, as a Business Seller, it feels like we get zero protection. Last month I had a parcel lost by Royal Mail. eBay ruled it as my fault. I called eBay, and they told me this is my own responsibility — they refunded the buyer but deducted the money from my account.

I’m really confused. How are Business Sellers supposed to handle this?

eBay expects us to buy our own shipping insurance, but that’s impossible in reality. Insurance can easily cost £10+ per parcel. Business sellers already pay much higher fees, make very thin margins, and often have to offer free shipping. How is it even feasible to add insurance on top of that?

I’m genuinely curious — what do you all do when a courier loses a parcel?

Do you just absorb the cost? Use specific couriers? Buy insurance for expensive items only? Or is there a better way to protect ourselves?

This whole system seems really unreasonable, so I’d appreciate any advice from the more experienced sellers. Thank you.

[jckl1957]

If you send by Royal Mail and the parcel gets lost, you need to claim against RM.

You don't need to take out separate insurance.  24 or 48 hour tracked cover the value of the items up to £75. For higher value items, you should use Special Delivery. I don't understand where you get the figure of £10+ per parcel.

Until early Summer, when Ebay fully introduced Simple Delivery, private sellers were not covered by Ebay and had to claim against the carrier when items were lost.

[john1297576]

While Royal Mail clearly give the amount of protection for each method of postage in booklet “Our prices”, it is up to seller to use the correct method to cover the value.

However with Couriers maximum compensation is usually only £20, so should be taken into consideration before using them.

As a seller it is up to you to quote on listings the correct cost of postage, whether you choose a fully insured method is up to you, but if you get postage cost correct, the buyer pays for insurance.

[ile136yz]

I've always use RM with the correct insurance cover.

If there is a problem with damage or loss, I refund the Buyer within an eBay's open case time limit and claim for the loss/damage off the RM. 

[tommystrezures]

As the seller it is your responsibility to chase the various carriers for the compensation. The contract for the postage is held by you and the carrier eg you bought it. As others have said its up to you to ensure you have the correct coverage/insurance etc.