So for the last month or so while listing tons and tons of books I'd been seeing this message pop up on eBay saying that eBay will be "removing the shipping insurance option soon" and I thought that sounded great. I _thought_ they would be changing it so shipping insurance rate will automatically calculated based on the auctions final value like it always should have been (instead of requiring invoicing).
But nope. They are just removing the shipping insurance option. Totally.
Here is the message I got on my newest listings:
Does this make any sense to anyone? So now the seller is responsible after an item has been shipped now? Insured or not?? Are we supposed to hand deliver them??What you can do:
* You will still be able to insure you items.
* You can fold the cost of insurance into your item price or handling fee.
* You can indicate, ‘The item is insured” or “Handling fee includes insurance.”
What you cannot do:
* You cannot charge the buyer a separate fee for insurance, either in a listing or after the buyer has committed to purchase the item
* You cannot indicate insurance is only offered upon buyer’s request
* You cannot indicate you are not responsible for the item once it has been shipped.
"Fold the insurance cost into your item price" Christ, eBay would love it if everyone offered "free" shipping AND started putting another $1.75 in their item prices.
eBay has made a lot of stupid changes in recent times but, for me, this one tops them all. It just seems like an invitation for shady buyers.
I realize it is still possible to offer insurance on a different shipping option, but what a PAIN. Why the hell would they do this? I don't see the logic at all. Was there something wrong with the way eBay has handled insurance for the last 10+ years?