Self Insurance

[missionpawsible]

Hello,
Anyone out there using self insurance for shipping? I am not sure where to start googling to find companies that do this, need info asap.

Thanks so much!

Tee

[TigersandDragons]

Self Insurance is when you charge a little big extra on the item price or shipping price and then you save that money to cover the few times you will have to replace a lost/damaged shipment.

There are 3rd party insurers like InsurePost (owned by ShipInsurance)
http://www.insurepost.com/Default.asp

Page 110 of this thread has good information on how to use InsurePost:.
www.etsy.com/teams/7654/etsy-international/discuss/6779956/page/110
Any more questions about InsurePost?
go to this blog that has compiled a list of topics from this thread
sproutluv.com/noted/etsy-canada-post-shipping-superheroes-luv-and-t...

Then scroll down to INSURANCE, then InsurePost and there are links to some exact pages in the Canada Post Shipping Thread where Insure Post is discussed.

I would suggest you self insure low value parcels, and use a 3rd party insurer only when shipping higher value shipments (you decide, many sellers insure orders that are valued $50, or $75, or $100) or on transactions you are concerned about, countries that have a poor reputation on postal service (example Italy).

[Former_Member]

Yes, I 'self insure' for many of my items.

Its not worth it to me to pay additional for insurance on many of my items, especially since the cost of the insurance would probably eat up any of the profit on the item.

So instead, I simply put a few pennies aside from each purchase so that I have some extra funds in the unlikely event that a package may go missing and need to be replaced.

I do purchase third party insurance on the larger valued packages though just to be on the safe side.

[missionpawsible]

Yes the cost of insurance would eat up any of my profit. I'm selling a $2000 bronze elsewhere, thought I'd get the insurance info, then apply it to my shop. My concern is that my items are really OOAK,I wirework, metal work, however I have bought lampwork and pottery components from other Etsy shops. I'll just have to jump in and if something goes wrong work it out with the customer. No tracking, insurance or signature, it all feels like a big bomb in the making. We have such a disadvantage over US sellers!

[FlameOnGlass]

Unless it is a big order, I always self insure.

[TigersandDragons]

Well, if you are shipping more expensive items, then you can choose Tracked Packet (postal insurance limit is $100) or Expedited (you can add more insurance from Canada Post). I believe there is a discount on these services if you have a Venture One Card, or buy postage from Paypal or Etsy.

But only a small amount of parcels go missing, so if you add, 50cents-$1 to your shipping (or price of item), that money can be saved to cover the rare problem.

Try not to use the word "jewellery" on your customs form, so that it is less tempting to thieves. "Fashion accessory" is better. I write "metal ornament" on mine.