Requirements for a successful insurance payout?

[elliott1]

So I sold something on eBay. It was under £20 so I sent it untracked. If it got lost, which it did, insurance would cover it. I sent screenshots showing the cost of sale, but the letters I got back from customer services wanted the cost of purchase. Luckily, I still had my invoice for the original purchase, but what if I didn't? Also, they refunded me the cost of sale rather than the higher cost of purchase, so it wasn't even necessary.

I didn't think they would fight over such a small amount. What do I need to cover myself to make a successful claim in the future? For example, say my purchase cost was £5 and my sale cost was £10. Would they refund me £5 or £10? Should be £10 given the example above, but I suspect it wouldn't be. What if the buyer is the one making a claim? Do they get the full £10? By that logic, it's smarter to have the buyer make the claim, unless the Mail says something like "ask your seller, we can't help here."

Secondly, what if there is no invoice? On Ebay, invoices are optional. Amazon will give you invoices from your first purchase, but Ebay won't even show your purchase history of a year ago. It makes me reconsider sending with RM. If I bought something on Ebay and sell it, and the worst happens, I won't have enough proof to get a payout, but will have enough for them to send a smaller amount if I have an invoice.

Finally, what if the item is gifted to me, and there's no invoice, cost or proof of purchase? What if I simply don't know the value? What if it's damaged? How do I calculate value, loss, etc? This is coming from a casual Ebay seller. I don't consider myself a business, but between choosing "business" and "personal" for my successful payout, I went with "business" as I didn't know the buyer. Are the rules more lax for "personal" options?

Here's what I think. Without an invoice, they can fob you off. With one, they'll pay out the lowest amount possible. Is this the same for all couriers? As cheap as Ebay is, seems there's more security in Amazon's permanent record of everything you've bought. As for damage, I have no idea how they would determine damage to, say, an electronic part that's fine on the outside but doesn't turn on. Seems it's for broken teapots.

[Snaggletooth]

I can’t answer most of your questions, but these might help a bit:

It has always been RM’s default position that the sender claims, because they hold the certificate of posting and more information on the packaging and the value. This also reduces the risk of fraud against RM;

The law on distance selling is clear that the buyer claims from the seller, which implies that the seller claims from the courier.

[elliott1]

I can’t answer most of your questions, but these might help a bit:

It has always been RM’s default position that the sender claims, because they hold the certificate of posting and more information on the packaging and the value. This also reduces the risk of fraud against RM;

The law on distance selling is clear that the buyer claims from the seller, which implies that the seller claims from the courier.

I see. Seems pointless to have "recipient" as an option for who can claim, then. Maybe if you had an uncooperative seller? But Ebay themselves would step in.

What about late delivery? Is that something only sellers can claim for, too? What's the remuneration? For buyers it's: return the item, partial refund (at seller's discretion), or nothing. Mostly nothing.

[Snaggletooth]

I see. Seems pointless to have "recipient" as an option for who can claim, then. Maybe if you had an uncooperative seller? But Ebay themselves would step in.

It's for situations which don't involve a sale. The only common example I can think of is if you left something in a hotel and the concierge posted it back to you, but the parcel went missing on the way: in this case, you as a recipient would be better placed to answer the questions about description and value.