How do I ship items with authenticity verification?
Summary: marcopolo121212 sold a valuable item on eBay requiring authenticity verification but was concerned about organizing secure shipment to the verification center, as eBay doesn't provide prepaid labels for this category. They were unsure how to ensure adequate insurance coverage during transit usually limited to €500 for valuables. petersmodellbahnstuebchen suggested looking for value transport services, and sunrise1605 recommended using a value transport service offered by a specific company through eBay. marcopolo121212 realized the costs for this service were higher than expected. hasjana pointed out the seller's responsibility to account for shipping processes and costs. Other participants discussed the nuances of eBay's shipping rules, including issues seen with inadequate shipping methods leading to significant losses. marcopolo121212 acknowledged learning important lessons about shipping high-value items securely.
Sold an item with authenticity check for the first time – How do you handle insured shipping to the verification center?
Hi everyone,
today I sold my first higher-value item (real jewelry / gold chain) on eBay. In general, I’m super happy about the sale, but now I’m facing an organizational hurdle when it comes to shipping to the eBay verification center, and I’m hoping for your experience.
For the category I chose, eBay doesn’t provide me with a prepaid shipping label. That means I have to organize, pay for, and insure the transport to the verification center myself. All eBay requires is that the shipment be sent with tracking and signature upon delivery, and adequate transport insurance is strongly recommended. In addition, the virtual tracking number (eVTN) must be indicated on the parcel.
After doing some research, however, I ran into a problem:
As far as I know, standard parcel services like DHL classify precious metals and real jewelry as valuables class II, which are normally insured only up to €500 – optional additional insurance usually doesn’t even apply to these valuables according to the terms and conditions. That would mean any loss on the way to the verification center would be entirely on me.
So my questions for the experienced sellers among you:
How do you handle this “problem” or which shipping provider do you use in such cases?
How do you secure the value of your high-priced sold item?
Are there any special things to watch out for when filling out the label or when dropping it off at the verification center so that the eVTN and the signature on handover are processed smoothly?
I want to make sure the item arrives at the verification center fully protected without falling into an insurance trap.
Thanks in advance for your advice and practical tips!
lidor3073
·1 month agoHello,
This is what eBay writes on its site:
https://pages.ebay.de/echtheitspruefung/faq/
However, I can’t find anything there about additional insurance.
roter_rauch
·1 month ago… there’s guaranteed to be the usual rules hidden somewhere: up to €500, no precious metals, etc.
But such woo-woo wording is not ideal.
marcopolo121212
OP1 month agoI sent you a short, personal message.
I’d be very grateful for a short reply
roter_rauch
·1 month agoI can't open it, nothing happens when I click on direct messages (or categories/subscriptions). But I did reply to "public" earlier. ;-)
roter_rauch
·1 month ago@lidor3073 Found the mistake. Apparently eBay does actually provide a prepaid label, but not for jewelry/precious metals. It’s categorized as "FAQ for clothing, shoes & sneakers and handbags & accessories".
Now I also know why the assumption keeps cropping up here that eBay would cover the shipping … yeah, sure, but just not always.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month agoHey @marcopolo121212
Try googling the search term Werttransport. You're sure to find something there.
Best regards from the Baltic Sea
Peter
marcopolo121212
OP1 month agoDear Peter,
Thanks for your quick reply. Of course I'm aware that there are value transfers - however, I'd be particularly interested in how experienced members handle it. So which shipping provider they choose, which ones they've had good experiences with, how much you need to budget …
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month agoHey @marcopolo121212
no problem, but unfortunately I can’t help with that myself, since I don’t sell anything in that price range.
Best regards from the Baltic Sea
Peter
marcopolo121212
OP1 month agoAll right, thanks anyway!
Hopefully someone who has already done this will chime in
sunrise1605
·1 month ago@marcopolo121212
If Ebay hasn’t changed that again, you can even book a value shipping here via Ebay from the company Intex.
I think they’re pretty good, I always like to recommend them.
marcopolo121212
OP1 month agoAhh okay, thanks! However, for my package (up to 1kg - value of goods €1800 - no extras booked), I'd have to pay €47 .. is that normal? I was pretty shocked by the price, especially since eBay doesn't pay that either and the buyer won't reimburse me either
hasjana
·1 month ago@marcopolo121212
but that the buyer doesn't pay for that is on you - you're responsible yourself for finding out, before listing offers, how and with whom the item can be sent properly insured
... apart from the fact that at the item price you're probably hardly making a loss if you send it by insured transport and pay the extra costs yourself
roter_rauch
·1 month agoThere are only a handful of shippers that even offer this for private individuals, maybe half a dozen. Just compare them! Galle seems cheaper to me, for example; I've already shipped something with them.
The price is generally based on the value of the goods for all of them.
The alternative would be to only offer pickup.
There are no other options in domestic shipping with liability coverage to that extent.
wertvolles-guenstig
·1 month agoUnfortunately, Ebay does not explain the issues involved in shipping valuables of class 2 (jewelry and watches) adequately, if at all. We recently had the purchase of a watch for over €5000. The private seller printed a German Post label through Ebay and sent the watch to the authenticity check with it - the shipment was therefore completely uninsured. The watch could not be delivered there and, according to the tracking, has disappeared into the German Post’s nirvana to this day.... We got our purchase price back via Ebay, but the buyer is left out in the rain..... According to the seller, there was no indication of the shipping method. A value shipment can only be done through special companies and, of course, costs accordingly.
Why should Ebay also cover the costs for the transport to the authenticity check for private sellers? After all, the seller does not pay a cent in sales fees and is responsible for shipping themselves.
sunrise1605
·1 month agoYou know, they come all the way to your place, pick it up, and only deliver the shipment to the recipient against signature, no drop-off, neighbor, or anything like that. That’s a service that costs something too, setting aside the risk of loss.
If you specify a corresponding shipping method in your listing, you don’t pay anything for it at all.
I would, for example, as a buyer with items of that value really make sure that the seller has informed themselves about shipping such items beforehand and ships accordingly.
As in the example mentioned ...... how am I supposed to put a €5000 watch in a regular package.
Honestly, you really can’t be that clueless.
I should spend 5 minutes thinking about it with items of that value.
How does the sale go, where are the pitfalls, how do I pack it, how do I ship it.