Anyone have a ballpark figure for the cost of additional protection? Is it worth it?

trust.no.1

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning to list one of my laptops on Ebay this coming week. From historic listings I believe I should get around £150 for it.

Having had a read of the board stickie I'm considering using Parcel2go for the courier. I notice that most of headline prices include protection of up to £20. I'm assuming this kicks in if the laptop is damaged in transit - but I'm not sure what applies (£20 or the declared value of £150) if the courier loses the item.

The cost of adding additional protection is not clear and it looks like you need to go through the booking process before a quote is provided.

So - does anyone have an idea of the typical cost of additional protection for an item valued around £150?

Thank you.

soolin

Personally for a £150 item I wouldn’t be adding a third party broker to the mix as they won’t tell you even if laptops are covered by the services they compare.

Go direct to the couriers . Check each and every one for laptops and find one that actually covers them, then do a dummy purchase for the weight size and value. 

Royal Mail carry laptops but you would need to use special delivery , up to 10kg would be £15.45 if bought online (you can buy the label on eBay and either drop it off for proof of postage or have it collected) 

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2023-04/royal-mail-our-prices-april-2023.pdf

do double check though that laptops are still covered as I haven’t sent one for years.

soolin

Just as an example Evri 

https://www.evri.com/news/check-before-you-send

do not cover laptops but you can send them but entirely at your own risk

”

Sending items we don’t cover

There are some items we simply don’t cover. Unlike prohibited items, we can deliver these things, but remember – you send them at your own risk. If they’re lost, damaged or late we won’t be able to offer compensation. We’re also unable to compensate for any damage they might cause to other items in your parcel.”  

“

• 
  
• Laptops, TVs and monitors.”

tightauldgit

If you put the details into Parcel2Go you will get a quote without having to go through the whole process. I just checked for you - parcel2go flagged up that laptops are NOT protected for damage when I put laptop into the description (you're only covered for loss). Protection for £150 was £8.99 + VAT so total postage was £16 (for Yodel)

 

soolin

Also look at the ebay options via packlink to get some comparison costs, but then also check with courier. I wouldn't be sending this totally uninsured at all.

UPS for instance over 2KG with just basic cover (no idea if laptops are included so would need to check) is £6.23  DPD £7.19 Yodel £5.21 etc.

As above though, I think sending without insurance at all would be a bad move.

martindow

soolin said:

As above though, I think sending without insurance at all would be a bad move.

I agree if this is a one off sale for a relatively high value, but it can be different if you regularly send high value items.  If you are sending dozens or hundreds the extra cost of paying for a more expensive carrier or extra to cover the additional value is likely exceed the losses.

I send fragile products worth a few hundred pounds each knowing that they are uninsured with the carrier.  I know that I am packing them well and take the risk of loss or damage.  In the last few years there has been one loss out of several hundred sent - this is far less than using something like Special Delivery adding several pounds onto the cost of each shipment.

soolin

martindow said:

soolin said:

As above though, I think sending without insurance at all would be a bad move.

I agree if this is a one off sale for a relatively high value, but it can be different if you regularly send high value items.  If you are sending dozens or hundreds the extra cost of paying for a more expensive carrier or extra to cover the additional value is likely exceed the losses.

I send fragile products worth a few hundred pounds each knowing that they are uninsured with the carrier.  I know that I am packing them well and take the risk of loss or damage.  In the last few years there has been one loss out of several hundred sent - this is far less than using something like Special Delivery adding several pounds onto the cost of each shipment.

I agree that a business seller might have a completely different business model, I often send items +£20 standard parcel on the basis that I can only claim the item cost and not the sale price if lost anyway. However, there is absolutely no indication in this question that OP is anything other than a private seller  with a one off item and I reiterate my comments that sending this without checking for appropriate insurance would be foolish. 

trust.no.1

Thanks for the replies evryone. Just let me confirm that I am a private seller (my reference to "historic lisitings" referred to my searching completed listings by other ebay sellers) so I have to weigh the cost of the additional insurance vs the risk of loss or damage by the courier while it is in their care. Royal Mail Special Delivery seemed to be the best option in my particular case as some couriers do not cover laptops as noted.   However I've just weighed the item and it comes in at over 7.5Kg!  It is literally built like a tank!

If a particular courier doe not cover laptops then clearly purchasing the insurance in that case  is pointless given that it won't pay out.

soolin

trust.no.1 said:

Thanks for the replies evryone. Just let me confirm that I am a private seller (my reference to "historic lisitings" referred to my searching completed listings by other ebay sellers) so I have to weigh the cost of the additional insurance vs the risk of loss or damage by the courier while it is in their care. Royal Mail Special Delivery seemed to be the best option in my particular case as some couriers do not cover laptops as noted.   However I've just weighed the item and it comes in at over 7.5Kg!  It is literally built like a tank!

If a particular courier doe not cover laptops then clearly purchasing the insurance in that case  is pointless given that it won't pay out.

AS its still under 10kg it would be covered by the £15.45 I mentioned earlier via Special delivery.