I’ll start by saying this, UPS is an amazing service and if I could I would rely on it even more than I do. They packages typically arrive to the customers without issue or damage, but occasionally it’s out of your control that something arrives damaged.
So UPS itself is amazing except when you mix UPS with being a seller on Amazon.
Today is May 5th 2022, Amazon has been offering Sponsored Discounts for UPS shipping for all Amazon Sellers. These discounts have been going on for almost a month if not longer. The discounts I personally had seen were mind blowing. Typically UPS rates start around $7-8 USD. Amazon’s Sponsored Discounts were beating USPS rates by at minimum $0.30 to as high as $1.
This savings is NOT a bad thing for sellers and over time could save you hundreds of dollars, but are the unforeseen headaches after purchasing the label through Amazon’s Seller Central. In my opinion the headaches are NOT worth the extra savings.
Why do I say there is going to be potential headaches if shipping UPS through Amazon?
Unlike USPS, UPS requires the shipping labels to be purchased through an active UPS account. This account belongs to Amazon and NOT YOU.
When you have issues whether your item gets lost or damage. Amazon instructs you to open a claim straight with UPS. BUT in reality it doesn’t matter who opens the claim and under what account. In UPS’ eyes the claim belongs to the account holder who purchased the label which since purchased through Amazon Seller Central it’s purchased by Amazon and is connected to their account.
Why do I say this becomes an issue or a headache?
I currently have 3 open claims on items shipped through Amazon. These claims have come down to UPS paying the claims out, BUT instead of paying the claims out directly to the person who filed the claims. UPS is stating the claims are being paid out, but they are only being paid out to the account owner, thus being Amazon. So with this, UPS is telling me to talk to Amazon to get reimbursed for the claim. While Amazon is telling me it’s the responsibility of UPS to reimburse for the claims. They are both pointing fingers at one another.
Amazon’s Response To My UPS Claims Issue:
These claims are literally 1-3 months old with the 1st claim being made in February of 2022. Still no reimbursements and it’s going to be a fight to actually get reimbursed. Total owed to myself and my company is $950 so in reality this is no small amount.
Nothing good ever comes from things that are the cheaper option. If you want to save a few cents, but potentially lose a lot of money if you have issues. By all means, choose UPS.
Yes, you can have issues with insurance with USPS, but typically media mail, bound printed or first class the insurance through Amazon is usually U-Pic which handles claims without many issues.