Is Banggood insurance worth paying for?

I totally agree with raccoon city. :+1:

According to banggood.com forums it has something to do with refunding lost/defective products and the need to return an item when defective or something like that, so i rarely choose insurance except in very expensive products (> $ 100).

Never paid the insurance. Use same methods as RC.
But I really never bought anything over $80 from them.
I do get tracking if its a dollar or less and sometimes points will cover that expense, so its still kinda free.

I’ve probably ordered from Banggood around 15 times and never bought insurance. All of the orders were $10-$40, I used paypal, and all arrived except one (I think it was a $10 Lumintop flashlight). They shipped another flashlight at no charge a day after I contacted them about the missing shipment. Not sure what they do on more expensive items that go missing.

Never paid for insurance
Never didnt receiver package
So, imo, it’s not necessary, but who know what will happen

Personally, No.

Don’t get what I pay for as described in new working order, They don’t get to keep my money.

I have paid for insurance a few times as from experience when I have paid it the package arrives much faster, might be coincidence but it’s happened every time.

Nope, if paying by Paypal it’s the seller who is responsible until the buyer receives it. No need for their insurance as it’s at their risk not yours.

Same as Raccoon City, NO!

/\ …… What he said, NO. …… /\

No. That insurance is for them, not me. When I pay with Paypal and credit card, the vendor has to make things right whether they want to or not. When I sell things online, I factor insurance into the total price, at least if you count occasionally self insuring.

Very good points! From hereon, I wont avail of the insurance anymore

The no’s have it!

^ I agree with ALL points here. When I sell I either self insure or buy insurance. I think it’s utter BS for ANY vendor to offer insurance as a paid option. In a sense why am I paying to buy insurance for their benefit?

In my opinion banggood is not worth buying from. So, the question of insurance is superfluous.

Not to invite a thrashing…just sharing my thoughts on insurance. I’ve read the reasons not to pay for it and they all make sense. I agree…when you order, you should expect delivery. That’s the contract you’ve entered into.

The problem arises when other parties handle your package. Banggood or Gear best turns your package over to a 3rd party, the 3rd party causes damage or loses it. Without insurance either company could say…“make a claim with the shipping company…”

If one has paid for insurance (usually a dollar or 3) it seems to me you could have additional leverage directly over the company. You have paid a few dollars extra EXPRESSLY for the company to make it right. It also could seem as a token of ‘respect’ (when dealing with a customer service rep…not a small issue for an overseas company). You have cared so much for your shipment and wanted their product so bad that you have given them a few dollars more to insure you receive it and in good condition. I think it could also be a good card to play if a company needs to make something right. How could a company in good faith refuse a claim after you have paid for insurance? (not that they couldn’t/wouldn’t try…)

I understand and am in favor of holding a company’s feet to the fire for bad service and a company will live or die based on their ability to provide satisfactory service.

However, I have no problem paying a few dollars more for insurance. It does give me ‘peace of mind’ (perhaps falsely). I think it adds to your hand if you need to make a claim. I consider it AMAZING one can make a few clicks on the computer and have something shipped from the other side of the world—from one of the most chaotic places in the world (I would love to see a video of banggood preparing and shipping their orders for the day and the Chinese logistics involved) and the mailperson drops its on your door in 2-3 weeks! This is a fairly recent development in technology. We weren’t clicking buttons to have fidget spinners and squishies mailed to us for free a few years ago…if a company can make a profit sending me a $10 flashlight from China with free shipping…God bless them! I don’t mind chipping a few more pennies into that pot.

I am also sure such companies have to finance the anticipated losses they no doubt incur. No company wants a transaction to go bad. Vendors that ship must lose tens of thousands (if not more) to shipping mishaps every year. When you pay insurance, it goes into an account to pay for those losses. Maybe I pay insurance and my stuff arrives OK. I have paid extra money for a service I didn’t need. But that money will/can go to help the company pay other claims for other people. If my $3 helps to support a system for the company to do right by others, I am fine with that too. That’s how insurance works. Does one bemoan the unused fire extinguisher in their home? No one buys a fire extinguishing HOPING they have to use it! Ideally…a fire extinguisher is ALWAYS a waste of money and is never used!

Many people…probably at least DOZENS and many vehicles are required to produce, handle and send your package. If my extra $3 can help keep that process viable and maybe puts some more money into the hands of underpaid workers then good karma for me.

^ Thank you very much ManWithoutShadow for the effort you put in this post. It seems that legally vendors are responsible for the package to arrive safely and insurance is not necessary if purchased via PayPal. Because you have a certain right does not mean you should/must exercise that right. I tend to think the way you do. Of course to each his own. :sunglasses:

It might pay for the peace of mind if you’re buying something pricey (eg, >50bux), to avoid headaches in case it goes missing. But for cheaper items, it’s in the company’s own best interest to just make good on it, else the negative press associated with “I got screwed! I never got my package and they told me too bad!” can hurt them lots more than the cost to just require some kind of “proof” and make good on it.

For really cheapcrap like flash-sales for a few bux, it definitely is in their best interest to just oil the squeaky wheel and make him go away, especially if ha hangs on and makes a bigger and bigger stink. Initiating a chargeback by credit-card, or dispute via paypal, is probably more of a hassle for them to deal with defending their position vs just folding. Then there’s the negative press again… :smiley:

But wasn’t it DX which started to go downhill, to the point where people were warning others away from them? Forgot the history, but some company was always great, started sucking pretty bad, and all but got s’canned.

Buying a phone-holder or pocket-clip for 99¢ on a flash sale, and then paying 3bux for shipping and another buck-fitty for insurance, just doesn’t make sense. So you pick the free-shipping option, and if you don’t get it, either eat it yourself, or yeah, ask them to make good. Most times it’s worth it for the company to make the person goway by refunding the buk he paid than by fighting tooth’n’nail to hang on to that lousy buk.

But yeah, you wanna buy an Imalent for 90bux, you really wanna take a chance it gets lost and you lose all that? Chances are shipping will be much more reasonable, and insurance will buy that peace of mind.

ManWithoutShadow, that’s admirable. At this point I’ve lost faith in those companies to do right without a fight. If I have to fight for what I paid the seller for twice, with the original payment plus insurance, then I’d rather use the insurance inherent in Paypal. Now if there was third party insurance that I could claim without requiring compliance from the seller, then I’d be willing to use that occasionally. The only good way I can think of that happening is if Paypal, or a Paypal substitute, offered that. I won’t do it all the time though, and sometimes I’ll be petty like when BG didn’t find a way for the people on the list to get their lights first. Sadly, losses are a part of business that good businesses account for, and bad businesses are going to find a way to fail even with generous buyers subsidizing their losses.

I was a bit disingenuous earlier. It is possible for the recipient to file a claim, but the process is unreasonable outside of B2B deals. If consumers are going to do that, the process needs to be much more straightforward.

Not a chance.