I briefly explained the concept of Purchase Insurance so I could conduct a poll earlier this week. The results were positive, but ultimately inconclusive. If you would like to vote you still may do so here. The more support we garner the better pitch we can give to our prospective vendors.
Despite the results, our group feels that we are ready to take the next step, contacting reliable vendors and explaining the entire customer-end process. Just as we asked for in the previous post, "I would like you to assume that trust has already been established, and our dignity as a group is unquestionable." We have a comprehensive plan to build trust that is not relevant to explain at this point.
What am I getting with this insurance?
Initially, we are limited in what we can protect against. From the start we will protect every purchase against exit scams, which from now on will be referred to as either vendor or market collapses. All customers who put in a claim during what is believed to be a vendor collapse will be reimbursed after the collapse is confirmed. The confirmation process can take anywhere from 1 week to a month. In the occurrence of a market collapse all customers are asked to contact our group either by email or via another market, all impending orders will be recorded so we can properly reimburse the effected parties. We do not expect market collapses to impact the customer-end severely considering most orders will be shipped next-day.
In the near future, we would like to protect our customers against all forms of scams, along with lost packages. While exit scams are easy to prove, selective scamming and lost packages are impossible to prove, and the insurance for them is based solely in speculation. Because of this fact, we are holding out on this protection until we collect sufficient data on both vendor and customer ends. Customers may forgo data collection, but without the additional information this provides we will not be able to provide coverage for anything but exit scams. The data we collect from our customers is only linked to the username they use. The data we collect consists of total number of orders, total dollar value of orders, claims processed, claims denied, total dollar value of claim pay outs, along with specific order details, and anything else we consider relevant for speculating coverage.
I trust (vendor name), why should I pay extra for your service?
I don't blame you for asking that question, we trust (vendor name) too, and that's why we work with them. There are a couple of reasons for using our service however. The most obvious reason is for added security, if for some reason one our vendors does collapse then you can feel at ease knowing that we will reimburse you for your losses. An equally important reason is to build a profile with us, so we can better evaluate your claim if needed. Packages get lost or seized regardless of the stealth and packaging used. If you already have an extensive profile built with us, then we are more likely to process your claim and provide a larger pay out. If you are still not sold, and want to deal directly with your favorite vendor then we say go for it. You can always use our service exclusively for vendors you don't have the same level of trust with.
Process
Our supported vendors will maintain their listings, so if you opt out of the insurance process you will be able to conduct your business with these vendors normally. Our vendor page will host all of the products our vendors would like insurance to be available for.
When you purchase one of our listings, you PGP encrypt your shipping information using the original vendor's key. This way you can feel safe knowing that we do not collect your personal identity. From there, we purchase the listing on the original vendor's page, and we forward the encrypted shipping information to them. It's important to note that we use anonymous accounts to make these purchases, this is to dissuade vendors from trying to selective scam our organization, and to keep a double-blind standard for reporting and data collection purposes.
The premium for insuring your purchase will be included in our listing. The premium is percent-based and may fluctuate depending on vendor data. Our customers can expect approximately a 5% premium charge to secure their packages. We reserve the right to change this as needed, but the cost will always be upfront before the purchase is made.
FE Will Never Be Required
The claim process is simple, if you do not receive your package in a timely manner then we ask you to report directly to us. After a claim is opened we begin a dialogue with the vendor ourselves. Though we will not be covering lost packages immediately, we ask that you report all claims regardless! Every claim that is processed helps us build a profile for our vendors, so we can expect the rate of lost packages in the future when we support more claims. We also will not state when we begin accepting more claims, because this is subjective to the customer and the vendor profiles in question.
Final Thought
We want to be as translucent as possible. There is much more detail involved in our organization, but this is the extent of needed knowledge for our potential customers at this time. While we are relatively certain that our organization is irreplicable, we are still being cautious until our official launch, which can be expected within the next month. If you have any questions I'd be glad to answer them to the best of my ability below.
The business is a good idea on paper. But from being a good idea on paper to people wanting and trusting to use it is another deal.
I wish you the best of luck. I personally would never let my ordering go through anyone; insurance or not.