OT:Item damaged while shipping..who is responsible?

[FlamingCarrot]

Last week, I sold a comic to a fella in Australia. He didn't pay for insurance. I packed the comic up nicely and shipped it off (never had a problem with a comic being damaged before). He sends me an email saying the comic was beaten up during the shipping process and wants a refund or adjustment on the price. Any opinions on how I should go about settling this would be appreciated. Also, I already left positive feedback for the guy and would prefer not getting my first neg.

[nik]

Personally, it doesnt matter if he bought Ins. or not. I would ask him to send the book back and issue him a full refund.

 

Also take into consideration I am not a dealer, and do not have hundreds of transactions a month.

[tilleycs]

Since he CHOSE to not buy insurance, you are not responsible for how the postal system handled his comic. That's what insurance is for.

 

That's from a practical/protective perspective. It's up to you, but technically, since he chose to not get insurance, you're not responsible for how the package was handled, as long as you packaged it well.

 

Can he send you a scan/picture to prove this?

[FlamingCarrot]

I asked for a photo of the damaged box/comic. Haven't heard back from him yet.

 

It'd be one thing if I sent the comic off in a crummy envelope w/o any padding, but I made sure to package it securely. I'm curious as to how badly the PO was able to damage a box with padding, as to affect the contents inside it.

[Underdog]

Never leave feedback til the customer does so that you know he is satisfied (guess you already figured that out).

If you gave him the option to insure and he chose not to, that's his fault. If you didn't give him the option, well, that kinda makes it more difficult.

I can only say that if it's me, I'd ask him to return the book and that I will refund him fully upon receipt (minus return shipping). At least you'd know if it was the same book! I don't believe in partial refunds. Either the person is happy with the purchase or he isn't.

Just my opinion.

[FFB]

I asked for a photo of the damaged box/comic. Haven't heard back from him yet.

 

It'd be one thing if I sent the comic off in a crummy envelope w/o any padding, but I made sure to package it securely. I'm curious as to how badly the PO was able to damage a box with padding, as to affect the contents inside it.

 

This is the key to the answer to your question, IMO. If you packed it securely in a box and he didn't pay for insurance, it's his problem. If you packed it like garbage, then it's your problem whether he paid for insurance or not. Just my two cents.

[BassGMan]

This has happened to me a couple times before. Whether the buyer was being truthful or not, I don't know. Regardless of who has rights, or who is wrong, sometimes (in my opinion) as a dealer you just have to give the benefit of the doubt and bite the bullet. Luckily this doesn't happen often, but when it has, I have given the buyer the option of a full refund after receipt of the comic, or a partial refund to make up for the damage, regardless of if he chose to buy insurance or not. BUT, this has not happened to me with real big dollar books where insurance would have been mandatory. ---Sid

[12cents-migration]

The buyer may not have chose to insure it as it might not have been available to him as an International buyer. I know from experience that depending upon the size of the packages I send from Canada, sometimes insurance is available and sometimes it isn't. It has to fit into at least the small package size and some packages don't make it into that category therefore insurance to another country isn't available.

 

I also know that items sent to me in Canada from the US also have that same distinction as some sellers tell me insurance wasn't available although I've been lucky so far and never needed it. (Knock on wood.)

 

I don't know if this is the case or not here but I thought I'd at least mention it.

 

I truly believe in Karma and what goes around comes around so I always try to be nice to other people and in cases such as this I would want to be able to send the comic back and ask for a full refund. I would do that as a seller without hesitation and would want the same treatment.

 

That's my 12 cents.

[FlamingCarrot]

I worked it out with the buyer. We decided to split the difference. I saw the picture of the damage and rather than have him send it back to me and further wasting money on the PO, we both eat the cost equally.

[TLC55555]

I asked for a photo of the damaged box/comic. Haven't heard back from him yet.

 

It'd be one thing if I sent the comic off in a crummy envelope w/o any padding, but I made sure to package it securely. I'm curious as to how badly the PO was able to damage a box with padding, as to affect the contents inside it.

 

This is the key to the answer to your question, IMO. If you packed it securely in a box and he didn't pay for insurance, it's his problem. If you packed it like garbage, then it's your problem whether he paid for insurance or not. Just my two cents.

 

Agreed. If you did pack it well and he didn't want insurance, it's his problem. If you packed it poorly, ask for the book back and give him a refund.

[BassGMan]

The buyer may not have chose to insure it as it might not have been available to him as an International buyer. I know from experience that depending upon the size of the packages I send from Canada, sometimes insurance is available and sometimes it isn't. It has to fit into at least the small package size and some packages don't make it into that category therefore insurance to another country isn't available.

 

I also know that items sent to me in Canada from the US also have that same distinction as some sellers tell me insurance wasn't available although I've been lucky so far and never needed it. (Knock on wood.)

 

I don't know if this is the case or not here but I thought I'd at least mention it.

 

I truly believe in Karma and what goes around comes around so I always try to be nice to other people and in cases such as this I would want to be able to send the comic back and ask for a full refund. I would do that as a seller without hesitation and would want the same treatment.

 

That's my 12 cents.

 

For some reason USPS Global Priority (which is how I like to ship internationally) cannot be insured. But USPS Airmail Parcel Post CAN be insured. Why the different rules is beyond me but that is probably why some sellers have offered insurance and some not.

[DiceX]

In order to prevent this problem from ever happening, I never, ever, ship a package without insurance.

I list the shipping charge in the auction as being insured, and say it is not negotiable.

But this doesn't help you now.

 

Did you offer insurance and he refused to pay for it?

If you offered it as an option, you are not responsible. You could choose to chalk it up to experience and give the guy a partial refund to prevent from getting a negative.

If you did not offer it, I think you are responsible, and should give the buyer a refund if he can provide a picture of the damage.

 

Either way, never sell without insurance in the future. It protects the buyer as well as yourself.

[FlamingCarrot]

The insurance was optional. The buyer did not pay for the insurance, but in the future, I'm going to make insurance mandatory.

 

The charge for insurance for Airmail Parcel Post was something like $8 more. The price of the item was only $50.

[DiceX]

The charge for insurance for Airmail Parcel Post was something like $8 more. The price of the item was only $50.

 

Not your problem.

[Underdog]

Insurance was $8.00 for $50???

I work at the Post Office and I assure you someone has told you wrong.

The charge for that would be $1.85.

Who told you it was $8.00?

[tay666]

Insurance was $8.00 for $50???

I work at the Post Office and I assure you someone has told you wrong.

The charge for that would be $1.85.

Who told you it was $8.00?

 

It was shipped to australia.

[scottish]

Insurance was $8.00 for $50???

I work at the Post Office and I assure you someone has told you wrong.

The charge for that would be $1.85.

Who told you it was $8.00?

 

It was shipped to australia.

 

Shouldn't matter. I shipped and insured a package for 50.00 TODAY to England - 1.85 as was previously mentioned.

[DiceX]

Insurance was $8.00 for $50???

I work at the Post Office and I assure you someone has told you wrong.

The charge for that would be $1.85.

Who told you it was $8.00?

 

It was shipped to australia.

 

Shouldn't matter. I shipped and insured a package for 50.00 TODAY to England - 1.85 as was previously mentioned.

 

It cost you $50 to ship it?

[scottish]

Insurance was $8.00 for $50???

I work at the Post Office and I assure you someone has told you wrong.

The charge for that would be $1.85.

Who told you it was $8.00?

 

It was shipped to australia.

 

Shouldn't matter. I shipped and insured a package for 50.00 TODAY to England - 1.85 as was previously mentioned.

 

It cost you $50 to ship it?

 

No, the 1.85 was for coverage of 50.00 - sorry should have been a little more specific there. The package itself cost 16.00 For 10.9 frickin oz!

[FlamingCarrot]

I forget the exact specifics, but it went like this. The shipping to Australia was $16 for Airmail Parcel Post (3-5 days?). If I wanted to insure the package, I was unable to send it just Airmail Parcel Post, but had to send it under a different option, which was $23 and change for the same amount of time.