Did I do the right thing?

[Crackandpresstoan11]

If I was the buyer I would never in a million years demand $1.30 from you. It just seems very petty to me. Should I demand a refund from everyone who overcharges me for shipping? 99% of sellers on Ebay overcharge, and if I don't like the amount they charge, that's my problem. If you told me you forgot, and would pay for any damage incurred in transit, that would be fine with me. Too many other things to worry about than $1.30.

[BachelorOfComix]

As I've stated already, just because I didn't give the money to the post office doesn't mean his package wasn't insured. Someone said the buyer didn't have any way of knowing if I would have replaced the item. That should have been a problem if the package was lost or damaged, but until then it should not have been a problem.

My take: you should have refunded the money. The reasons have already been covered by others above.

 

Also, from now on in your auction descriptions you should state something to this effect:

 

"Add $1.30 for insurance which I WILL NOT purchase on your behalf. However, if your comic is damaged I will compensate you instead of the post office. If your comic is not damaged, I will pocket your $1.30 anyways".

 

 

[Joanna]

I really don't think too many buyers would really agree to eat the loss in such a case because the seller "claimed" to have forgotten the insurance. You are going to demand reimbursement because you paid for insurance, and the insurance will come from the USPS or the seller, you won't care which. C'mon, admit it.

 

 

Admit what? Of course the seller was liable for the package. He forgot to pay for insurance, so it automatically becomes his resonsibility. If the seller states up front that "Insurance is $1.30. Please note that this is NOT postal insurance. I'll be taking liability for any lost or damaged package and am charging $1.30 towards this liability personally", or words to that effect. If this is not stated, then the buyer rightfully assumes the $1.30 is going for postal insurance, not Joe Blow insurance. To make an informed decision, all the facts must be presented.

 

Some buyers might hesitate to pay for seller insurance, but would happily pay for postal insurance, because the latter is an established, trustworthy insurance carrier, while the former is an unknown quantity.

 

In this case, it was presented as postal insurance. The seller admits he made an error in forgetting to buy it. The buyer did NOT get what he paid for.

 

It's the same as advertising that you'll send it priority mail, but the package goes out media mail. Even if they both arrive within 3 days, the point is that you paid for one thing and got another, with the seller pocketing the difference. Bottom line: the buyer feels ripped off.

 

-- Joanna

[jonnydouble]

.

 

As I've stated already, just because I didn't give the money to the post office doesn't mean his package wasn't insured. Someone said the buyer didn't have any way of knowing if I would have replaced the item. That should have been a problem if the package was lost or damaged, but until then it should not have been a problem.

 

 

 

 

OK...from now on I'm going to offer Jonny Double insurance on all my E-bay shipping...even though I ship US Post, I'm starting my own insurance...I think I'll charge $1.50 per transaction....and if the Post office looses the package just make your claim to me...That's Jonny Double....your in good hands....

 

 

C'mon bud..you're wrong....and stubborn...you charged someone for a SERVICE not provided...he has no way of knowing you would have been good for it as opposed to a legitamite claim he could have filed with the post office if an occurrance happened.

 

Jonny D.

[jonnydouble]

I really don't think too many buyers would really agree to eat the loss in such a case because the seller "claimed" to have forgotten the insurance. You are going to demand reimbursement because you paid for insurance, and the insurance will come from the USPS or the seller, you won't care which. C'mon, admit it.

 

 

Admit what? Of course the seller was liable for the package. He forgot to pay for insurance, so it automatically becomes his resonsibility. If the seller states up front that "Insurance is $1.30. Please note that this is NOT postal insurance. I'll be taking liability for any lost or damaged package and am charging $1.30 towards this liability personally", or words to that effect. If this is not stated, then the buyer rightfully assumes the $1.30 is going for postal insurance, not Joe Blow insurance. To make an informed decision, all the facts must be presented.

 

Some buyers might hesitate to pay for seller insurance, but would happily pay for postal insurance, because the latter is an established, trustworthy insurance carrier, while the former is an unknown quantity.

 

In this case, it was presented as postal insurance. The seller admits he made an error in forgetting to buy it. The buyer did NOT get what he paid for.

 

It's the same as advertising that you'll send it priority mail, but the package goes out media mail. Even if they both arrive within 3 days, the point is that you paid for one thing and got another, with the seller pocketing the difference. Bottom line: the buyer feels ripped off.

 

-- Joanna

 

You're right on the mark Joanna...couldn't say it bettter.

[Warlord]

I do agree that the source of the insurance should be identified in the sales ad to prevent just this sort of situation (and this debate). However, if not stated specifically that it is USPS insurance or what, the buyer only paid for "insurance", not "USPS insurance".

 

Maybe I've been spending too much time with lawyers lately, scrutinizing wording in contracts. Because that's basically the case here - you've got a written contract that the seller will provide insurance for the package for a certain payment. If it doesn't say WHO (or what) is insuring it, it doesn't matter what the buyer ASSUMES. Insurance was offered, and the offer was accepted. The buyer would be entitled to seek reimbursement for damage or loss, and the seller would be on the hook to provide that reimbursement.

 

Well, that's my last $.02 on this $1.30 issue.

[THE_BEYONDER]

I'm just wondering how much you would pay to DELETE that NEG I bet it's more than the "cost" of "insurance".........

[Comicdave]

I am not doubting your integrity, as I'm sure you would have covered the loss, but I'm still not clear on what "principle" it was that prevented you from refunding the money. I would think principle would mean that you refund his money, if nothing else, as a courtesy for your mistake.

 

When he asked for the refund initially, I tried to explain my position to him, but based on his follow up emails, he appeared to be the type of person who gets his mind set on something and no matter how much evidence or reasoning you provide, will not change his mind. So the principle I was speaking of was that he didn't deserve the refund, because he was such a jerk. If he was more polite in requesting the refund, I may have refunded the $1.30.

 

Maybe I'm being stubborn myself, but the purpose of paying for insurance is in case the package is lost or damaged, you can get a replacement or refund. What difference does it make where that refund comes from? If a seller forgets to insure a package and that package never arrives, and then refuses to refund the money, that seller is a crook and should be avoided. Why is it so important that the money go to the post office? Don't they get enough of our money? If someone pays for insurance, I insure it through the post office. On the rare occasion I forget to insure a package, I basically become the post office as far as handling claims goes. Besides, have you ever had to make a claim to the post office? It's almost more pain then it's worth for small claims.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Was the buyer pleased with the item? At what point in the transaction did you leave feedback? How much would you pay to NEG him back?

[rob_react]

You should have apologized and offered to refund him his $1.30 as soon as the mistake was made clear. This is pretty cut and dried to me. The buyer paid for something. The buyer didn't receive it. The buyer rightly feels shorted.

 

I can dig up an email where I basically do back flips apologizing to a buyer for making the exact same error.

[Joanna]

Okay, Dave, let's try a different scenario, though I'm not sure this will work 100% in parallels, it's similar.

 

You see an auction for a book that claims to be a 9.6. A book is pictured in a CGC slab with the grade 9.6 on it. You buy it, knowing that yo're going to crack the slab to read it. In the mail you receive a raw book. it looks like a 9.6 to you, but dagnabbit, you paid for a CGC book!

 

The seller says, "I have a dozen copies of that issue, and they're all identical. I got one slabbed to find out the grade, and that's the one pictured, so you can see the grade. I never said the book you'd get was CGC'd, just that it was a 9.6, which I feel it is." And let's say in this case, were you to send it to CGC, it would get a 9.6.

 

Do you feel ripped off? After all, a grade is a grade whether it's from a good-grader seller or CGC, right? And in this case, it all worked out fine, because the grading was dead on.

 

But you didn't get what you thought you'd paid for -- a CGC'd book. You got a comic. You got it in 9.6. And you were going to crack teh slab anyway. But you didn't want a Joe Blow grade on a raw. You wanted an official grade from a company you trust (that you know has a high percentage of being correct in their grading). Despite the fact that you got what you were promised, it wasn't what you thought you'd paid for. It was misleading, promising something from an accredited grading company yet was really just a Joe Blow grade.

 

Would you feel ripped off?

 

-- Joanna

 

 

[Comicdave]

Was the buyer pleased with the item? At what point in the transaction did you leave feedback? How much would you pay to NEG him back?

 

I use Auctionworks and after shipping out packages I send out Item Shipped notices. All feedback is left at this time.

 

He never said in any of his emails he was unhappy with the transaction, only he wanted his $1.30 back. I knew he was most likely going to neg me, but I didn't feel he deserved the refund. As a reminder, this is what I wrote him;

 

If you want to leave me negative feedback, that's your perogative. But I think that would be very petty on your part, when you consider you bought an item of mine off ebay. You paid for it, I shipped it in a quick and timely matter. You received it in good shape. In my book that makes for a satisfactory transaction. But because I forgot to give the post office $1.30 you're unhappy.

 

As I said to him, I felt it would be petty to leave me a negative when in all intents and purposes the transaction was completed satisfactorily. Even if I hadn't left feedback already, i wouldn't have left him a negative, since he paid in a timely manner. I don't believe in retaliatory negatives.

 

I guess the consensus on this forum is I should have refunded the $1.30. Even though I don't agree, I will bough to peer pressure and in the future refund any insurance money, if i forget to insure a package.

 

Happy Now

 

[jkrk]

Here's my: Did I do the right thing?

 

I bought a comic graded by on E-bay for $900 a number of months ago. I had the book insured. The comic was packed with only a newspaper around the case and placed in a thinly insulated manila envelope. You get the idea. The CGC case I received was severely cracked but fortunately the comic was undamaged. I contacted the seller and asked him to refund fourty dollars so I could send the book to CGC and have it recased ($30 for round trip freight/insured

plus $10 for case replacement). I sent scans to the seller so he could see the damage. I had no problem if he checked with cGC customer service to make sure my story was real. The seller refused to pay for the recasement but was willing to take the book back for a full refund. I wanted the book and never considered returning the book. I really expected the seller to split the difference for the new case and would have accepted the compromise. I gave a negative feedback for the transaction detailing the problem. Upon later consideration I wondered if I should've left him a neutral since the book did show up. In ether case the readers could understand the problem. Other than non payments, this was the only negative feedback I've ever left. Did I do the right thing?

[Arty]

You should have apologized and offered to refund him his $1.30 as soon as the mistake was made clear. This is pretty cut and dried to me. The buyer paid for something. The buyer didn't receive it. The buyer rightly feels shorted.

 

well said, I agree 100%

 

 

 

 

 

 

[clarkkentdds]

Refund his money...He paid for a service you did not provide. This is a cut and dry situation...Because of your error you have HIS money!!!

[joe_collector]

Maybe I'm being stubborn myself, but the purpose of paying for insurance is in case the package is lost or damaged.

 

Sorry, but that's not the reason I buy insurance. I use it to keep those Postal Employees away from my package and ensure they don't kick it around too much. I don't see it as insurance against loss, but to create a buffer zone for them to handle with care.

 

I know many others feel the same way, and would also feel ripped off if no insurance was purchased, regardless if you'd refund the money or not.

[Comicdave]

Okay, Dave, let's try a different scenario, though I'm not sure this will work 100% in parallels, it's similar.

 

You see an auction for a book that claims to be a 9.6. A book is pictured in a CGC slab with the grade 9.6 on it. You buy it, knowing that yo're going to crack the slab to read it. In the mail you receive a raw book. it looks like a 9.6 to you, but dagnabbit, you paid for a CGC book!

 

The seller says, "I have a dozen copies of that issue, and they're all identical. I got one slabbed to find out the grade, and that's the one pictured, so you can see the grade. I never said the book you'd get was CGC'd, just that it was a 9.6, which I feel it is." And let's say in this case, were you to send it to CGC, it would get a 9.6.

 

Do you feel ripped off? After all, a grade is a grade whether it's from a good-grader seller or CGC, right? And in this case, it all worked out fine, because the grading was dead on.

 

But you didn't get what you thought you'd paid for -- a CGC'd book. You got a comic. You got it in 9.6. And you were going to crack teh slab anyway. But you didn't want a Joe Blow grade on a raw. You wanted an official grade from a company you trust (that you know has a high percentage of being correct in their grading). Despite the fact that you got what you were promised, it wasn't what you thought you'd paid for. It was misleading, promising something from an accredited grading company yet was really just a Joe Blow grade.

 

Would you feel ripped off?

 

-- Joanna

 

If the description didn't specifically say the book was CGCed even though it was shown in a CGC holder, I would probably email the seller first to verify if was graded or not. If I thought I was getting a graded book, I would email the seller about it. If he gave me the explanation you provided, I would come back with the fact that I wasn't getting the restoration check and ask for a partial refund.

[Bonds25]

There isn't any difference in who the money comes from, but the seller doesn't know if you're good for it or not. He knows the post office is. If you stated in the auction that you would not be buying postal insurance but would cover any loss yourself, that would be a different story. It's 30-1 against you, so just admit your loss and shut the hell up!

 

[fantastic_four]

There isn't any difference in who the money comes from, but the seller doesn't know if you're good for it or not. He knows the post office is. If you stated in the auction that you would not be buying postal insurance but would cover any loss yourself, that would be a different story. It's 30-1 against you, so just admit your loss and shut the hell up!

 

 

31 to 1. I'd be pissed and probably just leave the negative feedback without asking for the refund; I don't really give a rip if people leave undeserved retaliatory feedback. This whole "my feedback and the feedback of all my sellers must be perfect" paranoia is a major contributor to making the entire feedback system largely useless. Some of the biggest criminals on E-Bay have some of the best feedback!

[Comicdave]

Sorry, but that's not the reason I buy insurance. I use it to keep those Postal Employees away from my package and ensure they don't kick it around too much. I don't see it as insurance against loss, but to create a buffer zone for them to handle with care.

 

Well here's a situation I hadn't considered. At least you give a logical explanation for not getting what you paid for.

 

As I said earlier, I have seen the error of my ways and will vow to be a better ebay seller.

 

Gee, all this therapy and it didn't cost me a dime