Sold an item on ebay, damaged in shipment, what to do?

[Impper]

I sold a Bad Cat Leash on eBay. It was basically new. Anyway, I sent it out the other day and the buyer received it today, and part of the knob is broken. Otherwise, the unit seems to work (or so he says). I sent it via USPS Priority... buyer did not pay for insurance. Paypal currently has a hold on the funds, but they do this every time I sell something on eBay, and release the funds as soon as they confirm delivery.

My question to you guys is: What is my liability here? Am I protected from chargebacks? I specified that there would be no returns. The buyer seems like a cool enough guy... what do you guys think, partial refund? Or am I absolved in this case? He seems to think that USPS caused the damage.

 

[soldersucker]

The Whole Ebay/Paypal syndicate is such that you'd should have insisted on insurance for one but since you didn't you had better try to make it good with the buyer.Go to your E-bay hit "advanced search"next to regular search.Third column down on the left "members" get contact info input his user id.
You will get his address and phone number and he will get yours.Talk to him one on one and come to an agreement.Keep in mind he has the syndicate on his side and if you aren't nice he will yank you by your short and curlies and it will hurt.

 

[Guitar Josh]

SS is right, PP will usually side with the buyer.

I would offer to pay for a new knob and take care of the ordering and shipping. Seems like a small price to pay to ensure against a chargeback.

 

[GCDEF]

Try and order him a new knob. Shipping anything without insurance is, what's the word? Insane. Yeah, that's it, insane. Doesn't matter if the buyer pays for it or not. It's your responsibility to get him what he ordered. If it doesn't get there in one piece, it's on you. Your only possible out is if you have documentation from him specifically requesting you don't insure it, but even then I wouldn't count on it.

I just figure insurance into the shipping cost and don't make it optional.

 

[Smakutus]

You figure the insurance and tell the buyer how much it's gonna cost him. Don't give them the choice.

Jeff

 

[stratovarius]

I never ship a big ticket item without insurance. If the buyer can't live with the extra cost, then we just can't do business. I've gotten my rating dinged over shipping costs because of this, but that's life.

You got lucky this time. Do what it takes to make the buyer happy and chalk this one up to "lessons learned". Keep records of all correspondance just in case things get more complicated.

 

[Baloney]

offer to buy a new knob and make it good. Lesson learned.. ALWAYS GET INSURANCE TO PROTECT YOURSELF BECAUSE PEOPLE SUCK!!!!!!!!!!! and so does paypal ebay.

 

[GCDEF]

offer to buy a new knob and make it good. Lesson learned.. ALWAYS GET INSURANCE TO PROTECT YOURSELF BECAUSE PEOPLE SUCK!!!!!!!!!!! and so does paypal ebay.

In this case it was the shipping company that sucked. The buyer seems reasonable and ebay and paypal don't have anything to do with it at this point. If they do step in and side with the buyer, they'd be right to do so.

 

[svenhoek]

If you offered insurance and the buyer declined, then that responsibility should fall on him (assuming you packed well.) Sadly, the system is set against you. Best to talk it through on the phone. If he just didn't notice the extra charge for insurance, maybe you could split the cost. What's a knob go for anyway? $4?

 

[dayn]

Pack things right so they don't break.
Take a picture or two while packing of item and packing job.
Always get insurance.

NEVER use Paypal to pay someone off of eBay...you will get screwed.

 

[willhutch]

It is the seller's responsibility to make sure the item arrives safely. The seller is therefore on the hook even if the shipping company's screw up. The rationale for this is that the buyer has no way of knowing if the item was in good shape when shipped. It's the only way for the whole system of the internet market to work.

I've been on the losing side of this before.

 

[Julia343]

I insist on insurance when I ship something of value to someone. I include it in the S&H charges. Payable to buyer with photos at the shipping place being packed (e-mailed to buyer with the tracking number). I want nothing to do with that responsibility. anything wrong with it? damaged in shipping? file a claim. I'm out of the loop.

 

[mojocaster.com]

offer to buy a new knob and make it good. Lesson learned.. ALWAYS GET INSURANCE TO PROTECT YOURSELF BECAUSE PEOPLE SUCK!!!!!!!!!!! and so does paypal ebay.

we got bingo

 

[KRosser]

This only happened to me once, fairly recently. I sent a guy a pedal I knew to be working and in good shape and he says a knob got bent and is now intermittent.

The first thing I did was offer a full refund once I received the item back, including his shipping. Then he came back with, 'don't want to give up the pedal, I just want to be compensated for the damage so send me a $X and we're all good'.

I told him I wasn't going to just send him money, that he could give it to a local shop for repair and give me their number and I would pay them directly, no questions asked.

I never heard from him again.

I guess the knob straightened itself out.

 

[Member 995]

I guess the knob straightened itself out.

Sounds like you straightened the knob out.

 

[maccampbells]

I would ask for a pic. If it's damaged offer to send him $20 and a link to the knob. If he seems cool like he says it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[michael.e]

How did you pack the item? If a Leash gets damaged, it had to have had a very hard concussion inside the box.

There is a reason that Fedex is "supposed" to require 2" of packing material around an item.

I pack all of my items to survive a war, and the folks at Fedex know me and know that I do not relent on that rule.

If I ship from somewhere else, I do get asked to open a box and verify that it is indeed packed according to their shipping requirements. It is quite rare that it happens, but it has happened.

Again, can you describe how the item was packed by you?

 

[GCDEF]

I insist on insurance when I ship something of value to someone. I include it in the S&H charges. Payable to buyer with photos at the shipping place being packed (e-mailed to buyer with the tracking number). I want nothing to do with that responsibility. anything wrong with it? damaged in shipping? file a claim. I'm out of the loop.

As the shipper, the contract is between you and the shipping company. It would still be your responsibility to file the claim and settle up with the buyer.

 

[Gasp100]

I am going through the claims process with an ebay seller right now. He has filed the claim with UPS and I repacked the cabinet and they have picked it up. It's my understanding that most (if not all) of the communication will be between the seller and UPS, so I'm left hanging out for a while.
As I state in this thread, the seller has been VERY cool (as I would expect). But, there has been no mention of what happens if the claim is DENIED. He hinted to "returning the cab to me" if such is the case... is this fair? Do I need to do something to protect MYSELF if the claim is denied? I mean, everyone is saying it's the seller's responsibility to get the goods delivered with no issues. Please check it out and let me know what you think... this is no $4 knob either, it's a $500 Suhr Badger cab:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/523994&highlight=badger

I would expect the seller to at the least pay for a replacement speaker (the original is completey shot). But even then, the cab is damaged (I don't even think it can be repaired, would probably have to be replaced) and the drop on resale for the cab would be a big hit. Now I'm worrying again!

 

[madsr]

If there is any damage to the box you should inspect the contents before you let the driver leave, if the contents are damaged you must refuse the delivery and if at all possible take pictures of the box as delivered, and the damage inside.. these steps will guarantee a speedy resolution of the claim either way, and if determined that the item was improperly packaged the responsibility of reimbersement is on the seller.

This is precisely the reason shipping materials should be new and not re-used, re-used shipping materials almost always guarantee losing any claim. This is why I chuckle when guys say things such as "grab a box from a dumpster" and balk at what they deem to be "outrageous" shipping and handling fees, especially when the item is worth $500+. There is definitely a reason to use a professional packing service, they will assume responsibilty for the claim and if lost they will reimburse the shipper. FWIW