How would you deal with this eBay problem?

Aethelred

At the end of January I sold a coin via eBay to a buyer in Germany for about $65. The buyer did no ask for or pay for insurance coverage on this coin. I shipped the coin by Global Priority mail. The buyer states that he never received the coin, but has not as yet asked for a refund. I have left feedback for him on eBay, but he has not left any for me.

I do feel like I fulfilled my obligation to this buyer. I mailed the coin he won, said coin was properly described and graded. The coin was mailed via the method the customer paid for, he did not ask for or pay for insurance and as such did not get it. Contained within the terms of my auction is a discussion of the optional nature of insurance. I do not feel that I am being unfair in any way when I assume that my customers are rational adults and will ask for/pay for loss protection of some kind if they desire it. When I buy an item on eBay and do not find insurance coverage mentioned I will ask for it and offer to pay extra for it if I want it.

Should I offer to refund part or all of his money?

Should I tell him that I fulfilled my obligation and no refund will be given and risk my first eBay neg?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Michael

JamminJ

Offer to split it with him.

-JamminJ

K6AZ

Well, for a coin of that value, global priority was about the only reasonable way to send it. Hopefully, you still have your receipt showing you shipped it.

This is the problem in selling inexpensive items to bidders overseas, but knowing your taste in coins, you probably have no choice but to allow international bids.

It's a tough call, but I would try to determine if this guy is being honest with you. Take a careful look at his feedback to make sure he doesn't have a track record with "lost" items. If it appears he doesn't, I would probably refund his money to avoid a nasty negative.

billiardmaster

To begin with, if you are going to do business on ebay, use common sense.
You should figure insurance on all your deals. Shipping to Europe, with no
insurance, is asking for trouble. Keep it simple is a good motto.
You asked? Best of luck in the future. No, you don't owe him a refund.
Rusty

LovethoseIndians

Send a special ops team to eliminate this person hehehehehe

MadMarty

Give it a month! I sold a proof set and shipped it to Germany and it sat at customs there for 30 days! He finally got the coin after 5 weeks, and it was shipped global priority!

Trooper

I have sold stuff overseas and never had a problem, BUT with every sale that I did have for overseas buyers I alway put "cannot be responsible for lost packages".
I have shipped Global Priority Mail and Letter Parcel post(wich includes small boxes).

Now here's the problem with insuring an item overseas.... The item will only be insured up to the point in the country that it passes to their Postal System. Basicaly the USPS Post Office insurance is good for getting it there. Once thier Postal System gets it theres no insurance. The USPS Post Office isn't going to insure the item because it's being delivered by "thier" carriers(workers). USPS has no idea who's carying it or what happens to it once it's in the foriegn country.

I hope it's clear..... I had a long discussion about taking the insurance with the Postal Employee on a $500 item going to Japan once.

The reason I took the chances shipping these particular items overseas was the money it seemed people from Asian countries were paying for them. (Never had a problem)

Tom

Barry

There is insurance for overseas, but only if you ship air parcel post, which costs about $20. I limit most auctions to US only, but some items I do allow international bidders, but only with insured delivery.

You may still be OK. Sometimes mail gets held up in customs for a while. I have a friend who thought he got taken on some vacuum tubes (remember those?) shipped from Holland, as he knew someone else in CA who got them from the same seller in 3 weeks, and he, in NJ, didn't get them. They finally arrived another 3 weeks later.

4thStooge

<< <i>I do not feel that I am being unfair in any way when I assume that my customers are rational adults and will ask for/pay for loss protection of some kind if they desire it. >>



Your first mistake is you assume way too much.

Trooper

<<vacuum tubes >>

Barry, that what I use to ship....

I still don't think the insurance covers their(foreign countries) carriers and workers. I know it's an option but when I asked the Postal clerk the previous reply was what he said. I'll ask again, the web site deosn't go into to it up front. it might be hidden in the *somewhere.
Now you got me thinking again....

tom

EvilMCT

<< <i>The buyer states that he never received the coin, but has not as yet asked for a refund. >>



He hasn't asked for a refund yet. Wait and see what transpires. It took 6 months for a bit of paperwork to make it back to me from (West) Germany. I'd at least wait a few more weeks before offering anything.

Ken

Barry

Tom,
If insured, it covers from start to finish. There are agreements between countries for this kind of thing, similar to agreements for international phone service - how they determine fees and split it up.

Here's some inf o on insurance from the USPS web site. For specifics, go to their home page, click on Calculate Postage on top, then on the left side, Calculate International Postage, etc. For insurance, you'll need to click on Package, as letter service is not insurable (is that a word?)

Dimetime

Always add insurance into your shipping costs. It's the safest way.

Neptune

yes, I would give it a little more time, and then offer the split the diff and see if they go for it.

BBN

I agree. Wait a little bit.

CarlWohlforth

I have shipped place where insurance is not available. When that happens I explicitly tell the buyer that there is no insurance and I can not take responsibility if the package gets lost in the mail. I guess I should keep proof of mailing in case anything gets lost, but it hasn't happened to me yet. Sometimes things take a long time to get across borders.

Shamika

I would insist on insurance.

au58

Regardless of your expressed insurance options, the seller is ultimately responsible for item delivery. This can be problematic though, especially when shipping low value items internationally. You have to ask yourself if the item is even worth insuring or do you take a calculated risk? If the buyer is willing to bear the cost of insuring, you're in good shape. If the buyer is not willing to bear the cost, and you are not willing to assume the risk, your only alternative is to to give up market segment, i.e., do not sell internationally.