Ebay Advice needed
xbaggypants
Posts: 2,185 ✭✭✭
I sold a lot of 1970 Topps baseball cards for $75 for some reason the package got lost in the mail, either at customs or somewhere else. The buyer wants a full refund on the cards even though he never wanted insurance. What should I do refund him in full and take the loss of the cards and the money, give him a partial refund or not give him anything?
Thanks,
Ryan
Thanks,
Ryan
0
Comments
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Non-PayPal Transaction:
Whatever you want to do.
PayPal Transaction:
If your mailing met each and EVERY requirement to qualify
for "seller-protection," you will likely prevail in a dispute/claim
filed with PayPal. But......................
If the purchase was funded with a credit card - through PP -
the credit card company will likely side with the buyer, if he/she
is willing to sign the affidavit that claims non-receipt.
In a PP transaction, insurance is ONLY for the protection of the
seller. If a wise seller cannot convince the buyer to pay for the
insurance, that seller pays for it.
Sellers are obligated to assure that sold items are delivered.
A buyer who declines to pay for offered insurance is in no way
precluded from filing - and prevailing in - a PP dispute/claim.
The ONLY insurance that a buyer needs is PayPal and a
credit card.
<< <i>I had a similar thing happen recently. If you tell them in the auction or in the follow up emails that unless they take insurance your not responsible for lost shipping that's step one. Step two is you shipped with either delivery conifirmation or other form of tracking. If you did both of these you are gold as you told him what would happen if it got lost and you can prove you shipped it. If you didn't do either of these steps I am afraid you will have to offer a refund as you can't prove you actually shipped the item or that you don't cover lost mail. >>
You can tell them that line of bologne all you like, but it's simply not true. You ARE responsible for delivering the item to your buyers, whether they purchase insurance or not--and remember, it is not buyers that purchase insurance, it is the seller (shipper) that purchases insurance, because insurance covers the SELLER not the buyer. Insurance covers your rear end, which is why you should always purchase it, and if you want the buyer to cover those fees you should include the cost in your shipping price--NOT make it optional.
<< <i>I sold a lot of 1970 Topps baseball cards for $75 for some reason the package got lost in the mail, either at customs or somewhere else. The buyer wants a full refund on the cards even though he never wanted insurance. What should I do refund him in full and take the loss of the cards and the money, give him a partial refund or not give him anything?
Thanks,
Ryan >>
Issue a full refund. Next time, purchase insurance.
<< <i>
<< <i>I had a similar thing happen recently. If you tell them in the auction or in the follow up emails that unless they take insurance your not responsible for lost shipping that's step one. Step two is you shipped with either delivery conifirmation or other form of tracking. If you did both of these you are gold as you told him what would happen if it got lost and you can prove you shipped it. If you didn't do either of these steps I am afraid you will have to offer a refund as you can't prove you actually shipped the item or that you don't cover lost mail. >>
You can tell them that line of bologne all you like, but it's simply not true. You ARE responsible for delivering the item to your buyers, whether they purchase insurance or not--and remember, it is not buyers that purchase insurance, it is the seller (shipper) that purchases insurance, because insurance covers the SELLER not the buyer. Insurance covers your rear end, which is why you should always purchase it, and if you want the buyer to cover those fees you should include the cost in your shipping price--NOT make it optional. >>
actually, deliver confirmation covers a sellers ass, while insurance is to make sure the item doesnt get damaged..
as a seller, i never need to purchase insurance.. all i need to do is purchase delivery confirmation..
Lee
problem if an item arrives squashed/broken.
A damaged item can result in a SNAD dispute/claim.
Additionally, neither DC or SC preclude a buyer from
filing a USPS insurance claim; if the item was insured.
If a seller does NOT accept PayPal, he is pretty much
free to handle lost/damaged items in any manner he
chooses. Negative FB is really the buyer's only recourse
in non-PP transactions.
Base is right on in his assessment.
If you bought something from Sears and it did not come or came broken would you just say 'nevermind sears I did not buy insurance'? of course not. Ebay sellers are on the hook until the item is in the buyers hands. All that malarky about buyer needs insurance is just that, malarky.
Steve
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In a PayPal transaction, a seller who ships "under-insured,"
assumes the risk for the value of the loss remainder.
In CD's example, either PayPal or the credit card company (if
applicable) will process a chargeback for the uninsured portion
of the loss.
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True FACT !!!
Also, I will let it be known that as a seller I offer a blanket refund policy unless the circumstances are extremely unusual. I just consider lost/stolen mail, scamming buyers, and other problems the cost of doing business. I would refund the guy as well and hope the cards get there and that the guy's honest enough to send the money back when they do. If it's an international transaction, I would give it 30 days since being shipped and tell the guy after that time he will be issued a full refund.
Lee
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The seller was "covered." Had he not purchased insurance,
the claim-proceeds would not have been disbursed to the
buyer; and, the seller himself would have, thus, been liable
to pay the buyer.
EDITED TO ADD:
The USPS insurance form I just looked at asks the claimant
which party is to be paid if the claim is approved.
If the seller has already issued a refund, the money would
be paid to the seller.
If the seller has NOT already issued a refund, the money
would be paid to the buyer. (UNLESS the seller is a crook;
in which case, PayPal has a scheme to deal with that
problem, too.)
<< <i>base, I think you may be wrong here. As a buyer, I once bought a card for $750, the seller paid $500 insurance and the package came with a slit in the bottom and the card removed (presumably by a USPS employee). The seller refused to give me a refund because it wasn't his fault, and the investigation concluded that I was to get the $500 insurance check. I can only conclude from this that if the seller will not issue a refund, than the buyer is covered by Postal Insurance.
Lee >>
I think the seller should have issued a check for the difference between the insurance claim and the price paid for the item. How a seller does something and how the law states a seller should do something are entirely different in many cases. I see quite a bit of this on ebay and other ecommerce sights--frankly, this would be unacceptable for any brick and mortar business. I may be wrong that you could win a claim in court against this seller, but ethically I think I'm right. At least, how I do business online is this: I don't insure my packages with USPS, I assume the risk and self insure. If a package arrives broken or doesn't arrive at all, I refund the full amount. I've sent over 1500 items in the mail during the past 8 years and not once has this issue come up for me--meaning, I've saved about $3000 in insurance money which is more than enough to cover a problem should it ever arise, and I'm sure some day it will.
In any event, I think if you give buyers the opportunity to purchase postal features that are designed to cover the seller, it is no surprise the buyer usually opts out. Delivery confirmation is a must for Paypal transactions--I'd buy it either way, and would never tell a buyer it's his or her choice, because in the end if that buyer says "I didn't get it", Paypal will automatically honor their claim if I don't have it. Insurance is a little tricky in that once a buyer pays for an item, it belongs to him, even though it's still in the seller's hands. The seller must deliver the item as advertised before he has honored his end of the contract. Postal insurance was designed as a safeguard for shippers, in the rare instance that an item was packed properly broke, or was stolen or lost, it would cover the seller's losses, because it is assumed and required that the seller then issue a refund or replacement to the buyer. The post office is very good. Really good. They rarely break packages and they almost never lose them completely--which is why most insurance claims are never filed and why most that are are never honored, because they will not honor a claim if the item has been packaged improperly. So if the seller and buyer put all their faith in insurance, and the seller packages the items poorly, the insurance is worthless anyway--again, it goes back to the seller to issue a refund or replacement. It's always on the seller to provide the item or a refund.
I know some people have had bad luck with USPS and will wholeheartedly disagree with my take on them. There are substandard offices and regions that offer up an experience completely unlike my own. But they do ship millions of articles each day and if you figure in the number that go bad on the whole, it's a very tiny percentage.