posted on March 16, 2001 07:28:23 PM new
Tell me what you think of this (and PLEASE be GENTLE)...
I charge $1 S&H (.45 postage, .20 envelope, .35 handling).
I offer an optional $1 insurance. (I self insure by tossing $1 into a cup every time someone buys insurance, and then I take $$$ out of that cup if I need to replace an item.)
I say IN MY EOA/WBN EMAIL that if the item is lost in the mail I will replace the item immediately if insured -OR- I will ask a reasonable fee to resend the item if not insured. I don't say what that reasonable fee is, but I intend it to be the actual wholesale cost of the item.
Because I ship as cheaply as I can, I don't do Delivery Confirmation or have any documentation to prove that I actually shipped the item outside of my word alone.
Question #1: As a buyer, would you be upset (at me) if you chose to not buy the insurance and the item got lost in the mail and I asked you to pay an extra $3 for an item that you paid $10 for (including shipping)?
Question #2: What if the buyer that did not want to buy insurance (as described in the WBN) doesn't want to pay the extra $$$? Should I refund
a) $0,
b) the winning bid amount minus my costs (this is the one I like),
c) the winning bid amount minus shipping, or
d) the winning bid amount plus shipping?
I'm not sure yet if I want to be the @$$ kissing kind of seller that lets people walk on me or if I'm going to be the kind of player that doesn't care about negative feedback as long as the terms are listed.
Also, Question #3: How much detail should I go into about these TOS in the WBN? I don't want to sound like a downer when winning an auction for something you like should be kind of a *yippee-skippee* time. Then again, I don't want to get caught off guard later if someone complains.
All of this is still hypothetical right now. Nothing has happened yet, I just want to prepare myself in case any of ExecutiveGirl's customers wander my way...
posted on March 16, 2001 07:42:39 PM new
Is it really necessary to offer insurance on a $10 item? I think by making a big deal out of insurance, and stating you will quickly replace a lost item, you are just inviting people to claim they didn't receive the item. Especially since you self-insure, and the buyer will not have to fill out a post office form to get a refund.
