posted on May 12, 2001 02:41:19 PM
Heya folks...long time listener, first time caller
Anyways, wanted to get an opinion from "the gang" around here with regards to shipping fees on items. I've strictly been a buyer, but I'm curious to hear from both sides of the fence on this one. For the most part, I've been picking up (way, waaaay too many [g]) DVD's off of eBay, and I've noticed that the "standard" shipping fee used by seller's is about $4. For the most part, I've got no complaints about the majority of the folks I've bought from with that amount of shipping (it makes perfect sense when you see the big "$3.50" printed on the postage, plus the box, plus the packing stuff...[g]) ...but I've also paid $4 for shipping and had things show up with a couple of stamps and a barely-sealed $0.25 piece of paper wrapped around the darn things. Do I feel ripped off? Sure I do...but since it only says "$4 for shipping" and not "$4 worth of material and postage to make sure it arrives to you safely and you don't feel ripped off for paying an extra $4" ...well, can I really complain?
Sometimes I think yes, sometimes I think no...which is why I'm curious to get other's opinions.
...which brings me to my next question: insurance. One of the DVD's that I bought that arrived in said junky wrapping was damaged (mangled case, and the DVD itself was shattered) ...and because the person I picked it up from replied to my email informing them of the situation with a note than said "no insurance, so it's not my fault" ...well, I'm again a little divided.
On the one hand, I don't think it's my responsibility as a buyer to make sure that the item arrives to me in a reasonable condition. I believe that should *completely* be the seller's responsibility.
However, on the other side of the coin, I've read a few notes around here and elsewhere that seem to indicate seller's don't want to be "burdened" with worrying about this either...but couldn't a seller just factor insurance into the cost of shipping and/or the cost of the item itself? Shouldn't the desire on the part of the seller to have the transaction complete smoothly and with complete satisfaction of the buyer weigh into their decisions?
[shrug]
Like I said, I'm torn on both of these issues, so I'm hoping some other folks weigh in
- dave
- aka echo_dave, but this silly forum doesn't like my _
Was the busted DVD one that was "couple of stamps and a barely-sealed $0.25 piece of paper wrapped around the darn thing"? I don't sell stuff like DVDs, but everything I send out is wrapped in bubblewrap, and surrounded up styrofoam (unless it's solid metal, and then I *might* skip the bubblewrap).
My opinion is if someone is going to ship merchandise, they should pack it very well. (and I make my customers pay for the packing, but I get great complements in my feedback about it)
Nothing I send out that's worth more than about $40 leaves without insurance. (I don't even mention it in my TOS, I just build it into the s&h, and if the price gets bid up so high it isn't covered, I do the happy dance and cover it my self.)
On lower value items, I self insure (also not mentioned, but built into the s&h) and I will refund the 1 out of 300 or so that the postoffice screws up.
posted on May 12, 2001 03:09:28 PM
The Post Office will accept a package that has not been packed with reasonable care. When insurance is purchased a higher level of care in packaging is demanded by the Post Office.
dendude
there are lots of folks here with far more experience than i, but here are my thoughts.
if you pay $4 for shipping and handling, and only get $.50 worth of it, i'd be annoyed and never buy from that seller again. technically, unless how it's packed and shipped it stated as otherwise in the auction, the onus is on the buyer to ask ahead of time. as a seller, i'd *never* do this, because i want the people who buy from me to be happy with my items and service. the things i sell aren't breakable, so i'm not worried about that. for those who sell things that are, such as dvds, it's extra foolish to not pack well.
as a buyer, i prefer to make the decision myself, to insure or not. i don't want it forced on me, if i'm willing to take the risk. i give the same option to my buyers. but in the case of your mangled dvd, this a result of the seller 'handling' it poorly. if i did a shoddy packing job on something breakable, and it got broken in transit, insurance or no, i'd feel responsible and give a refund.
[[Was the busted DVD one that was "couple of stamps and a barely-sealed $0.25 piece of paper wrapped around the darn thing"?]]
Yeppers. Shredded, destroyed, mangled, toasted, shattered, and a complete waste of money.
However, that being said...on a $10 item, it's also really not worth my time to get into a protracted debate or a negative feedback war with someone over. On a larger ticket item...certainly I'd raise cain over it, but not over $10...well, I guess $14 when you include what passed as "shipping"
In a perfect world seller wouldn't send stuff in used pizza boxes complete with ants. And the USPS wouldn't lose or break stuff, either. I sell glass so most of my buyers want insurance.
My feeling is that items that are fragile or expensive should be insured. The seller should offer it but if the buyer declines, then the onus is on the seller to either pay for the insurance thenselves or risk self-insuring. That's just my opinion. I'm sure other sellers feel differently.
You always have the option of a neutral or neg stating bad packing.
