posted on September 8, 2001 07:53:08 PM
Buyer bought a product for $4.50, no insurance, and it was optional. Email's me and demands a return stating the post office tells him that I should have marked it fragile. It wasn't glass, but a periodical sealed in cardboard and then the Priority package. I've sent hundreds this way, no problem, with over 1600 feedbacks and maybe 10 neg's, (you gotta have a few). Point is, how would you handle the problem of no insurance and what is your obligation once the package is sufficently packaged, no insurance requested. I have it in my FAQ EOA that insurance is optional and we do not take responsibility with regard to delivery. My guess is to just move on. What would you do. I hate leaving customers dissatisfied. I'm a customer too when buying items.
posted on September 8, 2001 08:11:12 PM
No insurance and the item is $4.50. Life is indeed hard. A periodical in cardboard is not fragile. Did he already neg you? If so he got his satisfaction.
posted on September 8, 2001 08:38:17 PM
What was the damage? Curious to know how it could have gotten damaged when wrapped in that manner. Unless the PO just totally shredded it.
If the buyer has already left you a neg, forget it. Damage to you is much greater than time spent on him.
posted on September 8, 2001 09:16:22 PM
I always stamp such packages with "Do Not Bend." Otherwise, some letter carriers will do whatever it takes to cram the package into the buyer's mailbox. This is usually not a problem, but if you're talking about an older, collectible periodical, then this could cause a serious downgrade in its condition. I certainly don't think that you owe this person anything, but you may want to use a "Do Not Bend" stamp for similar future mailings - at least then the fault is laid squarely on the shoulders of the letter carrier.
posted on September 8, 2001 10:17:49 PM
When mailing a piece of sheet music or some other paper good I wrap it in plastic (zip lock bag) put a heavy duty cardboard in the envelope and then mail it. I also put a sticker on the front that says Do Not Bend. Then I have it covered. $4.50 is not a price I would put insurance on but I would feel somewhat responsible if something happened. You didn't say what damage occurred. When I mail an envelope like that I get very nervous that the Mail Person would try to stuff it in a mail box. If that happened I don't know what recourse someone could take.
posted on September 9, 2001 12:16:08 AM
I would sue the PO for liability, but since most judges are crooked, they would side with their government buddies. But at the least it costed them more money to fight it rather than cover it.
On the other hand, once the buyer accepts the package it no longer is your responsibility to take any action.
You gave a great factual feedback in your opening post...
It wasn't glass, but a periodical sealed in cardboard and then the Priority package. I've sent hundreds this way
Beyond that, and moving on, what do you want to come of this incident? Is this buyer a regular consumer of items in your category? Do they have a good buying record with other sellers? Do you think they might make a good customer in the future for you (if new)?
These questions would be on my mind as I made a decision on how to handle this small (monetarily) customer service problem...
In my business (machine shop), sometimes the customers that bring in the little jobs turn out to be a lot bigger than I'd ever imagined. Sometimes appearances can be deceiving...
posted on September 9, 2001 10:33:05 AMWhat would you do.
I would take responsibility for delivery.
I can't imagine paying insurance on a $4.50 item, and it seems ridiculous to ask anyone else to.
What I'd really do is send the guy $4.50, even after the neg, and report that in my reaction to the neg. Neg readers like that.
What I would NEVER do is say "seller refused insurance, not my problem". I passed by a high end bid last week for exactly this reason. I really wanted the very unique item, there was still a couple of hundred left in my range. The last minute neg reading (preparing for snipe) showed two or three "not my problem"s.
Don't want to do business with such. He'd do it to me too. The thing sold for $165 less than my snipe would have been, but of course I'd have been hoping to pay less, and may well have.
posted on September 10, 2001 07:25:30 PM
The damage at best would have been minimal unless the post office doesn't like him (he never did explain if the product was damaged or the only the package. I've been told by so many not to put Do Not Bend, Fragile etc. but to pack better. I did that. I'm just going to move on. I'm tired of reading the cliched email's from him. All for a $4.00 item. Feedback aside, I'll take the neg. move on as I've already amassed another 10 postivies which will knock him off the page soon enough. I'll simply try harder next time regarding packing, and as in the past encourage insurance or a no liability claim. I'm not about to be responsible for the delivery of the goods too. Ridiculous. Since Priority changed it's pacaging to thinner material, I've increased the interior packing but felt no reason to deviate from the past. Thanks for the enouragement, and beware of those newbies out there.
<b>roofguy</b> Ain't no way I'm taking on responsibililty for actions beyond my control. I understand your point though, but feel as though, like <b>camachinist</b> says in so many words, it ain't worth the trouble. I'm chosing to move on. Thanks to all for the feedback.
