posted on September 15, 2001 06:08:41 AM new
Hi,
I have a package that was mailed USPS and has never arrived.
The value is around $150
Insurance was not offered or requested so that is not in the equation ( which I will learn from).
USPS naturally does not pay if there was no insurance, so my question is this -
Does the buyer OR the seller take the loss on the item, or should it be shared ?
Of course the item is already paid for, but should I refund or partial refund, or not refund at all ?
What has been your normal experience in this situation ?
[ edited by ranalot on Sep 15, 2001 06:10 AM ]
posted on September 15, 2001 07:28:27 AM new
Ranalot,
Sorry for your luck. How long ago was it shipped? Sometimes you just have to wait it out.
Why didn't you insure it yourself? Or at least put delivery confirmation on it? You need to do this to cover your own interests, especially since you didn't offer it to the buyer. If you had used either of these you would have had a paper trail to fall back on. You're responsible to the buyer for the $150.
[ edited by rocketguy on Sep 15, 2001 07:33 AM ]
posted on September 15, 2001 08:15:56 AM new
ranalot,
Legally, you filled your responsibility when you delivered the package to the carrier. However, good customer service dictates that you should do what ever you can do help your customers. In a situation like this, I typically would offer a compromise. Be blatently honest with your customer. Explain that there was no insurance on the item, but that you would like to do what you can do make things better for him. Tell him exactly how much profit you made on the item. (after all your expenses) Then tell him you will refund the profit. That way neither you nor the bidder are out 100%. In most cases, the customer will embrace this offer as an honest, fair compromise. If they do not, you probably don't want to keep him as a customer anyhow. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps!
posted on September 15, 2001 08:39:57 AM new
undelivered mail eventually end up in san fran and you can file a trace to see if it were there!!
i dont know what it is,but if it is too big for the mailbox,the postman will leave a pink slip for him to pickup at the post office.
sometimes this pink slip gets thrown out with the media junk mail one gets .
ask him to call local post office and see if it were sitting on the shelf waiting to be claimed/
most mails do get delivered expecially a good size box.
posted on September 15, 2001 09:05:53 AM new
I agree, have the buyer check with their post office. Also, if it's been more than 30 days, you should put a trace on it. I'd recommend both things before you refund. (And yes, if neither thing comes up with the item, I also think you should refund 100%.)
posted on September 15, 2001 10:26:58 AM new
OK,
Thank you for your comments so far but I want to give more detailed information.
The package was mailed to Canada which is why I could not get delivery confirmation, it is not available when mailing to Canada.
The buyer won two items, negotiated the shipping downwards which I agreed to ( even though it cost me more when I mailed it at the post office, which I did not ask buyer for the extra ).
Because of the shipping negotiation, I did not offer insurance as I thought the buyer was trying to make it as least expensive as possible ( a mistake I may regret ). However, the buyer did not request insurance either so is that really my responsibility ?
I shipped air mail which was supposed to take 4-7 days.
It has been nearly 6 weeks so far.
I went to the post office and they told me that when things get lost, it is mostly at the destination end
of the journey, at the airport mail center or destination post office center,
or even destination local post office.
In this case because the destination is International, they say there is
nothing they can do because they don't operate the postal system in Canada.
They suggested that the buyer make enquiries from Canada to his post office to
see if it is "stuck on a shelf somewhere". They were not being very helpful
but they said there is genuinely nothing they can do because the destination is Canada.
The buyer says he has made enquiries in Canada and so far turned up nothing.
Another factor is that the buyer asked me to declare on the customs form that this $150 package was a "gift" ( which I now regret that I did ).
I have thought of 2 possible scenarios that may have happened.
The first is that customs have seized the package because of the "gift" declaration.
The second is that although I have no reason to think my buyer is lying, it is still a possibility ( given that he was finding ways to save money by negotiating shipping charges and avoiding customs charges ) that he received the items, was not 100% happy, or for some other reason decided to say he had not received the package ?
Does this extra information change your views on if I should refund fully, refund partially, or not refund at all ?
posted on September 15, 2001 11:07:05 AM new
ranalot,
Do you have anything in your terms of sale about what happens to packages that are lost or damaged in transit? Personally, in all my auctions, I have the line:
Seller is not responsible for lost or damaged items which are uninsured.
If you don't have something like this, you may wish to consider adding it for your protection. Are you absolutely positive that the clerk shipped your package air-mail? Sometimes they just distracted and send it by surface instead (which would take 4-6 weeks). You also may want to tell your bidder what you told us. Perhaps the customs seized it since it was marked as a gift incorrectly. Maybe that will teach your bidder not to ask sellers to break the law for him. I still say that I would not offer a full refund. Use your best judgement as to whether or not a partial refund should be issued. Hope this helps!
posted on September 15, 2001 04:22:43 PM new
In 4+ years I have over 1000 auctions experience behind me. The MOST troublesome mail and deliveries by far that I've experienced have been Australia and Canada. Out of maybe 20 transactions with these 2 countrys perhaps 5 have been smooth and trouble free. In this case I would decline a refund.
