posted on April 15, 2001 11:25:48 PM new
I an an ebay vendor with a rating of over 500 and no negs.
Recently a buyer purchased a plastic lamp from me, with repeated reminders to 'pack well'. He paid for insurance, and it was insured.
It arrived damaged, despite being wrapped in foam wrap and bubble wrap as well as styrofoam interspersed within the box. In other words this should by all accounts be considered to have been packed 'well'. Apparentyl there are some brutal Post Office people within his area. This is only the third item damaged in over a thousand shipped, so I feel that this particular package was subject to some particularly brutal treatment.
I advised him to bring the package, with item and packing material down to the Post Office and to initiate the claim, and that I would do whatever possible to help expedite it. And that I would send or fax the actual receipt when I arrived home Tuesday.
He is claiming that the insurance claim is entirely *my* responsibility, and that I should send him a full refund immediately.
I do not feel that this is the correct procedure and am looking for advice on this matter. I am not afraid to take a neg on this one since I feel I have acted properly in this matter. I am of course very saddened that this item was damaged, but I do feel that the buyer needs to take the necessary steps for the insurance claim.
Am I being reasonable?
And if not, what are the 'correct' insurance procedures.
posted on April 16, 2001 02:38:50 AM new
I do not believe you can process the claim totally on your end. I may be wrong but I think the post office requires proof of adequate packaging and a viewing of the damaged item. Also, in some cases, the post office has the right to confiscate the damaged item or assign a salvage value if the item is not completely worthless.
In all such instances, the buyer will have to cooperate and bring in the item to the delivering post office. The item cannot be shipped back to you since it may incur more damage.
posted on April 16, 2001 05:15:01 AM new
There is no way the insurance claim can be filed without the co-operation of the buyer; if you send him a refund, and he does not do his part to file the claim, you will never get the refund from the USPS so you'll be out the lamp AND the refund.
Has he sent you a picture or scan of the damage? Perhaps it is not really damaged at all . . . . .?
Assuming he's not lying about the damage, he must understand that a large part of filing the claim is up to him - the post office must see the lamp and the packaging and he will have to see to that.
posted on April 16, 2001 06:16:26 AM new
Postal Insurance Claims are initiated on the BUYERS end.
The Buyer MUST cooperate by taking the item and the packaging that it came in TO his/her post office for inspection to determine whether or not the damage was due to mishandling. The packaging itself should also have the postal INSURANCE stamp which certainly would indicate that insurance was indeed purchased for the package.
The Post Office then gives the buyer a claim form to fill out. THEN the post office takes the paperwork and sends it to the Seller (you - in this case) to complete the form and provide proof of insurance on your end.
The BUYER & SELLER must communicate and work together to agree on WHO the Postal Refund check will be made out to. IF the BUYER is listed on the form... then the Buyer must WAIT for the postal refund to come via Mail. If the SELLER is listed on the form as the person agreed to accept the refund from the Post Office, then if the refund amount is under (I think about $50.00) a certain amount, the refund can be issued right there at the post office of the seller after completing the forms and offering the insurance stub as proof of insurance. IF the item is over a certain amount... then the Post Office will mail the postal refund to the designated recipiant.
This is IMPORTANT because if the BUYER is listed on the forms, there is NO REASON for the Seller to offer a Refund "OUT OF POCKET" and without further cooperation from the BUYER. If the SELLER is listed as the recipient of the Post Refund, then the seller will have PROOF of this when the postal forms regarding the refund initiated by the buyer are actually recieved on the sellers end.
IF your buyer REFUSES to cooperate during the final stages of this transaction.... I hope that you have not left Feedback prematurely.... so that you can consider their willingness to cooperate under these extenuating circumstances when CONCLUDING your trade AFTER everyone is satisfied that the transaction is complete - by the sharing of feedback.
posted on April 16, 2001 08:55:03 PM new
Many thanks for all the advice.
The buyer now wants someone from the Post Office to come to his home and check out the item. He is 'new' with a feedback of 8.
I triued to get aform today from the Post Office, but it turned out to be the wrong one. Tomorrow I hope to have better luck, and send form, invoice, and receipt to him, and hopefully be done with it.
posted on April 17, 2001 04:25:17 AM new
This is why "the buyer has fulfilled his obligation when timely payment is made" is completely untrue. The buyer also has an obligation to work in a reasonable manner with the seller to resolve any problems that arise, such as damaged merchandise and insurance claims. Feedback should reflect the ENTIRE transaction, not just timely payment which is only a small first step in the transaction.
