JZ1276

I recently sold a 2007 model Pioneer Elite receiver on ebay. Buyer emailed me today claiming he received it all banged up and wont even power on. The receiver was in perfect working and cosmetic condition when I shipped it so I'm assuming the post office damaged it. Obviously I will have to issue a refund, but now I'll be left with a worthless receiver and out $300. Do I have any other options? Thanks.

ernestrp

Was it insured on mailing?

JZ1276

No, I didnt even know a package can be insured with the post office? You're saying i actually have to pay them extra to do their job properly? The buyer sent me pictures, they totally destroyed this receiver (which I packed very securely).

RonG617

The insurance option is right there when you are creating your shipping label on Paypal. For the couple of extra bucks it is worth it on big ticket items. Too many people try to do everything the cheapest way and don't protect themselves by not having tracking or insurance.

TheBang

If you didn't insure it, the post office won't do crap about it. So, you're pretty much SOL. Because it was received "significantly not as described," you're responsible for refunding the purchase price, including shipping costs, to the buyer. If you want the receiver back, you'll need to reimburse the buyer for return shipping also.

The only thing is, as Rockmjd23 says, is the buyer could be trying to pull a switcheroo. Did you record the serial number before you sent it? If so, then have the buyer take a picture of the serial number on the destroyed receiver and make sure it matches.

JZ1276

I dont use Paypal to create a shipping label. I write it by hand on the package. If I wouldve known I had to pay insurance to protect myself in case they decide to throw the thing around and damage it, then I probably would have.
I will make sure serial numbers match up though.
I still think its a joke that I have to pay extra in case the post office damages the item while shipping it, which is what I am paying them to do to begin with.

TheBang

Sorry you didn't know you had to get insurance. With USPS, they basically won't reimburse you for any damage or loss if you didn't have insurance, no matter what the reason. You can also purchase shipping insurance through third-parties, which might be cheaper than USPS.

Also, you probably didn't do this either, but for eBay items where the price is $250 or higher, you have to purchase Signature Confirmation (not just Delivery Confirmation) when shipping it. Otherwise, you won't be protected against an "Item Not Received" claim by the buyer on PayPal or eBay.

When I shipped a Wii U last fall that I sold on eBay, I made sure to get both Signature Confirmation and Insurance. It added an extra $7 or so to the shipping costs, but it was better than being vulnerable to losing all $475.

JZ1276

There is no delivery confirmation anymore. Now it's automatic tracking whether you want ti or not. Anyway, looks like I'm screwed.

JimRochester

YUP. I'm surprised they didn't offer insurance. Any PO I ever went to wanted to sell me every service for every piece of crap I put in the mail. Anything over $100 I always got the delivery confirmation and insurance.

I think I only got taken on eBay once. I sold a cordless drill and the guy emailed me telling me one of the batteries was dead and wouldn't power. I tested both beofre putting in the box and they both worked but I just shipped the guy my last spare battery. SOB never even gave me my positive review.

DVD Josh

I've starting taking video of me packing high dollar items (like guitars) on eBay and sending the video file to the buyer. It's solved a great many problems.

Troy Stiffler

That sucks. If you don't want to look bad, you'll just have to eat it.

Double-wall boxes are the best insurance. Chances are, the packaging materials settled, or something heavy sat on your box, and it broke open somewhere. Or whatever. Regardless of how well it was packed (or you think it was packed), the PO was able to break it. It happens.

Another option is to just mark up shipping a bit, and take it to a UPS Store, Kinkos, or other pack/ship shop. They probably would have charged around $30 to pack it.

Brent L

I have started to take any decently sized items to UPS to have them professionally pack it. Even if I don't ship using UPS, I'll still have them pack up select items for me. And yes, I pass the higher costs to my buyers. If they don't like it, they don't have to buy anything from me.

I've sold artwork, weird artifacts, antique fans, an antique Ouija board and will be doing the same for the Cobalt Flux dance pads I found and will sell soon and it all has been, or will be, packed up by UPS. I have one right next to where I work so it's not really out of the way.

I'm on the verge of telling my bidders that I'll offer them the option of having me take my stuff to the UPS store and if they have a UPS account, or they can have one set up if they don't already, and they can bill them direct for the EXACT packaging and shipping costs. That may save me a lot of headaches in the future if I keep selling items like I've been selling lately. Who knows, maybe there is a barcode on there still that I can scan, I haven't tried yet, but I only just noticed the a few days ago.

I feel for ya JZ1276, good luck. I also discovered that DC is no more and they automatically give tracking on everything now. That seemed to come out of the blue, and I never heard a thing about it. I hate how I can't just scan the DC # using the eBay iPhone app anymore though and putting the tracking number in that way.

Gizmo

Video ends.

You take item out of the box and break it, reseal it. Mail it.

A video won't do jackshit. All eBay cares about is the buyer.

ben12

The video doesn't end until you hand the package over to the post office. It's one, long, continuous shot.

Brent L

With convenient pans behind large black walls?

Gizmo

Not good enough for eBay. Unless it records all the way to the buyers house, since anything that happens after it leaves the sellers hands is still the sellers problem.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

Then if you didn't buy insurance and it gets messed up, the seller still doesn't win.

JZ1276

For $300, I dont care if I look bad or not, but I dont really have any options. He just emailed me saying he had just returned the item back to me today. Now Im gonna be stuck with a mangled up receiver that wont power on and its costing me $300+the $30 he wants to reimburse the shipping cost.

I actually just came back from the post office to ship another old another audio component that I sold on ebay. I told the clerk the situation with the last component I shipped and explained how I didnt want this happening again and she said unless I have the sales receipt to prove how much it is worth then they will not reimburse. She then asked me if I had the receipt for the item I was shipping and I said no. Then she asked me if i wanted to insure the item. LOL. I said "You just finished telling me if I dont have the sales receipt that I wouldnt be reimbursed if it gets damaged. I just told you I dont have the receipt, why would I need insurance"? So I wrote "FRAGILE" all over the package. Hope this one doesnt get messed up too.
The insurance thing is still a joke to me. They want extra to insure it against themselves????

Just Lurking

The sales receipt is your eBay invoice. The price that it sold for is market value and the insurable value.

Al_Tahoe

Instead of "delivery confirmation" it's now called "USPS Tracking". It's still optional, and something you have to pay extra for.

Obi-Wanma

Unless you're shipping priority or better and buying your postage online. Then it's included.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

Fragile won't do anything.

You still aren't getting the point of insurance. Odds are something won't happen but you buy it anyway, especially on something expensive. So for a small amount on your new package, if something happens you're only out so much. Since you didn't buy it again, you can't really complain if this is ruined too and you're out even more.

JZ1276

No I get the point of insurance. When I shipped this last package the clerk told me I need the original receipt like I said before. She said an ebay transaction printout would not qualify as a receipt which is why i didnt buy insurance.

Al_Tahoe

If you're shipping First Class and you purchase online, do they still give you a discount on the tracking? Thanks.

JZ1276

This whole new tracking this is confusing me. The clerk at the post office asked me if I wanted tracking. I said "doesnt it come automatically now with the tracking number on the receipt"? She said they are not the same that one is external and once is internal. There were alot of people on line so I didnt really want to keep people waiting.