JZ1276

I sold a Philips micro system on Amazon recently and just got an e mail from the buyer saying he received it with alot of cosmetic damage (including a hole in one of the speakers)! It was shipped out in perfect condition. He's asking for a refund. Any advice? Thanks!

bunkaroo

This is a tough case because it could have been damaged in shipping. However, I really feel it's on the buyer to request insurance. I personally pack all my stuff in the original boxes when I ship stuff like that so it would take a pretty traumatic event to damage the item.

At the very least I'd request a picture of the damage. That would easily weed out someone making a bogus claim. If they send back what appears to be a valid picture, then you have to decide if you want to bear the responsibility for shipping damage. If you do accept it back, it's definitely on the buyer to pay the shipping back to you. And make sure it's the same serial number in case they pulled a switcheroo.

One of the worst things about being an individual seller on Amazon is people want from you the same kind of "we'll just send it again" service Amazon gives because they are too large to care.

adrenaline78

As a seller I think you have to take that risk! Stuff can/will be damaged during shipping. I'm not sure they are out to get free anything. They are probably trying to get the item they wanted in working condition. Or the condition that it was posted at.


I also disagree with the 2nd post. I don't see why the seller should be responsible for shipping on the return? They shouldn't be out any money on items that were damaged during shipping. For any item over $50 bucks you should insure.

Chances are you'll be out of $ at the end of the day.. but you live and learn!

mugwump

Amazon will back the buyer over the seller in this case so if they want a refund they'll get it one way or the other. Your best bet is to bite the bullet, do what it takes to make the buyer happy, and not take a hit to your rating.

Al_Tahoe

Excellent answer, except that Adrenaline meant to say "buyer" instead of "seller" where I bolded.

OP, man-up and authorize the return and then issue a full refund once you receive it. You should also reimburse the buyer for the return shipping expenses.

Bunkaroo, would you mind posting your Amazon seller I.D.? I want to make sure that I never order from you. Thanks!

jjcool

How much was the sale price of the unit? How did you ship it? UPS I know has built in insurance up to a certain amount.

Arthur Dent

I believe it's $100.

adrenaline78

Correct.. thanks!



Lemmy.. I don't agree either.. Why should the buyer be out ANY $ for items that were improperly packed, or damaged during shipping. It's your job as the seller to get the item to the buyer in the condition that was stated in the advertisement.

Shipping cost has nothing to do with insurance, as the insurance will NOT cover costs of shipping, just the item itself.

So as a seller, it should be your responsibility to add insurance to items that are worth x amount(the amount you deem necessary).




I don't think amazon even has an option to add insurance anyhow.. If it does I have never see it with many of my marketplace purchases..

foofighters7

bottom line. It is up to the BUYER, thats right, the BUYER to ask for Insurance.

Most people want to cheap out and not add insurance. It is NOT, I repeat, NOT up to the Seller to give free Insurance.

The buyer should have paid for Insurance, plain and simple.

Now, Clearly, it is also a MUST for the Seller to properly pack the items, and make sure they were good before you shipped but as long as you did your part and they still got damaged in transit....Sorry buyer, tough luck!

BTW, I have sold THOUSANDS, close to 5,000 things over ebay or sent over my website. I have only had a few true complaints about something being damaged in transit.> VERY FEW, which I helped the buyer on. Most though, were con artist trying to get something for nothing.

This is the way it works. People who are out to screw you will tell you otherwise, but this is how shipping works.

Oh, and even if they dont want insurance, if you ship USPS ALWAYS get a Delivery Confirmation.

JZ1276

Thanks for all the replies. I emailed the buyer yesterday telling him the item was shipped out in like new condition as stated and asked if he could take a picture of the damaged and send it to me. I also said that if the serial number matches up that I would issue a refund. Didnt decide if I would refund the actual shipping cost though. Either way, I havent gotten a response yet.

Al_Tahoe

Your points are completely moot, since this is a thread about an Amazon sale. If you were an Amazon seller instead of an ebay seller, you would know that Amazon provides no ability to offer the buyer insurance at an additional cost (right again, Adrenaline!).

Obi-Wanma

Neither does ebay anymore.

Al_Tahoe

Exactly. Even ebay realized that optional insurance was b.s., and that it is the seller's responsibility to assure that the item arrives in the listed condition.

van der graaf

It is really very simple. If the item is damaged in shipping, the BUYER WILL GET THEIR $$$ BACK. Amazon and Ebay are going to side with them. Thus, unless YOU AS THE SELLER want to be out the $$$ and have a damaged product, insure the shipment. It is not on the buyer to get their own pruchase to themselves in good condition, that is on the seller.

JZ1276

Looks like everyone has different opinions....another question. Being that I have not heard back from the buyer in 2 days now, should I give him a certain amount of time before I decide NOT to refund his money??

bunkaroo

Ironically, my seller id is bitemetahoe!

Seriously, why shouldn't the buyer have to at least prove the damage with a picture? People know how to work the system - if they can claim damage and get a full refund without even having to prove it, it just opens it up to happening more and more.

Also my point about the serial # is valid. Someone could have ordered the item to replace an identical broken item so they could pull a switcheroo. It's not as far fetched as you might think - this happens all the time at B&M retail stores.

Sellers always have more to lose, and Ebay made that even worse which is why they lost so many good sellers (myself being one of them).

Oh and by the way, I have a 100% rating on both Ebay and Amazon and will always happily help a buyer out when they are honest like I am. I don't screw people. I have accepted returns before once I'm satisfied it's valid. And trust me, an honest buyer can do that quickly - it's not like giving them the 3rd degree.

It's the buyers (like you I presume) who seem to have an overblown sense of entitlement that they should just get everything they want when they decide to stamp their feet. If that's how you like to shop, please let me direct you to Walmart.

bunkaroo

Please provide a link which states this is why insurance was removed.

Oh, and even though Amazon doesn't offer it, that doesn't mean the buyer can't request it. On most items it wouldn't cost much - I probably would comp it. On anything over $100 I use it automatically at my cost. What a terrible seller I am!

Another example of my poor selling:

I just sold a DVD player on Amazon. Buyer chose expedited shipping and I got $16 to ship the item. Well he's in Hawaii. Expedited to me means at least Priority and not Parcel Post. Priority to HI was $26. Parcel Post was $16. I ate the $10. I could have just used Parcel Post but that would have been poor customer service.

The problem here was with Amazon's system - they should be analyzing the seller and buyer zips and approximating zone costs for expedited. At the very least they could flag HI for that - it's always more expensive to send Priority there. UPS was bad too.

bunkaroo

It is the holidays so they may be busy. Or they may just be waiting out the standard window before they can file a claim.

Either way, there's nothing else you can or should do at the moment. You asked for some simple info to validate. They can decide to give it or not.

RonG617

Have you checked your bank account? If I have a problem with a shipment and I don't think the seller is being helpful I just contact Amazon directly and they always refund my money.

DirkUSA

Oho, so it's you!

dx23

Actually, Priority Mail is the same in the US, territories and APO.

Chrisedge

This is why I ALWAYS included insurance with everything I sold on ebay...Not that I sell anywhere anymore because of all the scammers. I occasionally buy stuff on ebay and that is it...

Obi-Wanma

Only if you use their flat rate boxes. If it doesn't fit in one of their boxes, or if you just want to package it in your own box for some reason, the rate is variable based on the destination.

Gizmo

Fuck yeah! Preach it!

disneyguy

Only 1lb and less after that the cost goes up depending on the location..

DG