eBay question... What should I as a seller do if the item got damaged?

freakyzeeky

freakyzeeky

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I sold a PSP on eBay a few days ago, and shipped the item thru USPS with Priority Shipping... and the buyer contacted me tonight telling me that the screen cracked!
When I sold the item, I would normally put insurance on it, and for some reason totally forgot to offer it in my auction.
I received the payment thru PayPal from the buyer, and I'm eligible for Seller Protection... The address is confirmed.
The buyer has no feedback, and the sender of the payment is unverified.
I packaged the item with bubblewrap and everything to prevent something like this from happening, and I'm thinking the buyer is probably trying to scam me due to having no feedback and is a member since Dec. 11 of this year...

What should I do? :cry:
 
[quote name='freakyzeeky']What should I do? :cry:[/quote]

I would tell him that he didn't purchase insurance so there's nothing you can do, or ignore him. It honestly sounds like a scam, and if that's the case I'd take a negative then have to give him his money back.
 
That's what I was thinking as well, but I didn't offer insurance in my auction, which I usually do in my auction, just forgot to offer it.
Could I get hit with a dispute even though I think this is a scam?
 
argh bad luck! one time i traded games with someone and they said the game case was broken during shipping. i asked for pics and they sent me some asap so i gave them 2 bucks.
 
Yeah like monkeydeew said, you should always ask for pics. I have sold a lot of stuff on eBay and from my experience you should definately set a minimum feedback score for something with a big ticket like a PSP because there's always a chance the buyer with 0 feedback will burn you simply because they have nothing to loose.
 
If you want to make it the buyer's problem, be as nice as you can of course, but there is probably no way around negative feedback. That might be okay if you have a lot of positives.

If you are ready to give a refund, maybe ask them to ship it back first. This won't help you much, but it will give you the satisfaction of knowing they didn't get a free PSP from you if they happen to be a scammer.

You might also negotiate refunding half the money. ("Neither of us is at fault if it was damaged in shipping, so it's most fair to split the loss.") This is more than reasonable, especially if you have positive feedback and they don't.

If it were me, I'd have them ship it back, then on recepit I'd give them half the money plus the exact cost of the return shipping.
 
i would try to find out if its actually your psp. do you remember your psp's serial number? if so, have him take a picture of front, back, top, & bottom (where the serial # is). how well did you pack this item? if it really did take a hit during shipment, its really not your fault. although i would still feel bad for the buyer. but be prepared for a negative feedback.
 
[quote name='phear3d']i would try to find out if its actually your psp. do you remember your psp's serial number? if so, have him take a picture of front, back, top, & bottom (where the serial # is). how well did you pack this item? if it really did take a hit during shipment, its really not your fault. although i would still feel bad for the buyer. but be prepared for a negative feedback.[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing about the serial number. But, even if you don't know the serial number, still ask the buyer for the picture of it. They might be scared off by the balk (if they are out to scam of course)
 
If it breaks in transit it's the responsibility of the seller. Insurance is for your protection, so if you don't want to have to foot the cost of anything getting trashed by the USPS buy insurance.

But yeah this could be a scam of course, and it sounds like your gut is telling you it's a scam. I'd do as most others have suggested here and request the buyer ship it back to you before you refund. Hopefully if he is trying to pull one on you he'll just drop it.

If he's telling the truth he'll probably be able to get a refund from PayPal or barring that from his credit card (if he used one to pay.) Depends on if he knows his options and chooses to exercise them of course.
 
Yeah your responsible for any damages in shipping. If he did open a dispute paypal would require him to send it back to you before processing any refund. You really should have taken a picture of the serial number first though so he can't attempt to return a broken system in place of yours.
 
[quote name='freakyzeeky']That's what I was thinking as well, but I didn't offer insurance in my auction, which I usually do in my auction, just forgot to offer it.
Could I get hit with a dispute even though I think this is a scam?[/quote]

No, the buyer has the opportunity before paying to contact you and negotiate things like insurance and alternate payment. There is nothing that compells him/her to push Pay Now without talking to you first.

Feel bad about it, take the negative feedback and move on.
 
[quote name='wubb']If it breaks in transit it's the responsibility of the seller. Insurance is for your protection, so if you don't want to have to foot the cost of anything getting trashed by the USPS buy insurance.

[/quote]

Where is this stated in either Ebay or Paypals policy?
 
I've had to deal with this numerous times. Usually it's someone trying to scam me, but I've had legit cases before too. This lead me to always insure shipments and just include it in the shipping amount. That aside, your responsibility as a seller is to prove that something was delivered to the buyer. You could have mailed him a brick, but as long as it weighed the same as the actual item and you can show proof of delivery, you are fine through paypal and ebay's protection clauses.

Sounds kinda messed up, I know, but it's a loophole in their system. (I've experienced this as a buyer and received damaged items where I was required to go to a local service center and get a repair quote, etc.) It ends up being too expensive to jump through the hoops and I gave up, but this is how their system works.

So I guess my point is as long as you can prove that something was delivered to the buyer, then you are fine. Hope this helps.
 
I'll second Wubb's posting - insurance is ultimately to alleviate any potential headaches for the seller. In my auctions, I state that I'll provide a refund after the money is refunded from purchased insurance.

In my 200+ online trades using many methods of delivery, I've never had one parcel arrive damaged or ruined. With the 0 FB and fishy sign-up date, it sounds like a scammer, especially if the account was Unverified. That sounds like a new Paypal account too.

If he does send back, be careful that he doesn't send you a box of rocks with weight equivalent to a PSP since Paypal requires some sort of delivery confirmation for a refund.
 
You're right, Caliburn, this is exactly why I never allow returns. All sales final. I know this turns off a lot of potential buyers, but it also keeps scammers away. I guess you have to weigh the benefits versus the cost of possibly being scammed. Returns from ebay buyers are rarely a good idea, it just opens you up to too much risk.
 
I'd say ask for pics, (multiple pics so you can be SURE its the EXACT PSP you sent to him).

I will ship via UPS 99% of the time because they offer free insurance up to 100 dollars. (minus a small deductible) Paypal and ebay offer insurance as well, not 100% sure how that works.
 
[quote name='mazut']You're right, Caliburn, this is exactly why I never allow returns. All sales final. I know this turns off a lot of potential buyers, but it also keeps scammers away. I guess you have to weigh the benefits versus the cost of possibly being scammed. Returns from ebay buyers are rarely a good idea, it just opens you up to too much risk.[/quote]

If you accept paypal you HAVE to accept returns because thats their solution to EVERY dispute.

Also don't forget if he opens a dispute paypal will freeze the money in your account since its value is over $100, if its under $100 your account will be put into negative.
 
Well from the pictures you can't see any damage on the screen. So it's either broke in transit or a scam, that much we figure. If you have a serial number like others say that's really your only cover at this point.

While it may not be specific on Ebay or Paypal policies, the buyer does have a reasonable expectation to getting an item that's not damaged. Most people here would complain if they got something from a store that was broke. I know you are not a store but the buyer expectation is still there.

On the subject of insurance, you mention you didn't put it in the listing, but with the shipping you charged you could have easily afforded to purchase it. You charged $22 for shipping. Flat rate priority shipping is $9.00, DC on that would be about $.65 I believe, and insurance on $142.50 would be around $3 I think. So the total to ship this through USPS Priority mail is under $13. I think with the extra $9 you charged on shipping you could have bought packing peanuts or at least a newspaper for padding in the box.

I'm sorry if you didn't like the above, but I think you are going to have to eat this if you don't have insurance or serial numbers.
 
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