shipping damages

[cladner]

So I haven't really encountered this and was wondering what others have done.

 

I sent a package USPS priority last week.

Buyer sends pictures today showing outside box and inside contents being crushed.

I sent it to him MINT - lots of packing materials, all new shipping boxes.

He sent me an FYI - not asking for anything but showing me the boxes have been clearly damaged on shipping.

 

Am I responsible for this?

Has anyone else encountered this before ?(i'm sure this must be common...)

 

Any recourse for obtaining damages from shipper?

[justafrog]

Yes, you are responsible. The shipping company you contracted with failed to deliver the product in the condition you advertised to the buyer.

 

If you purchased insurance or if you used a shipper who offers some basic insurance free, you can file a claim with them - contact them to find out their procedures.

 

Apologize to the buyer and see if he asks for anything. If he doesn't (just wants to build it, etc.) not a big problem. If he does open a claim, you'll lose.

[njseale]

You are responsible. It is up to the buyer if he is okay with it or not. Do what it takes to make him happy.

 

Shipping damage will happen no matter a certain percentage of the time(.5-1% of the time for me) so best not worry about it and write off the damages at the end of they year.

[c666187]

If he does not demand anything, I would likely give him a small discount/refund (5%-10%) for not making your life hell. 

[cladner]

thanks for your input.

by responsibility I meant do I have to come up with two replacement sets - which I didn't have.  i should be more specific.

 

luckily these were 2 MHC's from target that I got for $33 total so its not like I'm out anything - more worried about my rep.

 

I offered to give him a full refund and pay out of my pocket to ship them back or he can keep them and I will give him  $20 refund with is more than 25%of the final price. 

 

Its so annoying that it got crushed so completely.  It looks like some jumped up and down it.  And this was a fresh repurposed shipping box from LEGO Shop at Home.

 

When i start selling big sets I will be sure to use insurance. and wood crates.

 

I'm also thinking about giving UPS or FedEx a try.

[justafrog]

thanks for your input.

by responsibility I meant do I have to come up with two replacement sets - which I didn't have.  i should be more specific.

 

luckily these were 2 MHC's from target that I got for $33 total so its not like I'm out anything - more worried about my rep.

 

I offered to give him a full refund and pay out of my pocket to ship them back or he can keep them and I will give him  $20 refund with is more than 25%of the final price. 

 

Its so annoying that it got crushed so completely.  It looks like some jumped up and down it.  And this was a fresh repurposed shipping box from LEGO Shop at Home.

 

When i start selling big sets I will be sure to use insurance. and wood crates.

 

I'm also thinking about giving UPS or FedEx a try.

 

No, you don't have to find replacements - a refund for a return, or a partial refund if he wants to keep them, are both perfectly reasonable offers on your part. If he opens an item not described case to try to get more than that, you can simply reiterate those options and eBay will back you on them. You will get a defect mark on your eBay account, but that's limited to one per transaction no matter what he does - opens case, receives full refund, leaves negative feedback, or all of the above.

[naf]

I just shipped a set out to a bricklink buyer a few weeks ago that got smashed by USPS.  It looks like it was run over by a truck, completely destroyed.  The set was $50, so I was covered by USPS Priority mail's included insurance.  I included pictures of the damaged box as well as a screen shot of the bricklink invoice to prove value.  It was approved after a few days and I just got the check today.  In the meantime, I refunded the buyer the full cost so that they didn't have to wait for USPS to send out the check.

 

Always get the insurance, make sure you pack well (they will deny claims due to insufficient packaging), and take lots of pictures.

[justafrog]

Always get the insurance,

 

Always do a cost/benefit analysis. Clearly the free insurance for priority shipments is a no-brainer - we all get that.

 

But if you're suggesting to always buy insurance for every package, that's an entirely different kettle of fish. I ship thousands of packages every year and once or twice a year something goes missing or gets eaten by delivery gremlins of one sort or another. It's very rare that buying insurance makes financial sense for me.

[naf]

Always do a cost/benefit analysis. Clearly the free insurance for priority shipments is a no-brainer - we all get that.

 

But if you're suggesting to always buy insurance for every package, that's an entirely different kettle of fish. I ship thousands of packages every year and once or twice a year something goes missing or gets eaten by delivery gremlins of one sort or another. It's very rare that buying insurance makes financial sense for me.

 

On ebay, I bake the cost of insurance into my shipping costs.  On bricklink, I state upfront that insurance is charged to the buyer so it's something that is known up front and it won't hit my bottom line.  I don't have that much volume, so losing a set to the USPS hurts.  That's the perspective I'm coming from.  But I agree with you, if you're doing a lot of volume it doesn't make sense to insure every package.