Pitney Bowes opened my parcel and ripped rare item apart

[retrogal]

I purchased a hand carved Japanese puzzle box that is over 70 years old. I had been searching for a while and the seller did not add the key word that is was Japanese . My 7 years of searching paid off and I got this box worth well over $500 for $9.50 +$20.86 shipping. ($13.86 went to Pitney Bowes). I have not purchased off of ebay for a while and was not aware of Pitney Bowes before.

I was so happy when the parcel arrived and once opened extremely disappointed. On top of the bubble wrap was a card that had fallen to the ground. I reached to pick it up and the a piece of the box also fell to the floor. The Card stated "notice of parcel check your parcel was checked and re-sealed.  This 70 year old hand crafted box was pulled apart. Destroyed ! Why was this done what recourse do I have?

[i*m-still-here]

They opened one of my packages as well and treated a delicate item with such disrespect that I'm amazed it arrived undamaged.

I agree.  It's a big problem.

I don't mean to be harsh, and trust me:  I sympathize with you 100%, but would it be possible to repair your item?

I can't see any actual damage.

There are some nice glues with needle-like applicators which are easy to use and very precise.

Since you scored a $500 item for about $30 all you can do is suck it up.

The repairs might not even show.

[femmefan1946]

It would be best to start by contacting the seller and asking what she intends to do about the damage. Remind her politely that the shipping service is HER sub-contractor and SHE is still responsible for any problems in shipping.

It is likely that she would want the item back before refunding.

If so, you should use a Confirmed Delivery service.

She is also not going to want or be able to refund the money collected by Pitney Bowes.

The duty and taxes you have to reclaim yourself. Call CBSA . The amount should be on your invoice.

There does not seem to be a system for reclaiming the PB brokerage fee. There could be an arguement made that PB did perform the service they were contracted for and therefore don't have to return it. Which is where "legal" differs from "honest", especially since the damage seems to have happened at the PB plant.

Now do you want to go through all that, especially if, as the other poster believes, you got a pretty nice item for 1/10th the value?

[afantiques]

It would be best to start by contacting the seller and asking what she intends to do about the damage. Remind her politely that the shipping service is HER sub-contractor and SHE is still responsible for any problems in shipping.

It is likely that she would want the item back before refunding.

If so, you should use a Confirmed Delivery service.

She is also not going to want or be able to refund the money collected by Pitney Bowes.

The duty and taxes you have to reclaim yourself. Call CBSA . The amount should be on your invoice.

There does not seem to be a system for reclaiming the PB brokerage fee. There could be an arguement made that PB did perform the service they were contracted for and therefore don't have to return it. Which is where "legal" differs from "honest", especially since the damage seems to have happened at the PB plant.

Now do you want to go through all that, especially if, as the other poster believes, you got a pretty nice item for 1/10th the value?

This is actually all wrong. It looked like that a month ago but there have been clarifications since.

PB assume contractural responsibilty for the iem if it reaches KY safely.

In the event that you want to claim for a damaged item, you need to do this though ebay as SNAD, and it will be handled by the GSP process, the seller has no responsibility and will not be involved in the claim process.

This is all spelled out in the full terms and conditions for use of the GSP. It is a lengthy document so it is not surprising few have read it.

In these special circumstances, where the item is believed by you to be worth loads more than the price you paid, getting that price back would not be much consolation, and that (plus your GSP costs) is all that you'd be eligible for.

On the bright side, you may not be asked to return the item, since to the system it is both low value and broken, but this is not 100% certain. You have a chance at reclaiming all you costs and keeping the item. That's your choice.

If the possibly repairable 'remains' are worth more than you have paid, the sensible thing to do would be to simply forget it, write the costs off as a piece of bad luck to balance the good luck.

If the seller had not been using the GSP, and thus been avoided by most buyers, you might have had to pay a lot more.

[i*m-still-here]

Just to set the record straight:  I did not say this is a $500 item.

The OP stated it is and so I didn't debate it, but that does not mean I think it is….. :).

I'm also not convinced it's damaged.

I just accepted those statements as posted because I'm in no position to debate them.

I should have also suggested that the buyer contact the seller about the damage.

Perhaps the seller has insurance and can refund.

Problem is that once those clowns get their knuckles in there questions about damage get complicated.

It seems that now they're enclosing a note to let us know they had their fingers in there.

As if that makes everything OK.  NOT!

[retrogal]

Repair the item?  I am still trying. If you are not familiar with this type of box there are many moves. For example one side has four slides that move about 1cm each. After they are move you can slide that end up about 5mm. Then turn it around and start moving the slides on opposite the end. Once the ends have been moved a certain amount it will allow you to start making tiny moves now on the top and bottom of the box. You keep making tiny moves on all sides of the box. Sometimes closing and re opening each piece until finally it unlocks one of the sides to open all the way. I have spent several hours daily trying to figure it out.  Its not that is. Its a puzzle within a Japanese Puzzle box.

[marnotom!]

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

I should have also suggested that the buyer contact the seller about the damage.

Perhaps the seller has insurance and can refund.

Problem is that once those clowns get their knuckles in there questions about damage get complicated.

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Exactly.  Seeing as the seller's insurance would have only covered the portion of the shipment between the item's point of origin and the Global Shipping Center, insurance wouldn't cover this damage.

By all means, the seller should be notified of the damage done to the item, but as per the terms of the GSP, it's not the seller's responsibility to make the buyer--um--whole.

AF's post explains well the procedures and reasoning behind them.