am I responsible for stolen package?

We sold a ring and shipped with ups, the ring value was $500 and delivered without signature. Buyer said never received, and I made claim with ups. Ups investigated and told buyer to make a police report.

So my question is, does that mean this is out of ups' hand since it is a matter of stolen good? Who is going to be responsible for paying back to the buyer? And to be honest, I did not purchase full insurance for the ring because based on ebay policy under $750 I'm only required to provide tracking on delivery, which in ups' defence, they indeed delivered. Buyer has not gone through resolution centre, only has contacted me. Please help, thank you.
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am I responsible for stolen package?

According to  ebay and paypal seller protection rules, you are not responsible if the ups says that the item was delivered as you have fulfilled that obligation. It is up to you how you want to handle the situation with the buyer. You might want to put some pressure on UPS to investigate further. It's always possible that the item was delivered to the wrong place so perhaps you could find out if they talked to the driver.

 

I feel for the buyer if someone did steal the package from their front door but if I was in your situation, I don't know how I would handle it as you did what you were supposed to do and shouldn't be out the money either. If it is any consolation, even if you had bought insurance I doubt that it would be honored if the item was deemed to be delivered.

 

UPS is notorious for leaving the package in front of the door without letting the homeowner know so if you use UPS in the future for an expensive item, you should think about getting signature confirmation.

 

 

Message 2 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?

Like stated, eBay recommends signature required on items over $750, but personally, anything over $150 I would buy signature confirmation. I do not mind spending the extra buck to be safe. BTW, is it International or Domestic?

Message 3 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?

If the buyer goes to the Resolution Centre with this claim, you will win because the electronic record shows delivery.

So no you owe the buyer nothing.

 

UPS is your sub-contractor, so do cooperate with the buyer in putting pressure on them to investigate further. The item may have been left with a neighbour. Or it may have been stolen by a passerby. Or by the UPS driver. In two of those scenarious UPS may wish to speak with the driver.

 

Tell the buyer to file a police report about the theft.

If the buyer is honest, this will not be a problem, and it may shake up UPS too.

If the buyer is not honest, this suggestion will probably end the entire conversation.

 

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am I responsible for stolen package?


@buffelz wrote:

Like stated, eBay recommends signature required on items over $750, but personally, anything over $150 I would buy signature confirmation. I do not mind spending the extra buck to be safe. BTW, is it International or Domestic?


How does a signature make anything more 'safe'?

 

Many buyers just get annoyed if they are forced to go to the post office to pick up a package and sign for it. 

Message 5 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?


@pjcdn2005 wrote:

@buffelz wrote:

Like stated, eBay recommends signature required on items over $750, but personally, anything over $150 I would buy signature confirmation. I do not mind spending the extra buck to be safe. BTW, is it International or Domestic?


How does a signature make anything more 'safe'?

 

Many buyers just get annoyed if they are forced to go to the post office to pick up a package and sign for it. 


Well - it's better than losing five hundred bucks.

 

.

__________________________________________________________

Old enough to know better. Young enough to do it again. Crazy enough to try
Message 6 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?

It is domestic within Canada
Message 7 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?

I did phone ups a few times already to speed up the process. The buyer told me the ups guy went to see her last night, ask her to sign a firm (not sure what kind of form) and told her to make a police report. I'm not sure if it means ups concluded it is a police matter or is it a standard procedure? Anyway, im still waiting for ups to give me an official report...
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am I responsible for stolen package?

Thank you all for the kind answers.
Message 9 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?

How does a signature make anything more 'safe'?

 

The driver can't just leave a 'signature required' item tucked behind the screen door?

And the buyer would have a harder time convincing Paypal that she never received the item she signed for?

 

Picking up an item at the PO is fairly easy for most urban dwellers. UPS pickups are trickier, although most urban areas do have a fair number of UPS Stores nowadays. Better than in the recent past, when we had to drive out to the airport.

But it can be an annoyance.

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am I responsible for stolen package?


@rosscd57 wrote:

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

@buffelz wrote:

Like stated, eBay recommends signature required on items over $750, but personally, anything over $150 I would buy signature confirmation. I do not mind spending the extra buck to be safe. BTW, is it International or Domestic?


How does a signature make anything more 'safe'?

 

Many buyers just get annoyed if they are forced to go to the post office to pick up a package and sign for it. 


Well - it's better than losing five hundred bucks.

 

.


The seller would not be losing five hundred dollars in this situation because the item was shown as being delivered. I would probably use signature confirmation for some items regardless of the rules for seller protection but paying extra for it for a $150 item when it is not going to benefit me seems silly.

Message 11 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?


@reallynicestamps wrote:

How does a signature make anything more 'safe'?

 

The driver can't just leave a 'signature required' item tucked behind the screen door?

And the buyer would have a harder time convincing Paypal that she never received the item she signed for?

 

Picking up an item at the PO is fairly easy for most urban dwellers. UPS pickups are trickier, although most urban areas do have a fair number of UPS Stores nowadays. Better than in the recent past, when we had to drive out to the airport.

But it can be an annoyance.


Delivery confirmation is enough to prove that an item has been received if the value is less than a specific amount so it's unlikely that a buyer would win anyway.

 

Picking up a package is relatively simple for me as I can go to the postal outlet but in the U.S. many of the post offices are not open as late as our postal outlets are and it may be very difficult for a buyer to get to the p.o when they are working.  I've read many posts on the U.S. boards about packages that have been returned because the buyer wasn't aware when they purchased the item that they would have to go to the post office to pick it up. Some of those buyers were unable to go pick it up and I'm sure were just unwilling but either way, the seller has lost that sale.

 

It just doesn't make sense to me to spend extra money when it does not protect the seller 'more' and since the chances of a parcel being stolen are slim, it's not worth the possibility that the buyer will have a hassle to pick the parcel up.

 

If it is stated in the listing that signature confirmation will be required, that is slightly different although even  then, many buyers are going to miss that statement.

 

Message 12 of 13
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am I responsible for stolen package?

Yes, the pickup will be easier for some than for others.

 

But

The driver can't just leave the parcel, which makes the non-delivery/theft moot.

And not all claims of non-delivery are valid. The point is to discourage scammers.

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