Item Damaged in transit

Summary: katlover1952 is seeking advice after a buyer reported a brass candlestick was damaged during transit, but failed to provide the necessary photo evidence to process an insurance claim, having discarded the packaging. katlover1952 is considering refunding the price of the item without the shipping costs, as they cannot retrieve these expenses, and is unsure about the need for the item to be returned. Other participants discuss the challenges of processing claims through eBay's system, with lotzofuniquegoodies highlighting the difficulty due to the platform's ownership of the shipping account and suggesting checking tracking details for any damage notes. reallynicestamps advises that the seller has a right to demand the return, or to negotiate the refund, pointing out that the issue may stem from packaging or handling errors. byto253 suggests requesting the buyer to open an "Item Not as Described" claim to avoid potential issues with the seller's eBay account from a direct refund, while hansatrade shares that they usually refund without issue in similar situations.

Would like some advice & info from some of sellers. I shipped a parcel before Xmas (a brass candle stick). The buyer just recently sent me a pic of the item which had been damaged in transit (was bent). I replied I was sorry that had happened & would refund to her but needed a pic of the damaged package in order to make my insurance claim. Had to message her twice requesting the pic & finally heard from her on Thu that she had thrown the package out without taking a pic so could not give me one. This kind of leaves me up the creek as far as making an insurance claim because although the item is definitely damaged without a pic of the box showing the damage the damage could have been done later. She has requested my address to return it. Now as far as I know with a damaged item there is no need to return. My question is am I required to do the refund without a pic of the damaged packaging? Could I just refund her the price of the item without the shipping (as I cannot get that back now either) & advise her she does not need to return which saves her the shipping cost to return (cause I am not paying for it to come back). I want to be fair about this but on the other hand I am out now. Thoughts suggestions from other seller who may have had a similiar situation.

Thanks.

katlover1952

3350 View listings

Posted 2 years ago·Last reply 2 years ago

7 comments

lotzofuniquegoodies

·2 years ago

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@katlover1952 wrote:
Would like some advice & info from some of sellers. I shipped a parcel before Xmas (a brass candle stick). The buyer just recently sent me a pic of the item which had been damaged in transit (was bent). I replied I was sorry that had happened & would refund to her but needed a pic of the damaged package in order to make my insurance claim. Had to message her twice requesting the pic & finally heard from her on Thu that she had thrown the package out without taking a pic so could not give me one. This kind of leaves me up the creek as far as making an insurance claim because although the item is definitely damaged without a pic of the box showing the damage the damage could have been done later. She has requested my address to return it. Now as far as I know with a damaged item there is no need to return. My question is am I required to do the refund without a pic of the damaged packaging? Could I just refund her the price of the item without the shipping (as I cannot get that back now either) & advise her she does not need to return which saves her the shipping cost to return (cause I am not paying for it to come back). I want to be fair about this but on the other hand I am out now. Thoughts suggestions from other seller who may have had a similiar situation.
Thanks.

@katlover1952

Have you checked the tracking details on both CP and USPS for any notes of damage. It may have been noted but no guarantees. You can also check to see if there was a photo attached to the tracking when it was delivered. Because most parcels are now no signature that is the alternative method for the post office and couriers as back up confirmation an item was delivered. You may need the customers zip code to view the display.

-Lotz

PS. In days of old (seems like 1000 years ago) when signing for parcels you could add notes like received damaged or subject to inspection.) That applied to paper bills and signing on the drivers scanner.

katlover1952

OP2 years ago

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No notes on any of the tracking details so guess I am just out of luck on this. I told the buyer I would refund & no need to return. I figure if she opens a case eBay will make me refund it all anyway. Thanks for the suggestion though.

byto253

·2 years ago

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Yes, you can do a full eBay refund without a return or pictures. I would request them to file an Item Not as Described claim and in the text indicate damaged in the shipping. You can then just refund without having a strike on your account.

If you just flat out do a refund for 100% you may end up with a strike on your account - I am not sure but I think there is something odd that can occur if you do a 100% without a claim open. Just to be safe I would have them open the claim and it is also the correct procedure. If they do not file it, you do not refund.

Perhaps the claim from the buyer indicating shipping damage may help with a claim?

reallynicestamps

·2 years ago

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It's pretty hard to bend a brass candlestick.

Give her your address and let her return it.

If she wants you to pay you can buy a Canada Post return shipping label here

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/business/shipping/find-rates-ship/snap-ship.page

If she lives inthe USA you can buy a USPS *shipping label here

https://apps.goshippo.com/join

Then refund.

The insurance is your problem and between you and the shipper.

Although I agree that throwing away the wrapping on something damaged enough to bendmetalis ....concerning.

*And a lot of Americans don't think foreigners can buy USPS labels. They are wrong. Mwah hah hah ha.

Now as far as I know with a damaged item there is no need to return.

But you do have the right to demand the return.

No refund without return.

Could I just refund her the price of the item without the shipping (as I cannot get that back now either)

Well you can negotiate, but if the candlestick really was damaged in shipping, that'sneither herfault nor her responsibility.

It may be your fault (poor packaging) or the shippers fault( destructive handling) but whatever, it is your responsibility.

hansatrade

·2 years ago

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I had similar cases in the past, some genuine, some were false claims. I always refunded money with apologies. Surely, it depends, what was the price of your item (mine were in 25-35 USD range).

lotzofuniquegoodies

·2 years ago

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@hansatrade wrote:
I had similar cases in the past, some genuine, some were false claims. I always refunded money with apologies. Surely, it depends, what was the price of your item (mine were in 25-35 USD range).

When I have processed using my own CP account with cooperation from buyer, to date there was a much better chance of the claim being accepted vs rejected. The seller should not be left in the lurch because of eBay being the owner of the account after refunding. From my searches within eBay help there is nothing listed regarding how to proceed in these situations and eBay Labels has been around for several years so it should have been addressed by now. In many of these cases (not all) but most if the damage is substantial there are limited reasons as to why an item should be returned. (As a general statement.) Problem being it takes cooperation from buyer to complete any claims. That includes damaged, late or lost.

-Lotz

lotzofuniquegoodies

·2 years ago

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@katlover1952 wrote:
Would like some advice & info from some of sellers. I shipped a parcel before Xmas (a brass candle stick). The buyer just recently sent me a pic of the item which had been damaged in transit (was bent). I replied I was sorry that had happened & would refund to her but needed a pic of the damaged package in order to make my insurance claim. Had to message her twice requesting the pic & finally heard from her on Thu that she had thrown the package out without taking a pic so could not give me one. This kind of leaves me up the creek as far as making an insurance claim because although the item is definitely damaged without a pic of the box showing the damage the damage could have been done later. She has requested my address to return it. Now as far as I know with a damaged item there is no need to return. My question is am I required to do the refund without a pic of the damaged packaging? Could I just refund her the price of the item without the shipping (as I cannot get that back now either) & advise her she does not need to return which saves her the shipping cost to return (cause I am not paying for it to come back). I want to be fair about this but on the other hand I am out now. Thoughts suggestions from other seller who may have had a similiar situation.
Thanks.

@katlover1952

@devon@ebay Is there a procedure in place to assist sellers in these types of situations? As noted in previous posts because eBay OWNS the CP Label account number processing a claim is now next to impossible compared to the past when the account was tied directly to the seller. I've had 2 claims in the past few years rejected because there was NO way for CP/USPS to contact the customer to confirm information.

Thanks,

-Lotzofuniquegoodies