received a returned item damaged

[elle-tuxedo-cat]

Hi there.

I am a seller and received a returned item recently from the US - I'm in Canada. It was returned in a brown padded envelope (not my original bubble mailer), first-class (it cost about $10 for a very light item) and when I received it was taped and torn all over and the item inside was damaged. I immediately took pictures and phoned Canada Post and filed a 'ticket' (whatever that means). Apparently the responsibility lies with the USPS insurance but Canada Post took the info nonetheless.

Anyhow, I'm pretty sure this didn't come with insurance. There's no numeric bar code on the package - nothing to scan. My problem is I know this woman is going to be freaked out - it's a $100 item - and I don't know what to do. It's not fair to me nor to her.

What should I do?

Thanks in advance!

[momcqueen]

I think you are going to have to call ebay about this one. I see a few things wrong here that are going to create difficulties, beginning with the fact it was sent back untraced which is a big no-no and the second being that it was sent without adequate packaging. How did you send it to the buyer? In your Returns instructions, it should state that any item must be returned in its original shipping container (the one used by the seller) so as to prevent this sort of thing from happening. 

[elle-tuxedo-cat]

Thank you for replying. I will have to phone ebay but sometimes I get the strangest answers from them - often they make no sense, there is absolutely no logic or intelligence applied to the simplest of queries - sorry! - maybe that's only eBay Canada! Yes, there was no tracking but in honesty, I think the buyer/returner was trying to save me money which makes this so much harder!!! (I always use high quality bubble mailers from Staples - you can't rip them!)

[momcqueen]

It's a tricky spot to be in, for certain. The buyer is obligated to send a return back with tracking or ebay will simply say he/she kept it. Tracking is key. Was this a formal Return? Like, through the Resolution Centre? Was it being sent back because the buyer didn't like it or was this a SNAD? The fact it came back damaged only makes it more complicated to try to fix. I'd like to see what advice other ebay members have for you. Sit tight and I'm certain some will come around. I have some other thoughts but I don't want to muddy the waters just yet.

[reallynicestamps]

Was it the buyer who supplied the padded envelope or USPS/Canada Post? If it was a postal service, there would be a notification of some sort.

 A bubble envelope is no more secure than a bubble envelope, except against water, so if the buyer chose the padded envelope there should not be a problem.

 and when I received it was taped and torn all over and the item inside was damaged.

Was this done by the USPS/Canada Post?

Again there would be a notice.

If it were done by the postal service, then your buyer returned the item as requested and is not responsible for the damage.

Refund her.  Sob into your pillow and punch the wall. Put the loss in the books as a business expense.

The 'ticket' may eventually turn into a payout. Fingers crossed.

If the damage happened before the postal service was involved, you should call eBay. While the buyer cannot prove that she returned the item at all, ethically this makes no difference.

[dmil8030]

<<when I received it was taped and torn all over and the item inside was damaged>>

I'm curios, -- did the buyer return the item in a package like this, or could it have been opened by Customs?  What do you mean "taped"?  An opened parcel will be resealed with that yellow 'hazard' tape and say that it was Customs Canada who did it.  

You don't say what the extent of the damage is.  Are you able to block out the names/addresses and take a picture of the package?  

What was the reason for the return?

[elle-tuxedo-cat]

No this was a bought envelope - the kind you purchase at the drug store - not a prepaid type USPS deal.

The damage was not marked by any special tape - it was plain packing tape and the envelope wasn't opened - it was torn apart halfway down the centre - it looked chewed up. The garment has a bunch of snags on it now which it didn't have before. Frankly I'm done worrying about it - there's more important things to deal with. I'll call ebay and let them make the call - even if I get the same ebay customer rep I always do - and she's mostly hard to understand and lacks any sense of logic..oh well.

[deeeight]

Well if it wasn't shipped via a trackable return method, do nothing. They cannot prove they returned the item then and its the buyers responsibility to do that. Ebay would settle a return case in your favour.