Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on October 7, 2014 at 9:52am

If a claim is filed, the buyer will follow ebay's steps to return the item. Ebay will freeze the funds in your account and upon deciding the case in his favor, issue a refund to the buyer. You will lose the money.  

A similar thing happened to me a few years ago with a Clint Eastwood 11x14. I issued a full refund upon the return of the item, and once I had it in hand, I went to a local frame shop, they pressed the photo and mounted it to a foam coreboard. As long as the crease doesn't break the gloss of the photo ....you will never know it was there.  

Total cost was under $50.

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on October 7, 2014 at 9:56am

Just as a quick follow up, since that time, if I ship any image larger than 8x10, it is either rolled in a crush proof tube inside a secondary crush proof tube or box, or it is placed into a hard plastic toploader then boxed.

Any flat larger than 8x10 is bound to be bent no matter how strong the cardboard is, this is just a fact when it comes to the USPS. 

If your description did not say that insurance is available for an additional charge, ebay buyers don't even think to request it because of the buyer protection policy.

 

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 7, 2014 at 10:01am

Agree with Pete.

Don't play the partial refund game. 

Get it back and it will flatten out under weight as long as there are no creases that break the surface. Bends in a photo will go away. In my experience, just putting it in a binder sleeve in the middle of a full binder will flatten it after a week or two.

Just be sure the buyer returns it packed securely. Maybe throw him a few bucks to buy a mailing tube.

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Permalink Reply by Cogo on October 7, 2014 at 10:20am

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help! But to be honest. I still don´t know what to do.

For example, I just got a pm from a friend and he thought this were a difficult case because as he said "You packed it as best as you could. You can't control the postal service mis-handling".

When you Pete below explained how ebays buyers protection work, it sounded like you´re sure they will decide in the buyers favor. Do they always do that, even if I claim to have shipped it safe enough and that the postal service is the one to blaim?

Thanks again!!

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on October 7, 2014 at 10:28am

I have worked as the main ebay seller, for the shop I work in, for over a decade.  There is no doubt in my mind that ebay will side with the buyer. That is what ebay does. 

For this reason alone, each and every item we sell is fully insured, no matter what the cost and no matter where it is going.

Ebay is doing everything in their power to attract buyers into the world of safe internet shopping, and the only way to do that is to make every transaction bulletproof for the buyer. The seller be damned.  

Unfortunately if you did not insure the item for it's full value (at your end), you did not do "everything" that you could.

If your description did not offer insurance at an added fee, you have already lost in ebay's eyes.

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Permalink Reply by Cogo on October 7, 2014 at 10:31am

Thanks for explaining Pete! I really appreciate your help!!

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Permalink Reply by michelle on October 7, 2014 at 10:36am

Unfortunately Jan, if the buyer does decide to open a claim you will probably lose.  It isn't your fault that it arrived damaged but the buyer may not see that because he or she will argue that it wasn't packed correctly or securely enough.  If the buyer is reasonable he or she will send it back but they may not want to pay for extra shipping from USA to Sweden so maybe an idea would be as someone else has suggested to offer to pay return postage to Sweden because then he or she looks really unreasonable if they open a case against you.

You need to make a quick decision though IMO , to pre-empt a case being opened against you re item damaged which unfortunately you will probably lose .  Sorry not to be the bearer of better news.  Hope this helps

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Permalink Reply by Chad B on October 7, 2014 at 10:45am

It really stinks to take a hit when you did nothing wrong. If the buyer plays the victim than you will probably lose. In the buyers case, if it actually arrived like that, I wouldn't be happy either. Nobody wins in this situation.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 7, 2014 at 10:49am

Pete and Michelle are right.

eBay wants to be Amazon. And like Amazon who will refund or replace for any reason, eBay will do the same.

Amazon is a multi-billion dollar company that can write off losses, which are a tiny fraction of their overall sales. Regrettably with eBay, small sellers must shoulder the same burden but don't have the scale and tax advantages a large corporation has. You just have to eat it.

And you'll come back anyway because there is no competition.

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Permalink Reply by Cogo on October 7, 2014 at 10:51am

Thanks everyone! I will reach out to the buyer and see if we can find a solution we both can accept...

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Permalink Reply by J.Seah on October 7, 2014 at 11:07am

I had a similar situation earlier this year while buying a signed picture on Ebay. it arrived damage with a light crease down the side. Luckily seller did insured the item and was able to claim from USPS. We came to an agreement and I got a 50% refund on it. Frame it up and you can't even see the crease. :)

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on October 7, 2014 at 4:37pm

My "Two Cents."

I always felt it was the seller's responsibility to make sure the item is securely packaged.  I always go the extra mile when I pack an item.  And lately, I've "Insured" every item I sell.

It's worth the extra few bucks to add "Insurance."

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