How would you handle this ebay problem?

[clovis97]

I recently listed a hard to find 78 RPM album on ebay in an auction. It sold for $21.

The buyer just sent an email saying that the record arrived broken in half.

For packing, I sandwiched the album between cardboard. The album did not have a cover like most 33 RPM's do.

The buyer has 1015 positive feedback, at 100%.

Should I ask him to email me pics? Have him return the broken record? Just give the $21 refund plus the $3.85 for shipping?

Thanks! I appreciate your input.

 

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[calisdad]

Have him email pics and if it checks out refund his money.

I had a beautiful vintage hand plane show up in 3 pieces once. Blew me away. I pack well and ship insured from now on and it has saved me. Put yourself in his shoes. Your feedback is worth more than 21 bucks. Move on.

 

[jnkhntr]

Put yourself in his shoes, then treat him as you would like to be treated.

 

[clovis97]

Update:

The buyer emailed me a photo, and I refunded his money, promptly, as I always do.

 

[diggummup]

I had a piece "arrive" broken once. It was a piece of Roseville pottery that I could have drop kicked like a football it was wrapped and packed so well. I couldn't believe it was broken. It was chipped at the top rim. As if the person was using a pair of scissors or something to cut it out of the multiple layers of bubble wrap it was packed in. I know it was customer caused damage but I still had to refund the money because I couldn't prove it. I guess it was a case of being wrapped too well.
Another time I had a piece that actually did break in half. It was a heavy solid piece of cut glass. I had them email a photo of it first, then refunded their money.

 

[clovis97]

Thanks, Dig.

It has been a while since I've had a buyer report that something arrived broken. In fact, it has been several years.

The only exception is that a guy recently reported that the padded Tyvek envelope that I sent "had blown out" and that he lost 6 of the 8 NOS spark plugs. I had wrapped every inch of that package in thick packing tape. As well, those plugs had been packed inside their boxes and the original sleeve/set box.

While the package really could have gotten damaged, or have been tampered with, the wife and I believe he may have been fishing for an immediate, no questions asked refund.

I told him how sick I was to lose the plugs (true) and that I hated to have sold them (true) and that I own a car those plugs were correct for (true). I was bracing myself for giving a refund. Within minutes of that email, he left glowing, positive feedback, and replied that he "would never want to mess up perfect FB like you have."

That guy spent almost $60 on those plugs. Who takes a hit like that if he was telling the truth?

 

[cyberdan]

I once has some "lady" buy a brass container with fitted lid. Even tho it was heavy brass I wrapped it good. She claimed when it arrived the lid was dented and she wanted a refund. I asked her to send a pic which she refused and started to get intimaditing. I checked out her address and it was in the ghetto of los angeles called south central. Maybe she was trying out for a spot on Hardcore Pawn she would fit right in.

I called her bluff and refused a refund. she never bothered me again and never left any feedback. I wonder how many people she has done this to?

 

[Iron Patch]

Update:

The buyer emailed me a photo, and I refunded his money, promptly, as I always do.

That's the right move. You're going to lose regardless, so might as well get it over with and not catch the negative feedback. I think you packed it to most people's expectations, but not so good to eliminate a possible problem.... so in other words it's just bad luck.

 

[clovis97]

That's the right move. You're going to lose regardless, so might as well get it over with and not catch the negative feedback. I think you packed it to most people's expectations, but not so good to eliminate a possible problem.... so in other words it's just bad luck.

I thought it would be fine as it was packed. I learned a lesson about that one. I should have used 2 layers of cardboard on each side, and made sure that the corrugated flutes in each layer of cardboard were not running in the same direction, just to give it some strength.

My guess is that it went into the bottom of a mailbag, and the weight snapped it in half.

 

[Iron Patch]

I thought it would be fine as it was packed. I learned a lesson about that one. I should have used 2 layers of cardboard on each side, and made sure that the corrugated flutes in each layer of cardboard were not running in the same direction, just to give it some strength.

My guess is that it went into the bottom of a mailbag, and the weight snapped it in half.

You also could have used some thin metal of some sort to reinforce it. Anything to keep it from folding.

 

[dejapooh]

I usually ask for them to return the item. I say that I put a special invisible mark on my items with Ultra violet ink. Once I get the item back and am assured it was the one I sent to them, I issue a full refund with shipping both ways. about 75% of the time, they ship it back. The other 25% they disappear...

 

[TreasureHunters]

i sent a mickey mouse cup, she claimed it came in 100 pieces, it was only $.99 so I refunded promptly, she left me a neutral :/

 

[Alan1967]

My wife and I have used Ebay for years and have kept an excellent FB rating. If you have anything that is fragile or could be considered fragile, take a picture of it before and after packaging. Insure everything. If and when, because you will, you have a complaint of a broken or damaged item, require them to send you pictures of the item showing their exact complaint. If they cannot, they're trying to scam you, if they can and it's valid....REFUND and apologize.

 

[dieselram94]

I bought a porter cable dovetail jig a couple months ago and it arrived with one of the aluminum jigs arrived really bent up. Item was just wrapped once in paper and placed in oversize box, so it was just banging around. emailed seller and he called me in less than a minute later....wow. he ordered replacement parts and did not want a picture either. He spent almost the selling price on parts. I couldn't leave awesome feedback fast enuff.

 

[choppadude]

dejapooh, I thought I was the only one to do this! I have been selling on eBay for a dozen years with over 5000 transactions and I have had my share of people try to BS me. The sad thing is if you have no kind of proof to back you up, Paypal settles in the buyers favor 99% of the time.
On the other hand I have seen some shippers do some awful damage to items that were packed extremely well.

At the other end of the spectrum I have seen some sellers do nothing more than throw an item in a box.
One funny story is a few years back (after the anthrax scare and 9/11) I ordered a dummy hand grenade off ebay to use on a custom motorcycle I was building, the grenade was the same as a regular fragmentation unit but did not have a load or primer in it but otherwise was drab green, had a pull pin and weighed in at a few pounds. The seller placed it in a Priority mail ENVELOPE and shipped it to me. In the process of shipping the envelope was torn almost in half and was hastily taped back together with clear packing tape. You could clearly see that the envelope contained what appeared to be a real grenade! No fear the Postal service delivered it right to my door and I could see what it was without even opening the package. But then again I guess it was not "liquid, fragile or perishable"!

 

[uglymailman]

I've been delivering packages for 26 yrs. I rarely find a damaged package. Probably one in 4 or 500. I always make sure the package is either stamped "received in damaged condition" or put a sticker saying the same on it. I then try and tell the customer to save the package w/ the sticker in case they have to make a claim.
Most of the damage to packages I see are due to improper packing. Someone decides to move and packs everything they own into a cardboard box and close it up. If you're using the USPS and take it across the window, ask for "Fragile" stickers.
One of my happy moments as a Letter Carrier was delivering a package to an 80 something lady. Her Mother had died when she was a little girl and had been raised by an Aunt. The daughter of the Aunt had sent a vase that had belonged to the lady's Mother. She was so proud to get the package and thanked me many times for getting it to her unbroken. It had been packed w/ popcorn. We don't try and break things, sometimes stuff just happens.

 

[Keppy]

When i ship something that is flat and thin that could break.... I get real thin plywood cut it to size and and sandwich my item with the plywood................ Never had a problem..........

 

[biggmike]

Mention in their feedback that you refunded the money. If they are doing this regularly sellers and eBay will catch on.

 

[SilverForBrains]

I once sold 2 rolls of silver dimes, mixed rosies and mercs, and the buyer contacted me and claimed that the mailman had told him he saw dimes coming out of the package, and that when he brought the package in and counted the dimes, one roll was 9 short. I figured it was entirely possible at first, since I really just packed the rolls in newspaper without sealing them in a ziplock bag, which I should've done.

However, I then realized that the auction had ended $30 over the going rate of silver at that time, which was the exact price those 9 dimes were also worth at the time. Did this guy realize he had overbid, and tried to make up for it by making up this BS story, or had my packing job really screwed me over? I think a big mistake I made was that I told the dude I had insurance on the package when I sent him a message telling him the dimes were shipped. I won't make that mistake again. I guess I'll never know what happened

 

[Iron Patch]

I once sold 2 rolls of silver dimes, mixed rosies and mercs, and the buyer contacted me and claimed that the mailman had told him he saw dimes coming out of the package, and that when he brought the package in and counted the dimes, one roll was 9 short. I figured it was entirely possible at first, since I really just packed the rolls in newspaper without sealing them in a ziplock bag, which I should've done.

However, I then realized that the auction had ended $30 over the going rate of silver at that time, which was the exact price those 9 dimes were also worth at the time. Did this guy realize he had overbid, and tried to make up for it by making up this BS story, or had my packing job really screwed me over? I think a big mistake I made was that I told the dude I had insurance on the package when I sent him a message telling him the dimes were shipped. I won't make that mistake again. I guess I'll never know what happened

Yeah but the world doesn't end if you lose $10, and dealing online you know things like this will happen. I can't post my ratio of losses compared to total sales because I don't have the numbers in front of me, and I wouldn't say it anyway, but what I can tell you the over all losses compared to how much I've sold is extremely low. I'm sure the average bar loses way more in spillage than I have lost from either fraud or items being lost over the last 12 years. What I think works best is sell like crazy, use common sense and do everything to the best of your ability, and in the end the little you lose won't matter. Like everyone else I hate losing money, but when it's something I have very little control over it's pretty easy for me to move on. When I do something really stupid it's not quite so easy, but I still move on because stressing out about the past won't help you get back what is already gone, and may actually cost you money if you lose your motivation.