Refunds for broken items

[debbierich2009]

Soo many  items I have sold here on ebay have gotten broken, it's ridiculous! I always give the customer a full refund, which means I am totally screwed on the shipping cost, never mind the nice item I have sold. Sold 9 dragons in the last month or so, 4 have arrived broken! So, I fully refunded customers, and I  am out about $85 in shipping fees. I am sooo discouraged, thinking about cancelling all my selling here. Not ebays fault, I am an older retired woman, living on SS, just trying to make a little extra to make my life a little more comfortable. This is not working for me.

[justafemster]

That sounds like a packing problem.

45% breakage?  YIKES!  

Are you giving refunds without requiring return?  Or are these items legitimately broken when returned?  

Reevaluate your packing, that's all I can offer. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@debbierich2009 wrote:

Soo many  items I have sold here on ebay have gotten broken ... I am sooo discouraged, thinking about cancelling all my selling here....

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Don't cancel all your listings; just the fragile items.

[baseballmom7860]

What do I do if the Ebay seller is not responding? I have 2 broken teapots out of the 6.  I paid $20 in shipping and $20 for the items.  Ebay won't get involved for a partial refund.  I'm screwed on the shipping if I try to return it.  It just doesn't seem fair.  You sound like a great honest seller. What's your advice? Thank you.

[usblijeolifantje]

If u bring it to UPS not US post office but UPS and have them wrapped and be responsible for it then they will cover you. If people really want the items then they will not mind at all paying for of shipping.  I personally if paying for antique do not mind paying honest shipping to get it to me in safe condition.

Do not be discourage with anything. It is just an experience we go through.

Keep your chin up and the universe will bring you the good stuff.

[soh.maryl]

When a buyer receives a broken item, he has 30 days after the delivery date to open an item not as described case with eBay.  The seller will be required to send him a prepaid return label and to refund in total upon receipt of the returned item.  Are you not handling these problems this way? If you've not read eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers, now would be a good time.  

[bonjourami]

Are you double boxing those fragile dragons?

[inhawaii]

It sounds like you might be refunding buyers without requiring them to file an "official" return and returning  the item(s).  My best advice to you would be....

#1 Have your buyers initiate a return and send the item back before refunding.

#2 Try to do a better job of packaging.  

[farmalljr]

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@debbierich2009 wrote:

Soo many  items I have sold here on ebay have gotten broken, it's ridiculous! I always give the customer a full refund, which means I am totally screwed on the shipping cost, never mind the nice item I have sold. Sold 9 dragons in the last month or so, 4 have arrived broken! So, I fully refunded customers, and I  am out about $85 in shipping fees. I am sooo discouraged, thinking about cancelling all my selling here. Not ebays fault, I am an older retired woman, living on SS, just trying to make a little extra to make my life a little more comfortable. This is not working for me.

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If you have that many broken items, it's how you are packaging, not USPS.  You need to do a better job. Carrier insurance will not cover breakage if you do a poor job packaging. This may sound unempathetic, but the onus is on you to do your job as a seller. That many broken items means you need to do a much better job of it. You can search YouTube for videos to help you learn to pack, or ask questions here. 

[dolcetreasures]

Many items aren’t worth selling on eBay, unfortunately that list is ever expanding.