Item to US arrived damaged; seller states I need to contact Global shipping myself

[nirei-73]

I ordered an item from a seller in Europe which arrived damaged. The box it was shipped in did not appear to be sturdy enough to withstand shipping and it arrived partially collapsed at the top, taped side of the box. 

I recorded the opening of the box and when I noted the item was damaged I messaged the seller that day who said they would refund me after contacting eBay.

The next day the seller messaged me that eBay said it was my responsibility to contact the global shipping service because it was damaged in transit.

Although the seller does not accept returns, I put in a request anyway to get eBay involved.

Who is responsible when an item arrives damaged??

[monster-deals]

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@nirei-73 wrote:

I recorded the opening of the box

Who is responsible when an item arrives damaged??

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Why?

Depends. 

[kensgiftshop]

Did you file an INAD?

Go to your purchase history and click return item and select, the item doesn't match the description as the reason.

[bennotbill]

For a broken item eBay's Global Shipping is responsible. Sellers are told in any opened case to say they are not responsible Global Shipping is.

The buyer still opens an eBay case as usual. It's just that eBay does the refunding.

[kathiec]

Ebay Global Shipping has been replaced by eBay International Shipping. But just as with GSP, eBay specifically tells sellers that EIS will work with buyers if a package is damaged. So in this case it's eBay who's responsible.

Here's the pertinent section from eBay's help page:

• When you ship internationally using eBay International Shipping, you're responsible for sending the item your buyer purchased safely to the US shipping hub. If a buyer reports that an item was lost or damaged during international shipping or it is damaged at the hub, we'll work with the buyer to resolve the issue. You're protected from:
  • The obligation to refund the buyer
  • eBay Money Back Guarantee cases
  • Payment disputes
  • Open ‘Not as described’ returns in your service metrics
  • Negative or neutral feedback related to item handling during international shipping

[lacemaker3]

@nirei-73 

The responses that said there is no Global Shipping Programme anymore are not correct. That is true for USA sellers shipping outside the USA, but not for items being shipped from the UK to the USA or many other countries, in which case the GSP is still available. I don't know if it is available outside the UK, it wasn't before.

FYI @kathiec 

You clearly said your item was coming from outside the USA, so it could have been shipped by the GSP.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/global-shipping-programme/default/global-shipping-programme?id=4646

Either way, you just file a case for having received a damaged item. Let eBay sort out who is responsible (eBay or the seller). Your responsibility is just to file the case.

[ebooksdiva]

I thought eIS was for sellers in the US only. 
The item was shipped to the buyer in the United States. So sellers in countries outside the US still use Global shipping. 
EBays Global shipping program works in the same way as eIS. 

[nirei-73]

I found the following, for any Buyer who has received an item damaged in transit from eBay's Global Shipping Program (GSP):

It is in fact the Seller's responsibility to contact GSP through eBay, not the Buyer, if an item is damaged through Global shipping. 

This Seller led me to believe that they contacted eBay and eBay told them the Buyer had to contact GSP, which is incorrect. 

If a seller claims you must contact Global yourself, get eBay involved as soon as you receive the damaged item:

To open a claim:
1) go to the purchase and click on "More Actions" 
2) "Return this item"  (the only option to click on is Return, even when the seller does not accept returns), then 
3) choose Item Not As Described and explain what happened; attach photos of the damaged item and the package itself upon arrival

The seller may have to notify eBay they used Global Shipping and then Global should take financial responsibility for damaging the item through shipping. 

But you, as the Buyer, do not need to contact Global Shipping yourself!

If a Seller tries to abdicate this responsibility to you, simply open a claim with eBay.

I highly recommend taking a photo of the package upon arrival, and recording the opening of every package you receive, so that a Seller may not claim that you damaged the item yourself.

[gone.c-33]

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@nirei-73 wrote:

I found the following, for any Buyer who has received an item damaged in transit from eBay's Global Shipping Program (GSP):

It is in fact the Seller's responsibility to contact GSP through eBay, not the Buyer, if an item is damaged through Global shipping. 

This Seller led me to believe that they contacted eBay and eBay told them the Buyer had to contact GSP, which is incorrect. 

If a seller claims you must contact Global yourself, get eBay involved as soon as you receive the damaged item:

To open a claim:
1) go to the purchase and click on "More Actions" 
2) "Return this item"  (the only option to click on is Return, even when the seller does not accept returns), then 
3) choose Item Not As Described and explain what happened; attach photos of the damaged item and the package itself upon arrival

The seller may have to notify eBay they used Global Shipping and then Global should take financial responsibility for damaging the item through shipping. 

But you, as the Buyer, do not need to contact Global Shipping yourself!

If a Seller tries to abdicate this responsibility to you, simply open a claim with eBay.

I highly recommend taking a photo of the package upon arrival, and recording the opening of every package you receive, so that a Seller may not claim that you damaged the item yourself.

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That information is for the former US GSP (you can tell by the difference in the spelling: program vs. programme). This is what the eBay.co.uk GSP help page says:

”Every parcel shipped through the Global Shipping Programme is insured from the point it is safely received in the UK Shipping Centre. The parcel insurance cost is included in the total price that the buyer paid for shipping through the programme. If the item was damaged in the UK Shipping Centre or in international transit, we’ll cover the loss or damage to the buyer and you’ll keep the money from the sale. All the buyer needs to do is open a case on PayPal to receive their refund. Alternatively, if the purchase was made on an eBay site that supports eBay’s Money Back Guarantee Programme (.com / .co.uk / .au / .de) then the buyer may file a returns case for ‘damaged’ on eBay. Once the returns claim is filed it should be escalated to eBay customer support to take action. Sellers should not refund the buyer proactively. Any defect arising from a resulting buyer claim will be de-scored if it was lost or damaged after arriving safely at the UK Shipping Centre.”

So yes, you’re the one who needs to get the ball rolling by opening a money back guarantee case.

[nirei-73]

Yes, my only mistake was believing the Seller needed to contact Global Shipping because he incorrectly told me I had to contact Global Shipping.

The problem here was that all I needed to do as the Buyer was initiate a "Return" which was initially confusing to me because I did not want to "return" the item, and the Seller did not accept returns: but this is indeed the process a Buyer needs to go through to get resolution.

I hope this information helps other Buyers in a similar position.

[janet9988]

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@nirei-73 wrote:

Yes, my only mistake was believing the Seller needed to contact Global Shipping because he incorrectly told me I had to contact Global Shipping.

The problem here was that all I needed to do as the Buyer was initiate a "Return" which was initially confusing to me because I did not want to "return" the item, and the Seller did not accept returns: but this is indeed the process a Buyer needs to go through to get resolution.

I hope this information helps other Buyers in a similar position.

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Why wouldn't you want to return the damaged item for a refund?

[kh-taylarie]

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