What to do as a buyer if an item you shipped arrived to the buyer damaged

[oli-3236]

Hi, I recently sold a device to a buyer who proved to be difficult after accepting their offer and it arrived to them broken despite being packed with care. I spent over $20 in packing/shipping supplies, and have a hard time imagining it actually arrived broken. Is there anything I can do to protect myself in this situation? 

[wooden_flower]

@oli-3236 

There is no way to know if the item is damaged until you get it back. Since the buyer was already difficult, I would forgo trying to file an insurance claim and have him return the item for a full refund - I doubt that he would be willing to take the package to his PO for inspection.

Apologize for the damage, and ask the buyer to open a return request so that you can issue a full refund after he returns it to you. You'll find out quickly if he is just fishing for a partial refund to further reduce the price. If you want to offer that is up to you, but if you do, offer it through the return request.