Buyer of expensive item seems certain it will be destroyed in shipping (long)

[coltranefan]

I listed a fairly expensive "high-end" audio component on ebay recently (BIN or best offer). A guy with a zillion good feedbacks made a very good offer that I accepted.

Immediately after he paid, the messages began. Wanted fed-ex shipping, when I listed UPS ground as the shipping. I try hard to accommodate buyers, but I've had great success with UPS ground, both as buyer & seller. And have had weird experiences with fed-ex ground (It's a somewhat heavy item, so fed-ex air would be really expensive). Also I have a UPS acct., there's a UPS store 4 miles for drop-off from where I live, etc.

(And WHY don't buyers read the TOS?)  So I emailed him back saying some of that, he said OK, send UPS.  And then just a series of dire messages (very polite tho) about UPS not paying off if there is damage. Which I know --I've shipped probably hundreds of delicate items (crystal, china, etc.) over the years. Plus probably dozens of audio components, some keyboard, computers, etc. etc.

The guy is "putting the zap on my head"--making me almost fearful of shipping it, when I never would have been. I mean, I'm always concerned about shipping expensive items, but I do great packing, & have never had a problem as long as the item is shipped properly.

Also, this $1900 audio component has all the original factory packaging, that is the best packing I've ever seen on an audio component. I even took pics of the various stages of packing the double-box with the elaborate packing & sent to him.  His response was more warnings about how UPS won't pay off if damaged, etc.

He just can't seem to believe that the item will survive shipping, or that it's packed well enough. And yet he's SO polite. A friend of mine said, well as long as he gets it OK, things should be fine. But I don't know if he's setting me up to later claim that something's wrong with it? I've had some neurotic buyers, but this guy is creeping me out. I usually ship quickly, but I've been dragging my feet on this--instead of feeling good when I drop it off at UPS, I just think I'm gonna feel really nervous.

I mean, if he's this neurotic now, what can he find to be neurotic about once he get it? The thing is beautiful, but maybe he'll imagine there's damage?

I'm sorry to go on so long, but I've been buying & selling used audio equipment (for my own system) for a very long time, & this is kind of a new one.....

TIA for any advice

[retrose1]

For those giving out dire warnings about defects - I'll bet that it has been long enough that the OP is past his handling time to ship and that might give him one already.

If the OP does not list or sell much, or is not planning to cancel transactions willy nilly, then a defect from cancelling this transaction will not do that much damage.

But if the OP goes silent and that drives the buyer nuts enough to file an INR claim to get a tracking number out of the OP, then the OP can refund the buyer and the problems are solved, with the exception of the neg, which looks visually bad, but only dings the program ebay uses for search results. 

[pf9000]

I have seen it before at the shipping company when a guy would take a box and slam it down against the ground at full force. I wish the shipping companies would catch these things on camera and do something about these employees. I heard the sound of a Picture Tube imploding with hissing sound as the UPS Driver slammed the package down on my patio and ran away. I have received a Vintage Television set where a pipe had been driven through the front of the box imploding the Picture Tube and damaging the cabinet.  Part of the problem stems from the fact that they have some disgruntled employees and others who simply do not care. It is a very rare occurrence when a shipping company will actually honor their insurance. They always blame it on improper packaging even when the item was double-boxed with bubble wrap and shipping peanuts in-between the layers. The extra increase in box size, due to this, sometimes bumps up the price significantly, and Fedex will cheat you on some occasions, when you finally get that statement which indicates a price much higher than you had originally paid. Fedex calls this an estimate.

[margarenisa_0]

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@pf9000 wrote:

I have seen it before at the shipping company when a guy would take a box and slam it down against the ground at full force. I wish the shipping companies would catch these things on camera and do something about these employees. I heard the sound of a Picture Tube imploding with hissing sound as the UPS Driver slammed the package down on my patio and ran away. I have received a Vintage Television set where a pipe had been driven through the front of the box imploding the Picture Tube and damaging the cabinet.  Part of the problem stems from the fact that they have some disgruntled employees and others who simply do not care. It is a very rare occurrence when a shipping company will actually honor their insurance. They always blame it on improper packaging even when the item was double-boxed with bubble wrap and shipping peanuts in-between the layers. The extra increase in box size, due to this, sometimes bumps up the price significantly, and Fedex will cheat you on some occasions, when you finally get that statement which indicates a price much higher than you had originally paid. Fedex calls this an estimate.

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Okay so here’s the point:

.

and here’s 

you- completely missing it

[gracieallen01]

Okay.

Thank you for a response.

[bubbleman2010]

I'd take the defect rather than losing the $1900.00 you have to protect yourself because no one else will be looking out for you....

[gracieallen01]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Buyer is asking for something that is not in the listing, and should have asked prior to purchase.

I agree, they should ask prior to purchase.  Sometimes they don't, though.

Many seller's won't change their shipping method, nor should they have to.

This is true, some won't and, no, they don't have to.   Occasionally, a seller will accomodatre a buyer.

I think problem with buyer's address would fit this situation, but others may weigh in on whether or not this is appropriate.

Not knowing the tone of the buyers e-mail, it is hard to tell which way I would go.

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(personal opinion - your mileage may vary)

[bubbleman2010]

You just have to understand how the game is played on ebay. Item 372088877507 1st and second picture are what I sold 3rd and 4th picture are what came back. It came back in the original box it was packed in tons of peanuts and shipping box showed no damage. Buyer claimed it was brittle due to age and just fell apart the reality is they dropped it on the lower right corner when they unpacked it caused the damage and rather than eat 50 bucks the shoved the plate over to me....

[castlemagicmemories]

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

You wrote: 

"Immediately after he paid, the messages began. Wanted fed-ex shipping, when I listed UPS ground as the shipping. I try hard to accommodate buyers, but I've had great success with UPS ground, both as buyer & seller. And have had weird experiences with fed-ex ground (It's a somewhat heavy item, so fed-ex air would be really expensive). Also I have a UPS acct., there's a UPS store 4 miles for drop-off from where I live, etc."

I guess, perhaps, you missed the question I asked about why you didn't just give him a FedEX quote, with the option of letting him pay any difference and let him decide.

Not everybody likes or has had good luck with UPS.

So, why didn't you?

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It was not his preferred method of shipping. Seller has the right to choose how they want to ship something. If buyer does not like the shipping methods, they can forego purchase.

[jbbowers12012]

this one is strictly a gut decision. if you feel in any way "spooked " buy this buyer back out any way that you can. if you have to take a hit from ebay just take it. its not worth it. i would respectfully suggest dealing with some lower priced items this early in your ebay selling career.  BEST OF LUCK!!!!

[vintagecraze50]

In addition to what Retrose stated, the buyer may be planning to make a damage claim from the get go, that is possibly why they are requesting the different carrier as well because they may have been around the block with this and found out that they do not win their damage claims as easily with a shipper who is not going to provide reliable insurance coverage. I certainly would hope this is just a nervous nellie, but, online, you just never know what the outcome will be.

[vintagecraze50]

That would be a good OUT for this seller if they choose to go that direction. Also might make the buyer think twice about the item possibly not available for a big insurance claim through the other carrier.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

That would be a good OUT for this seller if they choose to go that direction. Also might make the buyer think twice about the item possibly not available for a big insurance claim through the other carrier.

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I don't blame the seller for feeling uneasy about this sale.

[vintagecraze50]

Right on target--some scammer go the route of making false damage claims, and one on here made a claim that Fed Ex actually stole their 6.000.00 purse.

[vintagecraze50]

Yes that is true, Regardless of the shipping preference the insurance claim is on the seller.  It is bad enough that buyers claim damage at times with no evidence of this from a shipping company. Some will not participate in an insurance claim investigation from the P.O.. Ebay just lets them claim damage without having a rule in place that they must participate in an insurance claim inspection from the P.O. Here we have someone predicting that the item will be damaged before it is even shipped. If Ebay enforced some rule that buyer must participate in an insurance claim inspection, this would be a deterrant that some scammers, not all, would walk away from. 

[coltranefan]

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@jbbowers12012 wrote:

this one is strictly a gut decision. if you feel in any way "spooked " buy this buyer back out any way that you can. if you have to take a hit from ebay just take it. its not worth it. i would respectfully suggest dealing with some lower priced items this early in your ebay selling career.  BEST OF LUCK!!!!

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I've actually sold a lot of both lower priced, & expensive, items, both on ebay, & on the "major" audio website. Sold an $1800 keyboard on ebay a few years ago, & I had to make most of the packaging myself, as it didn't have the factory box. Sent it UPS. I do always sweat shipping expensive items & taking paypal tho, at least some. Years ago I sold a $3K set of silverware on ebay & took paypal. I actually sent it registered mail--that one was a bit nerve-wracking.

At any rate I emailed the buyer yesterday. This is the last part of my email:

It's just too demoralizing to ship a beautiful item like this when the buyer seems almost certain that it'll be ruined in shipping. You've just about got me convinced--I mean, what's the point?

So I'm wondering if you'd agree to cancel the deal? And perhaps buy one from a seller who you'd trust more to pack & ship it. Personally, I'm just too nervous to ship it now.

Hope you understand.........maybe it's for the best given all your concerns.

 here is his reply--quite different from what I was expecting:

I apologize for making you feel that way. I still want it. As I indicated,I just had some bad experiences with UPS. As you said, you have a lot of experience. So, I assure you that I will be ok with UPS. The truth is that the shipper probably did a half-A job with the packing the last time. Sorry I got you worried. The only thing that UPS says is that there should be 2 inches pf padding. It that is the case, then we should be fine. Let's face it, it they drop it, nothing will help. So, feel free to ship,,,,I do trust your ability. Just do what you can OK? Thanks

So that throws a new light on things, perhaps? I also looked thru several pages of the buyer's FB, both that he got from sellers, & his FB left for sellers. I couldn't find any of those sort of veiled negative comments in his FB. And his FB given--I went thru the most recent 5 pages, & all positives.

However there isn't 2 inches pf padding, exactly. The preamp is double-boxed, but w/o padding between them. However; the preamp is fairly small & light, & it's enclosed in like an inner box system, w/in the first box. It's really kind of an amazing amount of boxing & packing for this small preamp.

Today I called the mfg., who makes very expensive high-end stuff. She said yes this is the box that they ship them in by UPS or fed-ex, & if I sent it to them for service or something, to use that box.

So the buyer's email is making me feel better about sending it to him. He does want it "held for p/u" at a local UPS store. I mean, I'd use his paypal street address, but just select "hold for p/u" when I'm going thru all the choices on ups.com. Anything wrong with that?

One last thing: the buyer's offer was generous. Probably "all the money" for one of these. (Not excessive or crazy tho). So there's that. Also that I only had to pay a $20 FVF.......I can't remember when ebay had a deal like that.

I've been talking myself into doing this since I got his nice email. But I'm sitting here with this gnawing worry..........does his email make anyone here feel better about completing this deal?

Thanks again for all the advice!