Help! Torn on how to handle this.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

Buyer purchased a lovely japanese custom moriage plate. Shipped in bubble wrap, 3 times. Put into a solid wood box. Put into a larger box wrapped in bubble wrap 3 times  and filled with peanuts. It wasn't going anywhere.

Receive email today. Plate totally smashed. Asked for photo's as I had insurance on the plate and then I would refund. 

Oops.....sent the plate as a present to her sister. No phone, no internet. Say's could return via post office, but that nullifies insurance. 

What's the next step? 

[postingid2017]

Was the plate sent directly to her sister (i.e., by you) or did the buyer send the plate after she received it?  My second question, how long ago was the sale?

I know that we as sellers should not assume the worse, however, if the buyer sent the plate, then how could or should you be responsible for its demise?  I am also aware of the MBG, however, I am kind of on the fence too as to how I would respond 😞

[a*river*runs*through*it]

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@odditiesandantiquities1 wrote:

Buyer purchased a lovely japanese custom moriage plate. Shipped in bubble wrap, 3 times. Put into a solid wood box. Put into a larger box wrapped in bubble wrap 3 times  and filled with peanuts. It wasn't going anywhere.

Receive email today. Plate totally smashed. Asked for photo's as I had insurance on the plate and then I would refund. 

Oops.....sent the plate as a present to her sister. No phone, no internet. Say's could return via post office, but that nullifies insurance. 

What's the next step? 

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I don't know what your next step is but isn't that ^^^^ rather convenient?

BTW, the way you said it was packed makes me think the buyer is a liar.

I was told the other day by an Ebay rep involving a case I had, that if a seller asks for pics, that the buyer claiming damage must provide them to the seller through the case. But we all know how much the reps know.

[a_c_green]

If her sister has no phone and no internet, how on earth does she communicate with the outside world: smoke signals? I've been in deli stores with less bologna smell than this.

First of all, was it in fact sent to some address other than their eBay address (i.e. as one would expect to see if it was going as a gift to someone)? Also, have you in fact seen a photo of the broken plate? You've persuaded me that your packing job should have protected it against anything. I would be reluctant to move forward on a refund before getting a photo, if dragging your feet will be possible here. 

Even if her sister's only tool is a cellphone, she can take a photo with that and text it over to your buyer.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@postingid2017 wrote:

Was the plate sent directly to her sister (i.e., by you) or did the buyer send the plate after she received it?  My second question, how long ago was the sale?

I know that we as sellers should not assume the worse, however, if the buyer sent the plate, then how could or should you be responsible for its demise?  I am also aware of the MBG, however, I am kind of on the fence too as to how I would respond 😞

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The plate was sent to the address she put on the eBay record, however I have a feeling I've just been hit in that I've willingingly mailed to someone else's customer, if you get my drift.

[southernfriedbelle]

Okay, pretty obvious she's lying. What is she requesting? Can you not just tell her to return for refund and see how she responds?

[southern*sweet*tea]

Forget insurance, forget photos for the moment. You should have never mentioned those if you did indeed mention them to the buyer.

I'd tell the buyer to go ahead and return the plate.  Have her open a case.  Tell her you're more than happy to refund her entire cost once you receive the plate back.

I bet you won't hear back.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@southernfriedbelle wrote:

Okay, pretty obvious she's lying. What is she requesting? Can you not just tell her to return for refund and see how she responds?

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That's what I intend to do. She said that her sister could return it. I told her however that nullifies my insurance. Just the same she will have her buyer return the item to me and I have to refund her. What a joke.

Interestingly, I think I might phone the purchaser on record. 

[a_c_green]

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odditiesandantiquities1 wrote: 
The plate was sent to the address she put on the eBay record, however I have a feeling I've just been hit in that I've willingingly mailed to someone else's customer, if you get my drift.

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Doesn't matter, really; let's just deal with the task at hand. Tell the buyer that you'll be happy to wait until they can get a clear photo or two over to you so you can file the insurance claim. Do not go off on tangents to explain rules 'n' regs of insurance claims, etc.; just keep the focus on the buyer, and how reasonable it is that they'll be able to provide a clear photo or two so you can get started.

I know that the official procedure is to refund the buyer and then file the claim, but if their first maneuver here is to offer up a ludicrous excuse for why they can't send a photo up front, then playing innocent and offering to wait for the photo to be provided would be worth a try, especially considering the $100 sale price.

P.S. After reading the other replies here... yes, you could just ask to have the plate back for a refund, too. Forget the voiding-the-insurance routine: if it's busted, the USPS will tell you that it was improperly packed anyway (assuming it doesn't have tire tracks on it or something). Keep communications BRIEF, polite and businesslike. Once they realize that they're not getting an easy refund with no evidence provided, they may just move on.

[sharingtheland]

This ^^^^  Return for refund.

[emerald40]

IMO, return for refund only.

Tell her -  Please open a case through ebay.  I will then send you a return label.  As soon as you return the item to me and I verify it with my records, I will refund your money.

Nothing more and repeat as necessary.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

This ^^^^  Return for refund.

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She emailed again. She said that her sister knows no one with a phone or internet!!!!!! and she was only going to have her go to the Post Office to confirm the damage.

So I told her I was going to phone the person the plate was sent to and after I spoke to them, she could arrange for them to return the damaged plate!!

[plumbingspecials]

In a previous conversation, you stated that it was customary for you to refund plus 10% so that you would maintain positive feedback. Obviously, you found that is not the solution.

This is what you NEED to do in this situation:

Apologize to the buyer for the item arriving damaged. Then, tell buyer to request a return for the reason item is damaged. Do not explain further, do not argue, do not engage in conversation.  Simply have her to request a return.

But this is what's fishy... she didn't have photos, nor did she have the plate in her possession.  She probably will not try to return, and forcing her to do so will probaly make her go away.

[postingid2017]

I attempted to edit my post to "should not" but I timed out, however, with the way you said you packaged it, I would think that it was run over by a mack truck because IMHO, you packaged it very well.  

I was thinking how did she know it was smashed and was going to say what @a_c_green said LOL, because smoke signals other than the sister sending her a letter in the mail would have been the only way for her to know it was smashed . . . good one ac_green 😉 

[plumbingspecials]

No, no, no, no no. No phone calls, no insurance claims, no conversation other than to tell her to request a return for the reason the item is damaged.


Why do you come here asking for advice and then go ahead and do nothing we've told you to do?