Item Arrived Damaged

[ballparkgraphs87]

Hello,

I recently sold an item (on my selling account) and the buyer received it today. It was a large photo, shipped in a mailing tube, and it was totally damaged. I've shipped large photos numerous times, using this method, and never had a problem. The damage appears to have happened during the shipping process. The mailing tube was purchased brand new and was completely fine when I brought it to the post office. The package was sent USPS First-Class Parcel. Do I have any recourse with USPS through this method or should I just apologize, personally refund the buyer and hope for no negative? The total price of the sale, including shipping, was $16.50. The item is damaged bad enough that it can't be resold. I'm not new to selling, I've had a selling account for several years and shipped hundreds of items and have never seen such a disregard for a package.

Any helpful input and insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

[copper.boom]

@ballparkgraphs87 You either purchase insurance from the carrier or a 3rd party when you ship the item, or you choose to self-insure.

From your comments it sounds like you've seen photos from the buyer? If the item arrived damaged then you are responsible so the course of action here is to issue a refund.

[ballparkgraphs87]

Unforunately, for this transaction, I didn't purchase insurance. The buyer sent me pictures. The mailing tube is damaged and so is the photo. My initial thinking was apologize and refund. Thank you for your input.

P.S.

Is contacting my local post office or the main USPS phone number a waste of time?

[retrose1]

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@ballparkgraphs87 wrote:

Unforunately, for this transaction, I didn't purchase insurance. The buyer sent me pictures. The mailing tube is damaged and so is the photo. My initial thinking was apologize and refund. Thank you for your input.

P.S.

Is contacting my local post office or the main USPS phone number a waste of time?

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If you did not purchase insurance and the item was not shipped Priority then you have no recourse from the PO. 

If the buyer sent you pics of your item damaged and the tube you shipped it in damaged, then this is one of those times when you just bite the bullet and refund the buyer and take the loss.

[ballparkgraphs87]

Thank you for your response. Looks like I will go ahead with the refund.

[lintbrush*]

For $16.50, purchasing insurance would be pretty cost inefficient.  (USPS - $2.10)

This is where self insuring really comes in nicely.  Add $0.50-$1.00 to the item price or as handling cost and build up your 'coffee can' fund.

It would only take 33 sales at .50 to cover this loss 

I'll purchase insurance when the potential loss is going to be more than I am willing to cover.

[ballparkgraphs87]

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@lintbrush* wrote:

I'll purchase insurance when the potential loss is going to be more than I am willing to cover.

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I've done that before as well. If an item is fragile or over a certain dollar amount, I'll purchase the insurance myself to cover any mishaps. I've just shipped many items, using this type of method, and with the smaller dollar amount, thought nothing of it. Just have to chalk to this one up. 

[castlemagicmemories]

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@ballparkgraphs87 wrote:

Unforunately, for this transaction, I didn't purchase insurance. The buyer sent me pictures. The mailing tube is damaged and so is the photo. My initial thinking was apologize and refund. Thank you for your input.

P.S.

Is contacting my local post office or the main USPS phone number a waste of time?

So sorry.  They can't help you if you did not purchase insurance for the item.

[slati_2013]

If you have a replacement, I would offer him that choice first. Understand that no matter what, it is going to cost you. Either shipping to replace the damaged one, or full refund. No other option. $16.50 really is a small price to spare you a negative feedback. It is just the cost of doing business. 

[trustedbasset]

I have had some things I sell arrive at the buyers damaged. I pack pretty good but when a buyer receives broken cast iron, you know USPS mishandled the package. Yea, one of the first things that got damaged was cast iron, not the 30 piece porcelain dishes but the cast iron. Weird!

[ballparkgraphs87]

Unfortunately I don't have a replacement. I responded to the buyer last night and apologized. I also issued a full refund.

[siayan]

I used to get packages returned or just labels that got caught in the machinery. It hasn't happened in years but this is probably what happened. 

[wolf*song]

Ah, the old reliable USPS damages another item. (Now I'm gonna have Another One Bites The Dust in my head the rest of the day)

ALWAYS buy insurance if you're not gonna be willing to refund a buyer their money. You can even calculate the insurance cost and factor it into your asking price, or charge a flat-rate shipping fee, or use Priority Mail, which includes insurance up to a certain amount.

The USPS has failed me before, too. I hope this works out in your favor.

[ballparkgraphs87]

The buyer sent me pictures. The tube was dented in the middle and one of the ends was busted open. The cap was stuffed inside the tube. Another packaged must've fell on it or something in transit. The buyer seems reasonable. He asked for a replacement or refund. Since I don't have another one, I issued a refund.

[ballparkgraphs87]

Thanks for your concern. I typically spring for the insurance when an item is fragile or sells for a high price. Since I've shipped several similar items this way over the years, coupled with a low sale price, I thought nothing of it. The buyer seems pretty understanding. Since I don't have a replacement, I issued a refund.