What should I do with this buyer?

[jlb2]

On July 28th I sent an antique slag glass lampshade to a buyer who said she was in Canada but the shade would be shipped to Washington State (because i don't sell out of the country). So, the sale went through and she paid.

I packed it very well...I used a plastic storage tub and put slabs of styrofoam around it after wrapping it in bubble wrap. I then added styrofoam peanuts, more styrofoam pieces and put the whole thing in another box to ship. It was delivered 3 days later and I never heard another thing. Positive feedback was left for me and i left positive feedback for her. Alls good I'm thinking.

Fast forward to today and I get a nasty e-mail that the lampshade had two broken panels and I didn't know how to pack because there was nothing between the inside (hard plastic) box and the outside (heavy duty cardboard) box.

I told her it was well packed, positive feedback was left and I don't know what she's trying to pull but I'm not buying it.

She didn't mention insurance and didn't send any pictures of the damage. I did buy insurance on the item because it's was on the expensive side ($199.00).

This has me pretty upset and I don't know why she waited over 2 weeks to contact me, why she would leave feedback or what the heck is going on.

What should I do...if anything?

[bonjourami]

Sit tight and dont do anything..see if she opens a case..she may just be fishing for a partial refund..she didnt see the broken panels until two weeks later? Fishy..

[jlb2]

OK, thanks.

Question...if she already left positive feedback, can she still come back and open a case?

At what point, if ever, is the sale done?

[bubbleman2010]

They have 180 days from the date of payment to get a refund....

[jlb2]

Thanks

[jlb2]

Here's the e-mail I got from her:

I am extremely disappointed.....lamp shade arrived with 1 lower glass panel broken. It is unfortunate you do not understand the principle of double boxing. To have the inner box basically the same size as the outer box with no insulation material between the 2 boxes defies all logic.

I guess if she sends me pictures of the damage and the packing box, I can file an insurance claim.

I spent over 45 minutes trying to pack that carefully so it wouldn't get broken. I honestly don't know how it could have broken because of all the styrofoam and the plastic box I put it in.

I'm probably reacting to the rude e-mail more than anything else.

Sigh, I guess I'll wait and see what happens. She only has 8 feedbacks so  she doesn't have much experience with e-bay sellers and doesn't realize she doesn't have to be nasty right out of the box. I've had things broken before and have always made it right for the seller immediately.

[Anonymous]

@jlb2

Your Canadian buyer utilized a freight forwarder in Washington.  Your buyer has lost their eBay buyer money back guaranty the moment they had that package forwarded,  They cannot claim INR and they cannot claim SNAD, they CAN give ou a negative FB unless you can get eBay to block their FB. 

Not covered

• Buyer remorse or any reason other than not receiving an item or receiving an item that isn’t as described in the listing (see the seller’s return policy for return options).

• Items damaged during local pick-up.

• Items not delivered, damaged during collection, or damaged during shipment when the buyer arranges pick-up or shipping of the item (for instance, the buyer arranges freight).

• Duplicate claims through other resolution methods.

• Local pickup items that were not collected by, or on behalf of the buyer.

• Items shipped to another address after original delivery.

• Vehicles (see eBay Vehicle Protection), Real Estate, Websites & Business for Sale, Classified Ads, services, and some Business Equipment categories (see eBay Business Equipment Purchase Protection).

• Items sold through Sotheby's.

• Items purchased on half.com, eBay Wholesale Deals, or Close5.

FB is blocked if a buyer loses a case.  So in "theory", if the buyer opens a SNAD through eBay, you can contact eBay and have them review the notes where she says it will be shipped to Washington and then forwarded to her in Canada.  Once they establish the buyer no longer has the MBG, they close the case in your favor and the buyer is blocked from leaving you a negative.

The buyer can then go to Paypal and open a SNAD there, however they would be required to return the item AT THEIR EXPENSE to get a refund.

[Anonymous]

---

@jlb2 wrote:

Here's the e-mail I got from her:

I am extremely disappointed.....lamp shade arrived with 1 lower glass panel broken. It is unfortunate you do not understand the principle of double boxing. To have the inner box basically the same size as the outer box with no insulation material between the 2 boxes defies all logic.

I guess if she sends me pictures of the damage and the packing box, I can file an insurance claim.

I spent over 45 minutes trying to pack that carefully so it wouldn't get broken. I honestly don't know how it could have broken because of all the styrofoam and the plastic box I put it in.

I'm probably reacting to the rude e-mail more than anything else.

Sigh, I guess I'll wait and see what happens. She only has 8 feedbacks so  she doesn't have much experience with e-bay sellers and doesn't realize she doesn't have to be nasty right out of the box. I've had things broken before and have always made it right for the seller immediately.

---

You have no way of knowing if the freight forwarder she employed re-packaged the item.  As stated above, you are not responsible.

BTW, I tend to find that buyers who "come out swinging" are often times less than forthcoming.  I think they figure if the rattle you, you will get intimidated and quickly cave to their demands.  I know for me, this isn't effective and it sets off alarms in my head immediately.

Take the emotion out of the equation and deal with the problem logically.

[southern*sweet*tea]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

@jlb2

Your Canadian buyer utilized a freight forwarder in Washington.  Your buyer has lost their eBay buyer money back guaranty the moment they had that package forwarded,  They cannot claim INR and they cannot claim SNAD, they CAN give ou a negative FB unless you can get eBay to block their FB. 

Not covered

• Buyer remorse or any reason other than not receiving an item or receiving an item that isn’t as described in the listing (see the seller’s return policy for return options).

• Items damaged during local pick-up.

• Items not delivered, damaged during collection, or damaged during shipment when the buyer arranges pick-up or shipping of the item (for instance, the buyer arranges freight).

• Duplicate claims through other resolution methods.

• Local pickup items that were not collected by, or on behalf of the buyer.

• Items shipped to another address after original delivery.

• Vehicles (see eBay Vehicle Protection), Real Estate, Websites & Business for Sale, Classified Ads, services, and some Business Equipment categories (see eBay Business Equipment Purchase Protection).

• Items sold through Sotheby's.

• Items purchased on half.com, eBay Wholesale Deals, or Close5.

FB is blocked if a buyer loses a case.  So in "theory", if the buyer opens a SNAD through eBay, you can contact eBay and have them review the notes where she says it will be shipped to Washington and then forwarded to her in Canada.  Once they establish the buyer no longer has the MBG, they close the case in your favor and the buyer is blocked from leaving you a negative.

The buyer can then go to Paypal and open a SNAD there, however they would be required to return the item AT THEIR EXPENSE to get a refund.

---

If they live close to the border they may have a US PO Box and drive across to get their mail, so it may NOT be a reshipper.

@jlb2

Was this a PO Box or a regular street address?

[dtexley3]

---

@jlb2 wrote:

Here's the e-mail I got from her:

I am extremely disappointed.....lamp shade arrived with 1 lower glass panel broken. It is unfortunate you do not understand the principle of double boxing. To have the inner box basically the same size as the outer box with no insulation material between the 2 boxes defies all logic.

I guess if she sends me pictures of the damage and the packing box, I can file an insurance claim.

I spent over 45 minutes trying to pack that carefully so it wouldn't get broken. I honestly don't know how it could have broken because of all the styrofoam and the plastic box I put it in.

I'm probably reacting to the rude e-mail more than anything else.

Sigh, I guess I'll wait and see what happens. She only has 8 feedbacks so  she doesn't have much experience with e-bay sellers and doesn't realize she doesn't have to be nasty right out of the box. I've had things broken before and have always made it right for the seller immediately.

---

If she asks for a partial refund, tell her no, she may go to eBay and request to return for a (full) refund.   Be aware that SHE must pay to have the item shipped back to Washington, not you.  The label eBay will supply on your behalf will cover the shipping from the Washington re-shipper to you.   Any further messages should be met with no response, or the directions to return the item to the reshipper for refund.

[jlb2]

Thank you! I've never had anyone buy something and have it shipped to another location. I thought maybe she lived in Canada but worked across the border and used her work address or something.

She didn't tell me at the time of purchase that this is what she was doing and I didn't know to ask her. I probably would have sent it anyway because it doesn't seem illegal to do.

I'll wait and she what she says, I'm sure I haven't heard the end of it froom her.

Thanks for that information though, it's very interesting and informative. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Hopefully it will all work out.

[bubbleman2010]

I would guess just a border crosser picking up at a relatives no reshipper involved...

[jlb2]

This is the address I sent to box to:

13820 NE Airport Way Ste 79251
Portland, OR 97251
United States

[dtexley3]

---

@bubbleman2010 wrote:

I would guess just a border crosser picking up at a relatives no reshipper involved...

---

Would that not fall under the 3rd bullet point regarding the buyer arranging pick-up or delivery?   The item was obviously transported after delivery was made either by the buyer, a re-shipper or someone acting on be-half of the buyer.  I would think that would invalidate the MGB same as with a re-shipper or arranged delivery.

[dtexley3]

---

@bubbleman2010 wrote:

I would guess just a border crosser picking up at a relatives no reshipper involved...

---

Ignore my reply, it was sent to a reshipper.  I recognize that blasted address......