damaged returns

[lindaegret8]

I sold a vintage casserole with sentimental value- very heavy and valuable.The buyer paid late and sent me an email saying she had gotten another casserole recently and had returned it because of packaging.That set of a little bit of an alarm so I took photos of the completed package.The long and short of it is it arrived damaged she immediately asked for a full refund.I accidentally reading the email on my phone app clicked for the return -immediately realized my error and called while walking on a busy city street and ebay couldn't revoke it.ebay should have a system in place that allows for navigational errors I have a lot of difficulty with the app.Of course the buyer should have immediately contacted me or the post office about the damage and she didnt! I think she was aware that ebay does not protect sellers and inconveniencing herself by reporting it to  the  post office was not in her game plan.Because of people like her who treat individual buyers as if they were amazon ad can handle total refunds I am leaving ebay.I have a 100% rating compliments on my packing  and items but they do absolutely nothing for the seller and because of this people like my buyer take advantage of the system because they CAN!The pot was heavy it had a circuitous long trip so yes it proved the odds and got damaged-but is a total loss for me money the item and the knowledge that ebay only stands by the buyerThe buyer  didnt even have the decency to try to work with me on the damages.The post office told me ( I went to 3 different post offices and called the usps#)damaged items are bought in for inspection when a claim is filed.Ebay was unaware of this policy of post office inspection and basically clueless about the insurance policy because they dont care they know the seller is ultimately responsible and they are not advocates for the seller so why would they bother to know how the insurance works on priority mail- they dont care.As soon as my last 5 items are done I am leaving ebay I have had bad experiences before but the total disregard and the scheming buyers who take advantage is the last straw I forgave ebay in the past but not this time- DONE WITH EBAY

[myoasisjewels]

i am sorry this happened to you.

you should be able to file a usps insurance claim online via their website. you will have to attach pictures of the damage to the claim as well as a copy of the shipping label receipt. usually they process claims pretty fast this way. then go to your post office and file a separate claim to get your shipping amount back for this item. i believe this has to be a paper claim done at your local post office. if they do not help you , like the post office often does.... call you local usps consumer affairs office.

as for the issue with your buyer... if i understand correctly, they buyer saw the damaged packaging and refused the package, correct? in that case that buyer was no longer eligible for ebays money back guarantee. looks like you did push the accept return button too soon....

[dhbookds]

I can understand the angst over what happened, but in reality you made the mistake of accepting the return before further discussion could take place, during which the buyer could possibly have been totally cooperative........ 

Just for info,  I don't know what PO you visited, but I've never had to have a buyer take a damaged item to the PO.  If the buyer can supply pictures of the damaged item and box, a damage claim with the PO can be handled by email and the SELLER will get the money , presuming it's insured. 

[animal-house-8]

Interesting cause I ship a lot of very fragile items and yes every once in a great while an item will get demolished in shipping. The USPS online claims just ask for a couple of pictures and documentation of the sale and generally 2 weeks I have a check in the mail. I have never since 1999 had to take anything to the post office to be looked at. If a item is damaged in shipment I don't even have the buyer return it. 

[gracieallen01]

I hope you do realize - from your description of the situation -  that you are the one at fault for this happening and how it turned out.  If you don't have the time or environment handy to conduct your business with your full attention, you can expect things like this to happen.  It is your responsibility to see that problems are handled correctly and according to policy, and you had even noted early on that this may be a problem buyer. 

ebay will tell you that the insurance is for the seller's protection - the buyer has ebay.  The post office has had the regulation for inspection of damaged items for years.  The buyer, like you, may have been 'busy' at the time.

I'm sorry this happened to you.  Hopefully it is a learning experience.

[dhbookds]

One suggestion...........if it hasn't been too long since it happened.......you might try emailing the buyer.......that you should have asked her for pictures and then you will immediately refund the money when you get them, that she doesn't have to/shouldn't mail the item back........  You may/may not be successful with an PO insurance claim (assuming there was insurance), but that could work.  I presume you are waiting for the item to be returned.

[m60driver]

The buyer did not take advantage of the system.  The buyer claimed that the item arrived damaged.  Whether you pressed the the wrong button on your phone or not (I prefer to do business on a desktop) the buyer was destined to get a full refund.  The buyer is not involved in your making a claim to USPS.  And unless you can show significant damage to the actual outer shipping box then why ask USPS to pay due to insufficient or improper packaging.  A heavy yet brittle casserole dish need to be double boxed.

And one more trivial point: there should be two spaces between sentences.