What happens when you send an item out in working order but either postage or buyer breaks it?

[wilhamt_56]

I'm looking to sell some pc parts but I'm afraid if I get a bad buyer who breaks it or it happens to break in postage that I will lose a lot of money out of the deal, do I get compensated if a bad buyer breaks my item and claims it was broken when it arrived (or if it actually breaks in postage)? I really don't want to lose $300 worth of product. 

[bonjourami]

Compensated by who? Are you talking about postal insurance?

[ed8108]

Read ebay's money back guarantee, which means that you refund your buyer

[orangehound]

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@wilhamt_56 wrote:

I'm looking to sell some pc parts but I'm afraid if I get a bad buyer who breaks it or it happens to break in postage that I will lose a lot of money out of the deal, do I get compensated if a bad buyer breaks my item and claims it was broken when it arrived (or if it actually breaks in postage)? I really don't want to lose $300 worth of product. 

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Two answers:

1. There is a possibility that you will lose money when selling on eBay.
2. The vast majority of sales happen without such problems ... there is a risk, and it happens, but it is low ... in many ways, it depends on what you sell.

Selling on eBay has a difficult learning curve.  The wisest advice is to sell low cost items that you can tolerate a total loss on should things go badly, and this will help you experience the rules and pitfalls of eBay selling.  Then, as you gain more experience, sell more expensive things.

But, even if you do everything perfectly and know every iota of selling, you can still get burned in a transaction and lose money.

[atikovi]

Don't list anything you can't afford to lose.

[lovefindingtreasures2 · Accepted solution]

If your item arrives broken, you have to pay for that. It is up to the seller to pack the item well, if it breaks, it's on your dime.

Most buyers are fine, some are scammers. Some are a bit of both 🙂 If the buyer 'claims' it arrived broken (whether it is legit or not), you will be refunding.

Some items seem to be in categories more prone to problems and returns. Clothing and cell phones come to mind, depends on what you want to sell here. Others here can guide you on whether your items are in a higher risk of returns.

If your buyer claims your item arrived not as described, broken, wrong part, etc, you have to refund them.

You will also need to decide if you are offering free shipping, free return shipping (you still have to take returns anyway, but you can chose to check the buyer pays returns, try to avoid a few bad apples).

Remember to get your items boxed up as you would send them so you know how much the postage will be before you list them. A lot of new sellers don't take postage as seriously as they should and end up paying the difference when they under estimate the size and weight of their packages. That's always a serious bummer 🙂

Good luck!

[wilhamt_56]

thanks lad, I think I'll just be careful and hope to God I don't get scammed again, It's happened to me before on a different account and I just really don't wanna deal with it again. 🙂

[pavge-0]

If the buyer 'claims' it arrived broken (whether it is legit or not), you will be refunding.

What if the buyer records himself packing the item?

[pavge-0]

seller*

[samirr-34]

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@pavge-0 wrote:

If the buyer 'claims' it arrived broken (whether it is legit or not), you will be refunding.

What if the buyer records himself packing the item?

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Who's to say the seller actually shipped that item? Video isn't evidence

[atikovi]

Seems like there are 2 or 3 posts a month here suggesting videoing the packing or unpacking of something sent or received. Pretty useless to Ebay.

[kensgiftshop]

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@pavge-0 wrote:

If the buyer 'claims' it arrived broken (whether it is legit or not), you will be refunding.

What if the buyer records himself packing the item?

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All that proves is you can make a video.

As far as proof of anything, it's a waist of time.

[lightlily_arts]

I purchase shipping insurance from Shipsaver as it's cheap and they cover your shipping charges as well.  I can't afford to pay for items that are lost or damaged in transit.  Sometimes things get damaged no matter how carefully you pack.

[lovefindingtreasures2]

Makes no difference videotaping anything, eBay's policy over rides anything you try to do to protect yourself.

Sadly, I think most of us have been scammed, it's a part of doing business. In a regular brink and mortar store it's called shoplifting.

Thieves are all around you, but I think most here will tell you that most sales go through without a problem. If they didn't, there would soon be a desert of nothing to buy as all the sellers would stop selling.

What do you want to sell? Electronics? Collectibles? Games? Clothing? Jewelry?