Ebay can be sooo frustrating

**krspott30** · 08-12-2006, 06:48 AM

Hi everyone. I just need to vent about an item that I just sold on E-bay. I have 100% positive feedback that is about to go down because of a recent sale and I am so frustrated. I sold a lot of 4 perfect Precious Moments figurines from my collection. Well I don't offer insuance on my postings but if anyone e-mails me about insurance I will gladly purchase it for them. Anyhow the buyer of this lot e-mailed me to tell me that 2 of the figurines the ones on the bottom were broke when she received them now she wants 1/4 of the total paid including the shipping and handling charges and I won't do it. There was no insurance on the package and she got 2 figurines for 10.99 plus shipping and handling. I mailed these priority and wrapped them in tissue paper and then in bubble wrap and then placed crumpled newspaper on top to keep them from moving. I then asked the lady at the post office to mark it fragile 2 times which it turns out she did not do. I honestly feel as if I did everything I could to insure that they got there in excelllent condition but they still didn't. Please share your opinions. I don't want to be mean to anyone but I just don't feel that I am at fault here and she keeps wanting a refund for something totally out of my control. ARG!!!!!

**Advertisement** · 08-12-2006 06:48 AM

**taz69** · 08-12-2006, 06:55 AM

That has to be frustrating, but wouldn't it be better to do the refund to keep the 100% rating? So sorry that the post office has created this mess for you.

**moe265** · 08-12-2006, 07:01 AM

Well my bf sells on Ebay and you should always offer insurance and require it on items that are fragile. He said he would refund for the items but not shipping.. that's not money you get, it goes to the post office. It comes down to how much you value your feedback and what you are willing to do to keep it at 100%. He said he would try to come to some form of agreement. Good Luck!

***Willow*** · 08-12-2006, 07:02 AM

Maybe in the future you could add a disclosure to your listings letting people know that you aren't responsible for damaged items and that you will purchase insurance and add it to the shipping and handling costs if they request it. I'm not really sure what to tell you to do about the situation with the buyer. I guess if you really don't want to refund part of the money you could always reply to the bad feedback if she leaves it and just say that you packaged the items to the best of your ability and that the buyer did not purchase insurance.

**hblueeyes** · 08-12-2006, 07:28 AM

as a buyer on ebay I adhere to what is listed. If insurance is offered by request, then it should be stated so. I have never thought to ask for insurance because if it were offered even by request, then the ad should state so. I would offer a partial refund on the broken items after requesting proof the itemss were in fact broken. Ask them to email you a photo of the broken items.

me

**krspott30** · 08-12-2006, 08:04 AM

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. My niece who lives with me reminded me that when we went up to ship this that our postal worker dropped the box after I told her at least twice that is was fragile. I didn't think of it at the time because I had them wrapped in bubble wrap and all. Anyhow I filed a complaint and I will see what they decide to do. Just a thought though to anyone if you are looking to make a purchase on Ebay and they don't offer insurance ask about it because I have done this myself a couple of times and if they won't purchase insurance I don't buy. Like wanted this personal dvd player for a xmas gift and they didn't offer insurance so I e-mailed them and asked them for it and they said that would be fine. It is just a thought because I have done this a few times. I think some people are like me and forget to check the box.

**Free4me76** · 08-12-2006, 08:06 AM

I would ask for a piture, Sometimes people will say that things are broken to get money when infast they are not broken. So usually when you say you want a pic of the items broke they let is go, I would tell them you wants pics of them,

**Njean31** · 08-12-2006, 08:38 AM

i would just go ahead and give a partial refund and keep my rating

**dv8grl** · 08-12-2006, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Free4me76

I would ask for a piture, Sometimes people will say that things are broken to get money when infast they are not broken. So usually when you say you want a pic of the items broke they let is go, I would tell them you wants pics of them,

Absolutely... Ask for a pic!

Also ~~ If your buyer paid thru paypal, they can file a claim w/ paypal and get there money back.

**buglebe** · 08-13-2006, 07:57 PM

I think I would just go so far to have positive feedback. If you sell much on ebay you are going to eventually encounter a costly mistake or just a cantankerous person who wants it all. I do have positive feedback but in some cases I would bend just so much. I would have to see a picture before refunding but that still doesn't prevent the person from giving bad feedback.
Have you tried discussing this by phone to resolve it? Some people just won't give in no matter what you try to do to appease them. Good luck.

**ilvscooby** · 08-14-2006, 12:58 PM

Insurance is to protect the SELLER not the buyer. It is seller's responsibility to get items to buyer in the condition they were purchased. If she paid with paypal all she has to do is file a SNAD complaint and she can get her money back. If you can't afford to eat the cost if something is broken I would recommend purchasing insurance. Fragile items should be double boxed for extra protection. Even if you had gotten insurance on this your claim probably would have been denied because tissue paper and newspaper are not good cushions(they flatten too easily and then your item can just bounce around the box).

When I pack all my fragile items I try to imagine everything the USPS workers could do to them (play kick ball, throw them, etc.)and pack them to withstand that ...lol. never had an item arrive broken yet...*knock on wood*

Thread: Ebay can be sooo frustrating

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