EBay sellers, have you ever filed a USPS damage claim?

9 years ago

A glass microwave tray I sold on eBay arrived broken. I can find info online about filing a claim if you're the buyer, but in this case I paid for shipping. USPS provides automatic insurance up to a certain amount when shipping Priority Mail, and the cost of the tray falls well within that limit.

I packed the tray carefully, and used a lot of bubble wrap--which is something the buyer will get out of this anyway. I'll call the Post Office on Tuesday, but I thought perhaps one or more of you here might have had this experience. I purchased the shipping label via eBay.

Featured Answer

User

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Its such a hassle to deal with the Post Office that unless it sold for a lot its more cost effective time wise to refund the buyer and write it off as a loss on your Schedule C and move on. If you do want to persue a damage claim the buyer will have to take the broken item to the post office- with all of the packing material and original box to the PO to show it was properly packaged and so they can check the box for external damage.

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Comments (7)

Elmer J Fudd
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
There's not a loss to write off, veda, but rather, just no sales proceeds to declare if the payment is refunded.

Also, you're assuming that the sales produce a profit and that the activity is reflected on the seller's tax return. For sellers who use Ebay as a garage sale rather than as part of a business, neither assumption may be valid.
Alisande thanked Elmer J Fudd
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Fun; go to the post office 1st. Let them give you their opinion. You said that it was packed well & there wasn't much damage to the box. The $250 Barbie I got came with a slight ding on the box; opened the box & took photos as I opened it because I had a weird feeling; the box had a slice in it. I took it to post master who said there was no way the damage happened while inside that box. You do not need the receipt; the way it works is the shipper has to file the claim. I opted out because the seller was fairly new; I could have been out the barie & my money since post master said it would be tied up for a while & his opinion was that they would not pay for it. Do yourself a favor; take it all to your local post office & see what they say. Your seller may be trying to get his money back on a shipped damaged item. I don't know how it could have been broken with the way it was packed unless dropped from a great height. The outside box doesn't look particularly damaged so it wasn't run over with a truck, either.
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I wouldn't have agreed to accept 2 instead of the 3 you paid for. In the event a dispute were to be filed, it's her word against yours and since you received a "make-up" package for the one she claims got lost, she can say she sent 3 and you have no way to dispute her statement because likely the package weight would not be different with one item less. We're not talking big bucks here, but it's the principal of the thing. You didn't get what you paid for. Accepting packages with less than you've bought is a good way to get burned badly and lose big $$$$. If this should happen again and you suspect the package contents aren't what they should be, either open the package with your mailman as a witness or carry it to the P.O. to open it in front of a postal employee. The above is especially important for sellers when a difficult buyer is returning an item for a refund. Sometimes the package contains a similar item, but in damaged condition in order to perpetuate a scam. This seller would never win a dispute because she didn't get DC on the package. If you were a shady buyer, out to cheat her, (and they are out there, ready to pounce) seeing your package didn't have a DC on it would give you the opportunity to collect on the seller's mistake. Telling buyers they have to pay for insurance still won't help this seller if she doesn't have DC on her packages. She will have to refund if a dispute is filed.
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another_linda - Both good points to consider. Thank you! ideefixe - I never said that I thought the print was an original. It was sold as VINTAGE (not an antique or "the real thing.") As I said, the print is probably from an older Temple of Flora book and was then framed in the 60's or 70's. While older prints from books can be worth a little money, the new reproduction poster prints (that are mass produced and sold these days,) are not worth the paper they are stamped on. I occasionally check eBay for Thornton listings. I bid on this print, because I liked the way it looked in the photos, and thought it would make a nice addition to our home. Plus, the price was reasonable! I really didn't expect it to have any more value than I paid for it. The reason that I am not happy, is simply because it is not in the shape that seller suggested. A Print is the correct word to use for a reproduction. The originals are called original paintings, oils,water color, engravings, plates, etc..) We had original plates. From the dictionary Print - A design or picture transferred from an engraved plate, wood block, lithographic stone, or other medium.
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Alisande
Original Author
9 years ago
Elmer's right--I don't have an eBay selling business. And this is a small item ($28), but I figured if it's automatically insured I might as well try to apply.
justlinda
9 years ago
I know that up here in Canada it's a PITA dealing with Canada Post Corp, even if you have purchased insurance and/or sent the package as a "Tracked Packet". I recently had a package go missing and simply wrote it off, and dealing with eBay is equally a course of jumping through the hoops and gobbledy goop. They never seem to be accountable, there's always an oneness on the seller - they guarantee that!
Alisande thanked justlinda
User
9 years ago
"Business" or not the buyer can get their money back- whether you refund it willingly or if they file a claim with ebay. Unfortunately filing the claim with the PO will require the buyer to retain the item and packaging in case the PO wants to "inspect" it. In 19 years of selling on ebay full time I've never had a broken item but I've had 2 completely lost packages and it took forever to push the claim through. In the interest of good customer service and not getting a judgement against you by ebay/paypal its best to refund first and then persue the claim. Most buyers just wont wait for the PO claim- they just want to be made whole again.

https://about.usps.com/publications/pub370/pub370_v10_revision_012016_tech_013.htm
Alisande thanked User
Alisande
Original Author
9 years ago
Yes, I refunded her money. She said she took a picture and tried twice to send it to me, but eBay's uploader wouldn't work. I didn't press her on this because I'd have no way of knowing if the picture was of the tray I sent or the broken tray she was replacing. So I just had Paypal issue a refund.

I asked the buyer to hang on to the picture in case I filed claim, but I didn't think to ask her to photograph the packaging.

Thanks, Veda, for sharing your knowledge. You've had a lot of experience!
lucillle
9 years ago
I filed a claim a few years ago when a glass item was broken, the USPS refunded the buyer very quickly. I told him to hold onto the item in case they wanted it but they never requested it.

Many years ago at my previous house and previous post office (this was not for Ebay) a refund took almost a year. I think the USPS is getting better at managing refunds.
Alisande thanked lucillle

EBay sellers, have you ever filed a USPS damage claim?

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