I bought something off a forum member. It's not gone well. What would you do?

dculberson wrote: I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the books were not well packed. I've bought a ton of stuff from individuals online and it's amazing how poorly they package things. I had a light fixture literally wrapped in a garbage bag that was taped shut with a label stuck to it. Wheels and tires with labels stuck on them. What was the packaging?

That's the root of the problem as far as I'm concerned. There were two volumes, the one I have is pretty stinkin' big. The other one is pretty close to the same size from what I understand. They were BOTH put into ONE of those brown paper envelopes/bags that have the small bubble-wrap inside. The seller claims that's how the clerk told him to package it. I know I'd never ship two books (or even one) in a paper bag. At the very least I'd have put a second shipping label on the books themselves, and secured them together. These books were only going 70 miles! As someone else said: he didn't try to screw me. He just didn't buy insurance and didn't package them well. If I were selling these I'd offer 1/2 back. If he doesn't I will just let it go and buy the second volume and have the most expensive set of Bentley manuals.

Yeah, sounds like a packaging fail to me. I wouldn't ship those without a corrugated box around them.

So he took bad advice, but that's not your fault. You should get the book or your money back. As a seller that is what I would do.

Yeah, I just got an e-mail from him. I e-mailed him to ask if he was able to get another volume for me (for free from his friend). He got the first volume this way and thought he could get another. Anyway, lots of reasons and excuses but the bottom line is he says he feels USPS should pay for it. Yeah, I agree but they won't, he didn't insure it.
Anyway, things could be worse. I'll just keep looking for a volume two and see what happens. The kicker is, that's really the only volume I need. It's got the schematics, and this is a VW.

Datsun1500 wrote: You keep saying he did not insure them. Did you offer to pay to insure them or did you want the cheapest shipping option?

We never discussed it. He said $75 shipped, I said ok. I didn't think to specify insurance. To be honest, I've only had to use it once (ironically, they refused to pay for my bent metal sign, buncha pricks) and it's been soo long ago I didn't even think about it. When I ship something, I insure it as a matter of course. I didn't give it a second though.

By all online service's terms it's the seller's responsibility to get the items to you safely. That's with good reason since they have physical control over the goods and are the only ones capable of packaging it and mailing it to you. If I, as a seller, ship via media mail uninsured, that is at my risk. eBay and PayPal make that clear. Only trackable (which Media Mail is not) and insured shipping methods are effective at protecting the seller from liability in the case a damage claim comes up. The seller skirted being held to that responsibility by having you use the paypal gift thing.

Safe to assume that anyone you deal with is going to try to save money on shipping unless expressly stated that they'll do otherwise.
Similarly safe not to trust USPS
(won't get started, insert rant about their tracking system here)

I always ask if the buyer wants insurance, then he has the choice. I, likewise, request insurance from the seller/shipper if the cost is worthwhile. For stuff that I ship through my business, I don't ask, and always insure. It saves the he said/she said BS, and associated negative feedback that arises if something goes missing. In most cases I can get it back. In this case, it looks like it's nobody's fault, or both your fault, depending on how you look at it. I'd ask the guy to split the loss with you, and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Datsun and Zomby got it. It's both our faults, or neither depending on how you look at it. No matter how you stack it, USPS screwed up and they will be totally off the hook.
I'll go UPS 100% from now on though.

DrBoost wrote: Datsun and Zomby got it. It's both our faults, or neither depending on how you look at it. No matter how you stack it, USPS screwed up and they will be totally off the hook. I'll go FEDEX 100% from now on though.

Fixed that for you. UPS is a step above meth-addicted gorillas.

pinchvalve wrote:

DrBoost wrote: Datsun and Zomby got it. It's both our faults, or neither depending on how you look at it. No matter how you stack it, USPS screwed up and they will be totally off the hook. I'll go FEDEX 100% from now on though.

Fixed that for you. UPS is a step above meth-addicted gorillas.

I guess I should look for reviews huh? I'll have to see where there is a FedEx by me.

I don't think it matters who you ship with, as long as you cover your ass.

I've had very good luck with Canada post/USPS over the last 10 years, and hundreds of pkg's..