Fragile item broken in post, am I entitled to anything?

[luluraeven]

I purchased a set of four vintage Pyrex bowls from the US. I paid an incredble amount in shipping, but I had to have them as it was THE ONE and I wanted to give them as a wedding gift.

I open my parcel today to find the smallest of the four nesting bowls was shattered 😞 I was devastated I almost wanted to cry.

The box was well packed with some styrofoam to prevent the bowls moving round in the square box. Each bowl was wrapped in a piece of butchers paper, a piece of cardboard laid in the centre, then another bowl placed inside. This was then wrapped in bubble wrap and surrounded with crushed newspaper to take up space in the rest of the box. The box was indeed marked fragile. I personally would've been more generous with the bubble wrap myself... 

It says in the description the seller will refund my money if I return the goods within 14 days, the problem is I don't have that kind of money to ship crockery back  to the US, 3 out of 4 are still okay, and I don't have enough time to source another gift. Am I entitled to any refunds? Do I have any rights through ebay or PayPal? I don't want to be greedy, even a fraction of the sale price would suffice- It's a complicated situation and I wanted to consult the ebay gurus before I go ahead and make a fool out of myself!! 😛
 
Does anybody have similar experiences or any insight into this matter? *fingers crossed*

[*crikey*mate*]

message the seller first, and see what they have to say.

If no satisfaction there, open a PayPal dispute, you can request a partial refund there.

IF the seller declines and says full refund or nothing, PayPal will require you to return the goods at your expense, and on receipt, refund of initial cost will usually be given, if it went through GSP, you won't be refunded that original postage, but if not you should be.

Keep in mind, if the other three bowls get broken ion the way back, seller can tell PayPal, items not received in ciondition sent, and PayPal may well refuse your refund.

ebay won;'t get involved as you paid with PayPal, (IF the US sites buyer protection comes into play here) so PayPal is your option.

Be careful in your communication with the seller, as you can't ask them to provide a service they don't offer (ie a partial refund) so do not mention feedback in any way.

Let the seller know what's happened, and see their response, and then maybe broach the issue of partial refund (without mentioning feedback)

Best of Luck with it all. I bet the seller will be happy to do the right thing by you.

[extra-keen]

And do take and send a photograph of the damage to show the seller that you are not trying to scam them.

That is most unfortunate, hope it all works out for you

[luluraeven]

Thank you both for your  sound advice.

I took multiple photos even before I unwrapped the individual bowls as I heard the telltale clinking noise of broken glass 😞

I'm still heartbroken, but after a good sleep I feel a bit better about it all. I'll message the seller just to let her know, and cut my losses and try to move on... I'm not feeling vindictive or anything and I dont need the stress of a dispute really. 

Thanks again!

[chezzy]

I take it the items were not "double boxed" - as in inside one box which is 'suspended' in packaging within an outer box. It also sounds like the items were not individually packaged but nested? Just wondering if the close proximity (despite a piece of cardboard) has put pressure on the item/s especially if the parcel receives a blow (knock, drop etc anything possible) along the way.

I'd still see what the seller has to say - they might have independent insurance or offer something in the way of a partial refund?

[2106greencat]

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@luluraeven wrote:

Thank you both for your  sound advice.

I took multiple photos even before I unwrapped the individual bowls as I heard the telltale clinking noise of broken glass 😞

I'm still heartbroken, but after a good sleep I feel a bit better about it all. I'll message the seller just to let her know, and cut my losses and try to move on... I'm not feeling vindictive or anything and I dont need the stress of a dispute really. 

Thanks again!

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I agree the dispute process can seem a bit messy, but you should ask the seller for partial refund at least. Far better for them to refund a part of the cost, than to get a negative feedback, and I would do all I could to reimburse my customer, so ask the question.

[go-tazz]

Another GSP item that got broken,(seems to happen a bit)

Repacked by Pitney Bowes probably,(hence less than the required protection required for fragile items),

Maybe let the seller know how it was packaged,(that will at least let you know whether the seller packaged it like

that or PB repacked it),

[letscleanupmycupboards]

Is there not any sort of blanket shipping insurance or reciprical coverage by Australia Post? After all you can't really say if it was broken on the US leg or the Aus leg of the trip. I'd be inclined to ask at the post office and see what they say. I also believe paypal takes return shipping into consideration in SNAD disputes. I've read that if the cost to post back is more than the item value/postage paid, they sometimes rule that you don't have to send it back. But try the post office and the seller first, it really is up to the sender to pack adequately, I've posted glass vials to the USA and not had a single breakage (and I posted thousands at one stage).

[go-tazz]

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@letscleanupmycupboards wrote:
 it really is up to the sender to pack adequately, I've posted glass vials to the USA and not had a single breakage (and I posted thousands at one stage).

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Doesn't matter how well the items are packaged by the seller.

When it goes through the GSP it can be repacked by the Pitney Bowes company,(so the seller loses all control

of the "secure" packaging),

[davewil1964]

Australia Post DO NOT provide a 'fragile' service.