Sellers who say they accept no responsibility for loss in post

[purplesuz68]

I'm just curious as to what others do when they see the usual "I take no responsibility for Australia Post" blah blah.

Do you just avoid these sellers? Or do you buy the item anyway (especially if it's something that's hard to come by), of course paying with PayPal so you're covered if the item does get lost in the post? And do you point out to the seller that they are actually responsible, or do you just let it slide if there are no problems?

This is all assuming that their feedback is good with no complaints about items not received.

[purplesuz68]

Marian, I wasn't suggesting that a seller should be punished for something being stolen from someone's front porch. I'm wondering if PayPal protection covers both the seller and buyer in this situation ie do PayPal cover it themselves as a type of insurance? I guess the difficulty would be that the seller has proof of postage, but the buyer can't actually prove that it didn't arrive.

[xxstuckonstickersxx]

Well I'm no business seller, and I did have something along the "no responsibility" in my TOS. After reading how much that seems to get up people nose I'm considering changing it in all my listings.

as it is at the moment: "Registered post is available for an additional $3.50. If you would like registered post please contact me for an invoice before checking out. (Unfortunately I cannot be held responsible for lost or damaged items which weren't registered)"

Would something like this be better?: "Registered post is recommended and available for an additional $3.50. If you would like registered post please contact me for an invoice before checking out. "

Basically just removing the bit about no responsibility and advising buyers that I recommend they register their items.

At the moment the only proof I have are the reciepts I get from the PO, but I get the feeling thats not enough. What would PP accept?

[fred_fred_2004]

Why not have a look at Click & Send its only an extra $1 for a signature, and the parcel is covered for loss up to $100

[xxstuckonstickersxx]

I have had a look at Click n send. But almost all my items are sent in cylinders, and for some reason click n send cant deal with the dimensions of a cylinder.

I rang AP and they confirmed the system cant handle cylinders, why? Dunno!

[digital*ghost]

Basically just removing the bit about no responsibility and advising buyers that I recommend they register their items.

At the moment the only proof I have are the reciepts I get from the PO, but I get the feeling thats not enough. What would PP accept?

I would first add registered as an option to all listings (just as an aside, by eBay T&Cs you're not allowed to charge more than the actual cost of registered, which is currently $3.20),  so that if a buyer does want to use it, they don't have to wait for an invoice but just select it via checkout. Registered is only payable once per parcel (+$1-something per $100 of insurance above the first $100 if additional insurance is required), so, if you want to refer to it in the listing, I would say something like "Registered is available and recommended for an additional $3.20 per parcel - if purchasing multiple items, please wait for a combined invoice before paying."

There is two conflicting lists of what constitutes proof of postage on the PayPal site - one says a receipt showing postcode is enough, another says only documentation that shows the full delivery address. Personally, when I want protection as a seller, I err on the side of caution and either send registered or via click & send with signature on delivery (although I see that's not an option for you, unfortunately).

[fred_fred_2004]

I have had a look at Click n send. But almost all my items are sent in cylinders, and for some reason click n send cant deal with the dimensions of a cylinder.

I rang AP and they confirmed the system cant handle cylinders, why? Dunno!

would the cylinders fit in the ebay satchels

[gec2002]

Jameshouseofstyle "there is no way in this world, under the law of physics even that any seller (person) can be held responsible for someone else's actions. They can, or we all  can be directly responsible  only for something that we do ourselves and have a full control over." 
So when you sell a faulty dress and the buyer complaints your excuse is, I didn't make it, speak to the manufacturer.  Pity the ACCC doesn't agree with you.  ACCC 1 Physics 0

[jameshouseofstyle]

Hi gec,

not a comparable issue, try again.

***Just in case you really do need clarification and I don't believe you do - you said something without thinking, just for the sake of it - we have 100% control over what we send to clients.

If indeed there is a manufacturer's fault  we would take it up with them.

I'll tell you briefly something funny that happened recently:

Client received the chunky jumper - she told us  it was made wrong - it made her look like a hunchback!

We gave her a full refund as we have unconditional refunds anyway - they don't even need the reason to return something - but she left a negative f/back anyway. (That was removed by Ebay so it's no longer there).

As the cardigan was brand new we did send it back to the manufacturer to see if it's anything wrong in the make up - as it looked fantastic to us - they confirmed there was nothing wrong so we have since relisted it.

Cheers, Helen.

[rivergumblue]

over the past several weeks i recieved 2 parcels both which had a sticker on front of parcel saying that  they had to be signed for and when i collected them from the post office, i never signed, so it would be quite easy to rip off a seller and say you never got said package when you did

 just lucky that i am realy honest and wouldn't do it.  make a false claim through paypal.

[xxstuckonstickersxx]

Thanks Digital, very helpful post as usual!

Fred_fred I'm afraid not, they're too long 😞

At the moment my items are still all pretty low cost so if its lost I'm only a few bob out of pocket, and so far AP have only lost 3 parcels (one was returned to me a few weeks later lol). I do put "do not safe drop" stickers on my parcels so I know they wont be stolen from a mailbox or doorstep (a cylinder sticking out of a mailbox is pretty easy to grab!)

When I get into more expensive items I'll have to protect myself more for sure.