Help Please

[hallorancollectables]

Hi everyone I'm sorry that this post will be so run of the mill but I am not sure of what to do next.

I received an email today regarding a trio that I sent saying that it is damaged.  The purchaser is understandably disappointed as the cup has broken.  They suggested that I may have needed more bubble wrap as transit can be bumpy.  They have not as yet left any fb and have not mentioned any refund, only their disappointment.  This is the second parcel sent to Vic in the last 2 weeks that has had damage occur - I might say here that these are the only two items that I have had fb re damage.  The first buyer stated when I emailed her that she had been receiving quite a few damaged items and perhaps her local PO was a bit rough.  Because they said that I said I was sorry and if she ever found anything of mine she wanted to bid on and buy I would offer her 15% discount on the postage.  She was happy with that.

Now back to the trio - what do I do?  I feel that I did wrap the cup enough.  I put newspaper in the cup, bubblewrapped it then wrapped it in newspaper then into a box then 4-5 sheets of newspaper around that.  Because most trio's weigh almost 500g I put them in a 3kg pre paid satchel so there is always heaps of leeway with packaging.  I feel bad for the buyer and certainly don't want to risk getting a neg fb.

Can someone please tell me if I should contact the buyer and offer refund?  Should I send them a satchel so they can post it back to me?  Is their any way to get AP compensation and who does that?

Thank you for any help you can give me.  (Insert smiley face here!)

[bsal6160]

Why shouldnt a buyer be angry with receiving a broken item? As a buyer i dont care how it got broken just know when i bought it, it was in one piece and when received it would be all smashed up. What if it was a very rare Meisen cup or similar?

[hallorancollectables]

Thank you oldworldlady for your comments.  I guess perhaps my run of luck with the postage gods has come to an end.  I try to be as green as possible and re-use, recycle (except bubble wrap which is new) as much as possible and use the satchels to keep the postage costs down.  Live and learn.

[hallorancollectables]

Gee thanks bsal6160 for your wonderful words of wisdom and kind compassionate nature.  I didn't say the buyer was angry though I would expect them to be, and I certainly would be.  I asked what I should do next about it.  Thought I might get some helpful responses ( which I have ) but certainly didn't expect to cop it from anyone.  I guess you must be perfect!    And if the cup had been Meisen I would be asking a lot more than $20 and recommending some insurance.

[*new2vintage]

Sellers can be held responsible by Paypal and buyers for broken and missing items so if your buyer opens a Paypal dispute don't expect to win it.

[phorum_junkie*]

First off newspaper is not a good idea, it is heavy and means you may have to charge over what is needed for postage.

If they will fit I would look at using the AP boxes through click & send, they still need to be double boxed though.

Certainly fill the interior of the cup but with something lighter than newspaper, you can buy rolls of foam wrap which does the job and is also much better for putting round the items than bubblewrap which can actually cause the breakage. If it is wrapped too tight the air in the bubbles can expand in the heat of the delivery van and crush the contents.

You then need to put in a box with packing peanuts or similar then that box goes inside the AP box or a satchel.

[syrupsmummy]

Considering not all parcels you sent got items broken, the way you pack your items are good enough for most of the way delivery guys treat parcels.

My usual delivery guy is very gentle with parcels but I've seen some delivery guys throw parcels up  to truck and throw parcels down on ground. So those ones got broken might have had rough delivery guy.

I think it's worth putting complaint to post office to get compensation. But I think buyers have to do it as they have the packaging and broken items. And they might not be keen to do that as it's time consuming.

As a seller when my buyers received damaged or faulty items I always refund or replace. I think it's sellers responsibility that buyers receive items undamaged. So if I were you I will make full refund or replace the same value item if buyers find something they want. And as a buyer if I receive damaged items I expect my seller to do the same. Luckily I haven't received any damaged items through eBay. I have received damaged items through other online retail shops but they always replace the items.

As for packing fragile items I think it might be a good idea to use form peanuts in box. I've received bubble wrapped fragile items in form peanuts in box many times. Those form peanuts seems like good protection.

[***super_nova***]

Scrunched up newspaper is the best material for absorbing impact, and yes somebody actually did study on it, and now they are trying to produce a packaging material that mimics the random structure of scrunched up newspaper.   Wrapping the box in sheets of newspaper is totally useless as a protection.  I would have put scrunched up newspaper inside the cup, wrapped each item in bubble wrap, filled all the space in the box around the items (bellow, above, between and on all sides) with more scrunched up newspapers, then I would have put it in second box with any space around the 1st box filled with bubblewrap or scrunched up newspapers. If it all fits into satchel, i would then fill all the space around with more scrunched up newspaper.   Never lost breakable item yet.

To your question: what should I do now?  First ask for photo of the broken item, and then when it is provided, immediately refund the total original payment.

[curraone]

Can someone please tell me if I should contact the buyer and offer refund?  Should I send them a satchel so they can post it back to me?  Is their any way to get AP compensation and who does that?

I have an Australia Post claim form here, just in case, and it says that once the item is delivered it is up to the buyer to take the item to the post office and make a claim - as the post office will assess whether it was adequately packed.

I have never had to do a claim, thank the lord, but this seems reasonable that the PO would want to look to see if you packed it adequately.     Sadly, it will depend on the goodwill of the buyer of course, some buyers will just want their money back without going to any trouble.

[hallorancollectables]

Thanks phorum_junkie I didn't know about the air expanding in the bubbles crushing things - that makes total sense!  It's a possibility and I will wait for the photo's.  I'm going to also look at the AP boxes and click and send - will talk to my PO lady this afternoon.  Thank you for your advice.

[hallorancollectables]

Thanks syrupsmummy for your advice, I hope the buyer will take it to the PO.  It shouldn't be too inconvenient for them as they have a PO Box.

I will look into the form peanuts, I wonder if they do recycled/recyclable ones?  I try to be as green as possible?

Thanks for your help.