How can paypal refund the full amount to a buyer for goods damaged by Australia post that I sent?

[dan64050_0]

Should ask for better pictures than just the blurred phone ones.

[many*splendid*things]

I've since noticed you have very good pictures in your listings taken from many angles. It's probably too much bother, but I remember being advised to snap a few pics while packing also (yep, as if most sellers have the time for that - it's enough mucking about snapping off pictures and uploading for listing). Though, by the sound of the money back guarantee, pictures of a well packed item wouldn't really be much help anyway, but maybe you'd have something to show to Aust Post if they were trying to fob you off.

If I picked up a parcel from the post office with that sort of damage, I'd be asking the PO staff member to hold it up while I snapped a few pics as proof of it being in that condition in the actual Post Office (before removing any contents). Not sure if your buyer's picture shows it on the post office counter or what.

[dan64050_0]

Yes I do take a heap of good pics for that reason.  I actually use to take photo's of how I had packed up the items up until this January but trying to move interstate and sell 150 odd items does take up all my time.There will always be someone with a way around rules etc. They could even say the picture must have been photoshoped! Unless you film the whole thing from the item before beingpacked up, packing it up and then taking it to the post box, the seller seems to be the one who gets screwed now.  And to make it worse he can still give me negative feedback and I can't even give him that in return. What else can I we do?

[dan64050_0]

And to answer the last part of your post, no he didn't. He said he could see the parcel all torn up and crushed at the post office but decided to sign for it anyway and hope it was okay. Then he waits till later on to put in a return request and full refund! Guess what he got?

[designers*n*more]

From memory, the buyer needs to lodge a complaint with Aust Post since they now have possession of it. 

If he lodged an eBay claim then eBay shouldn't have refunded as they do not refund for parcels damaged in transit.

if it was a straight Paypal dispute then he would have lodged as SNAD I would imaging in which case Paypal will refund him, but he will need to return the item to you.

i could be wrong, just going from past experiences.

[many*splendid*things]

Another thought, last time I received a package with significant damage to the packaging through Aust Post, it had been stapled and taped up somwhere along the way during transit (had official Aust Post tape which had something like "Repaired by Australia Post" printed on the tape. I can't see them delivering the package in the state shown in your buyer's picture with gaping holes (looks more to me like the package is shown after it was interfered with to get to the contents out). 

Like I said, if the package appeared particularly damaged, I'd be taking a picture in anticipation of what might be inside before opening it up (which is what I did with my damaged package - in that case the item itself was fine). I think it's highly possible you've been told a story here to get a freebee. Have you taken a good look at the buyer's feedback and their 'feedback left for others' to get an idea whether the subject of damaged items has come up in the past?

I've purchased hundreds of items, some of which have been packaged completely innappropriately, and from memory only on one occasion was there any obvious damage (to a small plastic item which had been sent in an envelope with only a tiny bit of bubblewrap to protect it).

[collect247]

All the buyer needs to do is lodge a complaint with ebay or PayPal and not AP.

It's not the buyers responsibilty that an item turns up damaged it's the sellers.

[many*splendid*things]

Also, as this sounds like the first time you've had such a problem come up, I'd be inclined to have the item returned (at your expense if necessary) for peace of mind that it is in fact the same item (boxed up and returned with ALL original packaging). From what I gather, your items are di-cast metal which is hardly delicate in the way a china teapot or crystal vase might be, and the way you describe the inner 'hard box' suggests to me that unless it was run over by a fork-lift, it's questionable whether the inner packaging would have been damaged to the point where a metal object inside that could also be so seriously damaged.

Yes, if the buyer is a scammer they might jump on it out of spite if they have to return it, but at least you'd have the satisfaction of knowing you weren't taken completely for a ride.

You could then also examine in detail where you went wrong with your packaging on this occasion and make any improvements (if this was in fact the case) and use the damaged item as a test dummy to get your packing virtually indestructable and potentially avoid such problems arising in future.