Who is responsible for items damaged in transit?

[collectocopia]

hi, item i sold has arrived in pieces. It was bubbe wrapped, boxed and further bubble wrap. it looks as if someone deliberatel chucked it along the way. I suggested buyer contact aus post to deal with it as its covered in the postage...theyve put in a refund request via ebay and want me to pay? am i liable for the damage and do i have to refund when i state i dont?

[the_dutchess_of_dork]

I was more sceptical about tales of AP / couriers mishandling items until recently.

A couple of times our courier has tossed my items onto the front balcony which means throwing them up about six feet and over a 3+ foot railing.

Mostly it was obvious the parcels were not fragile as you could tell they were books or clothing.  However, one boxed item was the exact dimensions of a coffee mug ... although fortunately it contained a plastic figurine.

Obviously the balcony is a safer alternative from the perspective of theft but it has made me extremely wary about the delivery of anything remotely fragile.  I bought a camera earlier this year but, as an expensive item, the seller sent it Signature on Delivery.

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

As an update - I replaced the damaged microphone with a spare I had (took all of five minutes, and relisted the radio.

Ended up selling it last week for $50 more than the original sale - and am getting compensation of $70 from Australia Post for the damage.

Not a bad result!

But, learnt the lesson: wrapped the micophone in bubble wrap, then put it in a bubble-wrap bag, sealed the box, then put that inside a larger box, and left about ten centimetres space at the end of the larger box, which I stuffed full of more bubble wrap. And took photos of each step of the packing process, just in case...