do i need to refund postage

[abbeyrock3]

I would like help i have looked at the boards but cant see the answer for my problem. I have  sold many mirrors and they are all packed the same way none have ever been damaged until the other week I refunded the mirroe price but didnt the postage Do I need to refund postage as now they want that too??

[***super_nova***]

Yes, you have to refund the full original payment including postage.  If the buyer starts PP dispute they will refund them the whole amount.  They may ask for the damaged item to be sent back to you first, but there is no point is there? 

If anything gets broken in transit just ask for photos of the damage and then refund.

[kopenhagen5]

Generally if it's the sellers fault, refund will include all costs so the buyer is not out of pocket.

For change of mind, no.

In this case, I assume damage was done during transit, therefor it's between you and the carrier, not the buyer. Normally buyer gets refund including postage and you claim with carrier.

[phorum_junkie*]

Put yourself in the buyer's shoes.

You purchase an item and pay for it to be delivered safely.

It arrives broken.

How would you feel if you didn't get a full refund?

Mightily peeved I should imagine!

[protect*the*innocent]

Damaged items in the mail can happen and, in those situations, it is up to the seller to ensure the customer is not out of pocket for an item that is no longer usable.

I do recommend, however, that when a customer complains about faulty or broken items the seller requests a clear picture demonstrating the issue prior to giving a refund of any kind.  It is definitely not unreasonble for a seller to want to see the problem.   

Keep in mind that the customer can open a Paypal dispute but that in many of these cases the seller is entitled to confirm that they will refund upon return of the item for inspection  --  Paypal may agree and tell the customer to return the item to the seller in order to receive the full refund :  the buyer would - in that situation - have to pay for trackable postage to return the item to the seller from their own pocket.   Therefore it is really not always in the buyer's best interests to start a paypal dispute in this kind of situation except as a last resort with a seller who refuses to assist or ignores assistance requests by the customer.

Something else to be aware of is that if an item is damaged in transit and has been sent using Australia Post's Registered  service (which provides insurance against damage and theft whilst in Aussie Post's care) then the buyer must keep all packaging and take the item + packaging into their local post office to lodge an official compensation claim.  Of course if Australia Post deem that the item has not been adequately packaged to withstand travel they will reject a claim.

Akaoni :  a situation such as this is always a good reason to re-assess how you package items to try to ensure it never happens again.  Thankfully this type of situation doesn't happen very often but, when it does, it is the seller's responsibility to ensure their customer is not out of pocket.  

All the best..

[phorum_junkie*]

Something else to be aware of is that if an item is damaged in transit and has been sent using Australia Post's Registered  service (which provides insurance against damage and theft whilst in Aussie Post's care) then the buyer must keep all packaging and take the item + packaging into their local post office to lodge an official compensation claim.  Of course if Australia Post deem that the item has not been adequately packaged to withstand travel they will reject a claim.

That has nothing to do with it being sent registered post. AP will pay compensation for any parcel where they accept that packaging was up to the job and it was their fault. Registered post just increases the maximum payout from $50 to $100.

It is very rare for AP to take the blame, the parcel usually has to at least have multiple tread marks showing it has been repeatedly run over for them to shell out.

[greatfindoutlet]

For me, I will definitely will refund the whole payment including postage but I will request for a photo so I can dispute with the courier about the damage because they can definitely complain to Paypal and give you bad feedback..