Home › Forums › Buying and Selling › Selling on eBay › ONE pane of glass broke – expensive shipping – what do I do? Please help!
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Amatino.
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10/16/2019 at 6:26 pm #69163
My listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/183865496356
Cost $70 to ship. I packed it securely, boxed it, packed that box into a bigger box loaded with foam and peanuts to float it, and shipped it on Friday. It arrived today with one pane of glass broken. My wonderful buyer advised as follows:
“I am so sad. I just opened the box and found that one panel of glass is broken. It wasn’t completely unwrapped. It couldn’t be your packing job because it was amazing. I thought that many times while I was unpacking it. Please let me know how to resolve this. I don’t blame you”So have I just watched $150 climb into a little winged box and fly out the window? The thought of asking her to return it just fills me with dread – how many more panes will break? But I have to see her right. I’ve contacted lampworks with a photo to ask if they have a replacement pane and will have it shipped directly to her if they do. But if not? All the lamps on eBay are much more expensive and have a pointed tip, rather than the rounded edge of my one.
I’ve requested photos and will put in a claim to USPS. If they pay out, do I just send the money to the buyer and we’re done? What about the $70 shipping cost? Gaaaah! I should have triple boxed it!
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10/16/2019 at 8:14 pm #69167
Bummer. If you don’t mind a personal suggestion, do something else for a while to take your mind off this, try to get a good night’s sleep, then look at the situation fresh in the morning.
You might want to just ask the buyer what they would like to see happen with this problem and see what they say. That seems to help at least psychologically sometimes, and they might have an easier solution than your worst-case thoughts.
If you can get a replacement glass that might be a good solution, depending on the cost and how hard it is to replace the pane in the lamp.
I don’t think you should wait for an insurance claim on this. Pay what it takes to make this right to the buyer then when/if you get paid on an insurance claim the money is yours.
Good luck.
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10/17/2019 at 8:12 am #69184
I commend you for taking on that packing job. Honestly $80 is too low for that kind of work. You went above and beyond.
I agree with Old Dad to ask the buyer what they would like to see. Maybe they’d take a partial refund and fix it themselves?
But ultimately the buyer can force a return for a full refund including shipping. USPS will refund the item but not the shipping.
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10/17/2019 at 12:02 pm #69210
Thanks guys, really appreciate the input. I WAS freaking out yesterday, and a night’s step back was a good idea, Old Dad.
The lamp company replied that they’ll try to find something and I’ll contact the buyer and ask what she wants to do.
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10/17/2019 at 10:14 pm #69234
Sounds like things are looking up. Live is funny at times, but not always fun.
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10/18/2019 at 11:56 am #69245
Hmmm… The lamp company said they would look, but as they have thousands of vintage lamps, it might be a while. I went back to the buyer and gave her a copy of the reply and asked what she wanted to do? I gave her 3 options: return for credit/take partial credit and fix it herself/wait for the lamp company. I also asked for photos again (3rd time!) She replied she didn’t know what to do and didn’t know how to add photos. I replied with instructions and she did send photos. The metal frame of one pane is bent in about 1/4 inch, but that was enough to shatter the glass.
So I replied that we could wait for the lamp company to get back to me and, if they could supply a replacement, I would buy it and have it shipped to her at no cost. If they can’t replace it, I will refund her for the item.
She replied she wants a refund and for me to pay shipping. She flat refuses to do a return, so now she’s going to have an awesome old lamp with only one broken pane (that can be repaired) basically for free, and I’m out $149. I don’t think that’s fair!
Thoughts? Should I just bite the bullet on this one?
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10/18/2019 at 12:09 pm #69246
Do you really want the broken lamp back, enough to pay the shipping?
As long as you believe the damage is legitimate, Id pay her and move on.
Believe me, the minute you do and the case is closed and you will be happier and will forget about it.
We’ve all been there before. It’s not fun.. not at all.
Good luck.
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10/18/2019 at 12:31 pm #69247
Agreed. I’d rip off that scab and be done with it. Send her a 100% refund and tell her to keep it. Then you’re just out the shipping one way and whatever you paid for it (which I hope was not much), not $149. Now that you have photos you can try a USPS claim. Life isn’t fair. Move on. You’ve expended way too much energy on this already. It’s too risky to force her to do a return.
For the future, a couple suggestions. First of all for a big item like this, I would also price FedEx Home. Might be a lot less to ship. Also, as Jay implied, consider your time, energy, and possible risks with items you’re selling. This lamp was a disaster waiting to happen. For only $80 you probably should have stuck with local pickup or tried Craigslist etc. Also in the future if it would let you sleep better you might look into ShipSaver or other third party insurance that covers the item and shipping.
My last not fun at all item was an older iPhone I sent to Sweden. Over $100 in net profit flew right out the window but I didn’t want to add another $30 to my pain. And there was no insurance.
Hang in there. Sell some more trash and be free.
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10/18/2019 at 12:37 pm #69248
Thanks guys!
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10/18/2019 at 1:20 pm #69250
I’d be curious to know how this ends! If you packed it as well as you did, you should be able to get some insurance money from the USPS. Obviously we are mourning the loss of the lamp, but this would certainly help.
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10/18/2019 at 3:34 pm #69261
I plan to put in a claim. I’ll update you on the outcome.
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10/28/2019 at 12:08 pm #69673
Update: following the excellent and detailed advice from Mike, I put in my Post Office claim and it was approved with no hassle at all, full purchase price. So I’m only out the shipping.
Very grateful to all who helped me through this, you guys rock!
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10/28/2019 at 12:55 pm #69686
This one falls in the pro/con list of doing free shipping. If you had done free shipping and raised the price to $160, you could have insured it for $160 and got the whole amount back.
Flipside, if a buyer returns because they just didn’t like it then you eat the shipping.
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10/29/2019 at 12:53 pm #69735
That’s true, Retro, but I have Best Offer on most of my listings, especially the high dollar items. I refuse to add free shipping to a Best Offer listing (or Best Offer to a free shipping listing?) so it’s not really an option for me.
Besides, of all the expensive stuff I’ve shipped, this is my first breakage. I’ve shipped over 100Lbs in a ginormous box (went FedEx) and regularly ship in a 24″ cube. I have HEAVY warning labels, because I use them so often. I paid attention to J&R’s packing videos and info and pack with a lot of padding and floating and stuff, and I always take photos as I pack.
For items such as cell phones and similar, I actually video my packing including turning it on to prove it works, then turning it off and showing the IMEI and serial numbers, then packing it, so that I have proof that the item I sold is the item I packed. Then, if I have a claim, I can report it as fraud/theft to the Post Office and Police as well. Notifying buyers that you have done this, along with the tracking number, along the lines of “in case it gets stolen en route” seems to be a pretty good deterrent to getting a brick or a rag back.
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10/28/2019 at 12:09 pm #69674
Oh, P.S. I pack like a BEAST and take photos as I pack, of each layer/level and of the final package. I included all of those in my claim, so that might have helped with the quick approval.
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10/28/2019 at 12:23 pm #69678
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