Shipping/Insurance and "How would Enthusify" handle a possible dispute?

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28 May 2008
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How does Enthusify handle a buyer claim that a packaged was damaged in transit? Does this automatically default to a buyer issue with the shipping company, or do the funds remain on hold, or would the seller ever be held responsible?

As a follow up to that, a few general questions:

1. Who's responsibility is it to provide insurance on a package? Should the seller ALWAYS offer it at their expense, or is it up to the buyer to request for it?

2. If the value of an item is $500 and the seller does not offer insurance and the buyer does not ask for insurance, who becomes liable for damages if they occur? For example, UPS default is $100, which is a variance of $400 in this example. Is this a problem the buyer has to suck up and deal with as a bad decision, or is the seller somehow at fault?

My understanding is that insurance would always be an option the buyer must request and the seller has no obligation to offer it or pay for it. It's ultimately up to the buyer to take on those risks, as the sellers responsibility for the package stops once the carrier (UPS, FEDEX, USPS, etc) takes ownership of the item. Would this be a fair statement or incorrect?

How would Enthusify handle this type of dispute? Would funds remain on hold until the carrier makes a decision on the shipment, or would the seller receive their funds for the SALE of the item and the seller is left dealing with the damaged product with the carrier?
 
Ultimately, the dispute from both sides is:

BUYER: Buyer claims seller did not offer insurance or pay for additional insurance up to the value of the item and remains liable for damages in transit. Buyer believes they are entitled to a refund.

SELLER: States that buyer did not elect or request additional insurance and carrier provided a default coverage. The damage occurred in transit and is between the carrier and the buyer. Seller believes he is entitled to full payment of the item.

Enthusify answer?
 
Shipping/Insurance and "How would Enthusify" handle a possible dispute? Enthusify answer?

Great question. We put some thought to this when we created our terms of service and consulted with legal counsel and marketplace experts.

Problem
Item not as-described or damaged

Buyer
  • Buyer notifies Enthusify within 14 days of purchase.
  • If seller wants item back, buyer receives return mailing address from seller.
  • Buyer pays cost of return shipping with tracking number.
  • Buyer gets full refund once item delivered and confirmed by seller.

Seller
  • Enthusify notifies seller of buyer problem.
  • Seller decides to let buyer keep item or to have buyer send item back.
  • Seller provides return mailing address to buyer.
  • Seller does not get reimbursed for original shipping to the buyer.
  • Seller gets item in mail. Confirms receipt. Does not get sale proceeds.
 
So, based on the above - it would make the most sense for the seller to let the buyer keep the item. I personally (as a seller) would NOT want an item that is damaged by the carrier back nor I don't see why a buyer would opt to pay out of pocket to ship a broken item back.

So, how would a dispute be handled if the buyer refuses to accept a damaged package and the seller refuses to accept a return because of damage in transit by the carrier? Does enthusify default payment to the seller and its not buyer's responsibility to deal with the carrier?

Your answer really doesn't seem to provide an answer.
 
^ i agree... it's completly stupid for a buyer to pay the shipping costs to return something, when this return is not caused by him ...

Example (happened to me a couple of months ago):

- I bought a set of used driveshafts for the NSX through ebay.
- Received them and found that one came with a broke/stuck cv joint and the other is for an unknown car.
- Filed a complain and was contacted by the low life seller saying that he don't have to refund the shipping costs, only the parts value. phone call ended with threats from him.
- Paypal/ebay decided in my favor and i had to ship the driveshafts back to him. I said no problem, but i don't pay the shipping costs... If he wants them back, he pays for the shipping...he sent the wrong/damaged parts and i shouldn't have any expense with this. Paypal told me that if i didn't ship it, i wouldn't get a refund.

Bottom line:
Buyer HAVE to pay for seller mistakes.

Although this is the way things work, it's stupid, unfair and unacceptable.

My experience.

Nuno
 
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