Buyer and seller protection

[Hotdocta]

Hey guys,

Just saw a debate on the bst and was curious myself. When selling on bst, if the package gets lost in the mail, who’s responsibility is it? Is it on the seller or the buyer?

i know PayPal protection comes into play once the item gets delivered. But if it is lost in the mail, who’s responsibility is it ?

thanks!

 

i had a feedback score of 42 so am not new to buying and selling on here, but the issue has never come up.

[MaineMariner]

It's the seller's responsibility. The seller should have insurance (at least $50 if sent USPS priority) to take care of any lost items.

[AllShowNoGo82]

It would always be the seller's responsibility. It's good practice to insure your shipments with whatever carrier you're using. Once you find out it's lost, the seller will need to file a claim with the shipping company.

[Skhacker]

As a seller, you're simply hiring out the delivery of your item to a third party contractor. It's the sellers responsibility to ensure the item arrives unscathed. Best practice to protect yourself as a seller is to insure and require a signature. The buyer doesn't get any benefit from insurance.

[Bad9]

+1. I've gotten to the point I wouldn't send anything valued over $100 without additional insurance. On a recent item I sold $200 insurance cost me $2.25(this is Canadian $) and for the peace of mind its well worth it.

[GoIrish17]

It’s up to the seller to insure the item for the full amount to protect from loss in shipping. Hopefully the seller will have purchased insurance, refund the buyer as soon as they are aware of the issue, and handle the insurance claim on their own (with input from buyer, when necessary).

 

A better question (or discussion) is: if the item is lost in shipping and the insurance doesn’t cover the item, i.e. the item is stolen from the porch after the item is marked as delivered, then who is responsible? Fully aware of the option to require signature, but for this exercise let’s assume that isn’t an option.

 

Personally, signature confirmation can be a deal breaker at times because of the difficulty making my schedule work to get the item. As an aside, I have been disappointed in the past when I purchase from people and they send signature confirmation without discussing it with me beforehand. While I like to be as careful as possible buying and selling privately, I also operate on a real world schedule. Buyers and sellers have to be aware that there is some risk involved. My objective is risk mitigation, but fully aware that risk elimination is nearly impossible.

[Hotdocta]

When I talked to PayPal they said that buyer protection takes place once the item is marked as delivered. Not sure what happened if the the package is stolen after marked delivered.

 

[GoIrish17]

I’m really not sure where to go at that point. Honestly, I kind of ended my post with a little throw-in about there always being some risk when buying or selling used from a private source. But, when I think about it, at that point it is a little bit of both party’s responsibility to bear. If an item shows as delivered, why should the seller just accept full responsibility and refund the buyer the whole out of their pocket? If that were the S.O.P. on the BST, I can’t imagine what kind of scammers it’d entice. I mean, I can’t imagine PayPal would side with the buyer on a claim if the item shows as delivered. It would be the seller’s choice if they refunded the buyer in whole. The more I think about it, an item being stolen off a front porch should be just as much a police report and a homeowners insurance claim, as a PayPal claim.

 

Personally if I were the seller, depending on value, I’d probably offer the buyer a full refund and hope that they were decent enough to recognize the gesture and offer some bit of compromise. If it were an item that the value would make me uncomfortable offering this resolution, then I would probably arrange with the buyer beforehand to make sure the item is delivered with signature, full insurance, and guaranteed delivery. I’m talking something over $500 or so, I’d probably make sure I was prepared for offers with a good estimate in mind of express mail with signature, and let the buyer know that’s how I would be sending (if I hadn’t already specified in my ad, which I probably would).

 

And, the signature confirmation rebuttal to this cuts both ways - a buyer could request it just as easily as a seller could demand it, to cover your a** so to speak. I understand that some like the perceived extra layer that signature delivery gives, but I am not sure I see the value in it that others do. Just my opinion, though.

[Hotdocta]

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I agree with it all.

[Flip4000]

Maybe I am wrong for thinking this way, but I always insure to the exact value of the item and ask the buyer if they want signature service. If the buyer reject signature, they are taking responsibility for the item after the carrier delivers the item. Signature service protects me as the seller from having any delivery issues or situations where the carrier says it is delivered but doesn't actually deliver or the package getting poach stolen.

If the Buyer declines, I make note of that and I am responsible for the item up until the carrier indicates that the order has been delivered. With signature I can take responsibility of the item until its in the customer's hands, if they decline I am only responsible until the carrier delivers it to the customers door.

I sell on amazon alot and Amazon holds sellers accountable for an item until it is in the customers physical hands. Paypal holds sellers accountable until the item is delivered to the customers door. As far as I know with paypal, a seller is protected from an item being stolen off a customers poarch. Signature service is offered to protect the sellers from this, and rejecting it because it would innoconvience the customer then puts the responsibility on the buyer to pick up the package when its delivered.

[GoIrish17]

There’s nothing wrong with what you are describing, since the decision is in the buyer’s hands. What I have issue with is sellers who do not let the buyer make the decision, but just choose signature without letting the buyer know.

 

I have no problem with signature confirmation or those who prefer to sell using it. What I have a problem with is people who do not even discuss it beforehand or even mention it.

 

(By the way, my proposing discussing an item lost in shipping was slightly rhetorical. I agree with all aspects of signature shipping being a great protection for the seller... up until the point that the buyer is not informed of the seller’s preference. Just because signature confirmation is not something that is convenient for me doesn’t mean I don’t see the value in it, if executed properly and considerately.)

[Hotdocta]

PayPal buyer protection for sure comes into play once the package says delivered - signature or no signature

[GoIrish17]

If your funding source were a credit card, and not a PayPal balance, you’re doubly covered in that scenario. I’m curious though, if a dispute were filed in this situation if PayPal would try to recover the funds from the seller, or if they’d just pay out the refund. I’m sure it would be case-by-case in that front.

 

That being said, I feel like talking about what PayPal would do in this situation kind of avoids the discussion of what members here should do. Just because PayPal will automatically side with one or the other in a situation doesn’t make it “right”, and it doesn’t mean that whomever PayPal will probably side with shouldn’t use it as justification or vindication. We should all be here doing the right thing by each other and not taking advantage of situations, technicalities, loop holes, or stupid corporate procedures. But that’s just my opinion.

[Hotdocta]

For sure. That is why I started this thread. I think it has always been a gray area

[GoIrish17]

I agree, and I also think it is a worthwhile discussion to have.