What's the right thing to do when a card's lost in the mail?

[bear0555]

So I shipped a card I sold for $80 about two weeks ago and got an email today from the buyer. I checked the dc number and sure enough, it never left my hometown. I know it shouldn't be my fault that it got lost but it also makes me mad that he never got his card. So basically, what should I do? Do I owe the guy anything? Thanks.

 

[predatorkj]

So I shipped a card I sold for $80 about two weeks ago and got an email today from the buyer. I checked the dc number and sure enough, it never left my hometown. I know it shouldn't be my fault that it got lost but it also makes me mad that he never got his card. So basically, what should I do? Do I owe the guy anything? Thanks.

Refund him his money. You can't really expect someone to buy something from you, give you the money, and then get nothing for it. Your beef is with the post office. I would raise hell with them. Insurance or not its their falut. Make sure they understand that and get your refund through them if at all.

 

[brouthercard]

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

 

[predatorkj]

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

Insurance or not...I'd demand a refund from the post office. Its their job to get the mail from one palce to another. Accidents always happen from time to time but when was the last time you has somebody cause you an $80 accident and they didn't refund the $$$? Call a plumber over to your house, he gets in your attic to cut out some old pipe and steps through the ceiling...that company is now liable. I would imagine the post office should be held just as liable. You don't have to pay a special insurance charge for when the plumber comes out. You shouldn't have to at the post office.

 

[brouthercard]

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

Insurance or not...I'd demand a refund from the post office. Its their job to get the mail from one palce to another. Accidents always happen from time to time but when was the last time you has somebody cause you an $80 accident and they didn't refund the $$$? Call a plumber over to your house, he gets in your attic to cut out some old pipe and steps through the ceiling...that company is now liable. I would imagine the post office should be held just as liable. You don't have to pay a special insurance charge for when the plumber comes out. You shouldn't have to at the post office.

That's why they offer insurance, cause things DO get lost, and are never found. If you have no proof what the value of your package is, how can they possibly reimburse you without a stated claim of value. If that was the case, if one of my packages got lost in the mail, I could claim that it was a honus wagner t206 and charge the post office $300,000 for my loss. It just doesn't work that way. It sucks, but it happens. Nothing is 100% guaranteed to work correctly everytime. I'm sure this holds true with the private shipping companies as well- UPS, FEDEX, etc.

 

[predatorkj]

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

Insurance or not...I'd demand a refund from the post office. Its their job to get the mail from one palce to another. Accidents always happen from time to time but when was the last time you has somebody cause you an $80 accident and they didn't refund the $$$? Call a plumber over to your house, he gets in your attic to cut out some old pipe and steps through the ceiling...that company is now liable. I would imagine the post office should be held just as liable. You don't have to pay a special insurance charge for when the plumber comes out. You shouldn't have to at the post office.

That's why they offer insurance, cause things DO get lost, and are never found. If you have no proof what the value of your package is, how can they possibly reimburse you without a stated claim of value. If that was the case, if one of my packages got lost in the mail, I could claim that it was a honus wagner t206 and charge the post office $300,000 for my loss. It just doesn't work that way. It sucks, but it happens. Nothing is 100% guaranteed to work correctly everytime. I'm sure this holds true with the private shipping companies as well- UPS, FEDEX, etc.

A recent list of completed ebay auctions from your account could prove what it was. Especially if you could show the guy who made the purchase's info through paypal. Whether or not they want to cover it is up to them and most likely a case by case basis. I understand what you are saying for sure so there is no argument there. My argument would be they ned to handle every package with care and also that it could in fact be proven.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

At the very least the PO should be able to reimburse you for the cost of their services. If it took $4.00 to ship and they lost it, they should reimburse you for the $4.

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

Insurance or not...I'd demand a refund from the post office. Its their job to get the mail from one palce to another. Accidents always happen from time to time but when was the last time you has somebody cause you an $80 accident and they didn't refund the $$$? Call a plumber over to your house, he gets in your attic to cut out some old pipe and steps through the ceiling...that company is now liable. I would imagine the post office should be held just as liable. You don't have to pay a special insurance charge for when the plumber comes out. You shouldn't have to at the post office.

That's why they offer insurance, cause things DO get lost, and are never found. If you have no proof what the value of your package is, how can they possibly reimburse you without a stated claim of value. If that was the case, if one of my packages got lost in the mail, I could claim that it was a honus wagner t206 and charge the post office $300,000 for my loss. It just doesn't work that way. It sucks, but it happens. Nothing is 100% guaranteed to work correctly everytime. I'm sure this holds true with the private shipping companies as well- UPS, FEDEX, etc.

 

[Huffamaniac]

I would give it some more time. I recently sold cards to someone on this board. After two weeks it showed the card had not left Boston. I was in constant contact with the buyer and told them if it does not arrive in another week I would refund the money.

Out of the blue two days later the DC shows it just got delviered. I have no idea where it was for over two weeks, but it arrived

As stated i would communicate with the buyer and tell him if it does not arrvie in another week you will issue a full refund.

 

[leatherman]

I don't know that refunding the money now is the best idea.

I would email the buyer and show them that you mailed the card and that it appears to be stuck at the post office. Tell them you are going to the post office to try to locate the package. Give the clerk the tracking number and a good description of the package (brown bubble mailer, etc.), and see if they can find it. Then go from there.

The key is communicating with the buyer, and doing what you say you are going to do. If the card is lost and never gets to the buyer, then you will need to refund him his full purchase price. Let him know that you will do that if you cannot locate his card. He should appreciate it. Hopefully, it's an understanding buyer and not an idiot.


David

 

[Mr.Whipple]

I have a problem where it shows the package out for delivery back to me a lot of the time. Mainly, When I schedule a pick up online. This is what it looks like

 

[Musial Collector]

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

Insurance or not...I'd demand a refund from the post office. Its their job to get the mail from one palce to another. Accidents always happen from time to time but when was the last time you has somebody cause you an $80 accident and they didn't refund the $$$? Call a plumber over to your house, he gets in your attic to cut out some old pipe and steps through the ceiling...that company is now liable. I would imagine the post office should be held just as liable. You don't have to pay a special insurance charge for when the plumber comes out. You shouldn't have to at the post office.

This post makes zero sense to me. A plumbing company would carry insurance so if anything happened, they would be liable to fix it. If you want the PO to opperate the same way, to basically insure every piece of mail that goes thru their hands, then get ready for postal rates to shoot thru the roof. The PO never claims to be 100% effecient in getting your package to its destination, let alone in one piece, that is why the postal workers typically always offer up DC and Insurance, so that you can see if it was delivered, and if not, or if damaged, they will reimburse you do to the insurance being purchased. No way the PO will refund without insurance being purchased, no way. What are you going to do, tell them you are going to take your business elsewhere? :lol: Sorry seller, you may end up being SOL on this one. Rule of thumb, never mail something out that you are not willing to take the loss on if you dont purchase insurance. Sorry bud, GL and hope it arrives at its destination eventually.

 

[matfanofold]

As far as I am concerned, it is the shippers absolute responsability to make sure the card arrives timely and safely in your hands. If for whatever reason this does not happen, it is the shippers responsability to make it right, period. Hazzards of online selling/trading.

 

[rainmanesq]

I had it happen recently. After waiting 4 weeks (per the buyer’s agreement/my suggestion), I gave the buyer a full refund. You’d lose a paypal claim anyway b/c it doesn’t show ‘delivered’ + plus, it’s the right thing to do. If I were a buyer + I paid for a card but never got it, I’d want my $ back.

BTW, go to your po- sometimes they can track the DC for you internally + they may find that the package was rerouted/sitting in the back room.

 

[George K]

I paid twice for the post office losing my stuff. Delivery confirmation doesn't help at all;I never been able to claim the insurance either.

 

[Musial Collector]

I paid twice for the post office losing my stuff. Delivery confirmation doesn't help at all;I never been able to claim the insurance either.

That sucks George. The one time I had to claim the PO for lost item took all of 10 days for me to receive a compensation check from then, was for $315, I was impressed with how quickly they processed my claim.

 

[bear0555]

I was always under the belief that it should be the buyer's loss. The buyer's job is to pay for the item and the seller's job is to ship it. I had a $30 card lost a couple years back and never asked for a refund because I didn't think it would be fair to do so. I guess I will from now on.

And as for insurance, I figure I'd rather take my losses than pay for insurance every time. Insurance is over $2 for $100 of protection and if the post office loses 1:100 packages, I'd be out over $200 rather than what is $80 in this case.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[predatorkj]

I was always under the belief that it should be the buyer's loss. The buyer's job is to pay for the item and the seller's job is to ship it. I had a $30 card lost a couple years back and never asked for a refund because I didn't think it would be fair to do so. I guess I will from now on.

And as for insurance, I figure I'd rather take my losses than pay for insurance every time. Insurance is over $2 for $100 of protection and if the post office loses 1:100 packages, I'd be out over $200 rather than what is $80 in this case.

Thanks for all the help.

No...never the buyer. You walk into Sears and buy a refrigirator and wait for it to be delivered and it never comes...are you just going to be like "Oh well."? Nope. It would be Sears who needs to find out what happened and do something. Because they either owe you the fridge or your money back.

 

[predatorkj]

If the guy bought the card on ebay and paid with paypal, you owe him the money back, and hopefully you insured the card so you can get your money back from the post office. If you didn't insure it, try to hunt it down at the post office. If its truly lost and you have no insurance, you are out of luck and out of $80.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the card safely to the customer if you sell on ebay and they pay by paypal. It doesn't matter how you send it. If the customer doesn't get the card, you lose out.

Insurance or not...I'd demand a refund from the post office. Its their job to get the mail from one palce to another. Accidents always happen from time to time but when was the last time you has somebody cause you an $80 accident and they didn't refund the $$$? Call a plumber over to your house, he gets in your attic to cut out some old pipe and steps through the ceiling...that company is now liable. I would imagine the post office should be held just as liable. You don't have to pay a special insurance charge for when the plumber comes out. You shouldn't have to at the post office.

This post makes zero sense to me. A plumbing company would carry insurance so if anything happened, they would be liable to fix it. If you want the PO to opperate the same way, to basically insure every piece of mail that goes thru their hands, then get ready for postal rates to shoot thru the roof. The PO never claims to be 100% effecient in getting your package to its destination, let alone in one piece, that is why the postal workers typically always offer up DC and Insurance, so that you can see if it was delivered, and if not, or if damaged, they will reimburse you do to the insurance being purchased. No way the PO will refund without insurance being purchased, no way. What are you going to do, tell them you are going to take your business elsewhere? :lol: Sorry seller, you may end up being SOL on this one. Rule of thumb, never mail something out that you are not willing to take the loss on if you dont purchase insurance. Sorry bud, GL and hope it arrives at its destination eventually.

Let me tell you this...it doesn't matter whether the company has insurance or not. Now...being a plumber myself(or ex-plumber as it were) I know a little bit about this. They are pretty much required to carry insurance per the State's guidelines if they are running a company where the work is being performed. But say you had a company that was kinda low key and decided to skirt the rules. There are a lot of them out there. They screw something up...they are still legally bound to repair or repay for it. You go before any judge in the state and they'd say the same. There is a guy in Texas right now sitting in a jail cell because he went to a lady's home and was trying to redo the gas piping and ended up burning the house to the ground(I know damn good and well that what probably happened was the shutoff valve was leaking pretty bad and he never checked it and it built up gas). He didn't have a Master's license and he didn't have insurance and now he is in jail but you can bet people are out there doing that stuff all the time.

Now, as for the homeowner...we never had them sign anything saying that we had insurance and if anything was damaged we would pay. I have been on many calls to go up in an attic and remove leaky 3/4 galavanized piping (coming up from the main outside) or to remove an old water heater. Situations like these are ripe for accidents. Especially since a lot of the older homes we went in seemed to have all the piping clipped right to the beams. Its easy to poke a hole through with a sawzaw and all of a sudden you have nasty water leaking down into the living room on the carpet. Plus...try manhandling a water heater down little bitty attic stairs. But not once, even on the invocies did we mention insurance.

The key here is its pretty much assumed we take the responsibility. No matter how many calls we get or how hard it is to do the job without screwing up somebodies property...we are about as liable as we can be. And hey...if you have a bad day and drop a huge ass water heater down a flight of stairs and it happens to crash through the wall...when you get back to the shop...the boss doesn't pat you on the back and say "It happens". Your ass is fired.

Now...why is or should the post office be any different? Before you say anythign about their costs...the actual cost of what a plumbing company would charge for their insurance is extemely low compared to labor and materials. And they handle way less jobs. The post office makes more in one day than any plumbing company in America. Not to mention...they seem to have a decent success rate. So why are they charging for insurance. Even if it was mandatory and they had to charge a little more...what would that equate to? A cent or two per stamp? The only reason the post office does this is to create more revune. Any other business in town does it to cover their ass. The post office...they know their success rate and figure they can actually make more money on the stuff by charging for insurance.

As for your comment about taking your business elsewhere...I'd say that might have monopoly written on it but I do understand that there are other options. Just costlier ones because they do less business than the post office. But I wouldn't be above telling someone they made a mistake and that they should be liable for it. It seems, as I have said before, that there are always people out there who seem to not have to take liability for stuff. I think the post office should start. Hey...if it costs me a few extra cents per package...oh well.