$,$$$ SHIPMENT m.i.a. ...... who liable, etc?
 

Theoretically:

Person on 'a large island in the southern hemisphere' buys over $1,200 of Porsche stuff.
Typically only wants the cheapest shipping available.

Prior shipment via USPS shipping took a MONTH to arrive.
This slow boat method no longer available, so...


Shipped via USPS the above mentioned items 6-10 day.....in mid-May.
No sign of the items.
No tracking available for this level of shipment.
No insurance asked for by buyer.

Cut to it:
Objectively speaking - who is liable, and to what extent?

Who has the $1200?

Seems the shipper could have rolled the price of tracking into the deal . . .just so he would know if/when it arrived.

Also, it could be likely that the shipper screwed-up the address. (and why the package never made it . .or is in limbo somewhere)

How can there be no tracking?

I think I best hold my tongue....

Buyer did not want to pay for any insurance so its his baby. As long as you can prove that the items were shipped (post office receipt will do) then you are in the clear.

I would file a claim or whatever they let you do considering that there was no insurance or tracking just in case you could find the shipment, but you are not liable. Wonder if its held up in Aussie customs for some reason?

To avoid this in the future next time I would put that "any overseas shipments must have insurance if there is no tracking" on my website or invoices. Its not that expensive and is a lot of piece of mind.

Joe

It is always the shippers responsibility, IMO. Insurance is not an option, its a requirement. Good luck.

Yeah, $1,200 woth of stuff. I'd insist on insurance or some form of delivery confirmation.

I'm leaning towards Joe's interpretation of responsibility. You pick the method of shipping and decline insurance, now it's your problem.

Not to hijack (ok, maybe a little) but what about if you send something USPS with delivery confirmation (i.e., tracking), which shows that it was delivered to the correct address at a specific time, but the buyer still says he never got it? As the seller, you have the paperwork showing the correct address, and you can also see the delivery confirmed on the USPS website.

What Joe said is totally logical, but I can promise you that all a buyer has to do in a situation like this is to file a paypal or credit card dispute and he will get his money back.

Sorry, I was going on logic/fairness/reason. But you're probably right, Shuie.

To tell the truth, when selling something on Ebay or to a seller I "feel funny about" I spend the extra .50c and get the tracking option. Its saved me several times.

Seems that it was not available with Craig but in this case if there is no confirmation I would give the buyer the option of getting insurance or their accepting full responsibility before shipping. The seller has no control what so ever after the package leaves their hands and if the buyer is stupid enough not to want insurance then its their baby...

You can't rely on USPS delivery confirmation. I've had two packages that reported online to have been delivered and neither was delivered. Both were still on the mail carriers truck 3 days later. Signature would be better...

I had a package from UPS delivered to the same house number but a block away. The guy saw the UPS deliver it and tried to call him back as he drove away. I was lucky as the guy called me up to tell me he had my package.

Craig, take the customs form up to your post office and give it to the office manager, along with the reciept.
There are two numbers attached to overseas shipments: a Customs Number, and a Lable Number.

He has a computer is his office where he can punch in the numbers and tell you where the package is..usually...
Even the people at 1-800-ask USPS do not have access to this information.

I had to use this once when sending a large box of guitar pickups to a builder in Sweden. The package took a month to get there...but the office manager knew exactly where it was.

Hopefully, it won't turn out like a Canadian-bound package I have out now though. Says it was accepted at my post office...then no more information. Truely a lost package.:mad:

Was in England a year ago last November. Sent an old friend (my old Dentist) some Mexican spices and foodstuff's. He has an addiction to good Mex food and you cannot get spices and such in Berlin.

Mailed a small package of things to him, expecting it to take 2-3 weeks from London to Berlin and hopefully get there before Christmas. Four months later I started the paperwork to file a claim as I had insured the package and it had not arrived. Before sending the paperwork in, the package arrived. It had taken 4.5 months to travel the distance anyone could drive in two days.

The rest of the world does not operate at the same speed that we do in the states at times.

All I have to say is, BAH! Try shipping any item of value to India some time. It will be either:

A) stolen the moment it hits the shores of India. This includes shipping with UPS or FexEx.

B) Caught in a 'customs house' (IE govermental shake down house) where some corrupt piece of feces trys and make you pay 2x the items value in a 'tax' (IE his drinking money) .

HD,

Same with shipping anything to Russia. Many places around the world where shipping ANYTHING is a gamble.

I'm in agreement, but we have made 10 overnight shipments to Chennai in the last 3 months and each one took 3 days or less. I'm now knocking heavily on my wooden desk. :)

Did not the buyer "not ask for insurance" or did you offer it and he declined?? Big difference. To me, when I buy something and send money, if it does not show up then I got taken. My own feeling is that it is the seller's responsibility to make sure the item he sold get to the customer.

Everything I ship, I insure, it does not cost much to insure.

Cheers

For intl shipments I almost allways use USPS express. It's a little more expensive, but they provide a tracking number and delivery is 3-5 days to most cities. Insurance is available.