Dash shipped wrapped in cling-wrap, damaged in shipping

casperz · 11-24-2013, 03:07 PM

Hey guys need to see if I'm being unreasonable here. I bought a dash from another member here and when it arrived it was wrapped in green plastic cling wrap and no box, just the wrap and a label. The dash came in damaged (duh!) and the first response from the seller was I should file a shipping damage claim. I think he should pay for return shipping and issue a full refund for the dash and original shipping since it was not in any way properly packaged. I've dealt with UPS/FedEX in the past and shipping claims seem to be denied every time so that's a non-starter.

Am I being unreasonable? What do you guys think?

zztot · 11-24-2013, 04:28 PM

Seller has responsibility to "adequately" pack
Would say he failed to do that but nothing is easy unless you paypal backed by AX card
Good luck

pc100porsche · pc100porsche's Garage

The seller has not taken proper and reasonable care in packing the item, so the shipping company won't help.
If you paid via Paypal make a claim -- you will have to send it back to him with a "proof of delivery" -- Paypal should refund all your costs.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

You are not being unreasonable.

Porsche dashes get damaged packed in the factory box! They are very susceptible to impact damage. Anyone who would just wrap one in plastic to send is... a (offensive term here)

Patrick3000 · 11-25-2013, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by casperz

I think he should pay for return shipping.

Am I being unreasonable? What do you guys think?

This is the only part that is unreasonable. You should return the damaged item to the seller, that is your only obligation. Then file a claim with paypal for the amount that you paid the seller.

awdbandito · 11-25-2013, 01:48 PM

Usually, UPS and the like will not accept items that are improperly packaged, at least from my experience. This is a tough one and I have been in a similar situation. This is why I usually ask the buyer to pay for the UPS store to package the item, along with shipping. It costs the buyer more, but does give them some guarantee.

My resolution as a seller would be to refund the shipping costs, then ask the buyer to take the damage dispute up with the shipping company.

If it was packaged in a box but was still damaged, what would you expect at that point?

914/6now911 · 11-25-2013, 02:24 PM

It is hard to believe that some folks don't understand basic physics or don't want to be bothered with proper packing. But I have received fragile parts just thrown into a box with zero packing materials that of course arrived damaged. Leaves you scratching your head. Refund for sure and he should pay for shipping both ways as this should have been a common sense thing. Why should you have to hassle with the shipping co. If I had to, I'd eat the shipping back to him in order to get my purchase price back. And chalk it up to experience. Now I do try to ask the seller how they will pack items if they are fragile.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Yeah, years ago I set a set of rare Weber 40IDS carbs to a "well respected" restorer in the Northeast, who gave me some BS story about how they didn't meet his standard, and he just threw them into a box and sent them back. No packing.

On another occasion, I bought an engine lid from a Pelicanhead and it arrived with a huge dent in the rear edge that it didn't have in the photos. And the box was pristine. He tried to tell me the UPS store did it, but to bend a double-layer panel would have taken a real whack with a crowbar.

As valuable as a 911 dash is, I would over-pack, insure heavily and cross my fingers.

awdbandito · 11-25-2013, 04:22 PM

What was the purchase price? If it was $200 shipped or something ridiculous, offer more to ensure things are to your standards.
Not sure of the total details, but I have been on both ends of this deal. Neither end is a good place to be.
Likely both parties are getting shafted.

vracer · vracer's Garage

Seller should DEFINITELY take back at his expense. Was this a business or a 'hobbyist'?

casperz · 11-26-2013, 09:31 AM

Thanks for the replies, I think we are going to be able to work this out but I wanted to make sure that I was not being totally out of line. The seller here in a hobbyist but has a lot of items for sale. It's a bad situation for sure because no one wins here, it was a nice looking piece and now it's totally unusable.

Quote:

My resolution as a seller would be to refund the shipping costs, then ask the buyer to take the damage dispute up with the shipping company.

If it was packaged in a box but was still damaged, what would you expect at that point?

If the Dash were properly boxed I would have a different opinion.

I'm not sure how many damage claims you have tried to collect but in my day job I do several a year on items that ARE properly boxed and UPS/FedEx will deny most of them. It's a joke to even insure for more than the base $100 because every claim is denied. So I don't know how your solution would be fair to a buyer at all if the seller failed to pack an item properly. Our only solution is to totally over-package everything we send and hope nothing happens, but anything heavy runs a high probability of damage even being double boxed.

Quote:

This is the only part that is unreasonable. You should return the damaged item to the seller, that is your only obligation.

I just don't think that is fair to a buyer. I had no control over how the item was boxed so why should I share in the cost of fixing that mistake? If it came in well boxed then yes I see your point but a dash wrapped in plastic is just incompetence.

CountD · 11-26-2013, 09:36 AM

Once again, the rule of good selling and buying as that the deal is only done when the buyer receives what he paid for in the condition that it was represented.

Unobtanium-inc · 11-26-2013, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountD

Once again, the rule of good selling and buying as that the deal is only done when the buyer receives what he paid for in the condition that it was represented.

Exactly. And I should add that in almost all cases the shipper is the only one who can file a claim. The receiver doesn't have the power to do this unless he paid for and arranged the shipping. The bad news is UPS isn't going to pay a dime for a dash that was shipped in a plastic bag. They only pay for damage that was their fault and the occurred to a properly packed item. File paypal claim as soon as you can. If the seller doesn't play fair, out him and let the public pressure him into doing so. - Matt