Damaged Item - Do I Refund Straight Away?

mimi1234

Hi,

I sold an item recently. It was a hair dye item in a box. Before sending out, I checked it was all intact which it was.

Sent it in a bubble wrapped envelope. I have sold a few of these before and they have all been received just fine, even abroad.

Sold one last week. Sent in bubble wrapped envelope. Just had a very rude reply from buyer saying he wants a refund straight away, and that it's my fault for not having sent it in a sturdy parcel box.

Obviously I am going to refund the buyer. Does it have to be straight away? Also, can I make a claim against Royal Mail or should I just refund and shut up?

Advice please.

UnderPressure

I would not refund him straight away, I would ask the buyer to send the hairdryer back to you upon receipt you will refund him his original cost and also the cost of return postage, there is no way I would refund anything until I had the item back broken or not..............................

mimi1234

It was hair dye and too late. I got sent another really vicious message and I almost wet myself. Oh pooh. Guess it's only a tenner! :-(

Will still try and claim against Royal Mail if I can. Would that be possible?

soolin

mimi1234 wrote: »

It was hair dye and too late. I got sent another really vicious message and I almost wet myself. Oh pooh. Guess it's only a tenner! :-(

Will still try and claim against Royal Mail if I can. Would that be possible?

What sort of bottle was it in, plastic or glass? Did it have any cardboard support or was it just in a jiffy bag.

Ask buyer to send a photo of the damage, if it really is damaged then give her a full refund immediately. You need the packaging back so you need to keep her on your side if you stand any chance of a refund from RM.

RM are notoriously bad about paying out for damage so you will need to be persistent and prove that your packaging was sturdy and self supporting (hence me asking what sort of material the dye was in). It could have ended up under several hundred kilo of other parcels and must be packed to withstand that sort of abuse.

mimi1234

soolin wrote: »

What sort of bottle was it in, plastic or glass? Did it have any cardboard support or was it just in a jiffy bag.

Ask buyer to send a photo of the damage, if it really is damaged then give her a full refund immediately. You need the packaging back so you need to keep her on your side if you stand any chance of a refund from RM.

RM are notoriously bad about paying out for damage so you will need to be persistent and prove that your packaging was sturdy and self supporting (hence me asking what sort of material the dye was in). It could have ended up under several hundred kilo of other parcels and must be packed to withstand that sort of abuse.

Hi. It was a plastic bottle in a cardboard box and then in a bubble wrapped envelope. The photo showed a tiny bit of spill and the box was slightly squashed.

If RM expect it to withstand several hundred kilos worth then I'm stuffed. Also, with the attitude I am getting from the buyer, I doubt very much he will send me the packaging or the item back. OMG! Accused me of being a complete fraud for not giving him a refund straight away and I almost wet myself. LOL. I know I'm silly. Oh well.

soolin

You will get buyers over react as they've all heard the horror stories of sellers who deny any reposnsibility. The ruder he gets the more polite you need to be until you wear him down. Apologise profusely, refund now and send him a pre stamped envelope to get your packaging back.

The cages the RM use are huge, over 5ft high and they empty my parcels straight in and if they are at the bottom everything gets thrown in on top. Packaging must anticipate that sort of abuse, just in case it is the parcel at the bottom.

custardy

mimi1234 wrote: »

Hi. It was a plastic bottle in a cardboard box and then in a bubble wrapped envelope. The photo showed a tiny bit of spill and the box was slightly squashed.

If RM expect it to withstand several hundred kilos worth then I'm stuffed. Also, with the attitude I am getting from the buyer, I doubt very much he will send me the packaging or the item back. OMG! Accused me of being a complete fraud for not giving him a refund straight away and I almost wet myself. LOL. I know I'm silly. Oh well.

thats insufficient packaging
those envelopes split reallyu easily,especially with a sharp edged box inside
plus theres no crush protection

Liquids and creams Wrap in polythene and seal with tape. Surround with an absorbent material like sawdust or newspaper Fibreboard or polystyrene. Leak proof container

Water based paints Volume should not exceed 150ml Surround with cushioning material and place in a rigid container

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1;jsessionid=03NGJTCZVYJVEFB2IGDUPLQUHRAYUQ2K?catId=400044&mediaId=400251

your package must survive being at the bottom of these trolleys



and/or being put in bags hung from a drop bag fitting (even in the bags its 10+KG on top

soolin

Custardy are the cages standard sized only the ones at my sorting office are as tall as the post woman that takes my parcels from me. She has to tip the stuff in or throw it in . Or....maybe she is smaller than she looks?

custardy

soolin wrote: »

Custardy are the cages standard sized only the ones at my sorting office are as tall as the post woman that takes my parcels from me. She has to tip the stuff in or throw it in . Or....maybe she is smaller than she looks?

thats the standard size,its just the scale that throws you. I would say that guys well over 6' tall
you also get liners for those cages,so if it has a sleeve fitted then she may just be putting stuff in the to[
I cant finds many decent pics of york trolleys online

in here you can see yorks and to the left,sleeved yorks
in the middle there are some half yorks,though they were rarely seen over the last couple of years in my delivery office

mimi1234

custardy wrote: »

thats the standard size,its just the scale that throws you. I would say that guys well over 6' tall
you also get liners for those cages,so if it has a sleeve fitted then she may just be putting stuff in the to[
I cant finds many decent pics of york trolleys online

in here you can see yorks and to the left,sleeved yorks
in the middle there are some half yorks,though they were rarely seen over the last couple of years in my delivery office

So just out of interest, had you have been sending a box with a plastic container of dye in, what would you have sent it in if a bubble wrapped envelope is not enough? Thanks for the information.

jaynemaria

I have sold a few of these too when I have changed my mind about what colour to dye my hair:rotfl:. I save my empty washing tablet boxes and friends give me theirs too ;)and use these for putting this sort of thing in, and then just wrap in brown parcel paper.

Hope that helps