GSP Help

RaspberryPavlova

Has anyone got any words of wisdom for me please?

I sent an item to the US via the GSP. I'm confident I packed it well in a strong box with plenty of bubble wrap.

I've just had this message from the buyer:

'You packed the item wrong and has some parts broken, if you need some pictures I can send them'.

The tone of the message has annoyed me because I'm being blamed and I believe I packed the item sufficiently.

I've been onto eBay live chat who said this:

'In line with this, I suggest for you to contact them and advised to asked a proof of the item concern.

Now you can also advised them to contact ebay directly so that we can further help them in this matter'.

I've passed this message onto the buyer.

In the meantime, I have a return request open against me and I notice the page says this:

'If you believe the item was damaged after its arrival at the GSP shipping center, please wait until Jun 04, 2015 and visit this page again to escalate this issue to eBay customer support'.

By that point, the case will have closed and the buyer will have a refund and the item.

I don't want to have to pay to ship a 19kg item back to the UK from the US as well as give out a refund.

I can't prove that the item was damaged after arrival with eBay even though I believe this to be the case.

This particular item isn't covered by the courier I used.

Can anyone advise me on what I should be doing in this situation? TIA

RFW

RaspberryPavlova wrote: »

I don't want to have to pay to ship a 19kg item back to the UK from the US as well as give out a refund.

I can't prove that the item was damaged after arrival with eBay even though I believe this to be the case.

This particular item isn't covered by the courier I used.

Can anyone advise me on what I should be doing in this situation? TIA

I'd ask for the pictures first. Unfortunately though, your best option at this stage, is to refund without return. If the item is damaged, there's no point in paying to get it back.

You can try and see where you get with seeing if it was damaged not as a result of your packaging. I rarely send anything that could break but if I do I pack so it is impossible to break and then put more packaging on top of that.

Pembroke

Ebay's customer support page about problems as a seller with the GSP which you can find here:

http://ocsnext.ebay.co.uk/ocs/sr?&query=2643

Quite clearly states as one of it's clauses;

"For problems relating to items that have already left the shipping centre, refer the buyer to our eBay Money Back Guarantee as you are no longer responsible for items not received or damaged in transit".

The above would imply to me at least that it's not your problem and you should refer them to Ebay's guarantee.

RaspberryPavlova

Thank you Pembroke for putting my mind at rest.

I'm trying to put aside my outrage at being accused of inadequate packing as I know I pack well, I get good feedback for my packing, I've never had any reports of breakages before, and I've had experience of being on the receiving end of smashed items so I know how annoying it is. Plus with this item being 19kg, it was more likely to be the smasher rather than the smashee if thrown onto a pile of parcels on the courier's truck.

The buyer hasn't given me the photos I asked for yet or let me know if they've contacted eBay direct as I was told to tell them to do. Even allowing for the time difference, it's been 24 hours now. That and the tone of the message causes me to smell a rat.

I did read on eBay that this shouldn't give me a defect but I'm cruising at around 1.1% at the moment due to INR claims.

If anyone else has been accused of a breakage through the GSP I'd be glad to hear of your experience.

eBay must inspect the parcels to a degree to be sure we're not smuggling through the GSP so they must know that the item wasn't broken when it left them.

In the meantime, I'm thinking I've got allow this request to time out and then speak to Manila again when undoubtedly the buyer will be given a refund from my paypal account. Is that a plan, such as it is?

RFW

Pembroke wrote: »

"For problems relating to items that have already left the shipping centre, refer the buyer to our eBay Money Back Guarantee as you are no longer responsible for items not received or damaged in transit".

The above would imply to me at least that it's not your problem and you should refer them to Ebay's guarantee.

How would you know it wasn't damaged on the way to the shipping centre and not on leaving. Do Ebay repack the items?

shaun_from_Africa

RFW wrote: »

How would you know it wasn't damaged on the way to the shipping centre and not on leaving. Do Ebay repack the items?

The shipping agent that ebay use (Pitney Bowes) will open and repack some but not all packages.
I've no idea what their criteria are for making this decision, and I don't know if the packages that have been opened are marked in any way.

martindow

RaspberryPavlova wrote: »

I'm trying to put aside my outrage at being accused of inadequate packing as I know I pack well, I get good feedback for my packing, I've never had any reports of breakages before, and I've had experience of being on the receiving end of smashed items so I know how annoying it is. Plus with this item being 19kg, it was more likely to be the smasher rather than the smashee if thrown onto a pile of parcels on the courier's truck.

To be blunt, this seems to suggest that you agree that it could break with rough handling. You can't rely on any carrier being gentle with parcels.

Unless there is damage caused by the carrier's mishandling such as the box having tyre marks across it or holes where a forklift has stabbed it, the damage to your item shows that the packaging was not sufficient.

theonlywayisup

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

The shipping agent that ebay use (Pitney Bowes) will open and repack some but not all packages.
I've no idea what their criteria are for making this decision, and I don't know if the packages that have been opened are marked in any way.

This.

PB will repack to ensure the loads are efficiently stacked. If your well-packed package exceeds their idea of packing, they will repack in less to make best use of the space in their shipment.

However, as has been said, if the item was damaged after leaving GSP, you are covered.

RaspberryPavlova

No, I really don't accept the packaging was inadequate, I honestly couldn't have packed it any better, and like I said, I'm trying to look past that allegation to try to work out how best to deal with this. And it could have been Pitney Bowes' repackaging which was inadequate.

RaspberryPavlova

I've finally received the photos from the buyer and I'm shocked at the state of the item and it's no wonder the buyer is disappointed. It's completely broken and totally irreparable. I don't know what forces are needed to break a 19kg item into pieces and I can't think how it happened.

I just hope that once this return request has timed out and the buyer undoubtedly receives a refund from me, that I can use the photos to claim the money back from ebay because there's no way the item should have ended up in that state.

theonlywayisup

RaspberryPavlova wrote: »

I've finally received the photos from the buyer and I'm shocked at the state of the item and it's no wonder the buyer is disappointed. It's completely broken and totally irreparable. I don't know what forces are needed to break a 19kg item into pieces and I can't think how it happened.

I just hope that once this return request has timed out and the buyer undoubtedly receives a refund from me, that I can use the photos to claim the money back from ebay because there's no way the item should have ended up in that state.

Have you read any of the above?

You need to ascertain where it was damaged.

If it was BEFORE Pitney Bowes became involved the fault lies with you. If it was AFTER you will be covered by the MBG.