Forward Shipping and eBay ?

zackary71

Hope someone can help/advise on this...
I sold a fragile figurine on eBay recently (couple of hundred £s) and decided against GSP - UK only. It's been well packaged but has gone to a forward shipping company outside London. Next stop outside UK. It's been received at the Shiipping Company today and photograph of outer box doesn't indicate damage. I know with GSP once it gets to UK address my liability ends and they repack. However, I have no idea if this is done by Forward Shipper...and am concerned I'll then get a damage claim a few weeks down the line when it reaches its final destination. Where would I stand with this if a damage claim is made ? Royal Mail Special Delivery would only cover reported damage for UK address. Appreciate any help.

se2020

In theory,  providing the shippers address was the one given to you by ebay then you should be covered as it was undamaged when it arrived (ie, delivered)

In practice, if it arrives damaged you won't be able to claim from the forward shipper (as the buyer has the contract with them, not you) so you have to hope the buyer does make the claim rather than just open a dispute 

As you say, the gsp would have covered you for damage in transit or not received.
Although with gsp the buyer can still open a dispute for a damaged item it's a lot easier for the seller to deal with the damage claim.

Although I offer gsp on all my listings but I still get plenty of buyers that send to a forwarding service.
I don't think there is any way of insisting on gsp only.

Hopefully, as a buyer of a delicate, expensive item the buyer knows the shipper and has chosen a service with suitable cover and, in the event of damages, will take it on themselves to claim or could be prompted to do so if you can show it was safely delivered to the address they gave you.
Unfortunately (aside from language barriers) you do get buyers that will choose the cheapest service on offer as they know ebay will side with them and refund if they get any problems.
I've also had a few items that went via a forwarder returned as the buyer failed to pay the import duty.
One of those was damaged on return and I've never had the claim paid out although I've currently had less than 15% of my lost/damaged claims paid out regardless of the carrier, uk or abroad!!

zackary71

Appreciate your comments se2020. I've always been careful with packaging, especially with fragile items. I also made sure to take photos of the packaging in progress this time in case of any claim. I do offer GSP on some semi-fragile pieces, and haven't had any issues, with safe receipt. It's just frustrating when I specifically aim to avoid International dispatch due to the higher damage risk, that the risk is still there. Fingers crossed there's no issue.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Orders forwarded to another address after original delivery are excluded from the eBay Moneyback Guarantee (apart from GSP or eBay Authenticity Guarantee). 

The tricky part of this may be getting an eBay rep who understands and takes the correct action. Depending upon the amount eBay may just refund themselves to keep everyone happy.

Link below to the exclusions, hopefully all will go smoothly and you won't need it  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#specialcoverage-snad