Buyer is claiming damage that was done by him!

The old saying is "buyer beware".  In this case it should be "seller beware".

IMHO Brett went above and beyond in this situation and is an excellent example of the type of seller you can trust and respect, hats off.

Now just to share an experience of mine from past couple of days of somebody exact polar opposite!

I purchased approx. 200 cassette tapes from a buyer in Washington State to be shipped to myself in Florida, yep 3000 miles.
They shipped them within a flimsy cardboard box with zero internal packing of any sort at all.
My USPS driver pointed out the obvious damage to box and did I want to accept it. I decided to accept.
Upon opening and inspection the tapes seemed ok but there were approx. 20 broken cases.
Sent seller a message through Ebay of the situation and that I would be happy just to source some new cases.
Now I searched eBay and found somebody selling 20 empty cases for $8 shipped so I bought them.
Long and short the seller ends up arguing about the $8 refund as not their fault the post office damaged them!
Say what? I sent them pictures of their crabby packing and box and that imho the USPS could hardly be blamed for that.
It should never have gone past one email tbh!
Situations reversed if a buyer had just asked me for $8 to resolve a potential $100 problem ( return and return shipping etc), the refund would have been done before the literal ink was dry on the paper!
This was from a seller of 1575 feedback so should have KNOWN much better .
I could have demanded a return with full refund and/or left negative feedback for their stupidity IF I was an unreasonable person.
But no I took it upon myself to find empty cases, buy them and expect that for $8 it would have been a cut and dry case.

STILL not seen a refund yet.... lol.

Could not care less about $8 but the principle, well that's what stings!

Unfortunately, some times there is nothing you can do, other than as one comment suggested, taking pictures of the item with all internal packing visible, prior to closing the exterior box.  As the seller, unless otherwise provided in your ad, you are responsible for getting the item safely to the buyer.  That is why you should always insure whatever you are shipping.  At least make the claim for the $100 if you didn't insure it!

That being said, the story does sound fishy, as the factory internal packaging should prevent any damage and the likelihood that there was damage to the internal packing without any exterior damage is pretty slim (but not impossible, I suppose).  You clearly went above and beyond the call of duty in trying to make the buyer happy.

Compare that to an experience that I had on here buying a $2K subwoofer.  It was packed at a UPS store.  When I received the box, it looked like some UPS employees used it like a soccer ball.  The exterior box was significantly damaged, the interior box was also damaged at the same places, corners were crushed, knobs broken off, etc.  I took pictures of everything before I opened the box and then documented everything as I opened it up and showed the enormous damage.  I called UPS and they said it was only insured for $100, but that if it was packed at a UPS store, the UPS store would refund the purchase price, BUT ONLY TO THE SELLER.  I told the seller that I was sending it back to him to deal with.  Seller refused to refund my money, claimed that the shipping damage was my problem, and when I opened a PayPal dispute, argued against PayPal paying me.  Although PayPal initially ruled against me notwithstanding the photographic evidence, I called PayPal and complained and they ultimately ruled in my favor.

So, the moral of the story is that stuff happens.  Sometimes outside of the control of either party.  But if you take steps to (1) document the packing, (2) insure it, and (3) as a buyer, if the box looks damaged when you receive it, start documenting the unboxing, you can avoid most problems with people who have good feedback.

edkc is right. As long as shipments are insured it is the responsibility of the receiving party to file a claim. The shipper (seller) has no responsibility because the freight company accepted them, insured them and is responsible for delivering them. The shipper (seller) has no responsibility because he has no control over what happens to them. This issue happens to me from time to time at work. A customer signs for a damaged shipment then wants me to pay for damage. The signature transfers ownership. If there is damage that was undetected at the time of delivery, the accepting party usually has "X" number of days to file a claim. People who purchase goods must take responsibility to understand the shipping process and to always have shipments insured. The seller has no control over the shipment of the product and should not be held responsible. There, that's my soapbox speech!

You guys may be right but I still think the seller should intervene and provide as much help as possible including up to providing a refund. It can be a nightmare dealing with Fed Ex, UPS and the post office. This is not something that anyone of us could enjoy.
I suppose there are scammers but I think (hopefully) that is a rarity. However, in this case it does sound fishy.

My experience has been that the first question from the shipping company is; Are you the shipper?

Again, I say the seller needs to be involved bigtime and be as helpful as he can and don’t point fingers in the other directions.

ozzy

A few facts from many years of shipping and dealing with both fedex and ups ( I wont even go into the headache involved with usps!)

Majority of the time if damage or package is lost the company will not even talk to the buyer, it is the person who shipped who has to start all claims etc.

Usual procedure for myself would be to refund the buyer in case of damage or loss and then go for reimbursement via fedex or ups.
This may involve them having to inspect the goods so best to keep up a good rapport with the buyer in case you need them to drop the package off at a depot OR let fedex/ups inspect at their premises ( if over $1000 value you can insist they come out and not you take it in).

And unless it has changed significantly in the last 3 years ( that was last claim I filed for damage of shipped goods to a buyer) that is really all there is to it!

It's whoever arranged the shipping that has the shipping contract and any claims have to go via those parties.

The OP clearly didn't want to raise a claim as he clearly believes it's not damage occurring during shipping. 

So it's obviously very difficult from that point. I think you have come to a pragmatic solution which obviously cost you some profit but won't leave you out of pocket. 

Looking ahead if Anyone is shipping Harberth's is to very clearly communicate the process to remove the screens.

Hey guys,
The buyer received the new grills. He gave me positive feedback. I would say that this is over with. FYI: FEDEX told me that it is the buyers responsibility to file the claim since he signed for a non damaged box.

Thanks for all your input!  

Good to hear and now you can put it all behind you.

I find it very odd FedEx would say that though as they usually will only deal with any type of claim with the person who paid for/arranged the shipping.
But as it is a non starter no need to worry.

Yogi, glad to hear that things worked out as well as could have. You went over the top to get to this point. You are to be commended.