Fed Ex Ground Shipping Woes

I guess I would have to say that I am fortunate. I ship Fed Ex Ground because it is the cheapest option, and the buyer rarely chooses to spend more on shipping. In fact, one of my pet peeves is that once a price has been negotiated including all fees, Paypal, shipping etc, a buyer will then ask, "jeez, I really want that abc quickly, could you overnight it or send it 2nd day air?". IMHO that should all be part of the initial negotiations.

Anyway, I ship Fed Ex Ground in the CONUS for the last 8 years, with only one problem, and Fed Ex paid the claim in full. When shipping internationally I use USPS for duties collection reasons (Fed Ex Ground sucks at this).

UPS Ground cost more than Fed Ex Ground, and I'd be happy to ship air if the buyer wants to at least split the additional cost. Normally though the buyer wants the cheapest price, which gets him the cheapest shipping.

Cheers,
John

The person who purchased the shipping insurance (normally the shipper) is the screwee.

This is from the Sellers rules in the Audiogon policy guidelines:

What if an item is damaged in shipping?
If an item is damaged in shipping, the seller should contact the shipping company immediately so that a Damage Claim can be filed. The responsibility of filing a Damage Claim is solely with the seller. The Buyer will need to cooperate with the shipping company, which will either inspect the item at the Buyer's location, or pick up the item for further processing. In most cases, the shipping company will return the item to the Seller, and expect the seller to pursue the claim.

Audiogon requires that Sellers are responsible for the safe transport of sold items to the Buyer. If the item is damaged or lost in transit, the Seller is expected to refund the payment to the Buyer as soon as the shipping company inspects or returns the item. The Seller will then need to recover funds from the shipping company.

This is the quote from the buyers AudiogoN guidelines:

What if an item is damaged in shipping?
If an item is damaged in shipping, you should contact the seller immediately so that a Damage Claim is filed. The responsibility of pursuing a Damage Claim is solely with the seller. However, you will need to cooperate with the seller and the shipping company in any manner requested. Often, the shipping company will come back to pick it up, or inspect the package in your home.

Keep all of the packing and materials exactly as you received it. Do not attempt to use the item or plug it in, which may result in further damage. Do not attempt to disassemble or repair the item unless the seller first agrees.

If a seller and a buyer cannot agree on a course of action to follow, a "Dispute" may be filed with Audiogon:
http://www.audiogon.com/help/disp/drp.html

Generally speaking, the Seller is expected to refund to the buyer, and recover the money by pursuing the damage claim. Shipping companies generally pay the seller only and it may take some time. The Buyer should not have to wait until the claim is processed. Essentially, it is the Seller's responsiblity to deliver the item to the buyer in an undamaged condition.

Good luck,
John

AFAIK, the buyer is NEVER left with the product AND the money. I've had a couple of these experiences from both sides, buyer and seller. For me, it's always worked out (knock wood). The buyer holds the package for the shipping company to come and inspect it, at which point the shipping company will claim the product. FWIW, NEVER return ship a damaged product, for the shipping company will claim that it was previously damaged.

Anyway, now the shipping company has the damaged product, the buyer has nothing, and the seller has the cash. I couldn't find the exact qoute, but it is in the AudiogoN guidelines that in the case of damage, the reverse steps should be performed. ie: buyer pays, shipper ships, buyer receives. In the case of damage: buyer complains (and should not touch or disturbe the product), buyer notifys seller, seller notifys shipping company, shipping company investigates at buyer's home and confiscates product. Seller refunds buyers money, seller follows through on claim with shipping company.

Now, shipping companies can be tricky, with such language as "ship in original packaging". If the seller cannot convince the shipping company that the package was properly shipped, then it is the shipper, not the buyer, who loses money.

One last thing for sellers, NEVER over-insure. Shipping companies will only fully re-imburse you for what you can PROVE that you received for it......be it a Paypal statement, money order, etc. So if you ship a $3K amp that you sold for $1500, if you insure it for $2500, you will never receive $2500.....only $1500 at best.

Cheers,
John

Tvad, while I do agree with your extreme example, it has been my experience that sellers and buyers can work together to satisfy both.
You seem to be stuck on the fact that the buyer can hold both product AND money. I have never found this to be the case. In the few times when I had shipping damage, I instructed the buyer to hold the item for inspection of the shipping company. On both occasions the shipping company picked up the item for further inspection.

Once the shipping company had the item in their hands, I refunded the buyer his money. I then persued the shipping company for damage payments, which I received in both cases.

Now I certainly could be paranoid, and feel the buyer is a scam artist, but I have not found this to be true yet...for me. Saying that, I would not refund the buyer the funds as long as the buyer maintained control of the item.

In the end, common sense should prevail on both parties. If it doesn't, then we panic. From my experiences, I've only paniced as a buyer......thank goodness for my CC bank to bail me out of a couple of bad sales. In both cases, I gave the damaged unit up to Paypal or the bank before my credit was cleared, only because the shipper was in cognito.

Cheers,
John