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eBay seller wants me to solve a shipping problem. What do I do?

  • I ordered a thing off of eBay, and there is a shipping problem. The seller wants me to solve the problem. What do I do? I ordered a limited-edition pocket knife, the kind you dangle on a keychain. The item shipped, and I contacted the seller when I didn't receive it by the date I was told it would arrive. He told me it could be another couple weeks since Deutsche Post had a strike. Then I contacted him to follow up, and he checked with the Deutsche Post again. Here is his latest message: "I called today at Deutsche Post and find out that the person on the counter obviously made a mistake (instead of international she booked only national shipping) - they could´t tell me neither where the order is nor if it will arrive in the States or not. Something like that didn´t happen before, so that i don´t know what to do in this situation. I suggest we ship another knife tomorrow, so that you will receive at least one of them for sure… the only question is, what should/would we do if you receive two knives at the end ?!? I´m really sorry for the delay and want to apologize for this mess, even that it is not our fault… Please let us know what you think would be the best to do and what you would do in case you receive two items… Best regards" So the seller is asking me for a solution, and it feels really awkward. Any advice? I have no idea what to do, because this just became a problem for me, and it feels like the seller wants to avoid losing $30 (the cost of the lost pocket knife) by transferring responsibility to me.

  • Answer:

    I would say "Please send another. Of course if I receive the other knife I will send it back to you, if you cover shipping." Similar to Corb's great suggestion, but slightly different in that it's less likely to cause them not to send a new knife because they don't want to deal with the pre-paid postage in case it's not needed. Then if you get the 2nd knife, deal with the problem then.

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Other answers

Tell them, "Please do send another one. If you would like to include a self-addressed mailer, with postage included, I will be happy to place the second knife in it if a second knife appears."

corb

Don't let the 90 day limit pass. By the 89th day, make sure you have your refund or product. If not, get the immediate refund from paypal. Good luck.

hal_c_on

I like corb's idea, but a self-addressed mailer will be tricky since we're talking international postage. You could offer to mail the second knife back (if it shows up) if he sends the postage cost by PayPal. It looks like that will be around $14 for First Class mail.

zachlipton

My response would be something like: I would like to either receive a refund or receive the product I ordered. I appreciate your efforts to fix this, and will be happy with any solution that results in a refund or me receiving the knife. How would you like to proceed?

OrangeDisk

For what it's worth, I was in a similar situation recently when the original package showed up in tracking after the replacement arrived, and the seller suggested that I refuse to accept it and have it returned to the sender (which is apparently possible, even with international shipping) or pay for the additional item. I paid for the additional item because it wasn't that expensive. If you have the option to refuse the original package and have it returned at no cost, then that's your problem solved. That's only likely to be possible if you need to sign for delivery. If not, then offer to return it if the seller to covers return shipping -- especially so if it's obviously a private seller and not a corporate entity with an eBay username.

holgate

Seconding the return mailer. It's cute that the seller is trying to pin this on the post office, but the seller is the one responsible for packing and labeling the shipment as an international shipment. I've shipped things from Germany home to the USA and I had to fill out customs forms, look up the various rates for air vs. sea transport, etc. I don't quite understand how the shipment "accidentally" got put into domestic flow without the seller knowing, or screwing up.

JoeZydeco

It's part of the seller's job to get your knife to you. They choose the shipping options, so it's their responsibility. Let the seller know you'll return the second knife if it arrives, and ask them how they want to send you the cost of the return postage. The can do this via paypal (sending you either enough money AFTER fees to cover the cost of the return postage, or simply refund your money) or more viably by them paying for return postage via some online service then sending you a link to where you can print off the labels for postage. Do not pay to return the item to the seller then expect them to recompense you.

Solomon

Thanks everybody. I went with pretty much a verbatim version of cacao's suggestion. Here's the seller response: "Believe me i´m really angry that something like this could have happened. We will ship another one tomorrow, and yes of course we will cover shipping in case… Best regards"

circular

Update: I received the second one as promised and closed the case. No sign of the original package. Thanks to everyone for the assistance.

circular

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