Shipping - Who's Resposible for Receipt of Item?


Small item transaction. Buyer sent funds and I shipped the item regular post with tracking. The on-line tracking indicates the item was received, but the buyer does not acknowledge receipt. If the item does not show up, what is the next step? Do I refund his money and I take the hit for the lost item, or is he responsible. Looking for advice.
brf

Showing 1 response by ckorody

Guys - I am always a little amazed at how little understanding there is of the rules of this site.

According to the Audiogon rules under which we trade, it is the responsibility of the shipper to ensure the safe arrival of the package. The policy states that:

"Regardless of this determination all items shipped will be F.O.B.* destination. In other words it will ALWAYS be the responsibility of the seller to guarantee that items shipped will be as described and fully functional upon arrival. The seller will further be responsible to insure each package for at least the amount the buyer has paid for the item."

This is admittedly a very unusual policy since FOB is normally at the sellers facility (manufacturing site) not the recipients.

Note too that the policy states that:

"FOB Destination" means the person shipping an item is responsible for that item until the person receiving it signs for it."

I agree that it gets dicey where the shipper confirms delivery but the buyer denies it. As I interpret the Audiogon policy, as the shipper you are off the hook when you receive confirmation.

Insuring it (or not) is up to you - not the buyer. You can of course charge him for the insurance which quite often exceeds the shipping cost... Though frequently when I end up having to eat the shipping, and its a low cost item I self insure - its a wash so far.

Note that for shipments above a certain value (depending on your carrier) a signature is usually required by the carrier - I guess we can learn something from the pros.

This policy, which is essential to the success of Audiogon, is not unreasonable. What is unreasonable is the shippers willingness to pay up in the event of a claim. The fact is that you can spend a good chunk of money on insurance and never see a dime.

I think this is a tremendous achilles heel for all of us - I received a pair of floorstanders. Admittedly the seller had packed them very poorly - in the factory boxes. When I opened the box, the back was split, and the tweeter and the mid were hanging out. For this to happen, half a dozen nice size nuts were blown out of the cabinet. I documented the damage immediately with a series of photos and sent them to the seller. Seller talked to the carrier, called me and specified how he wanted the speakers repacked and had them picked up. They were shipped to the carriers facility for inspection - though the two boxes were never opened. The two boxes were returned to the seller a week apart.

As of this date, the seller has yet to see dime because there were no signs of external damage to the cartons...