marrickvilleboy Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 Hi guys, Wanted to get your thoughts on my current situation. I bought a watch off ebay and the seller used Fedex as the shipper. I received the package on my front door and it is an empty envelope. The side has been opened and resealed with clear tape. Considering I bought this off ebay using paypal, whats my best case of action? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 First off did you take any photos of the package, especially where it was taped? Contact the seller. Also I would contact FedEx customer service or the manager of your local FedEx, tell them what happened and get their response. Biggest problem her is where did the watch go missing? Did the seller not put it in the package, did it get stolen at a sorting facility, or did a loader or driver steal it? Very hard to come up with and answer. This is the reason I insure every package for close to real value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marrickvilleboy Posted October 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 yeah lesson learnt. Yes, I still have the package and taken photos. I havent even bothered opening the package as its clearly empty. Have responded to the seller and the fedex guys. Understand its only speculation here but any ideas how Paypal would respond to empty boxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtiis Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 Not sure how PP will act. I'm assuming you asked the seller if he had insurance on it separate from PP/ebay coverage for a deal gone bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyB Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Did you sign for the package? I assume you didn't. If you did you might be stuck. If you did not sign for the package you should be covered. FedEx insures each package for a minimum amount, I think it's $200. Ebay has buyer protection, so you should be covered there as well. Ebay owns PayPal and payPal has buyer protection as well. You will need to contact them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marrickvilleboy Posted October 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Did not sign for package, it was left on my front door. thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johncatl Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 First of all contact FedEx and report your problem. Save the packaging. Contact the seller and let them know Some years ago when iPods were the rage I ordered one from Apple for my son's birthday. Since the package had to be signed for, I had my daughter wait at the house. She was in the kitchen when she heard a truck leaving the driveway. She went to the front door and there was the FedEx truck headed down the street. On the doorstep was a package with nothing in it and the bottom was slit open. She called FedEx and raised hell. Apple sent me another. Your situation is not uncommon. Glock firearms is located one town over. They had to switch carriers because of pistols getting stolen from the UPS warehouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I believe that FedEx and UPS try to make a diligent effort to screen the folks that work for them, but they are both huge, multinational companies, and like any large organization, probably have their fair share of crooks,thieves and scammers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish1 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I believe that FedEx and UPS try to make a diligent effort to screen the folks that work for them, but they are both huge, multinational companies, and like any large organization, probably have their fair share of crooks,thieves and scammers. X2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Contact seller & explain what happened. Include a good, clear pic of the package, showing where it had been opened/resealed. Give the seller a week to respond. In most cases, the seller must initiate a complaint with the shipper. If the seller fails to respond or accept responsibility, register a complaint through ebay & follow their instructions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam007 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Contact PayPal and start a Claim at the very least. Personally from experience the Buyer wins out most of the time. Which is why when I sell, I insure it. FYI Getting insurance on a package is to protect the Seller, not the buyer when dealing with PayPal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Out of interest have you confirmed the weight on the receipt to the package you received? I have seen guys on eBay send taped up packages that look resealed I am sure you did but its worth mentioning as the rob may not just be a FedEx operative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero_Dave Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Just a note from my past experience. I sold a Fuel 80 Mountain bike on ebay. I had modified the bike to where is was basically better than a Fuel 100. $$$ Costly for those that don't know. I sold it for $900 for a quick sale. The bike was professionally boxed and insured for $1300. When it arrived, the buyer found the frame downtube was dented. Clearly there was a hole in the side of the box, explaining the damage. He took photo's, took the bike to his local bike dealer. It just so happened, the Trek area manager was in the store at the time. He explained what happened and the manager gave him a replacement quote just for the frame. That quote was for $1500. When we contacted Fedex and told them the story and sent pictures, I was only refunded the $900 the seller paid for the bike. Reguardless of the insurance covergage purchased ($1500) and reguardless for the replacement quote given ($1500) Fedex said they would only replace what the seller paid for the bike. I guess somewhere they have this written about insurance covereage and price paid for! Anyhow, just be carefull how much coverage you pay for, because if you have to prove how much it was sold for, you won't get anything over that reguardless of insurance paid for, And if the watch is a rep, forget about it! Dave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Contact PayPal and start a Claim at the very least. I had a package go missing and when I contacted both PayPal and my credit card, they said either I take the loss or the shipper would be held responsible for the cost. Since it wasn't the shipper's fault I was stuck and took the loss. I hate thieves and/or irresponsible parcel workers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 I hate PayPal and credit card companies too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam007 Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 When we contacted Fedex and told them the story and sent pictures, I was only refunded the $900 the seller paid for the bike. Reguardless of the insurance covergage purchased ($1500) and reguardless for the replacement quote given ($1500) Fedex said they would only replace what the seller paid for the bike. Dave... WHAT? You mean I can't send a pack of gum and insure it for $1,000,000 and get paid $1,000,000 when it gets lost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Just a note from my past experience. I sold a Fuel 80 Mountain bike on ebay. I had modified the bike to where is was basically better than a Fuel 100. $$$ Costly for those that don't know. I sold it for $900 for a quick sale. The bike was professionally boxed and insured for $1300. When it arrived, the buyer found the frame downtube was dented. Clearly there was a hole in the side of the box, explaining the damage. He took photo's, took the bike to his local bike dealer. It just so happened, the Trek area manager was in the store at the time. He explained what happened and the manager gave him a replacement quote just for the frame. That quote was for $1500. When we contacted Fedex and told them the story and sent pictures, I was only refunded the $900 the seller paid for the bike. Reguardless of the insurance covergage purchased ($1500) and reguardless for the replacement quote given ($1500) Fedex said they would only replace what the seller paid for the bike. I guess somewhere they have this written about insurance covereage and price paid for! Anyhow, just be carefull how much coverage you pay for, because if you have to prove how much it was sold for, you won't get anything over that reguardless of insurance paid for, And if the watch is a rep, forget about it! Dave... This is pretty standard procedure, and the reason why I never send a watch internationally with out a full declared value on the customs declaration. I have lost sales because the buyer wanted the watch declared for 100.00 USD to avoid customs duty and taxes, but if it's lost,stolen or damaged, the buyer expects either another watch, or his money back, and I'm now out my watch and the money!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Trouble is Fedex/UPS/Dhl have truely horrific coverage when it comes to watches/jewellery etc (nobody wants to insure watches!), often limiting a refund to $500 max regardless of what it was insured for on the package. They all claim they will insure carried items to some grand number, $250000 or something, but when it comes to the fine print nobody knows what those elusive items are that qualify for their very selective coverage. If you want to go the standard way OP then use paypals/ebays horrible treatment of sellers to your advantage. Seller ships therefore the problem is his side regardless, is their motto. Not pretty on sellers who genuinely have no control once the item ships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraggle42 Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 That's worrying that the shippers demand to see the sales invoice and will only compensate you for that amount. What if you decided to "sell" the old family TV/bike/watch to your son, it was worth a few $k, and you created an invoice for $10? It wouldn't matter how much you insured it for when you posted it. The should do their own independant research on the true market value and use that, with the insurance value you quoted as a maximum limit, so you could limit the max insurance to reduce the postage cost if you wanted too. What it changed hands for shouldn't even come into it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero_Dave Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 WHAT? You mean I can't send a pack of gum and insure it for $1,000,000 and get paid $1,000,000 when it gets lost? Sure, IF the gum is worth that much. I think you're missing my point. The bike was bought for $900, it was insured for $1300. The replacement quote for only the frame was $1500. So why shouldn't Fedex give us the $1300 that was paid for the insurance coverage? Let's put it another way. My 1969 Convertible 'let's say' I paid $10,000 for. Then I get an estimate for its value / replacement of $15,000. I pay for that much coverage and then when it gets totaled, the insurance company says its only going to give me back my $10,000 because that's all I paid for it. Really, this is the same thing. So all I'm saying is, don't pay for insurance on shipping, over what you've actually paid for the item. It's just not worth it and you won't get it back in a refund anyways! Dave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike on a bike Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 Dave understand your point but like homeowners ins. cost more to have "replacement cost" with this they pay whatever to rebuild market value /price payed not material to amount you get. We are not getting that on shipping ins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marrickvilleboy Posted October 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 no surprises Paypal sided with me. Full refund including shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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