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USA shipping question
I would like to know at what time does the goods become the responsibility of the customer.
I was under the impression that the seller was responsible for the goods until being in the hands of the buyer.
However some internet purchases I've made state that if I don't purchase insurance from them, then goods are not covered from the point of handing to a carrier at sellers facility.
Not had an issue yet, just seeking clarification?
Thanks G
I was under the impression that the seller was responsible for the goods until being in the hands of the buyer.
However some internet purchases I've made state that if I don't purchase insurance from them, then goods are not covered from the point of handing to a carrier at sellers facility.
Not had an issue yet, just seeking clarification?
Thanks G
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under laws in Australia what you say is correct, the onus is on the seller to ensure that items reach the buyer, and so I am dependent on both Australian and the US Postal services doing the right thing.
However from a seller prospective you have to appreciate that we do our best to get the item to you on time and as requested. The postal services themselves refuse to take responsibility for poor or no service, in other words they take your money with no guarantee of any service being provided - the ultimate scam.
Recently in Australia, Australia Post delivered an entry to a competition 30years late. There is no sanction for this horrible service and the radio service supplied the compensation to the entry author.
With sort of poor behaviour, and that some items buyers order rare, it can be next to impossible to replicate the order and or have any desire resend it. And is it fair to the seller to be out of pocket because of the selfish corporation paid to do a job or because of any other problem/s such as mail box thieves? After all have they not sent it? In this day of computers and internet access I think the postal services across the world should be able to track every item and eliminate the unknown factor in online shopping.
Both the buyer and seller lose out when the item fails to reach the hands of the buyer. Generally the order is so small that the cost of sending the order versus the damage to the reputation of the seller for not sending it favours the buyer. I.e. The cost to supply is cheaper than the cost to steal!
So in order to protect their profits and protect you the buyer from paying for nothing these sellers attempt to guide you into a position of win/win for everyone. You get your item, they keep their profits and if things go wrong, then there is money from a third party to refund the buyer or cover the cost of supplying new parts.
As a buyer if you really need those parts then insure them. If you are willing to risk them being lost in transit then do not. But honest sellers will ALWAYS send out your order because the damage to their reputation by your bad review can be damaging - and the cost to recover is far higher than the few dollars they make.
So in answer, yes the seller IS responsible under most laws. Please exercise you right with fairness and honesty!
So no, the responsability of a seller does not stop when it's in the hand of your postal service (who will in most cases offer little to no support unless indeed 'insurance' was paid for) as it widely depends on payment service that was used.
sidenote: The 'purchase' contract is always between buyer and seller, seller 'buys' the postal service, so seller needs to deal with the postal problem, not the 'end' buyer.
Now a lot of sellers will hide behind the statement that the feel they are not responsible for the loss or damage of goods in case a problem occurs, but if they accepted a payment method of which rulings are 'severe' (and mostly in favor of buyers), then they will simply *always* loose their case if the dispute is being held on the website of the 'payment' processor, simple as that.
Luckely we are working in pretty safe 'environment' with this particular product, mainly AFOL's, well builded sites who 'know' their sellers, but also know their buyers (and/or investigate on both if needed) so at this point I think most of us (buyers and sellers) are quite safe on this matter, even when buying/selling non trackable/uninsured shipment methods. The occassional rotten apple excluded offcourse, something we all sooner or later need to deal with (both buyers and sellers, just to be clear).
Castle