A friend recently described a situation in which he made an eBay purchase only to receive the trumpet completely destroyed. Although he had paid for insurance, the USPS denied a claim upon seeing the totally inadequate packaging.
This has always been one of my concerns about buying a trumpet by mail - especially from an eBay seller. There must be idiots out there who would slap a mailing label on the case and send it on its way. Have any of you found ways to prevent this? Have you set minimum packaging standards as a condition of sale? Is an escrow service helpful in preventing careless packing?
Guest
Here's the deal. The shipper is responsible for refunding your friend's money. If the package was improperly packed then it is the seller's fault. It is also the seller's rewponsibility to deal with the USPS. He/she is the one who contracted (bought the insurance) from the USPS.
Have your friend contact the seller and request a full refund. Keep the negotiations civil but do not take no for an answer. If he cannot get satisfaction then report the problem to ebay. If there is still no satisfaction, they a Small Claims Court suit may be in order.
bandman
UPS can't just say no. It is a contract for hire and if they accepted the payment then they accepted the conditions "as is". At that point they are responsible to get the package to you. By accepting payment for additional insurance they have a contract with you saying if it is damaged under the conditions accepted by them, then they must make payment.
They can't take payment for insuring the package and then later say "oh, we changed our mind".
