unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jan 12, 2013 0:14:34 GMT -5
As some of you might know in another life I deal in antiques. Well I sold a couple of expensive pieces this past month and I shipped them with the UPS store so that I could have them professionally packed shipped and insured. One item was a $15,000 Tiffany clock and the other was a beautiful signed bronze sculpture for $10,400 Guess what?....... They both arrived broken
They were Ebay purchases and i have 100% feedback. I notified UPS to start a claim and the customers were contacted by UPS within hours of when I was informed of the damage. What do you think these customers went and did?.......They opened a case on Eba Now because of UPS I have a $25,000 hold on my Papal account. Last i checked you have I believe 30 days to file a case against a seller. These customers had been contacted by UPS within hours after I was informed of the damage.
To make matters worse the customer who purchased the sculpture received it on the 4Th. He contacted me to say how pleased he was with it. On the same day he left me a 5Star glowing Eba feedback stating that the sculpture was just as described. He even put an offer on another sculpture that I am selling and he sent me several messages stating what a great Ebay seller I am. Now a week later he sends me a message saying that he just now opened the box to look at it and now he states it was broken. I don't know about any of you but if I spent $10,400 on Eba I would examine my purchase as soon as it arrived and I would not leave feedback until I looked at the item that I purchased. However he is my customer and despite my suspicion concerning the damage I filed an insurance claim anyway and this dirt bag opened a case against me. I am that he broke it himself. I really feel like pointing this all out to Ebay. He will than lose the case and will not be able to claim shipping damage as he already stated that it arrived in perfect condition in his feedback and numerous messages. Do you think I should let Ebay know and thus kill any chance he has to get his money back from the insurance? He really is out of line to open a case against me especially as I have acted on his behalf with such speed. UPS called him within one hour from the time he spoke with me on the phone. Now my funds are on hold. Stu
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 12, 2013 1:12:51 GMT -5
I would tell ebay of his contradictory claims
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Post by Rockoonz on Jan 12, 2013 1:43:57 GMT -5
Point it out to them immediately. I don't do ebay much as a seller anymore because of the feedback and ebay generally treating their sellers like dirt.
Lee
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jan 12, 2013 1:57:26 GMT -5
Definitely go to Ebay about this.. mention how he stated how everything was perfect, how wonderful a seller he called you, then how he changed it by saying it was broken , how fast you responded to this contradiction, then how you are being put on hold for something that is not your fault, and hint that it smells like fraud. Then see what they do, and talk to paypal about it too, they can kill his account and press charges for fraud.. a federal offense!
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jan 12, 2013 3:23:53 GMT -5
Thanks you all for voicing your thoughts on this matter. That is what I wanted to do but my wife felt otherwise. You see this customer lives in NYC and I am in NJ. only about an hour and a half away. To me this is no big deal but to my wife it is because when speaking with him over the phone he appears to be a bit of a nut case. He was talking in an irrational manner about how he felt this was some sort of conspiracy against him and that UPS intentionally broke his sculpture based on some sort of ethnic reason. My wife really thinks this is the tpe of guy that will go postal and all of his irrational talk has now got my wife paranoid thinking that she will find him at our front door one day when I am not home. I honestly think he broke the sculpture. Who in their right mind would spend $10,400.00 with a total stranger online and not examine the item when it arrived? Then if that is not strange enough he left good feedback about the item and me as a seller. Right now the case is in a preliminary stage were the buyer and seller respond to each other through Ebay. I stated the following: The item was in perfect condition when it was presented to the UPS store to be professionally packed, shipped and insured by them (UPS). UPS will not issue insurance on a shipment that has been packed by them unless they conduct a detailed inspection of the item being packed and insured by them as they will be responsible. The item was than packed by UPS and shipped and insured by UPS. The customer claims that the item was damaged in transit. I contacted the UPS store to file an insurance claim and was informed that they will contact the customer. Ups contacted the customer and arranged to pick up the item from the customer." As the item was packed, shipped and insured by UPS the insurance I would think that the insurance would pay for the full price of the item and i will thasn give the customer his money back. They will be at the customers house on Monday. If foer some reason the insurance is not willing to pay the full selling price than i will have to escalate the case to the resolution center and allow Ebay to make a final decission. At that time I will bring out the facts that the customer originally contacted me and voice his pleasure with the item and with me as a seller I will point put the feedback that he left upon delivery. I will point out the numerous messages that he sent me saying how happy he was and Iwill point out that he made an offer for another item I am selling. I willmalso mention that the buyer told me of a situation that he himself had as a seller on Ebay. He told me how he sold a bronze sculpture also and it to broke in transit and he had to refund the selling price tothe buyer. I will mention that to point out how unbelievable it is that he would not have looked over his purchase from me for over a week. Especially after he himself had a bronze sculpture that was damaged in transit. Hopefully the insurance will just settle the claim so it does not have to be escalated but I am ready sould that need to be done.
Stu
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Post by Toad on Jan 12, 2013 10:04:31 GMT -5
Why wouldn't you point out his inconsistencies? I don't understand.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 12, 2013 10:09:56 GMT -5
Do what is right,go to Ebay! Can't go by feelings,its business....
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 12, 2013 10:13:32 GMT -5
Since the insurance pays to you, and since the seller no longer has any item, even a broken one, I think he may have reasonably filed the claim as a kind of receipt for surrendering the item. Otherwise, how is he protected if you get paid by UPS insurance, and then for some reason do not send the money to him? While he has your word, the only actual leverage he has is this claim. I wonder if they do not have a cause of claim like "surrendered to insurance, waiting for seller payment" so he had to pick "arrived broken".
of course, the fact that some events suggest it did not arrive broken, is a fly in the ointment. While illogical, he might have not sufficiently inspected, or gotten several purchases confused .... once after a fender bender I took a look, saw only a crack in the tail light, and told the guy who hit me not to worry, that light was already cracked. It was very cold, I was very sick, it was very early, we were standing on a high traffic road. I had to get to work. .... Coming out of work that evening I see a huge bashed in section 12 inches below the tail light. Once I realized that nobody else had hit me during the day, I had to accept that I had just not seen the damage earlier due to haste. If I had a way to reach the guy, I might have sounded a lot like your fellow changing his story. Weird things do happen, and it is not always fraud.
Anyway, guard against fraud, watch your own interests, but imagine how the guy with no money and no item feels, and avoid letting guarding become prejudging and convicting.
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robsrockshop
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2012
Posts: 715
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Post by robsrockshop on Jan 14, 2013 20:27:17 GMT -5
Well thank god you at least had them packed by the UPS store because the biggest way of UPS getting out of claims is improper packing. Even if it was improperly packed it's their fault.
This will most likely result in a long drawn out process with you being the one taking the brunt of the bs--at least for the time being. So here we again with insurance issues. Insurance is great until you need it.
Odd that 2 items going to separate places got broken, most likely the packers didn't know how to handle such an expensive and fragile item. Sometimes they laugh at me for my packages because I go overboard sometimes. This is why.
Other unfort thing is if UPS pays these claims it's possible they will ban you from ever purchasing insurance again. You're gona have a hell of time convincing them 2 separate things got broke. Right or wrong trying to get $ out of UPS is worse than going to the dentist.
Well good luck let us know how this fiasco turns out.
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jan 14, 2013 23:18:50 GMT -5
Well id did state all the facts to Ebay and as the value of the item is so high it goes to a special high value claims resolution center. The fact that UPS was notified within minutes of the customer cantacting me and in spite of the fact that UPS cantacted the customer within minutes after I contacted them Ebay has froze my paypal account. I couldn't even make payments on purchases made as my Paypal is now a negative 10,690.00. As far as the cuctomer maybe posting his feedback to the wrong item... Not a chance as in the feedback he specipically refered to the sculpture by name of artist and this is the only sculpture this customer purchased. The cstoer also sent me messages ,on Ebay, of satisfaction with ther purchase. In addition the customer put in an offer for another expensive item after he received this sculpture. Not actions of a dissatisfied customer. The fact that UPS packed this item and insured it after fully inspecting it proves that the item was not broken when I shipped it. The idea that a customer would spend 10,400 from a staranger and not look at it and then give glowing feedback saying it was just as described only to a week later say he really didn't look at the item and it is now broken is un believable at best. I turned it over to my attorney today. Stu
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robsrockshop
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2012
Posts: 715
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Post by robsrockshop on Jan 15, 2013 8:03:31 GMT -5
I was going to say an attorney might be in order. Some people will come clean with just the threat of a UPS investigation.
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jan 15, 2013 18:45:21 GMT -5
Just al little background on my attrney/close friend. He is a senior partner with the international law firm of Baker Botts. The baker is for former secresgtaary of state James Baker. Both Ebay and UPS have been notified by my attorney that he has been retained to represent me in this matter. I don't think they will want to mess with me, however Ebay has proven to be a big pain in the ""A" I don't take fraudulent charge backs lightly. Stu
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2013 22:32:12 GMT -5
good on you stu! kick@ss and let the chips fall. That psyco client can live with his demons after a false claim like that!
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