Ok, I ordered a statue on eBay from the Netherlands.  The total cost of the statue was $150 plus $29.99 for shipping.  The statue arrived today 05/23.  A few days ago the seller emails me and says please open the parcel in front of a postal employee otherwise the insurance will not be honered.  I did not respond, but kept the email and didn't really think much about it.  Today when the statue arrives, I sign for it and open the box (of course the postal delivery lady did not wait at my house nor would I expect her to).  I find that the statue is broken into three pieces, and has a chip missing that is noticeable.  To clarify when the three pieces are even put back together the chip is noticeably missing and I can't even find it in the box.  I contact the seller and he says I need to contact the postal carrier and file an insurance claim.  I don't even have a number to be able to file a claim.  I know that if I go through eBay and file an item not as described I will have to pay for return shipping so another $29.99 and I will only be given the $150 back.  My question is this, does anyone know what options I have to get back my money and be out the least amount.  I really don't want to lose $60 to shipping.

Looking back the message from the seller prior to receiving the item almost seems like he knew it was broken and that I was being used to get an insurance claim.

That certainly sounds dodgy the seller asking for a postal worker to be present
Never heard of that before.

that is very odd. I wonder if you contacted someone of authority in Ebay and Paypal and tell them what the seller said and even forward the email to them and get their opinion. Did you take any photos on the day it arrived even ones with your phone if you haven't found your camera yet will do, so you can send them as well.

I would tell Ebay and Paypal you should not have to pay return shipping and that the customer owes you the cost of the product plus shipping, if he wants it back then he pays the shipping to get it back as the evidence with the item being broken and missing a piece is very suspicious, I would also go into the original posting of the item and copy all the photos to your computer including the original ad. That way you can send them photos of the one you reassembled with the missing part and the photos of it hopefully showing no missing part in the area where it's now missing.

I am sure if they read the email they will think the same thing as I did when he said "please open the parcel in front of a postal employee otherwise the insurance will not be honored". As soon as I read that I thought he either dropped it prior to packing it or after packing it, as for all the amount of buying I have done both on ebay and from other online sites I have never ever had a seller say that.

I might even think of telling the customer your intentions, it might just make him decide to give the full amount back .

Hopefully it can be resolved without you needing to pay to ship it back to the seller, and personally I would go for the full amount with shipping.

I also just realized if he deliberitly shipped a known broken item in the hopes of getting the insurance to pay, That is a insurance scam and is illegal and a felony, I am sure if you mention that to Ebay and Paypal as well things might really start rolling. I always love getting the chance to use the law courses I took even if they were years ago lol.

Hope it all works out for you bud.

Larry

This whole thing has been really not a fun experience thus far. The seller says I need to take the box to the post office and file an insurance claim and that he will then refund me the money. My worry is the post office will keep the statue and send the insurance claim money to him and he will have no obligation to refund me. I am going to contact eBay and PayPal and see what they suggest. I was trying to do this without opening a claim as that can damage a seller and I wanted to give him every opportunity to mak it right on his own.

Things don't sound great Bryan, was this a seller with great feedback before you made the transaction ?
I really hope things work out for you mate, it absolutely sucks when a deal goes bad

I'd open a claim on eBAY, 99% of the time they will side with the buyer. The seller sounds like a con-merchant in my book.

Nico wrote:

Things don't sound great Bryan, was this a seller with great feedback before you made the transaction ?
I really hope things work out for you mate, it absolutely sucks when a deal goes bad

Lots of good feedback like over 3000 if memory serves. I spent some of today at the post office because he told me I had to fill out a claim form. The post office said it is his responsibility to open a claim with his carrier as they would have to investigate for insurance purposes and usps would not investigate the matter since they are the deliverer only and not the original carrier. The seller has been in constant contact, but I think like Stef said it may be time to open a dispute. At least then eBay will know what is up. I was only holding off so that the seller didn't get hurt by the dispute since he has good feedback.

I would think if he had such good feed back he would make it right without going through ebay but that comment of open it in front of the postal person is a major red flag. I am sure most of us here had never had anyone say that to us or we said it as sellers.

Figured I would update this. After making a second attempt to talk to the post office and getting the same story that it is the seller who would have to file a claim with his postal service, I contacted the seller and explained I had taken my time twice to file some claim and received the same info both times. I then told hi. To refund me or I would file a case through eBay to get my refund. I promised the seller that I would continue to work with him in anyway possible to help him get his insurance claim. I received my refund the next morning. I asked what more can I do as I have the broken statue as well as the money now. The seller said he would contact me when he had more information and I am in limbo at the moment. When I spoke to my post office they said that the way claims will work is I will receive a letter asking me to deliver the broken time to the post office for inspection but that prior to receiving the letter they refused to take it. So here I am now money in hand, broken item in hand, and frankly feeling like a thief as I don't own the statue and I don't know the future of it. What if I am never asked to produce the item and the insurance gets paid? Do I toss it, do I keep it and try repair? Who legally owns it is for sure not me but the refund didn't give any extra to ship it back. The refund was only my amount paid plus original shipping so I was refunded back to zero. I guess this is just a waiting game now to see if I get something asking for it. Just bothersome as it doesn't belong to me and I know the seller is out for the piece as even repaired it wouldn't look right with a chip missing.

As far as I know once a claim has been paid if the item is not asked to be returned then it's yours, as the seller was paid by the insurance company already so if the seller wants it back they are responsible for the shipping cost. Hope that makes sense