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Lao Tzu
New member
I sell my textbooks on half.com. A lady bought a textbook, and requested expediated shipping (aka priority mail). When i first started my account priority was $4 a package, now it is $12. Instead of using priority mail i used media mail, which is $3. In transit, the package was damaged, so the lady demanded a refund of the shipping costs ($2.37. Expediated shipping is $2.37 more than media mail shipping) so i tried to give her one. apparently i accidentally gave her back the price of the entire book, and am trying to work it out so she only get the cost of reimbursement for shipping and any punitive damages for damage in transit.
Basically, she requested a better degree of shipping but i didn't give it to her due to price changes at USPS.
I sent her this email
I can reimburse you $5 for the shipping charges (because the post office website says media mail takes 6 days to ship, i assumed you'd still get the book before school started).
However, my half.com account has reimbursed you $40.43 for the price of the whole book, not just the $2.37 of the cost of shipping.
I need $35 of that $40.43 back because i sold you the book. If you keep $5 or so, that will reimburse you for the shipping discrepencies.
she replied.
I got your message. As a half.com seller myself It is my understanding that
if you say you are going to ship an item by expedited shipping and charge
accordingly the item must be sent first class or priority mail. The
handling of items during media mail is horrible and if a seller doesn't
package the item with padding the item WILL be damaged and could take up to
5 weeks to arrive. (These items wait around for room on the truck and then
are thrown on at the last minute.) You should know this as a half.com
seller. To ship an item at a lower class of mailing than the customer paid
for (just because you find postal rates high) is a form of fraud. (I have
had to pay more than half.com allowed for shipping on thick textbooks before
when I sold the books but that amount just came out of my "profit")
I thought from your email that you were being a really great guy and felt
bad for giving me such crummy service and were refunding the full amount
because you felt bad. Now to find out almost a week later that you feel
justified in shipping my poorly packaged item at a lower rate than you
charged me--well lets just say that I'm not very impressed with your level
of customer service.
You will have to contact half.com and tell them that you shipped the item
wrong, the item arrived damaged (and late) and that you authorized an
incorrect refund amount. Half.com keeps track of refunds that it issues and
I don't want this to count again me if the item isn't really being refunded.
Also by half.com rules I am not allowed to pay you outside of their system.
Please keep me up to date on the status of this matter.
I replied
Hmmm. I am taking this up with half.com's policy guide and help section.
Hopefully they have some advice.
I used media mail because usps.com says it takes 6 days to ship something
via it (check their website yourself), i assumed you'd get the book before
school started no matter if you got it via media mail or priority. If i had
honestly known that media mail put the package at risk of damage i would
have packaged it better or shipped it priority.
It is understandable if you want a refund, but you keeping both the $40 and
the book isn't exactly fair. Hopefully some agreement can be come to, i just
am not comfortable with being taken for $40 because i jipped you out of $2.
She replied
I'm trying really hard not to get annoyed over this situation. (Maybe you
could read over your email and realize that using expressions such as "being
taken" isn't the best way to handle a customer service issue.) I paid for
the book because I want it. I never expected to get the book for free (or
rip you off as your email suggests). I only wanted to get the quality item
that you offered at the shipping service that I paid for. Neither of those
two objectives have been met. When this all started I only asked that you
refund the difference in the shipping costs because I thought you had made
an honest mistake in shipping the book at the wrong rate. Now that I know
that you intentionally substituted a lower shipping class because you wanted
to save money and thought it would be okay, and then accuse me of attempting
to rip you off, well that is less than the level of customer service that
half.com users are accustomed to. I am trying to chalk your poor customer
service communication to inexperience. However, each email you send me only
seems to contain more annoying information in it. Had you simply refunded
the difference in my shipping fees and apologized for YOUR ERROR in shipping
and for Poorly wrapping the item I would have been fine with that. But now
you have not only caused more confusion but your attempts to justify your
poor service without so much as an apology for the damaged book that I was
willing to use, well try to put yourself in my shoes. How much annoyance do
you expect me to put up with? If you can fix this without this refund
counting against me by half.com standards fine. I suggest that you get your
ducks in a row before you list and sell anymore items. (I have been buying a
selling on half.com since they first went online and I have never had anyone
handle a matter so poorly before)
PS: The postal service doesn't guarantee any mail other than their
overnight service. SO it is naive to go by the best case scenario listed on
their website. This point is moot though because if you agree to ship an
item in an expedited manner and the customer pays for it you are under
obligation to stick to your word. Anything less is fraud.
I haven't replied. I don't plan to until this issue is worked out and she doesn't have any leverage on me.
I am under the impression she is a self righteous bitch, but i am too socially slow to confirm this issue. Granted, i did rip her off, but i apologized and tried to make amends. I just want to either be paid for a book i sent or to have the book returned to me.
Either way, i will abide by half.com's policies if they ask me to get neither the money or the book back. The book was only like $30 anyway.
Basically, she requested a better degree of shipping but i didn't give it to her due to price changes at USPS.
I sent her this email
I can reimburse you $5 for the shipping charges (because the post office website says media mail takes 6 days to ship, i assumed you'd still get the book before school started).
However, my half.com account has reimbursed you $40.43 for the price of the whole book, not just the $2.37 of the cost of shipping.
I need $35 of that $40.43 back because i sold you the book. If you keep $5 or so, that will reimburse you for the shipping discrepencies.
she replied.
I got your message. As a half.com seller myself It is my understanding that
if you say you are going to ship an item by expedited shipping and charge
accordingly the item must be sent first class or priority mail. The
handling of items during media mail is horrible and if a seller doesn't
package the item with padding the item WILL be damaged and could take up to
5 weeks to arrive. (These items wait around for room on the truck and then
are thrown on at the last minute.) You should know this as a half.com
seller. To ship an item at a lower class of mailing than the customer paid
for (just because you find postal rates high) is a form of fraud. (I have
had to pay more than half.com allowed for shipping on thick textbooks before
when I sold the books but that amount just came out of my "profit")
I thought from your email that you were being a really great guy and felt
bad for giving me such crummy service and were refunding the full amount
because you felt bad. Now to find out almost a week later that you feel
justified in shipping my poorly packaged item at a lower rate than you
charged me--well lets just say that I'm not very impressed with your level
of customer service.
You will have to contact half.com and tell them that you shipped the item
wrong, the item arrived damaged (and late) and that you authorized an
incorrect refund amount. Half.com keeps track of refunds that it issues and
I don't want this to count again me if the item isn't really being refunded.
Also by half.com rules I am not allowed to pay you outside of their system.
Please keep me up to date on the status of this matter.
I replied
Hmmm. I am taking this up with half.com's policy guide and help section.
Hopefully they have some advice.
I used media mail because usps.com says it takes 6 days to ship something
via it (check their website yourself), i assumed you'd get the book before
school started no matter if you got it via media mail or priority. If i had
honestly known that media mail put the package at risk of damage i would
have packaged it better or shipped it priority.
It is understandable if you want a refund, but you keeping both the $40 and
the book isn't exactly fair. Hopefully some agreement can be come to, i just
am not comfortable with being taken for $40 because i jipped you out of $2.
She replied
I'm trying really hard not to get annoyed over this situation. (Maybe you
could read over your email and realize that using expressions such as "being
taken" isn't the best way to handle a customer service issue.) I paid for
the book because I want it. I never expected to get the book for free (or
rip you off as your email suggests). I only wanted to get the quality item
that you offered at the shipping service that I paid for. Neither of those
two objectives have been met. When this all started I only asked that you
refund the difference in the shipping costs because I thought you had made
an honest mistake in shipping the book at the wrong rate. Now that I know
that you intentionally substituted a lower shipping class because you wanted
to save money and thought it would be okay, and then accuse me of attempting
to rip you off, well that is less than the level of customer service that
half.com users are accustomed to. I am trying to chalk your poor customer
service communication to inexperience. However, each email you send me only
seems to contain more annoying information in it. Had you simply refunded
the difference in my shipping fees and apologized for YOUR ERROR in shipping
and for Poorly wrapping the item I would have been fine with that. But now
you have not only caused more confusion but your attempts to justify your
poor service without so much as an apology for the damaged book that I was
willing to use, well try to put yourself in my shoes. How much annoyance do
you expect me to put up with? If you can fix this without this refund
counting against me by half.com standards fine. I suggest that you get your
ducks in a row before you list and sell anymore items. (I have been buying a
selling on half.com since they first went online and I have never had anyone
handle a matter so poorly before)
PS: The postal service doesn't guarantee any mail other than their
overnight service. SO it is naive to go by the best case scenario listed on
their website. This point is moot though because if you agree to ship an
item in an expedited manner and the customer pays for it you are under
obligation to stick to your word. Anything less is fraud.
I haven't replied. I don't plan to until this issue is worked out and she doesn't have any leverage on me.
I am under the impression she is a self righteous bitch, but i am too socially slow to confirm this issue. Granted, i did rip her off, but i apologized and tried to make amends. I just want to either be paid for a book i sent or to have the book returned to me.
Either way, i will abide by half.com's policies if they ask me to get neither the money or the book back. The book was only like $30 anyway.
