Ebay Stamp Sheet Arrived Bent

I ordered a stamp sheet from eBay in it's original USPS packaging and I asked the seller how they would package before purchase and seller indicated they would place another piece of cardboard over the original sealed sheet and then place in envelope and mark "do not bend" on envelope. They did all that and the sheet arrived with a bend to the cardboard and a wrinkle on a small portion of the sheet.

What would you recommend I do in this situation?

It arrived damaged - I would return it


Peter

The seller would have to pay return shipping and would have difficulty selling a wrinkled sheet for what I bought it for.

Decide what it is worth (or worth to you) as is. Then ask for a partial refund down to that price. If in USPS packaging it must contain mint stamps likely good for postage

Of course you have not identified the purchase price of the sheet or if the stamps have postal validity when mint.

And as often posted:

Parcelpostguy: Thank you for the suggestion. The sheet with shipping was around $15 and yes the stamps have postal validity. This is a modern sheet of USPS stamps.

If I post pictures, one could easily identify the item and I don't think that's fair to me or the seller.

If you are sure that the wrinkle(s) were caused by shipping damage you have two choices. Return it and the seller eats it or works it out through a claim with the carrier (good luck) or you keep it. Having the seller refund a portion of your money seems cheesy since it was not his fault. So does a return but smart sellers bake the cost of such things into the cake.

Return it for refund. It isn't what you were promised, regardless of whose fault it was.

If I return it for a refund, can the seller play a game to where they claim it didn't arrive in proper condition and then my return is denied and refund not given?

I sent a message to the seller via eBay informing them the sheet arrived bent. Didn't ask for anything and will wait for their response.

I like Parcelpostguy's suggestion best, but don't know if seller will entertain that. This situation is similar to ordering a piece of furniture and it arriving with a scrape or dent.

As a seller of mint sheets on eBay I can relate as this does happen every once in a while. I always hope that my buyers would do exactly as you've done and reach out to me and let me know that there was a problem with the order.

What happens next depends on the seller and the value of the item in question. If it were me I would let you know that it can be returned for a full refund but if you don't think it is worth the hassle of shipping it one more time I would ask if you would like to keep it and I would refund your purchase price down to the face value. This would seem a reasonable compromise since they may no longer be a collectible item in their creased state but they still have inherent face value as postage.

pnjstamps: I appreciate your helpful perspective. Should I initiate a return and mail the item back, could the seller deny my return/refund for any reason? If the seller offers a partial refund and I accept, could the seller give me a partial refund of $0.01 and then all further options such as return are gone?

I know I may be overly concerned, but I like to be prepared. Some posters on this forum have mentioned that 100% feedback on eBay is meaningless. Hopefully this post will be a learning experience for someone else too.

The seller of the mint sheet has 100% positive feedback and I will remain optimistic that it's also merited regarding their customer service.

Talk with the seller. Photograph the item taking as many as appropriate and send them in eBay messaging to the seller. Any reasonable seller will not want it back. Again ask for a partial refund, which eBay actually endorse and has provided to me. Some sellers have refused my partial refund request and insisted on a full refund with me keeping the item.

The fact is these things happen. If the seller packaged against nuclear war and charged for shipping accordingly you likely would not have purchased. Likewise I trust no postal insurance was obtained which may have not paid out if poorly packaged. Life is short, time is worth money. Spending a lot of time in this case get little reward. Be quick and move on.

Also please post a close up picture of the damage, then the lot cannot be IDed but we can see the damage.

Lastly years ago, decades in fact, I pointed out a penny on the ground by my friend's foot. He did not pick it up. I asked why and his reply suck with me. He said, "I think I only have so many bends my back will allow in my life and each one is worth more than a penny to me."

Edited for English, sometimes I forget it is my first language.

If you paid via Paypal, they can't refuse because Paypal will always side with the buyer. You didn't get what you were promised. Try to work it out with the seller first. eBay will help if possible, but you can always file a claim with Paypal if nothing works out and you will get your full money back. You should return the item to the seller if they're willing to take it back.

This always puzzles me. As opposed to what? 85% feedback? A good argument can be made that the feedback system is flawed - since sellers cannot leave negative feedback on buyers. But, it is what it is...

As to your particular situation, Parcelpostguy is spot on with his advice above, IMO.

Most sellers are easy to deal with, just as most buyers are easy to deal with.

I would never assume that a seller would do me wrong. I would assume that the seller would welcome the opportunity to make things right...

John

Just out of curiosity was the mailing envelope rigid?

It could be that marking an envelope 'Do Not Bend' signals to any disgruntled postal employee, (or those who might be having a bad day) to bend it!
Don

As a seller I pencil in into my costs bad stuff happening within reason.

As a buyer I always take my issues 1stly to the seller. Then depending on their response it determines my next course of action.

If I get a rude answer and it is a return issue 1st I neg them and then put a claim in. If it is a good response I start a return with them or I just move on if it is not to much of a loss financially.

I have the tendency to pull the trigger on bad manners sooner/straight away as I have got older.

So to me it is all about the how when it comes to sellers.