This board’s proper etiquette is to refund the buyer. However, proper etiquette and whether the seller must legally refund the buyer are potentially two different things. Although people often forget, they are entering into binding and enforceable contracts when they b/s/t. Words and phrases have meaning and legal significance. Did the contract’s terms state shipped or delivered?
In some states, if the contract just indicates shipped, the risk transfers from the seller to the buyer as soon as the third-party carrier takes possession. Thus, the buyer bears the loss if the third-party carrier losses/damages the item during shipping.
This is why it’s always good practice to specify “delivered.” This denotes that the seller bears the risk until the item is delivered to the buyer. Thus, the seller is responsible for a lost/damaged item.
So, this issue is not legally cut and dry. We need more information, such as the actual contract’s language, the terms and conditions, the parties’ jurisdiction(s), etc. However, the etiquette is cut and dry.
|