Partially ripping a card opening the mail

[conor912]

oooh. that's a tough one. you damaged the card directly due to the seller's inept pack job. i also lean towards Packs on this one. the seller is obligated to get the envelope in your hand undamaged, which they did. however, that is an unacceptable pack-job and nowhere near the industry standard.

edited to add: if you do file a claim, please let us know how it shakes out....i'd be curious to see how eBay rules on this one....they do tend to side with buyers more often than not.

[ALR-bishop]

Given the manner of shipping I am assuming there was no insurance. Even if there was I am guessing the shipper would say coverage would not apply due to fact damage occurred post delivery.

If seller says here is how I shipped it ( badly) but it got there undamaged. and was damaged by buyer in opening it, and buyer concurs but says damage was because of unexpected poor packing by seller, what would ebay likely do ?

I agree that manner of shipping was irresponsible, but not sure what ebay would do with these facts.

[packs]

I agree that the seller should have packed the card better and there's no excuse for crappy packing. But the fact is the card wasn't damaged regardless of the packing. The card was damaged by the buyer. If you're the seller, how do you get made whole too now that your card is ripped (packing issues aside)?

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by packs

I agree that the seller should have packed the card better and there's no excuse for crappy packing. But the fact is the card wasn't damaged regardless of the packing. The card was damaged by the buyer. If you're the seller, how do you get made whole too now that your card is ripped (packing issues aside)?

There is absolutely no way on earth that card didn't suffer any damage in transit, even before Pete finished the job.

[packs]

I only say that because he didn't mention any other damage. I don't actually know.

[K-Nole]

I receive cards almost on a daily basis and never ripped or cut a card yet.
Know why?
Cause I dont manhandle the package while opening it.
You can take scissors and barely, cut just the tip of the envelope or the tip of the vanilla package.
Should it have been packaged better? Yes.
Do we live in a perfect world where it shouldn't happen, NO.
Should you rip open a package with an +$800 card in it? NO.
Should you be more careful, and not trust somebody else's packaging, YES.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by K-Nole

I receive cards almost on a daily basis and never ripped or cut a card yet.
Know why?
Cause I dont manhandle the package while opening it.
You can take scissors and barely, cut just the tip of the envelope or the tip of the vanilla package.
Should it have been packaged better? Yes.
Do we live in a perfect world where it shouldn't happen, NO.
Should you rip open a package with an +$800 card in it? NO.
Should you be more careful, and not trust somebody else's packaging, YES.

Perfectly said!

Also, I tap the bottom of the envelope on a countertop a couple times before I carefully open the opposite (top) end, to make sure the contents of the envelope are at the far (bottom) end. Isn't that just common sense?

Should the card have been packaged better? Of course, but as it turned out, that wasn't a problem. The card arrived safely. The problem occurred after the responsibility of the seller and carrier had ended.

[steve B]

I suppose my time doing shipping/receiving of heavy stuff skews my views a bit. By heavy, I mean stuff that would be around 35lbs in a box around 9x9x9.

The coffee spill example is a good one, except that a toploader between cardboard inside a bubble envelope will easily survive that and more. Postmen sometimes leave packages out, and sometimes it's not rainy when they do, but pours a bit later. Should whatever it is be packed to have a chance at getting through that? Or is a simple envelope just fine?

You should see how I pack stuff that's both fragile and expensive. The plate that sold for 600+ could have probably been driven over and been fine. Did it take a few minutes extra? Yes, it did. But lots of time less than it would have taken to go through filing an insurance claim.

Steve B

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by packs

I agree that the seller should have packed the card better and there's no excuse for crappy packing. But the fact is the card wasn't damaged regardless of the packing. The card was damaged by the buyer. If you're the seller, how do you get made whole too now that your card is ripped (packing issues aside)?

I agree. The seller got it into your hands undamaged, from what you're telling us, so his responsibility, and that of the carrier, ends there. From that point forward, it's a matter of taking personal responsibility for not being more careful.

All cards I've received have had some sort of protection, but I am always very careful to make sure the card is nowhere near where I am opening the envelope. Same when I receive letters, and orders that may contain checks inside.

Just curious, did the lack of protection result in any other damage, like a crease or damage to the corners? I'm wondering if an expensive card shipped that way did in fact arrive completely undamaged. I'd still say you were responsible for the rip though...

[midmo]

Let's see this card. Go ahead and ruin our weekend!

[markf31]

Originally Posted by midmo

Let's see this card. Go ahead and ruin our weekend!

Pictures of the card and the envelope/packing would go a long way in helping us get a better idea of the situation at hand.