This is actually horse related- I bought a bit from a shop in Germany, paid with PayPal. Package was shipped by mail, arrived here in reasonable time but it had been ripped open and bit removed, packing slip still in bag. There was a sticker from Canada Post over the rip saying that they had received it in damaged condition.
SO! Canada Post says the seller has to pursue a claim with Deutsche Post, Pay Pal says that purchase protection only covers fraud or non delivery, Ebay says they can’t do anything because I have an open case with PayPal. Seller says she has not been able to reach anyone at Deutsche Post to figure out what to do and PayPal /Ebay have frozen her account because I have opened a case about this. Of course I haven’t been able to speak to anyone live (so much for customer service), just text messaging from Canada Post, Ebay and PayPal.
I am wondering if anyone else has experienced theft of package contents, and if they managed to get compensated. It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but I am pissed off about the lack of response and responsibility! The PayPal case is automatically closed on Feb 25.
Thanks!
It might be a case of the packaging ripping because the contents are heavy and the material could not handle that, not so much that someone ripped it open to steal a bit.
Not that this helps your problem with not having what you paid for.
I have never had a package delivered without the contents . Either they are damaged heavily or they just never show at all. Sounds like someone at Canada Post has sticky fingers.
I am frustrated for you.
Since it’s a shop and not a private seller, it seems like the best customer service would be for them to send you a replacement and sort the insurance out themselves. I had an eBay package disappear last month and the seller sent a replacement promptly at no cost. Of course the replacement also disappeared but then they both reappeared and got delivered. Now I have the replacement sitting around waiting for a shipping label to send it back to them. Anyway, I’m not sure they have an obligation to do all that but if they are interested in repeat business and good feedback they certainly have that option… Not that me saying so helps you at all! Sorry and good luck!
Thank you all. The package was definitely opened, not an accident, and Canada Post received it in this condition. A bit seems like a weird thing to steal! The seller is unwilling to replace and as far as I can tell it was not insured. It was worth less than $100, and it looks like I will just have to swallow the loss.
Such a nuisance!
I am more experienced with eBay cases than PayPal, but I know enough about how they operate to make a couple of suggestions.
In future, if you have another eBay transaction problem, file your eBay case first. Two reasons. First, the eBay case window is 30 days after receipt whereas PayPal gives you 180 days. Second, as you found out, you can’t open an eBay case after a PayPal case, but you can open a PayPal case after eBay if they don’t rule in your favor.
I don’t think that PayPal will cover you (and I’m not sure that eBay would have, either) as the seller and at least one of the postal services did their job correctly- your claim is against the postal service. The only group that you could consider contacting that it doesn’t look like you have yet would be your credit card company, if that’s how you purchased. They may very well not cover you for the same reason that PayPal will not, but it’s worth a try.
Now, I will note here that pretty much any avenue that leads to you getting your money back leads to the seller not getting hers, but as an eBay seller myself, in my opinion, the right thing for the seller to do would be to refund you and pursue the issue with her postal service. That’s because she was the person who paid for a shipping service that ultimately did not get the job done, and because she bought the label, she also stands to be compensated for the loss via the insurance she hopefully took out, whereas you are not- insurance protects the person who bought the shipping label, not the person who receives the box. She isn’t obligated to do this and no one can make her do it but it’s what I’d do in her shoes, and if I were in YOUR shoes, I would ask her to do this.
Renn_aissaince- very helpful. I used my debit card with PayPal so no chance of getting credit card to cover the theft. I have used PayPal for years thinking I was protected but I didn’t read the fine print!
I have asked the seller to contact the post office in her town regarding an insurance claim twice now. She has stopped responding to me so I don’t I have much hope that she will follow through. I will contact her again but I think I am just SOL at this point.
What a frustrating situation! I had a dispute over a saddle that was misrepresented last year, and because I hit the wrong button (said it was too small rather than misrepresented) eBay would not force the seller to take it back. I actually found Paypal to be very helpful, but I called them (long hold time) and spoke to a representative. They refunded my money and forced the seller to take it back. You can reach a live person at Paypal, you just need to put aside enough time to deal with the hold times.
Even though you paid with a debit card, I’d call your bank to see if there’s anything they can do.
I agree that the seller should refund you as a best businesses practice. It’s disappointing that she has stopped responding to you.
Bogie- thank you. I tried several times to speak to a live person at PayPal and the message was always that the customer service people were too busy to talk but I could do a virtual chat and then they hung up. The virtual chat was clear that as it appears to be a mail theft they will not refund me and I should deal with the seller.
I will give the seller another day and then I will try PayPal again. It has gotten to the point that I am angry enough that I don’t want to let this slide!
If you paid with Paypal and even with ebay they generally rule in favor of the buyer. It is up to the seller to insure the package.
I remember being on hold for some time, but I called twice and got a live person both times. And both times they were very helpful. I was waiting for my refund and the second one had the authority to do it write then and there. I was out of pocket for close to $1K so was quite motivated.
A good news update- seller was reimbursed by German post office for the theft of the package contents, and I just received the replacement bit!
I have never bought anything through PayPal but have done decades of shipping if the product is sold FOB (free on board or freight on board) which is a designation that is used to indicate when liability and ownership of goods is transferred from a seller to a buyer.
Once the product leaves the seller’s hands, if sold FOB, it is the buyer’s responsibility to insure the shipment.
I don’t know if that is even an option on ebay or PP. But their terms of service puts the seller in charge of the value of the item. If they don’t insure it they will have to refund the money themselves. I pretty much insure everything over $5. I usually have built enough into the shipping charges (or item price if Free Shipping) to cover the insurance cost. I see FOB on catalog orders like from Jeffers but I have never had to pay insurance on anything like that and never had a problem with the company replacing anything lost or broken. (Well I’ve never had a freight shipment lost) When I bought a saddle though I did pay for insurance on that.
The package contents were stolen when in the custody of the post office. Post Office automatically insures package up to a certain amount and sender can buy extra insurance if they like. The problem was that the sender has to make the insurance claim, and she was MIA for awhile. However, all’s well that ends well. 
