Sorry for replying to my own comment but wanted to add that I would also deduct the cost of shipping from the refund.
3 Likes
If it was damaged during shipping I would expect that the cardboard box would have been torn up, and if I got a box delivered to me that was torn up I would take photos of it before I opened it. (I did this once, for a saddle trial, and while the box was torn up pretty good the saddle was fine.)
Not very helpful, I know, but common sense is stacked up pretty high on the side of the buyer lying. It’s hard to imagine how saddle leather can break without box damage.
2 Likes
Personally, I couldn’t let someone off the hook for damage that was most likely their doing.
Going forwards, I’d ask for photos or something in writing declaring the item was received intact immediately upon buyer’s receipt of the item … like, the day they get it. You can even do so under the guise of, “I’ve been having issues with shipping resulting in damages and want to confirm you’ve received this product in the same condition it was sent in.”
9 Likes
I would deduct shipping costs, for sure.
I’d ask them why they oiled a saddle that arrived damaged and ask if they’d like to tell you how the damage actually happened.
How did they pay? Sometimes Paypal will side with the buyer, sometimes the seller but it might take a lot of correspondence to make it happen.
I had someone use a saddle fitter to adjust a saddle that was on trial and then sent it back some issues. I didn’t figure it out until I sent it to the next buyer and in that case, just dropped the price to get it gone. It was probably at a similar price point (older saddle) and it wasn’t worth the hassle of repairing it.
Buyers can truly suck. That’s why I stopped selling saddles (for the most part).
3 Likes
I don’t sell online, but I do buy: eBay, PayPal.
If you deal through an intermediary like those, could you contact them before you deal with the buyer?
State your case & see what they advise.
IIWM, I’d be tempted to offer Buyer a 50% refund with the explanation that damage was not caused by shipping & item is now unsaleable.
2 Likes
This!
They could’ve described or sent photos of the damage upon receipt- if that was actually the case. But questioning why would they oil something that arrived broken is a good point. If there was dry rot that wasn’t visible and didn’t cause an issue til rider was in the stirrups (if I’m envisioning the description of damage correctly) that would be a different situation.
Do take screen shots of the original listing and the chat thread though, first. I believe people can either retract their messages, or can disable their profile on FB which would leave just about one-sided marketplace-archived chat.
2 Likes
I am not seeing the big deal if this is an english saddle? As leathers are easily replaceable?
If western I can see it would be a more expensive fix to have a new leather piece installed so it could be used but you didn’t specify.
No matter what, I don’t think you should have to pay for fixing it when it is obviously not due to shipping but more likely buyer error / damage.
Get a repair estimate ( if western), take pictures and send both to buyer and deduct the cost and give them back the difference.
Maybe put something in a sales / trial contract from here on out?
1 Like
I thought it was in the first post…? 
Oh, yeah, right here.
3 Likes
So, because I sold through Facebook I’m pretty well protected if they try to get their money back by making a claim. So if I refund, that’s totally up to me.
The conversation just got weirder as it went on. The guy claimed that he spent 2 hours oiling it after getting it (which, uh, what?? Why would you oil a broken saddle? Why would it take you two hours?) Then complained that it was a size 13 (even though that’s what the listing size said).
I sent photos showing the stirrup leather in good condition from before it shipped and showing what it looked like now, and said that I didn’t understand why he didn’t immediately contact me when the item arrived broken and instead took the stirrups off and oiled it. And that the damage could not have been caused during shipping.
I then offered him 3 options; a 50% refund, the option to pay to ship it back to him with no refund, or to take it to Facebook mediations and they will decide.
He didn’t answer with what he wanted to do, and instead started demanding that I video chat with him. I said I would not be doing that.
I haven’t received a response and it’s been over 24h. I also haven’t received notice from Facebook asking for documentation yet. If I had to guess, he broke the saddle and thought the could scam me like many people scam amazon.
17 Likes
I’m glad you’re fighting him! Only once did I have something damaged in shipping–a desk, where a chunk of cardboard had been ripped off, resulting in the surface of the desk getting banged up and dinged. You better believe I was on the phone immediately to complain, and taking photos of the desk in the ripped box, arranging for it to be shipped back and a replacement, not putting the damaged desk together and cleaning it with oil soap!
5 Likes
I’m glad you are fighting him, too. I tried a used saddle through a tack shop. The post office dented the corner of the box which put a ding in the cantle during the return shipping. The tack shop deducted the cost of the repair from my refund, which was fair. I had insured it so I eventually got the cost of the repair back but I understood completely why the tack shop deducted that cost. Stand your ground.
7 Likes
I completely missed that. Forgive me, I am raising kittens…( how long can I use that as an excuse ??).
2 Likes
I’m wondering if they tried to adjust the length of the stirrup leather and used something sharp to move the “gizmo”one uses to adjust stirrup length on a western saddle.
1 Like
100%. Sounds like his plan was to try and railroad or pressure you into agreeing to what he wanted in a video chat since the email route wasn’t getting him his desired outcome. So glad you’re sticking to your guns on this.
What a d!ck.
4 Likes
