You don't owe the seller any favors given that he did not pack it (1) the way he stated in the auction that he would, and (2) well enough to survive reasonably expected handling.

Why not simply file a SNAD case with eBay, let them decide in your favor and send you a post-paid return label, and then once the tracking number shows it was delivered back to the seller, they will refund your bid and original shipping payment.

Let the seller deal with the P.O.; after all he's the one whose fault this is.

I thought you might be interested in seeing the reply I received from the seller when I first reported the damage. Apparently he thought a "FRAGILE" warning written on the box meant he could skimp on packing and they would give it special handling. Unfortunately this seems to be the prevailing thinking out there.

Quote:
I am sorry to read what happened. That is terrible, I never had something like this before.
I just mailed a computer the same way, thick bubble-wrapped in a cushioned box, arrived without a scratch. They must have thrown it around or dropped it. I will go first thing Monday morning to our post office and find out how to proceed with the insurance claim. Perhaps it will help if you could send me a few pics from the damage.
Did the antenna unit survive? I know you were mostly interested in that.
Sorry again - Breaks my heart, it was a real nice "surviver". I had the whole thing carefully wrapped and tightly taped up, then extra cushioning was between the wrap and the box, there was no play for it. It said FRAGILE on it. If they had handled it normally that could not have happened.

"Normal" handling for a small parcel included a drop of 5' on to any side or corner, and a stationary weight of 250# on top of the parcel. If a package is not so packed as to withstand these stresses, insurance will not pay.

The fellow has had items make through the system. Well, as they say, Providence looks out for Babes and Fools.

If I had a nickel for every item received broken and for which I got that line from the seller...

This one had the plastic box/ rabbit ears antenna on the back which is actually what I was after and that part survived. I was going to fix the TV to work again and re-list it but those plans have certainly changed. You don't see the antenna attachment very often.

Greg

Update:

The seller filed a damage claim with the USPS and I was really surprised when a check for the full amount including shipping arrived about 10 days afterwards. I expected a long processing delay followed with an evental denial so this was totally unexpected. The TV was destroyed due to insufficient packing protection but I will keep it for parts and look for another. Since few of these old TV's still work I thought I might try my hand at TV repair but this one is more of a challenge than I am looking for.

Greg

See, I said the Post Office would pay and you might get to keep the parts.


Hang onto the thing and wait for another to show up. Someone put some work into the recap and the chassis might work just fine.

John

This is an easy one . You as a buyer from ebay have all the rights . All you have to do is go into your paypal and get your money back .

Didn't he just say that he got an insurance check from the P.O.? I doubt he can get a double dip from PayPal as well.

Yes, I got a settlement check from the PO so will not have to file a Buyer Protection claim now.

I have previous experience with both FedEx and UPS usual claims denials but this was my first shipping damage with the PO so I didn't know what to expect. I had heard it takes months for them to respond and I was concerned about the 45 day limit for filing Buyer Protection. I thought you more experienced folks here would know what would likely happen and how to handle it and as it turned out your advice was very helpful.

Since the seller filed a claim right away I decided to give the PO 30 days and if I had not heard from them by then I was going to file Buyer Protection. I must say I was really surprised they paid the entire claim so quickly especially considering the poor packing job.

I recall a retired Judge posting a reply to a thread about shipping claims a while back. He said if a damage claim came up before him in his court he would rule in favor of the plaintiff regardless of packaging quality. He said when the shipper offers to insure against damage or loss and accepts a premium he automatically agrees to accept the packaging.

Thanks all!
Greg