I need some advice

[ragetoca]

Sold a bass last week, buyer paid me through PayPal (I paid the fees) shipped the bass to buyer last Tuesday and the day before it was supposed to arrive he called UPS to have them hold it for him to pickup in person and to not deliver it to his house. Bass did arrive at the city where buyer lives.
But the bass somehow got"lost". UPS does not know where bass is and UPS is saying the label must have comed off the box (a sticker falling off a cardboard box seems very unlikely) and they think bass went to Kansas where all unlabeled shipments go. I have shipped at least 20 basses with UPS and nothing like this has happened before

I want to do the right thing but I feel like the buyer is somewhat at fault for changing the delivery type, and I am sure he thinks I am 100% responsible for his money. The bad think is that I did not buy insurance for the bass, if I file a claim UPS will send me $100. I don't know what to do. All UPS says is for me to file a lost item claim l. The bass is worth $2500

 

[Don Hergert]

Did you want this to be on the Double Bass side of TalkBass???

(If not, you can click on "Report" and request that it be moved where you want it.)

 

[31HZ]

Give it a week.

 

[Oddly]

I can't see how the buyer is at fault for the pickup change, assuming he did that before the package was out for delivery. This is on UPS. If you keep hassling them and find a sympathetic agent there you may get the bass located, but I'm sorry to say I wouldn't hold out much hope. A bitter lesson to learn about insurance.

 

[stingray78]

I have bought and sold a lot of basses over the last years, all over the internet. I have never shipped a bass without insurance and I frequently ask UPS to hold items for me. Hopefully the bass will show back up, I would give it a few days.

 

[Reedt2000]

ALWAYS buy the insurance. I know shipping is twice or better what it used to cost, but getting stuck for $2400 is much more costly. My understanding is that the bass is yours until it gets to the buyer, even if they asked it to be held for pickup.

 

[BASSDROID]

I have shipped a lot of instruments over the last few years (decades) and yes, shipping large items has become weird, expensive, and unreliable.

I have a couple of habits I developed long ago that might be useful next time...

1. Write the buyer's address in a prominent spot on the box in permanent marker. Then put the shipping label next to the written address.

2. Take digital photos of the packing process showing how the instrument was packed and also a picture of the box packed up and ready to go. That way you have some sort of documentation as to how it was packed.

Beyond that I concur, give it a few days see what happens. Not much can be done at this point.

 

[john_g]

I have shipped a lot of instruments over the last few years (decades) and yes, shipping large items has become weird, expensive, and unreliable.

I have a couple of habits I developed long ago that might be useful next time...

1. Write the buyer's address in a prominent spot on the box in permanent marker. Then put the shipping label next to the written address.

2. Take digital photos of the packing process showing how the instrument was packed and also a picture of the box packed up and ready to go. That way you have some sort of documentation as to how it was packed.

Beyond that I concur, give it a few days see what happens. Not much can be done at this point.

Good advice. If you are selling a $200 bass, I could see not getting insurance but $2500? And, no, its not the buyers fault.

 

[Slevage]

Insurance policies are legalized gambling.
You rolled the dice and lost.
Buyer is not at all responsible.

 

[laklandplayer]

See if PayPal has any means to assist you.

 

[Pep]

If the standard insurance doesn't cover replacement cost, ALWAYS BUY ADDITIONAL INSURANCE!
This is in no way this is the buyers fault. This is on UPS and if someone somehow realized what was in the box and decided to take it, you will eventually receive $100 from UPS as compensation.
Hopefully that won't be the case.
Also as someone suggested, contact PayPal for advice but I believe they will want you to wait.
Hoping for the best for you and the buyer.

 

[groooooove]

The bad think is that I did not buy insurance for the bass

the truth of the matter is, you gambled and lost.

there is always a chance the item pops up after a few weeks.

if i were you i'd negotiate a timeline with the buyer. if it's not resoled in a month you'll refund 100% of his money, something along these lines.

unless the bass turns up, im afraid you chose to self insure when you did not buy UPS insurance, which means you may have to take a big loss.

 

[ragetoca]

the truth of the matter is, you gambled and lost.

there is always a chance the item pops up after a few weeks.

if i were you i'd negotiate a timeline with the buyer. if it's not resoled in a month you'll refund 100% of his money, something along these lines.

unless the bass turns up, im afraid you chose to self insure when you did not buy UPS insurance, which means you may have to take a big loss.

Yes, I gambled ....hopefully they can find it soon! arggggg

 

[FatStringer52]

I'll add one more piece of advice to all of the excellent advice you have received above. Anytime you ship anything, especially expensive items, always include some type of invoice inside of the box. At a bare minimum it should include shipping date, shippers info (address) and recipients info (address). You can also include the price of the item and, if you generate your own shipping label or are able to include it prior to shipping, the tracking number. That way all of the required information can be found within when the item hits the "dead letter" bin.

Hopefully the bass is located and this doesn't become an expensive learning lesson for you.

 

[sawzalot]

Unfortunately this is not the buyer's fault. The delivery change is a supported service by UPS and should have worked. There would be no issue beyond annoyance if there had been insurance. On an item of this cost, always buy insurance, it's a very expensive gamble without it. I feel for you, sorry for your loss--hopefully in a week or a month they'll find it somewhere and get it where it's supposed to go.

 

[Potomuss]

What a nightmare. Hopefully the buyer is willing to give it a little time, and hopefully it shows up. Looks like all of the best advice for future shipments has been given, but I'll share my personal philosophy on insurance: Always insure anything that's worth more than I'm willing to lose.

 

[jnewmark]

The label fell off the package? Not the buyer's fault.

 

[Parzival]

I consider the insurance for damage. I'm sure it's lost or damaged, but in my mind, I shouldn't need insurance for something they lost. On damage the carrier could argue they didn't do it and thus insurance gives you a safety net. But lost, that's on them. There is a record of you giving them the package.

I would be a squeaky wheel with UPS until they made it right.

 

[Shenron]

A $2500 bass doesn't get 'lost', it gets stolen. If it doesn't show up, see if you can escalate the matter with UPS and threaten them with legal action (though I have no idea if you have any chance in the US at all with this sort of matters) because most likely it was stolen by someone working for them. Team up with the buyer on the escalating effort, which also makes sure the buyer is on your side (in the unlikely case he actually did get the bass and is pretending not to have it, perhaps showing your intention to involve the police might help him 'find' the bass).

 

[mikeoso]

A $2500 bass doesn't get 'lost', it gets stolen. If it doesn't show up, see if you can escalate the matter with UPS and threaten them with legal action (though I have no idea if you have any chance in the US at all with this sort of matters) because most likely it was stolen by someone working for them. Team up with the buyer on the escalating effort, which also makes sure the buyer is on your side (in the unlikely case he actually did get the bass and is pretending not to have it, perhaps showing your intention to involve the police might help him 'find' the bass).

UPS is who's saying it's lost. If the buyer had actually received the bass, UPS would show that in tracking. No way can buyer be "pretending not to have it".