Looking for Opinions

[rifon2]

double post

 

[Darkfin]

Sears and other merchants are generally more expensive than knives sold among collectors here, so if they have one in 100 lost in the mail, they have already covered their cost of replacement.

What I see happening if the seller is always 100% liable is the addition of $5+ to every knife shipped to pay for insurance (or UPS/FedEx). Thus the bottom line is that buyers here will end up getting less bang for their buck--they will be paying up front every time as opposed to risking 1 in 100.

...and yet another postal employee has a brand new knife to play with....:thumbdn:

 

[Any Cal.]

I have sold quite a bit on other forums. When I do, I make it clear that my responsibility ends once the product goes in the mail. I add delivery confirmation to every package so that there is proof I sent it, as well as proof that it was delivered.

Understandably the buyer has to provide payment. Period. The seller has to send the package. Period. As far as insurance, they buyer is more than welcome to ante up the difference in cost if they are uncomfortable with the risks. There is little reason a hobbyist seller needs to pay for insurance. They are often loosing money on the item in the first place.

As far as reimbursement for a problem w/ no insurance...if it was not important enough for the buyer to pay for it, they must not have been too worried about the risk. Most all sellers will add insurance if the buyer requests it and is willing to pay. If they are not willing to pay for it, they have to accept the results. After the package is lost is not the time to get all worrisome and wish you had paid the extra couple dollars.

I would not hold a seller responsible if there was proof they had shipped an item, especially for a 30 dollar item.

 

[Jim G.]

rifon2,
If your friend took money for a knife he is now a merchant. If the knife was lost and the value was only 30.00 as you say then it is automatically covered. You only need to buy insurance if the value is over a certain amount. It is the senders responsibility to institute the claim with the shipper weather USPS or UPS or Fedx the buyer is unable to iniate claims.

 

[rifon2]

rifon2,
If your friend took money for a knife he is now a merchant.

I don't think that's accurate.

Someone who takes money once or twice - or only very occasionally - IMO is not a "merchant".
It's got to be someone who is, shall we say, "in the business".


FWIW, I found this definition for a "merchant" in the UCC:

§ 2-104. Definitions: "Merchant"...

(1) Merchant" means a person that deals in goods of the kind
or otherwise holds itself out by occupation as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction...


Now, that's some real "legalese", but it seems to me that the definition is saying that a "merchant' is a person who "deals" more than occasionally
with a particular type of goods.

If the knife was lost and the value was only 30.00 as you say then it is automatically covered.

By whom?

It is the senders responsibility to institute the claim with the shipper weather USPS or UPS or Fedx the buyer is unable to iniate claims.

IIRC, I think this is true but I'm not sure.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

I'm not an expert on this stuff by any means!


I'd really like to hear or find some definitive answer, but in the meantime I'm glad Darkfin did the poll so at least we can
get a sense of what people are looking for and expecting in this area.

 

[Cougar Allen]

I'd really like to hear or find some definitive answer

Isn't that clear yet? If the parties agree that the seller will only be responsible for delivery to the post office and that will fulfill his obligations, that is a legal contract. (Sometimes people here do that, when the transaction crosses international borders and a seller is not willing to take the risk that it will make it all the way to the buyer, and the buyer is willing to take that risk. That's the only way members in some countries can buy knives.)

If the parties have not agreed to such a contract, no such contract is in effect.

 

[NY Marksman]

I Never, Ever ship anything I have sold without insuring it for at least what it will cost to replace the item with a new one, even if I sell an item for considerably less then what the original cost was. For the few extra dollars it cost it insures that one way or another neither the buyer or I will end up on the losing end of a transaction.