Fedex Refund: If so, who should it go to?

If a FedEx delivery that is guaranteed to be there by a specific time (10:30am in this case) is late by a 1/2 hour or more do they refund the shipping fee? If so, should that fee be refunded by the seller to the buyer who paid the shipping and is the one who had to wait for the delivery?

Is there a standard practice among sellers for this?

Buyer gets refunded shipping. I don't think FedEx refunds, but ShipYourReptiles does. The only time I can consider an instance when the seller would keep the refund, is if it was labeled "free shipping" or it was a replacement animal in which the shipping came out of the sellers profit.

Originally Posted by Focal

Buyer gets refunded shipping. I don't think FedEx refunds, but ShipYourReptiles does. The only time I can consider an instance when the seller would keep the refund, is if it was labeled "free shipping" or it was a replacement animal in which the shipping came out of the sellers profit.

Interesting... What if the buyer asked if the price is including shipping? or a "is that price shipped" situation. If the price of the item was $500 shipped , and shipping fees are easily determined, wouldn't a local buyer reasonably expect a lower price for a pick up? The seller clearly will be paying a fee to ship the item and the buyer is paying those fees.

Is this different than your "free shipping" example?

Originally Posted by BillZ

If a FedEx delivery that is guaranteed to be there by a specific time (10:30am in this case) is late by a 1/2 hour or more do they refund the shipping fee? If so, should that fee be refunded by the seller to the buyer who paid the shipping and is the one who had to wait for the delivery?

Is there a standard practice among sellers for this?

If FedEx refunds, it should go to the buyer, IMO. They don't always refund, it depends on the circumstances.

Originally Posted by BillZ

Interesting... What if the buyer asked if the price is including shipping? or a "is that price shipped" situation. If the price of the item was $500 shipped , and shipping fees are easily determined, wouldn't a local buyer reasonably expect a lower price for a pick up? The seller clearly will be paying a fee to ship the item and the buyer is paying those fees.

Is this different than your "free shipping" example?

I would consider a shipped price as the buyer paying shipping. The "free shipping" would just be a loophole that I imagine could be used.

So, would you say that the buyers only way of knowing if the seller was refunded the shipping is if the seller tells them, or is there another way for the buyer to get this information? Would anyone think it unprofessional and dishonest for a breeder. respectable or new to the scene, to keep this information to themselves and keep the refunded shipping fees or is this an acceptable policy?

In my opinion if it's $500 Shipped, the seller gets to keep the shipping.

If its $500 plus shipping, the buyer gets the shipping back if a refund is sought.

Fed ex will refund you if the package is late, unless there is an "Exception" in the tracking thread like Bad weather, or airline delays etc.

I would say that if the buyer paid a shipping fee on top of the price of the animal the buyer would be entitled to the refund. If the price was x shipped then the seller could keep the refund (basically the same as free shipping) If there is a refund by fed ex and the seller is entitled to keep it I don't see why he should have to tell the buyer but if the buyer is entitled it would be dishonest for the seller not to disclose a refund.

On a side note, if it was x plus shipping and the buyer did not like the animal and wanted a refund he would just get x (no shipping refunded). If it were x shipped and the buyer wanted a refund he should get the entire amount. That is where the trade off comes in.

FedEx is not going to say, Gee - we were a little late on this one, so we're going to credit your account; so the shipper is going to have to pursue it. Personally, I wouldn't be going after a refund on a half hour late delivery...save that for REAL delays.

I bought some snakes for a 'shipped' price, carrier delay caused the arrival to be a day late. I assumed the seller could go back to FedEx for a refund but I didn't ask about it and wouldn't have expected the seller to automatically send that refund to me.