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Refunding shipping costs?

S

Sexy Scales

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Well, I am in need of opinions... I shipped an animal out via USPS and (shock) it was late. This basically means that I get refunded the $30 (huge box, which is the reason it didn't go via UPS). Since the buyer paid for the gecko and $35 for shipping, should she get the money back?? She hasn't asked and has been quite wonderful about everything, but I just don't know what's fair. I spend more than the $35 between insulated box, heat packs, and I threw in some extra insulating materials since it was going very north. Point of that, if I just cover my costs, I'd be refunding like $20 or so... Just don't know what to do on this one. Like I said, the buyer hasn't asked for any money back and actually told me to make sure I get my money back from USPS, but the whole conscience thing... What would you all do?

Thanks guys,
Erin
 
Erin.... this is a very easy one to answer.... your customer paid for the shipping (in one way or another).... the money belongs to HER!.... There are times in this biz when you just have to bite the bullet and do the right thing.... even if it means you lose money.... but, you're not out anything???.... If the package arrived on time, you wouldn't have gotten that money back to begin with??.... Why should YOU benefit from that??
Rule of thumb.... when in doubt, side with the customer!.... You will be a HERO in their eyes!

....Neil
 
Neil,
I wasn't really questioning if they should be refunded, just how much. My point was that I spend basically $15 on just packing the little sucker up. I decided that the cost of actual shipping ($30) would be fair... that way I'd only be out $10 on the whole thing and most people get boxes for $5 (I had a lot of extra stuff in there to keep the kid warm). Thanks for your $.02 though... you usually have pretty good business ideas ;) And if you think it's wrong to keep the $5, feel free to let me know (as I'm sure you will).

Thanks :)

Erin
 
Erin.... keep the $5 as a tip for being honest!.... The point is.... whatever you charged them for SHIPPING ONLY!!, is the amount you should return.... in other words, whatever amount of money was returned to you, should go to them.... no more, no less!.... Does that help??

....Neil
 
Neil, not that I agree or disagree with you but here are my thoughts.

I have never asked for the money back when it wnet the other way. I've had more then a couple of shipments go bad and have helped the people get a credit to their account to keep. I've also had a few go the other way when I was the shipper and had the person call me and tell me the box got their late and to get a refund.

For this reason and because it's never come into play as to who would get the funds I've always had the shipper keep the refund.

I see your side to that but I would say, well I don't know. I see your point I juat haven't ever asked for the money or had anybody even willing to accept it from me.

I could see if the animal/s didn't get their alive but if they do I just looked at it like I got the animals shipped to me and that's what I paid for so why should I get a refund?

Adam Block

PS I wouldn't loose money, take what it cost you and send the rest to the other person.
 
I could see if the animal/s didn't get their alive but if they do I just looked at it like I got the animals shipped to me and that's what I paid for so why should I get a refund?
Click to expand...

Much like it has always been said that people paid for live animals, they also pay to have them delivered where and when they should be.

If you tell a customer that a shipment will arrive on a certain date and it does not, you refund that shipping money because they did not get the shipping that they paid for, even if it was a carrier mistake.

I may not be taking days off work to get shipments in... You might not be either Adam... but many people do make signifigant arrangements prior to having an animal sent, often taking unpaid abscence days from their place of employment.

I know shipping items on time is a foreign concept to you (Mostly joking here) but others do try to make it a point to deliver when they are supposed to.
 
I agree with the others. The buyer should receive whatever amount is refunded to you. They were inconvenienced (even if it wasn't your fault) and they didn't get what they paid for (timely shipping.)
Like Neil said...if the buyer isn't expecting a refund they will probably think very highly of you when you suprise them. Happy customers keep coming back and bring friends...that alone is worth $30
:)

Chris Raden
 
$30 is cheap advertizing for being a great, honest, and trustworthy seller when this buyer spreads the word around about you!!
Click to expand...

Ha!! That one is a joke! I gave away 75 snakes this year and it was the worst advertising dollars I've ever spent. I don't mind, they were given to many first time buyers and I wasn't looking for anything in return.

I do agree, for the most part with you all. I'm only saying, it's happend to me maybe 6 times a snake didn't get here on time. Not once did I even think that was my money or that it was owed to me. I always made sure to let the shipper know so they could get their refund.

As I said, I agree with you all I just never saw it from this point.

Adam Block
 
Well, the folks got the $30 no problem and sent an e-mail back...

"Thanks for the refund, we didn't expect to get so much back :). "

Guess it just goes to show that even though they didn't ask for anything back, they expected something... I think that's how most good customers are. They probably don't want to ask for the money back, but really, really hope to get it. Just thought I'd let everyone know how the whole thing ended. I think I've just adopted a new shipping policy :)

There is one more thing to bring up though... If you advertise something for $100 shipped (as an example) and it doesn't get there on time, then what happens to the shipping money? Same thing? Didn't know if you'd consider it any different since they didn't specifically pay for shipping. Just looking for opinions on that one as it isn't currently an issue.

Thanks guys :)

Erin
 
Erin,

you made your customers happy. Good on ya!!! I have never had anyone want a refund of shipping before on late packages, but if they ever did, they would get the full amount I charged them(including material costs). I would consider the lost $5-10 on shipping supplies that goes into one of my boxes as a cost of doing business and keeping my customers happy. But like I said, never had THAT problem before.

As far as the whole $100/shipped thing goes, that is kind of an oddball situation. It could go either way so easily. In most cases the shipping costs are calculated into the price initially, so no matter what, the customer IS paying the shipping, whether they realize it or not. I guess it just depends on how you view it. You could see it either as the seller has the shipping fees rolled into the price or that the seller is doing you a service by eating the shipping costs(even though we know this is pretty much never the case, but who knows?). Besides not shipping anymore for now, I would simply avoid the whole "$100/shipped" thing from now if I was me. I have used it before, but people ALWAYS got confused and still asked how much shipping was. It was TOO tempting to try and double charge them(of course shipping was calculated in my price to begin with). lol Also, should something go wrong and they want a shipping refund, that could get real ugly real fast with both sides arguing different ways, and neither one really being right or wrong.

Basically, my opinion is that, although it may be easy to type "$100/shipped" in place of "$70 plus $30 shipping," it isn't worth the possible risk of a customer dispute with shipping costs. If you spell it out at the beginning, they KNOW exactly what they are paying for on all sides.

And hey Erin, when you coming back through town? I've still got some tequila that needs drinkin'!!! lol
 
I hadn't thought about this but. I paid the shipping on 90% of the snakes I sold this year. I didn't look at it like they were paying shipping someplace in the price. Many of the times I would list a snake for say $100 plus shipping. If I was motivated to sell the animal but felt it was worth every penny of the $100 I would just say $100 shipped. This to me felt as if I was still getting the $100 for the animal but I was paying the shipping.

That really could go either way but I've never listed a snake at a shipped price and felt like the shipping was in the price. I would always look at it like I was giving them FREE shipping. I see the point either way but I thought I'd give you my view. Many times I'd even listed an animal for a price thinking I would pay the shipping but forgetting to list it as such. When the people asked what shipping would be they were happy to hear me say "I'll pay the shipping".

It was TOO tempting to try and double charge them
Click to expand...

Good for you for saying that Rob! I've been there, god have I been there. LOL

Adam Block
 
My 2 cents

In a situation where shipping was guaranteed to arrive on a certain date but didn't, I would either refund the difference in cost for the shipping service they should have received and the shipping service they got, or send whatever refund I received from the shipping company back to the customer. I think either of these options are fair and would be considered so for the customer (I know I would be happy to receive either if I were the customer).

Just my 2 cents:)
 
I think I'm going with Rob on this one... No more shipped prices! I've only done it a few times, but can see the huge pain in the honkus it has the ability to become. Anytime I've done that, I've gone ahead and thrown the shipping costs into the price I was willing to take, so I felt like there was still the built in $35.

Also, I wanted to comment on refunding what the actual shipping cost were. I wanted to add, up to the full cost of shipping paid. I've ended up shipping boxes (that arrived on time) that were over $35 just to get them there... I don't see me refunding more than the $35 should one ever be late.

Rob, how about for your birthday? I'll pay for our "visit" and you can supply the tequila to make us feel better afterwards :)


Erin
 
I've ended up shipping boxes (that arrived on time) that were over $35 just to get them there... I don't see me refunding more than the $35 should one ever be late.
Click to expand...

Working off the assumption that all the animals arrive alive and outwardly healthy enough to ignore any potential problems from being shipped improperly (Carrier fault, not yourse)...

What if you end up sending a shipment via a more expensive carrier (i.e.- Delta Dash) and you charge the customer (as you should) the cost of the shipping? If they paid $200 to get something sent to them and Delta ships it to an Arctic research post before realizing their mistake and sending it where it belongs, would you still refund only $35?

My personal belief is that they paid for both the contents of the package (live, healthy properly represented animal) as well as the service of getting it to them in a reasonable and preset time frame. If that service is not provided, they deserve a refund of the monies paid for that service equal to their full payment for it. If it ends up costing $38 for a slightly heavier package, they get back $38. If it costs $150 to send a large snake through Delta, they get back $150. It's not good business to assign an arbitrary number that -you- think shipping is worth and refund no more than that regardless of what was actually paid.
 
ROFLMAO!!

QUOTE BY ADAM
...I do agree, for the most part with you all. I'm only saying, it's happend to me maybe 6 times a snake didn't get here on time...
END QUOTE

Adam.... YOU'RE bitching because YOU didn't get something on time???.... lmao

Now THAT'S FUNNY!!!

You should have put that reply on the "Just for Laughs" section!.... hahahaha

....Neil
 
Hmmm... did I just get a smidge of an attack? :) What I'm saying is that if the customer has paid $35 for shipping (as they all do for me since I'm not doing large snakes, hots, or expensive animals) and Shipping ends up costing me $40 then I've just sucked up $5 and made less than I had intended on the animal. If someone pays the price of the animals and $35 for shipping and the package happens to be late, if the shipping was going to be more than $35, I don't understand the point of having to give them back more money than they given me for shipping. I kind of see it as buying a shirt on sale for $20 and then taking it back when it isn't on sale and getting $25 back from the store... doesn't seem fair to me. Same goes for shipping, if you pay $35 for shipping, how do you get more back for late shipping? I feel like I've driven that into the ground. If I get to the point that I'm shipping very large, heavy animals or something that needs to get some skymiles, then I'll refund what the customer paid for shipping (like I would now).
 
I think what Erin is trying to say here is that if she charges her customers $35 for shipping, but she ends up having to pay let's say $40 to get the package shipped. She's eaten $5. Now, if it is late, she will refund the customer the $35 that they paid from the get-go. Why should they get an additional $5 if they did not pay for the extra $5 in the first place? Wouldn't that be giving away extra money for nothing? I mean really, if you paid $35 for shipping, and your animals arrived late, would you expect a refund for $40? No, you would expect back the $35 you paid.

I have been in the situation many times where I've had to come out of pocket on shipping, but I still always stuck with the same shipping price(unless it was just something exceptionally large) of $35. If it cost $45, oh well, I just eat the $10 as the cost of doing business and move on. If shipping cost me $25, then I made a couple of bucks that will be eaten up again the next time shipping is over the $35 price. If there is a problem in either situation, the customer will get back what they paid, $35. I see no reason to give them back MORE money if it cost me more, or give them back less if it cost me less.

Anyway, guess that is a ramble and a half there eh? lol

And Erin, yes I think we are both gonna need some tequila after the "visit." lol
 
Erin.... Maybe I was too vague the last time.... I'll break it down for you in these two scenarios....

1. If your ad says that this particular animal is $200 PLUS $35 shipping.... then YES, you owe them $35.... NO more NO less!!

You are actually telling them they they WILL PAY ONLY $35 for shipping their animal to them.... now, you know as well as I that sometimes you're charged a little less, and sometimes you're charged a little more, but, $35 is ALL you're charging THEM....

2. If your ad says that this particular animal is $235 shipped.... then YES, you owe them WHATEVER IT COST YOU TO SHIP!.... whether it be $35 or $135!!

Now, you're telling them that for $235, you will ship it to them no matter WHAT the cost!.... it's THAT simple....

Does that help??

....Neil
 
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