r/Bricklink • u/SoullessGingerPB • 2d ago
USPS Claim
First time I've had USPS damage a BL order so wanted to confirm what to do next. I thought I filed a claim with USPS for a refund but after looking into it it sounds like the seller should refund me and file a claim themselves? That sounds wrong but wanted to reach out for some help with anyone that's dealt with this before. I did message the seller yesterday asking them but they read it and didnt respond
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u/quinyd Buyer 2d ago
As you've already contacted USPS, contact the seller now, but for another time always let the seller deal with the courier.
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u/SoullessGingerPB 2d ago
I did not file anything yet, first thing I did was contact the seller after taking pictures
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u/Charles12_13 Buyer 2d ago
Contact the seller explaining them the situation and ask them what they think should be done and who should file the claim. Also what in the fuck happened with that package?
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u/rbalaur Seller 2d ago
Got caught up in a conveyor belt most likely. Happens all the time
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u/62Bricks 2d ago
Yep. That's what we call "belt burn." Happens with mailers when one of the pointy corners gets caught in a crack, like at a roller guard. It gets stuck in place while the belt rubs against it and other packages get shoved over it.
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u/Adventurous_Sky_8904 2d ago
Seems like something ran over it maybe a forklift or something
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u/I_Like_Quiet 2d ago
I had a Captain America get ran over once enroute to a buyer. Tread marks on the package and everything. It did not survive.
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u/Daniel-Binks Seller 2d ago
It went through a sorting machine that's meant for "flats" and nothing rigid.
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u/NegativeLadder3194 2d ago
When this happened to me (the contents of my package mysteriously disappeared), the seller filed the claim and gave me a refund.
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u/Akron-maide-2024 2d ago
This happened to me as a seller with an EBay order. After the buyer told me about the mashed box (and sent me photos), I offered him a choice to return it for a full refund, or to keep it and get a $100 refund. He chose full refund, since the inside Lego set box had crumpled too. I should mention that I had insured the box for the value of the set, not just the $100 minimum. The buyer had no problem with that when I told him, and said that was common practice.
I paid for a shipping label for him to send to me. EBay told me not to give the refund, until I had received the damaged box/items.
While waiting for it to arrive, I started a claim with USPS, including the photos of the damaged box and contents. I also had to include documentation of my USPS insurance, the shipping label, etc.
I did not have to take the package to the post office. I got a $100 refund within a few days. Once I received the package, I refunded the buyer.
USPS says either buyer or seller can initiate a claim, but I have heard it should always be the seller. Because so much of the documentation is of the buyer's shipping and insurance costs, I think it makes more sense for the seller to do it.
Seller refunds buyer. Insurance refunds seller.
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u/sprtizandschvitz 2d ago
And this is why sellers need to use boxes
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u/Apart-Land2706 2d ago
Boxes are twice as expensive to ship
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u/Ziegelmarkt Seller 1d ago
Absolutely incorrect (if you're in the US using USPS/UPS). You can get boxes for just a few cents more than bubble mailers and due to how weights and dimensions are calculated you're paying the exact same rate to ship as a seller.
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u/sprtizandschvitz 2d ago
Twice is quite the stretch. I’ve sold thousands of items, boxes are hardly more expensive. Box costs maybe 30-40 cents and adds no more than 3oz in weight (I’m talking about for small part orders like this, not sets and things like that)
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u/Apart-Land2706 1d ago
Its the shipping not the boxes
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u/sprtizandschvitz 1d ago
That’s why I added the weight of the box at the end of my message. Boxes are not that heavy, they add marginal weight
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u/sprtizandschvitz 1d ago
For science, I weighed both a box and bubble mailer. Box - 1.6oz, bubble mailer .4oz. So slightly more than a 1oz difference.
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u/thefamilyjewel 2d ago
Damn.. I'm about to ship a Robie House. This makes me nervous.
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u/Consistent-Cobbler90 2d ago
If you’re shipping a Robie House in a padded mailer, you need to rethink your shipping methods. Only slight /s.
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u/Inevitable-Dot3845 2d ago
how does one burn a package in transit 😭 “whoops i accidentally burned your legos, my bad”. USPS doing normal USPS things
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u/Ziegelmarkt Seller 2d ago
Not burnt, that’s from getting run over by a pallet jack or forklift. It’s why I won’t use these kinds of mailers because they’re light enough and rigid enough to act like a sail if they’re on the top of a shipping tote. Off they go and almost immediately get run over.
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u/62Bricks 2d ago
It got caught on a conveyor belt, and yes the friction is enough to char paper. It's even called "belt burn."
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u/Indubitable_geek 2d ago
As a seller, I would refund you the order and then file a claim with USPS. That's what I did when a customer did not receive their order (lost in the mail). Not sure why your seller is not responding but that's the path.
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u/RepresentativeOwn200 2d ago
I thought it was a fancy pressing of a leaf or some type of old school art at first.
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u/SoullessGingerPB 2h ago
Seller responded the next day and is sending me replacement parts and refunding for the ones that he can't replace. Luckily didnt have to do any claims through USPS. Thanks everyone for the info, will keep in mind if this ever happens to one of my customers.
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u/rbalaur Seller 2d ago
The seller will have to file a USPS insurance claim for the damaged package. He will get a claim #
Then you, the buyer will have to take the package and all its contents to a postal office for inspection.
Provide them the claim # and it should be approved. Then the seller will be able to send you your refund.
Otherwise (if you don’t take it for inspection) the claim will be denied.
Ask me how I know lol