The drama continues on the shipping of my 3.0/6

I need some advice on this, I also need an impartial view.

I bought a 3.0 disassembled core engine and a set of Malhe pistons off of a guy on the bird, guy has many posts and part sales, etc. Everything when well on the sale, I asked the right questions, etc...then it started to get F/Ued.

First he screwed up on the shipping quote and it cost him more than he expected, but I was tapped out so I told him if he needed more shipping coin he would have to refund the piston coin, upon that suggestion the parcels were shipped right away.

He did a lousy job of packing the NIB pistons and some minor damage happened and a ring was broke. On top of that the crank was not as described and would require a grind and ultra expensive OS bearings.
I worked with the guy on this and he shipped me a new ring (drop shipped from Pelican) and a std/std crank (USPS).
I wasn't 100% happy but I felt he did do his best to fix the issue, short of a refund.

I never got the package (tube) with the crank, it split open (in the USA, never even made it to the border) and now the crank is MIA and most likely damaged anyways.
He sent it in some kind of tube with a pressed in metal end, one end popped off and the crank is missing.
He has a claim in, (but he under insured it I didn't ask for this) I don't think it's intentional, just packing stupidity. first the pistons (that he did get me a new goetz ring) now he's (USPS) lost the crank.

I don't know what to say, none of this is my fault, how long is this going to take?
Don't know if he'd give me some crank coin back, or how much to ask....

I didn't really want to deal with this on the open forum as I doubt if there would be a winner, but as JP said to me "I don't think it could get much worse". It could/can and I have to say I have been very good at being polite. He's crying that he's now losing about $1k on the deal...but what about me???? I paid good coin for this mess....

The real shitty part is I bet I won't get the car done this year, I'd have a better chance to get my '67 bug done and for that I have to assemble the whole car and the engine, plus rebuild the tranny.....
So I might be jack standing the 914 for another year or more if I go ahead on the bug.

Sorry to spew

P. S. for Dr. Evil, I guess I finally pooped out those horseshoes.

Mark, I feel you actually I am about to take same jump with a guy on same site. Could you pm me the name or contact of the guy your dealing with? I hate dirty laundry with names on it publicly but woud like to know because sounds like the same reputable gentlemen I am closing a deal with currently. And like you I am tieing up money that would kill my projects and bank account.

The best solution probably is to not give up on a solution with this guy, also you can try return the whatever you did get and use your payment source hopefully in a charge back, but these deals of honor sometimes realy heavily on that and before they are finished no one thinks the unthinkable.. Joe

Personal opinion: He needs to learn how to pack things for shipping. Everything you describe has been his fault, therefore his responsability to refund/replace. Reinforce this to him, and remind him you are on a schedule that HE has screwed up. He needs to deal with it and stop whining.

PS: Don't be afraid of letting the rest of us know if we may have problems dealing with this guy.

I have had the same experiences with many purchases in the past. Here's my opinion:
Shipping quotes: The Ebay system, for instance, uses commercial rates that you cannot get yourself if you use your local pack & ship to send stuff to a buyer, so as a seller you are immediately screwed by the Ebay shipping quotes. But, there are also Ebay sellers that use UPS quotes for small items and then ship using a cheaper method (USPS) and don't refund the difference. Since the sale is based on purchase price + shipping, it's not unreasonable for the seller to ask you for actual shipping as long as he acted in good faith to ship the stuff at a competitive price.
I had a douche on this site sell me some interior door panels and then wanted $98 to ship them from CA to IL. That's not good faith, and that sale was refunded.
Missing/Damaged shipments: This is entirely the sellers responsibility. The shipping companies will not even accept a damage claim from the recipient, only from the shipper so it's his responsibility to deal with it. If the stuff is MIA he has to refund the money for the item and make his loss claim with the shipper.

Unfortunately, I've never taken pictures of the boxes I've built to ship cranks & rods. In retrospect it would have been a public service to guys on both ends of this type of deal. I thought everybody took as much care as I do to ship a awkward/heavy item.....of course, you need a table saw, glue, screws, a selection of woods..... and design brilliance.

All of the shippers have no control of their peoples handling of packages, if it's light enuff to throw, it will get thrown. If it's heavy, it will get dropped. Big guys will try to throw the heavy stuff..(it's a macho thing).It's up to we sellers to insure it will get there undamaged...short of a plane/truck/railroad crash.

As I told, Mark, I was visualizing a crank bouncing across the concrete...complete with sound track.

HE'S losing money because HE chose to cheap out on the packaging. Not your problem. If he had spent $15 more and got good packaging he wouldn't be losing "$1k".

I agree and it was my position that he was at fault the first time around.
I thought it odd that it was in a tube, he said he's sending pic's of the package. He's convinced that someone opened it, but a crank shooting out of a tube doesn't sound good. I would have double boxed it at minimum.
I sold my 94mm Type 4 nickies for this core and I shipped them to Europe without a scratch.

The crank may turn up acording to the USPS, but banging around bare it might be fuched anyways. I would demand a full inspection before re-shipping for sure.

What would be a reasonable refund on the crank to ask for?
Taking into account that I got a package deal I don't expect full pop on the crank but I'll still have to replace it. I've seen 3.0 cranks as high as $800 (asking) on the bird board, some times $400-$500 (plus don't forget shipping) and they get snapped up super fast.
I just think it would be better to offer the guy (and me) a way out, or else he still owes me a crank.




Right now it's looking like it would be better to spend the coin on my bug as it only need an interior, a set of cylinder shims and maybe a couple of other parts. I have everything else, just needs a crap load of time putting everything together.
I built my bus in 3 weeks....no engine and tranny work though.

There is more to it than 15 bucks and it is Mark's problem....he has no crank and is going bonkers.
I don't insure stuff that is valued at under 100 bucks, over that, I insure to full value. A proper container for a 911 crank takes me a couple-3 hours to build.
If you can find someone to do that for 15 bucks, post the business name here.

That said, it's worth it to avoid these situations.

As for shipping costs. I recently bought some wheels that cost me more for shipping than the wheels cost......and I had to tell the seller where to go to get decent boxes (cardboard) to ship them it. Right now I have 6 free tires that some folks want.....but the shipping costs are pretty damn high.....even Grayhound is high......so there they sit under my shop bench.

There is a lesson here for sellers....somewhere.

Exactly right, JP. It is the sellers responsibility to ship the items as they are advertised for sale. No nicks scratches or dents.

You, as a seller need to take the time and effort to package items as you would like to receive them if you were the buyer!!!

I have made a wood coffin to ship dash pads only because I did not want them to come back to me as damaged.
Good luck.
CCL

I always insure the crap out of anything I ship. If it doesn't get there as advertised I want the shipping co. to make the buyer whole. I worked at UPS for 11 years. I saw the trama that packages go through. Package it well. If it isn't packaged correctly the shipping co. won't pay the insurance money. It's his fault for not holding up his end of the deal.

Mark, who is it and were does he live? Maybe one of us can visit him and ship the pats for you? I bought stuff from the bird 911 folks before and one guy screwed me over. He had a lot of sales and I only later found out he was an idiot and everyone knew

Sorry your luck has changed.

He's offering me a $400 refund on the crank.
I offered that I'd go away for $500 plus I'd eat the paypal. I'd still get a bit screwed on the deal, but at least I would get a kiss and dinner out of it.
He said he paid $400 for the crank, on the bird board there's a couple (that have been for sale for awhile) of cranks for $750-800. If I was lucky might get one for 5 bills.

Am I being too nice? or is it a fair deal seeing it's a totally shitty situation?
I still keep it all but I'd need to find a crank.

Your offer is reasonable. I've never seen a std/std 3.0 crank for 400 or even 500, so you are going to take a hit either way, me thinks. If you wait around (I ain't good at that either... when I'm hot to build) you may find a good one cheep.

Geez.. what a horror story.... I hope you get closer to whole on the deal soon...

I bought a windshield from a guy a year or so back, he shipped it and it was broken with a hole through the box. When I was finally able to reach the guy, months after, he cussed me out. He under insured it and I only got back less than half my money back. I had to deal directly with the packers that shipped it, sending pictures and such.

Insurance doesn't help unless it's lost, and then only maybe. With UPS particularly nothing is ever packaged well enough. Their logic is that if they were able to destroy it then the packaging was by definition deficient, making it your fault and your loss.

Just out of curiosity has anyone here ever successfully collected from UPS for goods damaged in shipment?

Several times.

It's a PITA, but it's possible.

Yes.

UPS will deny you most likely as a first step. That has been my experience. Once I sent them a fake invoice from my "company" they coughed up more than I was asking for. I can make you an invoice If the shipper is filing a claim, you will get nothing. It is either you or them. Make sure the guy is not trying to make a buck on crappy packaging.

Being a logistics guy I take over the whole packaging and and shipping gig from sellers. I have carriers and rates. Buy my own insurance on high value stuff. I have packaging/crating resources too. If person I'm buying from sounds reputable I give them instructions on how to build crate and how to strap motor or parts down. Its hilarious when I know ebay seller is counting on making money on overcharging for shipping and I tell them no I will be taking over shipping.

If anyone tells you they are going to ship heavy metal parts in corrugated run other direction as fast as possible. UPS is absolutely right to deny claims for poor packing but they have obligation to reject packaging if its not acceptable. However a skilled shipper can almost always get carrier to pay something for a claim regardless of packing.

In all the years I have been buying stuff I haven't had a damage yet. But then I ship million dollar components all over the world without many issues as well. Auto parts is simple stuff.

My opinion is both parties in this were at fault. Any kind of settlement is a good thing.