Responsibility for Shipping

[jaudette3]

We have discussed this before here, but here's an interesting twist. I had a customer order a part that he needed delivery by a certain date because he was going to take it with him when he left soon for an international destination. Time was short and I did not have the part in inventory so I ordered it to be delivered to me using priority shipping which of course I paid extra for. It arrived fine and I immediately turned it around using USPS Priority Shipping (no insurance) which the customer paid for. It was sent to his home and the tracking indicated that it had been delivered on time:

Delivered
Delivered, Left with Individual

And of course when my customer got home there was no sign of the package. This happened in Fort Lauderdale by the way. Now the customer is at his foreign destination and says he needs the product badly and wants me to send him another one there.

Am I responsible for the order until he actually has it in his hands? What if someone steals it off his porch? What if a family member receives it and throws it away because they're mad at him? My sense is that I'm not responsible or this one, legally or ethically. What is the law? What do think? This is a fairly expensive part.

Thanks,
John

[NZVW]

John,
It would appear that being too helpful may have bitten you in the ar$e.
In hind site you probably should have sent it directly to him in FL rather than X2 shipping.
The customer paid for the second shipping and you organised the products shipment but WHO decided to not insure its shipment from you to Fort Lauderdale ?

[jaudette3]

I just read the following:

Keep in mind that if the customer is not present to pick up the package, and the mail carrier leaves a notice, it is then essentially “delivered.” You are not in control of the customer not being home or providing an incorrect address. In these circumstances, the package would be their responsibility. This is typically the marketplace standard.

And this from a legal site:

When is a package considered delivered?

So, when does the risk of loss of a package actually transfer to the buyer? If a delivery contract doesn’t require that a buyer sign for the package, then it is deemed to have been delivered when placed near the front door.

I think that covers things legally. On to ethically....

[72targa]

A conundrum. Been there before. That’s why for high value items, I always pay up for applicable insurance and require a signature to confirm receipt.

[blue72s]

I always pay up for applicable insurance and require a signature to confirm receipt.

That's definitely the best method but the recipients in the UK can't have that otherwise they'd have to pay 19% VAT plus duty. Britons tend to ask the sellers to declare very low value and no insurance.

[jaudette3]

After thinking about it I'm just going to send the customer a replacement. Cost of doing the business, at least the way I want to do business.

As to insurance, I self insure, at least mentally. Every time I ship a package without insurance I rack up the amount saved and put it in the plus column. And when I have to pungle up, such as in this case, I debit it. I'm way ahead with this approach and I don't have to mess around with claims, which are a major headache and require time that I don't have.

[swcarroll]

John, why not simply require a signature upon receipt, as suggested above? You can still self-insure, but your customer can't claim it was never received. Helps protect your customer from porch thieves, too.

[jaudette3]

Thank you, good advice.

[mac73s]

For what it's worth, I refuse to send anything of value by USPS...their tracking system if something gets lost is virtually non-existent. Filing a claim is equally difficult. FEDEX is my preferred shipper as their tracking system works, and filing a claim is easy with prompt settlement.