Is this vendor being reasonable?

[Wrasse-cal]

I've got an issue with a vendor, and I'm curious if the hive mind thinks the vendor is being reasonable.

I ordered about 10-15 live items from the vendor. (Clean up crew type items.) When I opened the order, 3 of the approximately 10-15 were dead. Two items however were missing completely i.e., they were not included in the order.

I had to pay express shipping based on the type of items I ordered. I contacted the vendor, who was only willing to refund me for the dead items--and presumably for the missing items he never sent.

I asked that instead of a refund, a replacement order of the missing items be sent. I felt that since certain items were not even sent, I should not have to pay a second shipping fee just to get the items I should have gotten originally. I also asked that replacement DOA items be included in that order along with a refund.

He said no.

Is the vendor being reasonable in refusing to send a replacement order?

 

[DancingShark]

No you are not.
Most vendors with a good rep and good customer service will pick up the shipping cost for a order that was a mistake. It's the cost of doing business and trying to maintain returning customers.

 

[Weikel]

I would call your credit card company and cancel the whole payment

 

[tautog83]

If you're talking about getting like 3 cerith snails shipped to you I think that's a bit much to.ask . But if it was like 3 $20 urchins different story .

 

[TheEngineer]

I don’t think it is unreasonable, but it isn’t what a vendor who wants repeat business would do. I’d take the refund and walk away.

 

[ddrueckh]

It is not your fault that they made a mistake. They should send you the rest of your order at no charge. They may lose a little money on this deal, but will learn to send complete orders in the future.

 

[MSB123]

It Is the cost of doing business. Lets take myself as an example. I order 10 fish from liveaquaria, 6 of 10 arrive alive. It is not their fault that the fish died, nor is it mine. They must look at the situation and 10/10 times they offer a refund on the cost of livestock. You chose to pay shipping and order from the particular vendor, it is not their fault that the items arrived dead. They should offer you a refund on the cost of the dead and missing items, if it is in their policy, otherwise, it is your loss. You cannot fault the vendor for not giving you more then what everyone else does to their customers, unless it is specifically stated in their policy.

 

[gcarroll]

I would call your credit card company and cancel the whole payment

I would suggest this as a last resort. Try to work it out with the vendor first. Give them the opportunity to make things right. No need to argue, just give them the opportunity to fix the issue.

 

[MSB123]

I would suggest this as a last resort. Try to work it out with the vendor first. Give them the opportunity to make things right. No need to argue, just give them the opportunity to fix the issue.

I think that it might fall under credit fraud because they did send you part of your order and it was most likely a honest mistake. I might be wrong, just my 2c

 

[JRAD]

I think you should take the refund and make it clear to the vendor that he has lost you as a customer!

 

[tautog83]

What was it that you were missing ? Things happen, people make mistakes . You're right you didn't get part of your order , but you also didn't pay for it . I get it's disappointing because you ordered it for a reason . Also most everyone here will tell you you get a doa fish , you're eating shipping

 

[ddrueckh]

It Is the cost of doing business. Lets take myself as an example. I order 10 fish from liveaquaria, 6 of 10 arrive alive. It is not their fault that the fish died, nor is it mine. They must look at the situation and 10/10 times they offer a refund on the cost of livestock. You chose to pay shipping and order from the particular vendor, it is not their fault that the items arrived dead. They should offer you a refund on the cost of the dead and missing items, if it is in their policy, otherwise, it is your loss. You cannot fault the vendor for not giving you more then what everyone else does to their customers, unless it is specifically stated in their policy.

I don't agree with this. If the vendor forgets to include an item in the shipment, they should ship it without charging you another shipping fee (I don't think they are obligated to also include replacements for the dead animals in this shipment...but it would be good customer service if the customer asked them too). I agree that an animal dying in transit "may" not be their fault and a refund is the correct thing to do. I say may not be their fault because they may have packaged a dead snail, not had the water temperature correct, put too many/few warm packs in...we don't know who's fault it is. Heck, it could even be the customers fault for letting the package sit on their porch too long.

 

[PDR]

I'm sure this vendor has a written policy, what does it say they will do in this situation? If it says they will reship you everything free of charge then yes, they are being unreasonable. But if it states they will refund you minus shipping, then imo they are being perfectly reasonable. The buyer should be familiar with the vendor's policies before making a purchase.

I personally do not know of a vendor who does not take a significant loss on shipping charges. If every small vendor had a policy that would cover shipping charges a lot of them would take a loss on the entire order. A few years of that and all we'll have are big vendors like LA.

 

[MSB123]

Exactly. If it were me, I would just accept the loss and not order from said vendor again. Its not a big loss and if they refund you the money, its totally fine with me.

 

[ddrueckh]

You're right you didn't get part of your order , but you also didn't pay for it .

The problem with this is that even though they may be refunded for the forgotten item, they now need to purchase it somewhere else and will need to pay shipping on the new order. That is not fair. They ordered everything together to save money...one shipping charge. If they knew they wouldn't receive the entire order from this vendor, they probably would have ordered from a different vendor. I bet if BRS forgot to include my new powerhead with an order I placed that they would ship it out free of charge the next day.

 

[Wrasse-cal]

I don't agree with this. If the vendor forgets to include an item in the shipment, they should ship it without charging you another shipping fee (I don't think they are obligated to also include replacements for the dead animals in this shipment...but it would be good customer service if the customer asked them too). I agree that an animal dying in transit "may" not be their fault and a refund is the correct thing to do. I say may not be their fault because they may have packaged a dead snail, not had the water temperature correct, put too many/few warm packs in...we don't know who's fault it is. Heck, it could even be the customers fault for letting the package sit on their porch too long.

The missing items were two emerald crabs.

The DOA items were 3 chitons.

It was about a $100 order not including $35 shipping.

 

[tautog83]

Kinda gives it away as to what vendor but I hear ya it's disappointing .

 

[ZoWhat]

I'd call the police....for snail-slaughter & crab-kidnapping

 

[Wrasse-cal]

The issue from my perspective is the fact that even if I get the refund, I’m out $35 for something I never even received.

That’s what bugs me.

 

[EmdeReef]

I would ask the vendor to refund shipping + DOA and missing livestock, then find another vendor. Everyone makes mistakes but what matters more (to me at least) is what they do to fix the mistake....

If that didn't work, I'd dispute the prorated charge including shipping. If you want to be extra nice, you can tell them you will dispute.

For example, Liveaquaria will ship free replacement in case of an inventory error (out of stock/oversold) or if they make a mistake.