Shipping delays- am i burnt?

[Feet Pixel]

We shall see. I said "how can we make this right? What is your refund/replacement policy? I chose this auction because the description states Seller is liable for the item and the usual trend puts it on the buyer. I am not trying to be a difficult customer but I never even had a chance to try saving this frag."

I get so anxious in situations like this.. I know it's not his fault. This was my first time working up the nerve to order SPS over the internet

 

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

I ordered a piece of "Walt Disney" SPS acropora online. The seller dropped it off at UPS on Tuesday and it was supposed to arrive on Wednesday.
I received an email stating that it was delayed until today (Thursday) but this morning I woke up to an email saying it was delayed until friday.

This is my first piece of sps i've ordered online so I don't have experience with it's hardiness Has anyone ever experienced delays such as this & what was your result?

it's got me so sad I messaged the seller and he said "oh no that's not good stupid UPS"

I guess you'll find out when it arrives. I got burned by a guy on here (see my review) because he didn't put an adequate heat pack in and the water was 50 degrees! Of course, he blamed me and I was out a nice chunk. Surprisingly, a couple of frags survived, but they were so small they could be considered genetic samples... lol. That's the thing, lower cost (buying on forums) = higher risk. It all evens out in the long run, and hopefully, you get there! Now I only buy, sell, and trade with other known hobbyists who I know are legit (Abe from CoralEuphoria for example, Keith AKA; ReefBum, and others). Once you figure out who the players are, you won't want to buy over-priced frags from some of the big boys who advertise on here. You'll get nicer, bigger frags, bonus frags, and often at a lower price. You're also supporting the grassroots of the hobby so you can sleep at night. Good luck though!

 

[Feet Pixel]

I guess you'll find out when it arrives. I got burned by a guy on here (see my review) because he didn't put an adequate heat pack in and the water was 50 degrees! Of course, he blamed me and I was out a nice chunk. Surprisingly, a couple of frags survived, but they were so small they could be considered genetic samples... lol. That's the thing, lower cost (buying on forums) = higher risk. It all evens out in the long run, and hopefully, you get there! Now I only buy, sell, and trade with other known hobbyists who I know are legit (Abe from CoralEuphoria for example, Keith AKA; ReefBum, and others). Once you figure out who the players are, you won't want to buy over-priced frags from some of the big boys who advertise on here. You'll get nicer, bigger frags, bonus frags, and often at a lower price. You're also supporting the grassroots of the hobby so you can sleep at night. Good luck though!

It showed up completely dead, waiting to see if he'll work with me.

 

[Feet Pixel]

 

[Lyss]

Wow. He may be wrong, too — reports may need to be filed by the shipper.

I would Google the procedure with ups and share the facts on filing claims with him, and I would personally say that unfortunately he lost a customer, and you also won’t be able to recommend him to other hobbyists b/c you won’t be spending more money with a vendor who doesn’t ensure customer satisfaction.

I’m shocked honestly b/c I’ve never had a company not make it right, but I’ve also never ordered from a hobbyist vendor like that. I once had a coral package delayed, and notified the company as it was happening, and the first thing they said was that if it showed up dead they’d take care of me. Good companies and vendors take care of their customers IMO.

 

[Dburr1014]

Wow. He may be wrong, too — reports may need to be filed by the shipper.

I would Google the procedure with ups and share the facts on filing claims with him, and I would personally say that unfortunately he lost a customer, and you also won’t be able to recommend him to other hobbyists b/c you won’t be spending more money with a vendor who doesn’t ensure customer satisfaction.

I’m shocked honestly b/c I’ve never had a company not make it right, but I’ve also never ordered from a hobbyist vendor like that. I once had a coral package delayed, and notified the company as it was happening, and the first thing they said was that if it showed up dead they’d take care of me. Good companies and vendors take care of their customers IMO.

Him and everyone reading this will most likely avoid this seller.
Very unfortunate. If my WD was bigger than 1" I would ship you one op. Sorry you had to go thru this.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

This is unacceptable! Did the seller ship it priority overnight or just next day? There is a big difference between the two when it comes to delivery guaranties. I would tell the seller that if he isn’t willing to replace the coral with you covering the shipping cost, then you are going to dispute the charge with your credit card company and EBay as well as writing a bad review.

A seller just wiping their hands clean when the coral arrived dead is unacceptable. A well packed coral that was healthy should have survived a one day delay and definitely should not have shown up looking like that coral did.

 

[Chrisv.]

Wow. For someone who said he wants to do right by his customers, he sure is off to the wrong start.

He is also objectively wrong. Plenty of sellers have policies in place to handle things like this.

Look at Jason Fox's website and WWC's website. For goodness sake, look at the WWC policy: https://worldwidecorals.com/pages/guarantee

He has videos of his thriving colony all over YouTube. It would cost him NOTHING to make this right. What a choice to make.

I'm glad you posted this thread. I won't be buying coral from aquaticbobs.

Maybe now is the time to handle this with the credit card company.

 

[Lyss]

I’m still hung up on the bit about a future duscount. Lol yes, let me open my wallet again! As if you’d ever buy more than the one time you got burned from someone that did this to you.

 

[Chrisv.]

I’m still hung up on the bit about a future duscount. Lol yes, let me open my wallet again! As if you’d ever buy more than the one time you got burned from someone that did this to you.

This seller is an amateur. OP has given him ample time and opportunity to choose to do the right thing. In the absence of him offering to make it right, she has no other recourse but to bring it to the credit card company.

 

[Amelanchier]

Last I checked one needs a receipt to open a claim with the shipping company. This almost always means that the seller has to be the one to file the claim. It may be worth verifying that a receipt is still needed and then sharing that information with the seller and ask them to file a claim.

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

That frag should have never been shipped way too fresh of a cut

Dude I've read all of your posts. Your a troll. Stop talking to people on here when you don't know what your talking about. The frag was cut almost 6 weeks ago.. I'm the one who cut it. Secondly, no coral vendor out there is responsible for shipping delays. None, period. Stop trolling and get a life. I do my best to help people out in this hobby and do the right thing but im not a charity event. There's so much more I could say but your a waste of time cause all.you do is talk negative.

 

[Chrisv.]

Dude I've read all of your posts. Your a troll. Stop talking to people on here when you don't know what your talking about. The frag was cut almost 6 weeks ago.. I'm the one who cut it. Secondly, no coral vendor out there is responsible for shipping delays. None, period. Stop trolling and get a life. I do my best to help people out in this hobby and do the right thing but im not a charity event. There's so much more I could say but your a waste of time cause all.you do is talk negative.

THAT was your conclusion from this thread?!

Wow. Thanks for being so transparent. At least we all know.

Maybe you should review the wwc and Jason fox policies before you claim that nobody would help the OP.

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

You guys have really only received half of the story, I also sent a message telling them to send me the money for shipping plus an extra $15 I would replace it with another piece. Again I am a small vendor, I can't be held responsible every time a package has a shipping delay. I don't guarantee coral when there is a shipping delay. I don't think any company guarantees coral when there is a shiping delay, sometimes they Work with you on a future order which is exactly what I offered from the very beginning. The original Walt Disney chunk that I sold was $55.Now I'm asking $15 for a second one. That's an enormous amountt of money that I have to eat when I normally sell them at $150 a piece. I've lost money on both sales and I'm still offering to help. Reef 2 reef can sure wreck someone's day.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

All the vendors I’ve dealt with have either sent a new frag where I covered the shipping or provided me a refund for the initial purchase or store credit value for the purchase. To the OP I’d take my business else where.

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

I've ordered hundreds of corals over the last several years. If there is a shipping delay I've never had a coral vendor say we will refund you... Again that's still not what I told the buyer

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Mods can u pls move this thread to appropriate area so the buyer and seller can hash out their differences. Ty

 

[Chrisv.]

You guys have really only received half of the story, I also sent a message telling them to send me the money for shipping plus an extra $15 I would replace it with another piece. Again I am a small vendor, I can't be held responsible every time a package has a shipping delay. I don't guarantee coral when there is a shipping delay. I don't think any company guarantees coral when there is a shiping delay, sometimes they Work with you on a future order which is exactly what I offered from the very beginning. The original Walt Disney chunk that I sold was $55.Now I'm asking $15 for a second one. That's an enormous amountt of money that I have to eat when I normally sell them at $150 a piece. I've lost money on both sales and I'm still offering to help. Reef 2 reef can sure wreck someone's day.

Reef to reef didn't wreck anyone's day. The shipping delay was not your fault, but it is your problem. It's not like it would cost you anything to cut her another frag from your obviously thriving colony. Hardly charity to leave a customer happy.

I wonder how much this thread alone will impact future orders. Wouldn't it have been much cheaper to just cut another frag?

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

This is my last comment then I'm walking away from this uneccessary bashing session. My ebay Has never said anything about me 100% covering the coral even if there is a shipin delay. In fact almost every item I post on eBay says I cannot be held responsible for shipping delays.

 

[Jon's Reef]

Every vendor/ person I have worked with buying corals has had the same policy in this case. Buyer pays shipping ($30-$50) and seller will resend. Often times in the past I have decided to buy a few more pieces at that time because the seller response to a bad situation was quick and assuring.

As for the coral going for $50 vs $150, that is your issue. You set the price, someone else bought it.

Customer acquisition is the #1 cost for any business. In particular if you are a new seller on ebay.

As for liability, with UPS and FedEx, the person who bought the label is liable. You may be able to get the shipping price back, but they will likely not cover the coral.