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Reply to "Need opinions on my terms of sale / seller details."

quote:
Assuming you pack your items well, items that arrive "in a condition not as described" should have maybe been insured. I put in my listings that I am not responsible for lost or damaged packages when insurance is waived.


The problem is...
You can "assert" these terms of service all you want, but it isn't supported by law. As an internet retailer, you cannot bind persons to a contract which is unlawful to begin with. That is FRAUD. The seller is the party responsible for insuring their product.
Under Federal Trade Commission law, you must replace the product or refund the customers money, within 30 days, if it fails to arrive, or is not as described. And if you do not comply willingly with the law, then you can be forced to do so. Which is why PalPal often will enforce these claims against sellers, because they KNOW that in a court of law, these assertions will be laughed out of court. It is much more prudent to willingly comply with the law, then to be forced to do so judicially. And for sellers who believe that just because they are an "individual" selling on eBay, somehow exempts them from these laws, they can end up in legal hot water. If you are listing items on eBay, then you are setting yourself out as an "internet retailer" and are subject to all commerce laws, including legal liabilities as a retailer. So, as a seller, if you cannot afford to absorb a loss, in the event of a delivery mishap, then YOU should be purchasing insurance to protect yourself from legal liabilities. Auctiva makes it easy to include this insurance as mandatory, with a simple click of a button. Each seller must determine what their personal "risk" limit is. For some it may $50, and another $500. Whichever one you are, it behooves YOU to buy insurance, if the product exceeds that value.

This is not an opinion of a seller, but a clarification of what the LAW states. And understanding the premise of these laws, can forestall a seller becoming a victim of their own ignorance of the law.

It may not seem fair...but that is just the way it is under law.

LDC
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