This is an explanation how to get free textbooks using half.com based upon my experience as a seller.
I placed one of my g/f’s textbooks up for sale back in february and it sold right away, the buyer paid right away, and i shipped the book immediately. I packaged the book in these string reinforced padded envelopes we use at my work to ship out 20+lb reports, so handling a <10lb paperback textbook should have been no problem.
2 weeks later i get this email from the buyer:
I received only the envelope! The postal service said the package got damaged whiles being processed. Please i need the book or a refund immediately, so i can obtain another book.I hope you purchased insurance? If you need some documentation of the note that came with the envelope please contact be by email or phone at 909 362 4987. Please i am hoping to hear from you soon otherwise i will have to contact half.com for a refund.Thank You
I was a little skeptical that the envelope ripped enough for the book to be lost due to the heavy-duty envelope. I asked for proof to see the envelope either in picture form or to mail it back to me and that i would like to see the note from the post office. The buyer never replied to this email.
A week or so go by and i get this email from half.com
We have learned that the post office delivered an empty package to your
buyer. We have asked the buyer to return the empty package to you so
that you can file an insurance claim. To learn more about filing
insurance claims with the post office, go to:
blah
blah
blah
Your account will be debited after you receive the package. We recommend
that you file an insurance claim with the post office to receive
reimbursement for the item.
Thank you for your time.Sincerely,
Roderick R.
eBay Customer Support
and i respond with:
The buyer had previously contacted me about this issue. He claimed that the envelope arrived empty with a note from the post office attached explaining that damage was incurred during shipping. I asked the buyer to provide pictures of this envelope and letter and i would have refunded the money. The buyer has yet to provide me with proof that the package was actually damaged and the book lost. Am i to assume that half.com is going to refund the money to the buyer automatically without proof that the package was damaged? It would seem very easy for the buyer to just mail an empty envelope back to me and claim that the book was lost by the post office.
half.com replies with
I’m sorry that you disagree with Half.com’s decision to allow the buyer
to return the empty envelope to you.
Please be aware that Half.com reserves the right to determine the final
outcome of any disagreement, including cases when the buyer and seller
are unable to resolve the situation on their own using the buyer-seller
communication system.
Please reply to this email as soon as possible to let us know your
return shipping address. If we don’t hear from you within 24 hours,
we’ll tell the buyer to send the empty package to the following address:
my address
Your account will be debited after you receive the package. We recommend
that you file an insurance claim with the post office to receive
reimbursement for the item.
It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.
Sincerely,
Roderick R.
eBay Customer Support
i reply with:
What precautions does half.com have to prevent buyer’s from making false claims that the book was lost during shipping? Has the buyer provide half.com with proof (the note from the post office stating it was damaged by them)? I requested to see this note and the damaged packaging and the buyer never contacted me back. I have tried to resolve this issue but the buyer broke off contact with me.
and my last email from half.com where they pulled the funds from my bank account to repay the buyer.
We understand that you and the buyer couldn’t resolve this situation. The buyer has filed a Buyer Protection Claim. We thoroughly investigated this claim and found that the buyer should return the empty envelope to you. Half.com reserves the right to make the final decision on all BuyerProtection Reports. NoteUpon confirmation of return delivery, your account will be debited for the amount of the item plus the shipping costs. This also applies if yourefuse delivery. We cannot guarantee that your empty envelope will be sent back to you if refused. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Roderick R. eBay Customer Support
And the “damaged” envelope did arrive back to me and it was cleanly sliced open with a razor at the top. It was in perfect shape, did not look at all like it had been kicked around or damaged.
cliffs : So overall, in order to get free textbooks using half.com simply save the packaging the book arrives in and claim it was lost in shipping. Half.com will automatically side with the buyer and reimburse your money without making you prove anything, all you have to do is ship the envelope or empty box back to the seller, get delivery comfirmation for it, and as soon as the seller receives the empty packaging you get your money refunded.