Trading on Geekzone - A cautionary tale

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hairy1

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#218013 22-Jul-2017 14:47

Hi all,

I have been around here for a while. Hopefully this won't turn into a whinge post but I apologize if it does.

I have traded a few items through GZ in the past without any trouble however have just had a rather on-going frustrating experience with a trade that has gone wrong.

I saw a Gear S3 for sale on GZ a while ago and had been looking to buy one so decided to pick it up through the offers and wanted forum.

I paid the money and waited for the item to arrive. It didn't turn up after a week and so I contacted the seller. The seller had shipped it via NZ post untracked. After a lot of correspondence the item has gone missing. AS the item was not tracked there was little that NZ Post could do.

I have had a partial refund from the seller however he is now incommunicado and is refusing to provide his details for any future dealings and accused me of lying about receiving the package.

I guess the things I have learned from this sorry saga are:

1. GZ is an essentially anonymous site. Ensure you get full contact details of anyone you are dealing with. I certainly won't buy anything via GZ in the future as you never really know who is on the other end of the transaction. However, I don't doubt that the seller shipped the item in good faith.

2. If you do buy something insist on a tracked package. I had no control over the shipping and would personally never ship anything untracked (and mistakenly assumed the seller wouldn't either)

It has turned into a drama for both sides and everyone is not happy!

Cheers, Matt.

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#1827098 22-Jul-2017 14:51

You should send me a PM with user details.

tdgeek

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#1827107 22-Jul-2017 14:55

I'd have thought using a courier was the best option. Cheap and trackable, and less likely to go AWOL as its a courier van not a postie. Not that a postie is unreliable, just extra manual layers best avoided.

timmmay

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#1827110 22-Jul-2017 15:04

Anything posted by NZPost is insured. You just need to keep the receipt.

hairy1

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#1827114 22-Jul-2017 15:17

timmmay:

Anything posted by NZPost is insured. You just need to keep the receipt.

I advised the seller that they are able to claim $250.

I have run around over this myself. I have been to our box lobby to see if it's there, I have been to number 7 on our street (we are number 1) in case it turned up there. I have signed the NZ post document that said I haven't received the item.

The item was $400. The seller has sent me $250. From my perspective he has my $400 and sent me the $250 insurance. It's all a bit messy.

Cheers.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

scottjpalmer

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#1827169 22-Jul-2017 17:01

Nice work the seller who shipped something under-insured.

tripp

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#1827175 22-Jul-2017 17:15

Do you have his name and bank account details?
Might be time for the disputes tribunal

surfisup1000

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#1827191 22-Jul-2017 17:27

The seller skimped on shipping to get a couple of extra dollars. So I would have thought the seller is responsible for the full 400.

Check the carriage of goods act which may help clarify, or not.

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loceff13

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#1827195 22-Jul-2017 17:31

If they failed to use a shipping service that didn't fully cover the value that's on them, if you asked for that specific service(ie parcelpost) thats on you.

mattwnz

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#1827196 22-Jul-2017 17:33

Did they tell you they were going to send it via NZ post, and did you agree to that? I personally don't send anything that is going to be more than $250 via NZ post because of the limit. Although I believe you can also pay a bit more to have it tracked, but that probably isn't much good if it gets stolen, as the max they will pay is 250.

mattwnz

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#1827198 22-Jul-2017 17:34

loceff13:

If they failed to use a shipping service that didn't fully cover the value that's on them, if you asked for that specific service(ie parcelpost) thats on you.

Yes it all comes down to this IMO.

Loismustdye

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#1827200 22-Jul-2017 17:39

Gutted.
I'm on another board where trading is commonplace, I've not heard of any bad stories like this there fortunately.
Do have to agree it's pretty stink what the seller has done in this situation, stupid move on their behalf to save a few $$ and send something underinsured, and as a result you've lost out.
Of note, it's easy for the rest of us to scroll back a couple pages in the Offers/wanted forum and see who it was, and subsequently make a mental note never to deal with said individual.

freitasm

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#1827210 22-Jul-2017 17:49

In fifteen years we only had one other such case and the user was banned. I am waiting on a response to a query before going down that route.

Dynamic

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#1827214 22-Jul-2017 17:53

If you ordered and paid for something that was not delivered, then you should receive your money back as the seller failed to deliver the item. Any delivery issues are the problem of the seller as the contract for the goods to be delivered by the freight company is between the seller and the freight company.

For any item of value, tracking and signature is essential to guard against this sort of issue.

If you contributed to the loss by agreeing to cheaper non-tracked shipping (even if you did not realise the consequence) then it might be argued you have accepted some risk and some of the liability is yours.

I've given away, sold, and purchased perhaps nearly 2 dozen items in person and via courier on GZ and had no issues whatsoever. There is a lot of goodwill in this community. It sounds to me like the seller has some 'good faith' with the partial refund.

One of the mods might mediate.

Perhaps the FUG or the sticky in Offers & Wanted could be updated to recommend all mail order transactions be completed with tracking and signature required.

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Loismustdye

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#1827217 22-Jul-2017 17:59

freitasm: In fifteen years we only had one other such case and the user was banned. I am waiting on a response to a query before going down that route.

That is awesome, speaks volumes about the credibility of the users/community and the site.

mattwnz

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#1827218 22-Jul-2017 17:59

Dynamic:

If you contributed to the loss by agreeing to cheaper non-tracked shipping (even if you did not realise the consequence) then it might be argued you have accepted some risk and some of the liability is yours.

I had this problem once where the buyer would only accept delivery to a PO box, so I was forced to send via NZ post. I couldn't send via my courier that I use, as they won't deliver to PO boxes. The item got crushed, but luckily the item was under $100, and eventually I got a refund. The problem is I was still left out of pocket as the seller, because NZ post didn't refund me the postage cost. So these days I will avoid.

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