I just sold a guitar via private sale long distance (Kijiji). It's a nitro finish. Of course it's winter. Buyer just received the guitar and he messaged me that the finish is cracked (checked) and it was not before I sent it.
This is probably a reason that you shouldn't ship guitars in the winter. Especially with this extreme cold we just had. If it were me I'd probably live with it. I might try to get a bit of a discount. Not much to be unfair to the seller. For me the checking might look good.
One thing you don't know is, did the buyer not let the guitar warm up before he unpacked it. Could be a little his fault.
Now if I'm the seller and this happened. I'd offer a discount of an amount I'd be comfortable with or offer that they ship the guitar back and I'd refund. I'm not saying you (the OP) should do that. That's probably what I'd do.
Man sorry to hear about this. This one of the reasons why i don't sell my gear on Kijiji. I buy from kijiji and only buy ones that are for sale locally. So much stuff to deal with when shipping gear. And the people you deal with, you can't be sure.
Good luck and hopefully it gets resolved.
Maybe it's time to start clearly stating incoterms for these deals.
If the deal is defined as FOB the shipper's location that's pretty cut and dried. You do your best to package the guitar in a responsible manner and if the carrier (or mother nature) damages it, not your responsibility.
Anyone buying a nitro finished guitar should know that it is going to check at one time or another and shipping it through the Canadian winter is only going to expedite that process. So long as you can prove that it wasn't checked before you shipped it at least you can dismiss yourself of any type of dishonest sale and I would move on.
At least the relic on it is natural. Tell them you saved them the purchase of a bottle of compressed air.
I like how @jbealsmusic has a warning on products on the Next Gen Guitars site for products that should not be shipped in the winter. I don't think it should be required, but it's a smart move to combat some people's questionable decisions. Shipping guitars in the wintertime probably should have the same warning, especially if going cross-country where several different temperatures could be experienced. Please note, I'm not blaming the OP for not providing such a warning. It would help to ask the buyer, "Are you sure you want me to ship this now?" But at the same time, the buyer should bear responsibility for seeking out an item that needs to be shipped a long distance in the cold.
One question is should the buyer have known better? Is this their first nitro guitar, or are they a collector who has purchased lots of similar guitars? If it's some kid who didn't know better and was so excited to look at their new guitar and they didn't know to wait, that might sway your decision making compared to someone who has done this several times before.
I presume the OP is not a shop, and so the buyer should expect to assume the risk for choosing to get a deal by purchasing from a distance rather than buying locally. If you wanted to "go above and beyond", try to determine how much the checking has affected the value and offer to refund half of the difference. Clearly the buyer should assume at least half of the responsibility for the issue as they did not wait several hours to allow the package to acclimate. If they don't want to go that route, allow them to ship it back to you (at their expense) and refund the purchase price minus half of the difference in value as a "restocking fee" when the guitar arrives back in good condition (you need to incentivize the buyer to do a good packing job and adequately insure the shipment). As a private transaction, I think both of those options go far beyond what a typical Kijiji purchaser should expect.
Perhaps I'd start by asking him what he wants. If it's a few bucks off then be done with it. If nobody is gonna end up happy then I believe that the seller has to make an insurance claim with the shipping company - not the buyer. The you refund his money and either get the guitar back or the insurance company owns it. If you get it back then relist it as with some checking..
There is no shipping company that would ensure against finish checking. You're lucky if the cover actual damage - usually it's only good for if the package doesn't show up at all.
I agreed to refund him $250 of the purchase price and call it a day. He's willing to keep the guitar as I'd rather not risk having it shipped back and then trying to sell it in it's new condition. Last time I ever ship a guitar in the winter.
If it goes in the box it's sold from where I'm sitting. It isn't like you slapped a label on it and threw it in the post.
I'll wager that 250 dollar refund that you packed it excellently and it made it in the same condition it left in. Finish checking is not a "transportation" issue and therfore is completely out of your control.
Props for just eating the cash and moving on though. Probably not a fight worth having and one in which there really is no win where you come out on top. Cut the loss and carry on, a little bruised but far from broken
I have a feeling that if it were an "EMT" deal instead of "Paypal" that it might have been a different story. $250 is more than I'd have been willing to go. I was thinking something like maybe $100.
I can understand the OP's actions to go above and beyond when it comes to Paypal. I never accept paypal transactions.
I’ve shipped guitars before and I always clearly state to the buyer that the guitar is being shipped at HIS risk and any damage is HIS responsibility…in writing. I also take several pictures of the packaging process and send them to him before shipping and I proceed to ship the package insured for damage. I also let him know that should something happen, I will help with the insurance claim any way I can…but ultimately it’s his problem.
In a case like you describe…I absolutely would not refund any money. Why should I pay for a PREDICTABLE problem not of my creation and completely beyond my control? You have all the evidence you need to prove it’s his own damn fault. If he knew anything about checking then he should have known to wait before opening the package. If he didn’t know about checking, then he should have informed himself. Ignorance is no defence.
JFC he's sending me photos now of the finish cracks on the neck and saying he's worried about these cracks. This is AFTER he accepted the settlement refund. I'm going to stop responding. Based on our interactions so far I'm expecting he's going to turn around and try and file a dispute with Paypal. I see it's headed that direction.
I'm really sorry to hear that you have to deal with this! It sounds like you've already gone above and beyond what was expected of you with your initial refund - which sounds incredibly generous. I don't know through what regions in Canada the guitar was shipped, but if there was going to be any damage of the finish due to checking, this past weekend would have been a good bet if it went anywhere close to Montreal.
The buyer opened it within an hour of receiving it - stupid move if they cared about the finish. The buyer says it was already warm. Highly unlikely... but... it is possible I suppose that it went in and out of facilities/trucks with huge variances in temperature this past weekend. So, the finish certainly could have been damaged while in the box. But, you have no control over that. Hopefully this does not escalate further. Good luck!
EDIT: you asked for advice on how to respond. I wouldn't go on the defensive, nor would I go on the offensive... I would ask the buyer what they think is reasonable on your end given what you can and can't control. Make them arrive on their own to a reasonable conclusion.
EDIT 2: to everyone judging the OP's past actions and telling him what he should have (not) done, and what you would have done differently, etc... it's not that helpful.
allow the buyer to return the guitar for a refund ASAP, now that it's a Reliced Guitar re-list it for double the previous asking price and it will likely sell much faster now that it has "mojo" and street-cred
Maybe
If it was a guitar I was interested in I don't know that I'd be turned off and looking for a major discount because of checking. As long as it looked and sounded good otherwise. The problem is everyone is looking for a reason to lowball and get something for nothing so when you look at buying a guitar like that you need to get it at a lower price so that in the event you need to resell, you're not losing your shirt. Personally, I hate this idea that a guitar has to be mint without a mark on it. But then I play them, I don't sit there looking at them.
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