Parcel arrived late and damaged what now?

[AgnesG]

Hi I hope someone can help I am a bit of an ebay novice. I sold a bulky item back on 28 November and packed and dispatched it next day using Ebay delivery (=Evri). In spite of chasing it a number of times, the parcel was only delivered today by Evri and the buyer has reported that the box is damaged, it has been opened and it is missing some bits. He has sent photos. The 'delivery photo' from Evri is blank. I have already received the money from eBay. What do I do next? Is it up to me to open a compensation claim or the buyer? Do I raise it via eBay or Evri? Thanks in advance

You interact with eBay and Evri separately.

As far as eBay is concerned, engage with the buyer and politely ask for evidence of what the damage is. I've found that being neutral but pleasant and responsive helps considerably if the buyer is a reasonable person. I like to have an eye on what might happen if I need to ask for eBay to intervene in my messaging. With that in mind I tend to make clear at an early stage what options the buyer will have. For damaged items it's for the buyer to open an "item not as described" case.

If you're able to get an idea of the damage and the reasonableness of the buyer, you might have a sense of what kind of discount you could offer or whether you're going to have to refund the total amount and get something back in the post.

If you suspect that you're dealing with a bogus "damage" claim, it's irrelevant. Broadly the outcomes are going to be either you give them a discount which could be steep or you give them a refund and get something back in the post which could be unsellable or worthless.

THanks for the detail. I'm pretty sure the buyer is legit and he sent some photos. THe blame is entirely with Evri IMO. I have given the buyer a partial refund anyway and will try to pursue it with the delivery company separately (PackLink apparently as Evri just direct me there). I am not hopeful about getting anything back, their compensation is limited to £25 but at this point I am more cross than anything else.

If you managed to placate the buyer without too steep a discount and don't have the inconvenience on having to pay for the item to be returned to you and then attempting to sell it to someone else as damaged/missing parts, you're well ahead.

As I understand your reference to PackLink and Evri, PackLink are the company who sold you the parcel delivery service via Evri, and so, since your contract is with PackLink, you'll have to deal with them rather than Evri.

Other people's, very mixed, experiences can be found here:

community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/Packlink-quot-Claims/td-p/7147242