Recently sold some bourbons on Commerce Corner. Have never had any problems prior to this experience. Just wondering what the collective thinks of this situation.
Sold several bottles of bourbon to three different people. Due to me not paying attention, I sent the wrong bottle to the wrong person. I realized my mistake before I sent out any other bottles. Got in touch with this person and sent him another FEDEX label to forward this bottle to the correct person. He agreed to do this and I was grateful. No harm, no foul.
Ah, this is where the train comes off the rails. He states he left the relabeled package with his concierge/doorman for FEDEX. Unfortunately, the package has not been seen since. Now, I don’t want to think ill of this person, but something just doesn’t seem right. Call it a gut feeling or whatever, and I don’t have any concrete proof but…
Been going around for two weeks on this. Yes I created this mess. And no I will not out this person. Doesn’t seem fair since I don’t have any concrete proof.
Thomas
Ask him to check up with the concierge. If the concierge says it was left with FedEx & FedEx deny all knowledge, then I think that’s where it ends. You would know someone has done the dirty, but it could be the recipient, their concierge, an opportunist thief or FedEx.
It might be that the recipient is entirely innocent and finds themselves suspected after trying to help you out. If so they might be very upset by the suspicion now placed on them.
Just my view, others may disagree
regards
Ian
If the liquor was in an unmarked box this wouldn’t be much of a possibility. Any reason to believe alcohol was inside?
Mostly agree that it falls on the recipient but not 100%. That’s the trouble with this situation, overall just seems like a sunk cost of doing business.
Maybe I misunderstand the situation. I buy X from you, but you send me Y instead. Mistakes happen. You send me a label to return it to you. I do, but it goes missing someplace in between me and you. So the package goes missing during a journey that never would have happened had you not made a mistake.
Obviously, having agreed to send it back to you I have implicitly agreed to take due care in sending it to you. If there are facts that suggest that I took the appropriate degree of care, why am I liable for the issue arising after I did what you asked?
Now the possibility exists (and you hinted at it) that the recipient did not do as asked, or didn’t do it in a safe way. If that is the case, of course, the situation changes. But I would think that the risk accompanying correcting your mistake is yours to assume.
BTW, UPS and Fed Ex both look for alcohol shipped contrary to their terms. If the package looked like a wine or a liquor bottle, they might well have opened it and poured it out (although in my experience they usually tell you)
Cost of doing business gut feeling or not. Your mistake to start with. Not only should the person not be outed unless some evidence magically appears, Id be pissed if I were them for the suggestion made here even if it was anonymous. If it were my situation to deal with Id ask them to go look around the concierge’s room to make sure it wasnt just some stupid misplacement, and if no luck, Id send him his bottle, refund the guy who is now shorted, and drink some bourbon while I stew about it
Sorry you lost $$ on this.
I assume you’ve tracked the package using the number from the label you created? If the package was dropped off the tracking information should at least indicate that.
in the future - and for everyone else - always drop at a kinkos/fedex and ask for a drop off receipt. they’ll give you one even if it’s a prepaid label. this proves it’s in fedex possession.
also, sellers should always sell on commerce corner fob common carrier - once it’s tracked, the risk goes to the buyer, and in the case of alcohol from unlicensed sellers, there’s no insurance available.
What exactly happened with Fedex? They never received it? If that is the case, it’s your word against theirs, and they left your precious (possibly obvious alcohol and therefore against the rules) alcohol with a doorman, who would hand it over to a deliveryman, who would finally bring it to the customer service center. Lots of parties involved, any of which may have just decided it was Christmas. I dunno, you might need a jury to decide who is guilty.
Ive done several deals on here and so far everything has worked out fine for both parties, i always insure for suitable value in case package gets lost, as i get receipt always i think this is a good move
Here’s another angle…a class move by the recipient would have been to ensure the return label was used, package dropped off, and scanned properly.
Leaving the package with a doorman or other third party is highly suspicious as (proof by these responses) it’s understood that the seller made a mistake and doesn’t really have recourse. An easy out taken if you will, not a class move, and not someone to do business with.
If package is alcohol and is broken or confiscated, insurance will pay zero. If you declared as something other than alcohol and package is simply lost, you’d get reimbursed. I think Fedex charges 70 cents per $100 value. Far far less than 1 in 143 shipments are simply lost in transit , so insurance is a bad option. As a general rule, I think one should only pay for property insurance if the loss would substantially impact your life (your house, a new car, a valuable music instrument, your entire wine collection). It would suck to lose a 10 year old car or a 1982 Lafite, but separate insurance for either is a bad idea.
Okay barrister, so is wine you send to a retail wine auction considered ‘contrary’ to terms, and, if that gets confiscated, on whose shoulders does the loss rest? Most (I believe) will not give payment until they receive the wine.
