Sellers stating they are not responsible for items going missing, replacements and reimbursement

[kitchengoddesslee]

Hi there.  I hope someone can help me.  I am hoping to sell some items on ebay.  As a first time seller, but regular buyer I am a little confused about responsibility of lost items once posted.  I was under the impression that as the Seller, I am completely responsible for that item getting to my buyer.  If it gets lost in the post, the Seller (me) would be responsible for replacing or reimbursing the buyer and then its up to me to get a refund from Royal Mail for the misplaced it.  Am I wrong?  The reason I ask is, as a Crafter I have bought from other private Sellers who state on their listing that once the item has been posted, they are no longer responsible for the item, if it gets lost.  And this hasn't been on just the odd listing here and there.  Nearly every listing I've looked at from a private craft ebay seller states that they won't be held responsible for missing items!!!  Surely this is not right?  It's not up to the Buyer to go chasing up Royal Mail for a refund surely?

I'd love some clarification on this because as a first time Seller, I don't want to mislead my customers.  And quite honestly, I'd be very surprised if these Sellers are doing the right thing by saying once the item leaves them, they aren't responsible for it, refunds or replacements.  Surely that is breaking Ebay's selling terms and conditions?  It just seems ridiculous to me that Sellers would think they aren't responsible for the sold item.  But it is so prevalent on almost every private sellers listing that I see, I thought I should get some clarification on the subject.  And if I am in fact correct, and these sellers are not supposed to write this as a term of sale, how do I approach a seller I want to buy from?  Is there a way to report the seller or tell them that they are violating the Terms of Sale?  It's just so common, I'm amazed that they get away with it.  I see so many Sellers writing that they arent responsible for missing items and therefore replacements and reimbursement.

Thanks in advance for your advice and input.

Lee 🙂

[jambuttyminer · Accepted solution]

Seller is responsible until the item reaches the buyer, apart from items sent overseas through Global Shipping Programme, where seller is responsible until item arrives at UK depot.

Some new sellers just see all this 'not responsible' rubbish on other listings and copy it, thinking that they're then covered if item is lost or damaged in transit, so good for you that you didn't just follow the herd and did your own research.

If you buy from a seller who has that on the listing you can simply ignore it, their t&c cannot over-ride ebay money back guarantee.

Quite probably if you contacted them to point it out they would block you from bidding as a potentially troublesome buyer, best to just let them find out the hard way.

@kitchengoddesslee