Was a signature required at the time of delivery?

no but i met the driver in the driveway and that is noted on the tracking # report

If you file an Item Not Received complaint with PayPal, you will get a 100% refund.

Or you can file a Significantly Not As Described complaint with PayPal and you would be required to return everything. After the return occurs, you would get a 100% refund.

Hi, was the total value of the shipment declared on the airbill?

UPS/FedEx generally offer insurance up to only $100 unless a higher value for the shipment is declared when creating the airbill.

https://support.shippingeasy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406962604955-UPS-Declared-Value-Overview#:~:text=UPS%20provides%20maximum%20liability%20coverage,%2C%20stolen%2C%20or%20damaged%20shipment.

That would be the first thing I would check on the shipment, as UPS will definitely deny the claim without a higher declared value.

UPS is generally good on claims when it completely falls within the policy terms. Two weeks ago, I had a shipment that showed delivered but the business confirmed with UPS that they never received it and UPS paid the claim.

Without box damage thatis visible, I can see a situation where UPS would have a policy that they aren't responsible for any loss of items due to a customs inspection, but I can't find that as a policy, although I couldn't make it through this document that has 'damage' found 46 times in 8 pages!

https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/webcontent/en_US/terms_service_int_pr.pdf

I'm not sure if Customs videotapes their inspections either.

I worked in Sales for FedEx for 20 years, not that it means anything in this case. However, I had numerous discussions with customers about the difficulty of getting a claim approved that doesn't fall within policy guidelines. In some cases, we could get it approved on a customer satisfaction basis, but those would be for customers with substantial daily shipments.

TL/DR: if a shipment falls within policy guidelines, there's a good chance UPS would pay the claim. Outisde of policy claims payment would need a compelling reason for UPS to approve.

I hope you are able to get your parts back or they will reimburse you.

Mark

---

Fast-Finishes.com
Triathlon and Running Race Timing
Athletic Event Management

thanks for the replies everyone. so far the seller is willing to send a replacement fork and refund the dropper price. sounds fair to me, and probably better than i would get trying to get a claim from ups. the seller admits he valued the shipment low ($500) to save on costs and apologized for that. he is just waiting for my paypal funds to clear before mailing fork and sending refund...does this sound legit? looks paypal may hold funds for up to 21 days. as long as they are held i still have my option for a full refund...but i really want to keep the frame (they are pretty hard to find in the US)
thanks for the help!

An insurance claim can only be filed by the shipper. If the claim was approved, the shipper would be given the money.

Declaring a low value on an international shipment is smart. That keeps the recipient from having to pay duty.

There is no reason for the seller to wait for the funds to clear unless he simply doesn't have any money in his bank account to refund you for the dropper. The hold on the funds has nothing to do with getting your money back or not.

You have 180 days to file a complaint with PayPal. Here is their buyer protection policy:

https://www.paypal.com/...ction?locale.x=en_US

It sounds to me that the seller didn't put the fork or dropper in the box when he shipped it.

agree, it is looking a bit like those items weren't included initially. although he said he was sure they were, it also sounds like a few other people in his shop were involved with the shipment so something could have gotten missed at multiple points. i'll push for him to send the replacement/refund.

Just an update to my experience. in actuality, it was 3 items missing from the box. a RS SID ultimate fork, RS AXS dropper post, and proprietary D shaped BMC seatpost ( so who would steal this but not the frame?) Seller was adamant all parts were packed but never provided pictures. he says UPS says almost impossible that things were stolen mid shipment and denied his claim. He did send a replacement SID select fork which i received. he texted about sending a $500 refund for the seatpost x2, but then decided the fork was above and beyond what he was obligated to do and i was never refunded for the seat posts. i had to source a bmc post from a local dealer ($200 !?!) so at this point i have a working bike, but I am out roughly $800 so i went forward with the paypal claim (after being reassured by PP chat that "my purchase was protected" ) bottom line, they denied my claim 3 times! first because the seller sent a replacement fork. second attempt and 3rd claim also denied even though I paired it down to just the missing seatpost , and sent screenshots of text messages where he said he would refund but didn't.... so i'm pretty pissed at PP at this point, not angry at the seller though, the only thing that didn't sit right was that at the same time he was selling a full sus bike where the advert showed an axs dropper and sid ultimate fork , and he told me initially the frame was for sale because the components were being moved to a different bike. so maybe he has 2 of all those things...but no way for me to know.

Anyway after going back and forth for months, 3 separate claims denied by paypal i said screw it and disputed it on my CC. they immediately gave me a credit and told me the investigation may take a few months. just yesterday seller emails me angry that i'm taking $$ from him even after he sent a fork as an above and beyond gesture. ultimately i want PP to pay since they assured me multiple times i had a valid claim and denied it x3 wasting my time. i haven't responded to him yet, but basically i feel like saying, " i'm taking my appropriate steps to recoup my losses, i suggest you take it up with paypal since they did side with you (seller) they shouldn't be penalizing you for it"

any thoughts on going forward with that? financially $800 is a hit i can absorb easily, its more the principle. but at the same time if the seller is "innocent" i don't want him getting screwed...

The seller is lying and is trying to fuck you.

i try and give people the benefit of the doubt, but there are a few red flags i mentioned above (never actually sending the photos of the frame being packed which he said he had, and the 2nd bike for sale with seemingly identical parts) My theory is that he initially intended to sell me the frame and cheaper (select) fork but then offered the top end fork for extra $ , same for the axs dropper. i agreed to the extra $ for the upgrades but talked him down $100 or so, he said the offer seemed a bit low but ultimately accepted. i'm guessing in the meantime he then sold the full sus bike for a significantly higher price and needed to include the ultimate fork and dropper as those were shown in the full sus advertisement , so those parts weren't available to ship with my frame. in the end he only had the select fork (which was pictured in original ad for the frame) so he sent that hoping it would appease me. as for the rigid bmc post, no idea why that was never sent . any way that just my guess as to what happened based on all the circumstantial evidence. if that is true, then yes he's trying to fuck me.

You don’t say, but was the box half empty? We’re the rest of the parts rattling around in the box because things were missing?

The benefit of the doubt is that the seller made an honest mistake and he doesn’t even know it. He’s sure they packed it in the box, but they didn’t.

You’re not saying he defrauded you or is lying to you. In his mind, he is not, and you’re okay with that.

Stick with the CC return, drop the rest of it and move on.

---

Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.