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Re: Mail Order Business Responsibility



>Dave Gomberg wrote:  "No company I know of in the "mail order" business
>delivers to its customers (except for UPS and FedEx delivering supplies for
>which they don't charge).  Almost all deliver to a carrier, and take NO
>RESPONSIBILITY for the actions of the carrier.  They insist the customer
>take and pay for insurance (often hidden in a "handling charge" and at
>exorbitant rates).  Then when there is a loss they leave the customer to
>enforce his rights under the insurance, often with the seller's help."

>NOT TRUE AT ALL, Dave.  Let's take as a example the mail order business
that
>either already is or will likely become the largest mail order business in
>the world:  Amazon.com.  A beautiful astronomy book I sent my twin brother
>for Christmas was never received.  After waiting 3 months, I called Amazon
>admitting I didn't have the slightest idea what had happened; that the book
>might have been stolen from the front porch for all I knew.  (I've told you
>I'm no good at representing myself! :-))  Without hesitating one second,
the
>representative said it made no difference at all what the reason might be,
>including theft off the porch, that Amazon guaranteed actual delivery of
its
>merchandise and would send another book out immediately, which they did.
My
>brother was delighted.

That's the key here.  The biggest mail order company in the world doesn't
need to worry about things like a smaller company does, let alone a single
individual.  Sure, Amazon doesn't lose much if an immoral customer gets the
book, puts it on his shelf, and calls them and says "I never got it, can you
send me another?", and subsequently stocks everyone in his family with a
copy, all at the company's expense.  They deal in such huge quantities, it's
almost no skin off their nose if this happens sometimes.  Dave is a much
smaller company (assumably) than Amazon.  If this happens enough to him, it
can ruin his business.  It's not his fault if the shipping company screws
things up, or if someone rips it off from the buyer's porch.  That's an
enormous load of crap.

Matt


>The legalities of the situation don't mean one whit IMNSO.  And if the
>insurance is "exorbitant," then both you and your customers will benefit if
>you self insure.  No need to throw your customers money down the drain.

>Steve