My partner received my package yesterday, 2 bottles were missing and the other 3 were sticky. It was stamped "received damaged by usps". Do i need to fill a claim at bpost (did send from belgium to us)? am i expected to resend 2/5 bottles if able? We're talking about bottles like zenne... Seems obvious one or 2 bottles broke, Never had this happen before and they knew it was fragile. Any insight would be appreciated.
had a package break on me and I resent everything I could still find as fast as possible and started ziplock bagging each beer even though I had always used tons of bubble wrap, big thing too is make sure especially if I was trading across continents to find double walled corrugate boxes and give it the 5 foot drop test once it's packed
Gotta pack stuff REALLY well especially if it's going overseas. I've sent about 20 packages now, including some to Australia, and I've had 0 broken bottles. Besides that, you may not be able to get refunded, however being from Belgium I would say your chances are better. I would file a claim and see what happens, but in many cases you are just out the beer and the shipping cost. Also marking a box as "fragile" is little to no protection. They usually don't read it/don't care. so package accordingly. It all starts with a strong box as Jay Whitson mentioned, I am moving more and more toward using double-wall boxes every time, and/or box in a box and individually wrapped bottles, plus trash bags or freezer bags to protect against spills.
Even if you file a claim they are going to want proof of purchase on the items you were sending... and we all know how that story ends.. Just chalk it up as a loss and come to a new agreement/understanding with the person who was suppose to get the box.
Really unfortunate when we're talking about something like Zenne which is super tough to replace and was likely the main component of this trade. As long as the box was packed really carefully I think working out something fair where you guys both take a hit is probably best. Like others have said, I don't think you'll have any luck with bpost.
@YvesB you need to replace the missing beers. Your trading partner can elect to be accommodating, but s/he isn't obligated to incur any of the losses. IF you can't replace the beers that were lost you should consult your trading partner as to which beers would be acceptable substitutes.
I actually had a second package out at the same time with the same result, it arrived with 2 bottles less. It included a letter saying it arrived damaged in Brussels, that's even before it got onto the plane and less then an hour drive from my post office where I dropped them off. So I'm pretty sure some buffoon tossed them around and this one was damaged as well before leaving Belgium. Evidence to back this up: none. That being said, I'm going to resend each lost bottle including the last 2 zenne from my cellar, together with the international shipping that's a big blow, however one partner offered to send me a "thank you" box with some merch. Can't tell you how thrilled I am with that unbelievable gesture.
@YvesB kudos for being the kind of trader who makes it right even when it's truly painful.. And props to the trading partner who's sending a ty box.
USPS is terrible. I know if you're doing Int'l trades they are sometimes unavoidable but you just need to pack with the knowledge that your box is being handled by the worst in the business...
