# When rating sellers how much blame for substandard delivery?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-rating-sellers-how-much-blame-for-substandard-delivery/845967>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 5, 2020, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-rating-sellers-how-much-blame-for-substandard-delivery/845967 "2020-01-05T11:14:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-rating-sellers-how-much-blame-for-substandard-delivery/845967/21 "2020-01-09T18:58:46Z")

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In the shipping world, the term to describe the situation where the seller is _not_ responsible for shipping problems after a point is “Free On Board” ([FOB](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fob.asp)).

This is used in some b2b transactions, esp. at the wholesale level. It would be uncommon to see it _stated_ in a sale to a consumer. And (this is the important point) if FOB is _not_ in the sales agreement, it _doesn’t_ apply.

Any seller on Amazon or whatever that presumes FOB without it being clearly stated is deluding themselves. (Sadly, there are a lot of delusional people out there.)

If the choice of shipper is the seller’s and they regular choose a crappy one, then that is clearly something other buyers need to be warned about.

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-rating-sellers-how-much-blame-for-substandard-delivery/845967/22 "2020-01-09T21:02:15Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> > [@control-z](#):
> >
> > Technically, the sale isn’t fulfilled until you receive the product.
> 
> According to who?

Try telling the IRS that you put your tax return and check in the mail, and if they never got it, it’s their problem.

> [@D\_Anconia](#):
>
> From an accounting standpoint, that’s not true. The sale is completed when the product is shipped.

The buyer is not a bookkeeper. You are paying the seller to get a product to you, not to the delivery company. If the delivery company never shows up, or comes unreasonably later than promised, I hold the seller responsible. I also don’t buy from sellers who require me to pay extra for shipping insurance.

> [@nelliebly](#):
>
> The seller is responsible for representing the item accurately, packaging it securely, and shipping it promptly via a reputable delivery service. Down-rating a seller because UPS/USPS/FedEx screwed up is misleading to other buyers and wrong.

Yes, but not if they ship via a _dis_reputable delivery service.

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