Lester Ears hints at the risk of loss issues, which apply to all of us who buy and sell on Audiogon:
Here are the rules, in descending order of priority:
1) contract terms control over any of the below;
2) any breach of contract, even one unrelated to shipping damage, puts the risk of loss on the breaching party (i.e., if seller ships damaged goods, he is liable for breach regardless of whether he has fulfilled his delivery obligations below).
3) a merchant seller has the risk of loss if the item IS shipped through a common carrier (i.e., UPS, FedEx) until seller completes his delivery obligations (see below).
4) a merchant seller has the risk of loss if the item is NOT shipped through a common carrier, and his delivery oligations are not fulfilled until the buyer takes actual physical possession of the goods.
5) a nonmerchant seller has the risk of loss until the seller tenders the goods (makes them available to the buyer, but is not required to put the buyer in actual possession). Therefore, if you enter into agreeement to purchase speakers from buyer, and on your way to seller's house to pickup the speakers, the seller's infant son knocks the speakers over, the buyer has just bought himself a pair of damaged speakers.
FULFILLMENT OF DELIVERY OBLIGATIONS
In a common carrier shipment contract, the seller's delivery obligations are fulfilled when he gets goods to the carrier, and notifies the buyer. Thus, in three above, if it's a shipment arrangement, the seller is not legally responsible to the buyer if the item is damaged in transport since the buyer has the risk of loss.
In a common carrier destination contract, the seller must get the goods to the buyer. Therefore, the seller's delivery obligations are not fulfilled until the buyer actually takes possession. If the item is damaged before possession, the seller bears the risk of loss.
