Advice on a trade gone bad, and fixing it

[Strider]

Personally I would give it another week or two. Then again, I'm from Canada so I cross border deals 4 weeks before I start worrying.

Advice - keep up the communications. If your replying quickly to his queries, he shouldn't get worked up.

Course, this is the internet - getting worked up is what it's all about.

[punkncat]

I have to agree that USPS' tracking is rather a joke...but I have used priority service with hundreds of packages with zero problems. (knock on wood)

I used to work for UPS. I have a few suggestions. DO NOT mark anything as fragile. ALWAYS overpack your goods for protection, and insure for sure. Ramp workers and FRAGILE means fun playing field goal kicker or worse....probably happens with any shipper. I guess its much like when you work in the kitchen at a restaurant, you never eat there again.

[TheAngryDrunkenRussian]

UPS also believes that if the box is 8 inches it will fit in a 5 inch hole when they pack trucks.

[Tao]

Ok.. I recently made a deal for someone for a mag rail. He sent me the money order, no big deal and I sent out the rail (though even here was a screw up, he was under the impression we were going to ship at the same time, I waited until I had the rail).

The problems - ok, actually I handed it to someone else to mail for me. Its been over two weeks (or close to it) and he does not have his rail yet. Understandably his mail to me is getting a bit frustrated. I can understand that.

At this point I have PMed Tuna and asked him to ship a rail and Ill pay for it, because I don't have another used one to send this member.

My question is what more should I do on this? What more can I do? I feel really bad this person has not gotten what I promised them.

The best is to be honest first and foremost

Right now you stand in a breach of contract. Before you do anything else I would confront the guy you are dealing with and ask him what option HE would like to do to fix this, even before you go ahead and order a new one from Tuna.
For example

1)refund
2)ship a new rail (i.e. From Tuna)
3)Keep waiting for the orriginal to arrive.
4)add in a partial refund to any option for the inconveninece.
5)anything else you can come to an agreement on

You should find that (usually) being honest about what is going on up front will be the best. You may get a rippen but at least you can keep his confidence that you are not trying to rip him off.

Hope this helps.