Bartertown.com

So I am in the midst of a trade with a trader whos apparently unaivable until the end of november. He sent his half of the trade but it came damaged. I am thinking I should wait to ship my end until he returns and we can work out a compromise. But our agreement was for me to ship upon receipt of his items. Any thoughts on the matter?

Why was it damaged?
Did he pack it poorly? If so, then wait and work out the problem.
If the box was damaged, and it's insured don't wait to file a claim.
If i's not insured, the go back to question 1. He didn't insure, why?

The 17 terrain buildings were placed side by side with no protection between the individual buildings on the top and bottom layers. Between the top and bottom layers and on the exterior surface their was a single layer of bubble wrap there was also some newspaper in there. Box appears to be on its third use but it doesnt appear to be too beat up. But pretty much all of the buildings lost their chimneys and parts of their eaves or some other spot. With the way it was packed it seems like a single drop by the postman would jostle the peices enough to cause some damage. He used Canada Post , there is also a priority mail confirmation dont think either of those come with insurance. The value on the customs form is only $75 anyways so not enough to cover their value even if their was insurance

He has a high feedback rating so I feel bad waiting to ship my end but I just dont want to ship my end only to have him say that he would rather just ship things back and have him pay even more in shipping. The box cost over $30 to ship so...

Should I assume that he will make it right or that he will want me to ship back? Apparently he is gone for another 3 weeks or so.

I would wait. If you ship, that implies your happy with the status of the items you received.
It's not your fault he is unavailable.
If you send you items, and then he says tough, you're out the models.
If he says, ok, send me mine back and i'll send yours back, you're out the money for postage, twice, for his mistake.

He did not pack them properly. Newspaper is not a packing material. It's ok to keep an item from being scratched, but only barely. It compresses flat and leaves air gaps.

To be packed properly, items should have 2 inches padding; bubble wrap, foam or packing peanuts; around them. Sometimes you can get away with used plastic store bags if items are still in original packing or are pretty durable; like box games or such, or soft plastic like clix.

I would wait myself, If he has a high rating he should know better on how to pack things. i'd send a PM saying you were unhappy with the condition it arrived in, and see if he has time to respond back.

Also take pictures of the damages, in case he askes.

I completely concur with Carmachu and Kturock on their points.

Coming from a terrain maker, there was no reason not to pack it better and expect it to make the trip safely from Canada.

Wait on sending your stuff, BUT send him a pm immeditaely and let him know the problems you encountered. Tell him that you are holding the pattern until he gets back with you on things.

... besides this will ensure that your package to him isn't just sitting somewhere awaiting his return