fraudulent returns

[angelscore]

A reseller bought a vintage YSL dress from me, and received it a month ago and I just received it back  with a huge tear in the front. It was close to mint condition when I sent it and she admits to tearing it .Ebay customer service says I have to refund her before I can file a claim.  Has anyone dealt with this , and can you help by explaining how this process works .The dress is now badly damaged and can't be resold. 

Thank you !

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@angelscore   Did the listing have Buyer Pays return shipping?  I see this listing does.  Hopefully it's this dress>   https://www.ebay.com/itm/116026022311

If it does have buyer pays return shipping since you are TRS then this is what you do>  

What you need to do is on the return request select report buyer on the lower right.  Then you upload photos of the damage.   Next you will see the option to reduce the refund amount by up to 50%.     I know that giving this buyer back 50% is not great but it's better than a full refund.  

Then eBay should also give you a $6.00 credit for return shipping.  

Sellers have protection for return abuse if they offer FREE RETURN shipping on their listings OR if they are a Top Rated seller and offer 30 days or greater returns.  The seller can then reduce the refund amount by up to 50% if the buyer sends a different item or somehow reduces the value of the item.

Seller protection: https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-protections?id=4345&st=

[angelscore]

Thanks so much for your reply .I tried to do as you instructed , but when I hit report buyer , it did not give me an option to upload any photos of the damage .Although I am a TRS I do not offer returns , because the 30 day return window allows other vintage dealers to take items to shows or post them in their shops and then return them if they don't sell , sometimes damaging them as is the case here. I've also had problems with people wearing things on their social media , then returning them . This buyer did not file a regular return request , I don't know if this is because she waited almost 30 days to process the return .Is there anything else I can do  ? thanks so much for your time 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@angelscore. The listing I linked did have buyer pays returns on it.

Look at your return policy this way.... if you offer buyer pays returns you at least don't have to issue a full refund. 

If you have no returns then the buyer just has to lie and say it's not as described and might even damage an item on purpose.   Then you have to issue a full refund.   

[angelscore]

Ok i just figured it out and processed a partial refund .Thanks so much for your help I really appreciate the support

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@angelscore.  That's great.   If they complain refer them to CS.    Depending on the buyers history eBay may refund the other 50% out of their pocket. 

This won't count against you and they shouldn't be able to leave negative feedback.    At least my buyer wasn't able to the one time I used this protection.  

[angelscore]

I spoke too soon , ebay just put my funds on hold , while they investigate , because the buyer complained . I really can't offer returns , there is too much return abuse/fraud in the designer vintage space right now .I've been focusing on ebay because I thought they offered protection but that appears not to be the case .I'm upset they put funds on hold .I guess I should look into taking my business elsewhere .I'm tired of this .THe buyer has several resale sites , kept the dress for a month ,   tore it and returned it . The amount ebay took out plus the moeny I refunded is more than I earned for the sale, they say that once you offer a partial refund you can't get your ebay fees back , so I stand to lose quite a bit of money on this