Do sellers have any recourse against buyers falsely claiming damaged item?

[duncbe6]

I recently sold my first item on Ebay...a blu-ray steelbook.

The cardboard box I shipped it in was extremely sturdy and durable and even had a thick layer of foam on the inside. I also wrapped the steelbook in several layers of newspaper, tissue  paper and even a ring of cotton balls around the outside...to eliminate the possibilty of any wiggle room.

I took pictures of each stage of the packing process, just to make sure I could prove everything I'm saying, should the buyer claim otherwise.

Upon the package being delivered, the buyer waited two days to contact me and sent pictures with three large dents on the steelbook case, saying that the post office had "manhandled it."

I do not believe his story at all. I can post the photos of the box and material I shipped it in if anyone is interested. There is no way that those dents occured during shipping, unless the box was run over by a truck.

Now the buyer is asking for a discount.

the whole thing is shady as hell.

What can/should I do?

...am I just screwed?

[vintagecraze50]

This requiring tracking on a return is a problem here with Ebay. An example of this happens to us frequently. Someone will email us telling us this or that whether true or false and we say "open a return Request". Many times these people do not open a return request where you have a half witted chance of refusing the return . They just send the package back . Now, they may or may not get tracking on the package. If they do then Pay Pal will have evidence of the tracking somewhere that the customer can provide for a refund, but the point being EBAY DOES NOT REQUIRE THEM TO PROVIDE A TRACKING NUMBER OR TO MAKE ThEM USE THE RETURN REQUEST. Bad, and needs to be fixed.

[*madison]

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@duncbe6 wrote:
He is refusing to send me photographs of the front and back cover so that I can see if the Best Buy sticker on it matches the sticker in the photograph I took before shipping it.

In the photo he sent, it appears to be unwrapped and I can only see a small fraction of the upper right corner of the case.

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I think the buyer is lying, and just want a partial refund.

And I also think the buyer damaged the packaging and then sent you a pic.

[rolenboy01]

I have to agree I've never had a USPS insurance claim take longer than 10 days.

[tellmemama]

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@duncbe6 wrote:
I should refund the money before getting the item back?

Before it's even confirmed that he's put the item in the mail with a tracking #?

I'm not going to do that.

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Again if you plan to file the buyer SHOULD NOT return the item.  It will void the claim.  And yes you should refund when the insurance claim is filed.  The buyer shouldn't have to wait for the outcome.  After the PO rep inspects the item and packaging (if they even bother) the item won't be returned anyway.  But you will get the insurance payout and all is even in the end.

Good luck~

[tellmemama]

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@duncbe6 wrote:

The buyer has now sent me about 15 emails in the past hour, saying nonsensical stuff and saying he just wants me to email him a free shipping label so that we can deal with this without going through ebay. He says he will open a case against me tomorrow if I don't.

I've already made it clear that I will refund the item once it's returned, but I would like to file my insurance claim with USPS first, so that it doesn't get voided like several people here have said it would. He seemed to be fine with that earlier today, but all of a sudden he's changed his tune and is demanding that the return and refund be handled immediately.

He is also refusing to send me a photograph of the front and back cover of the steelbook, so that I can see if the Best Buy sticker on it matches the one I have in the photos of it that I took myself. He claims it's still sealed, but it did not appear to be in the photo he sent me.

Everything about his behavior today seems off to me.

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You're right.  Now it's starting to stink.  If you already suspect the item pictures he sent aren't of the one you shipped, he likely has an old one which he is planning to swap out.   If this thing has a serial number, you may want to include it in a message and let him know he will be refunded when the item is returned and inspected for matching numbers.

It's also odd that he wants you to send a label outside of ebay when by opening a return request will automatically generate one (that ebay will bill you for).  Maybe his threat to open a case is an empty one because he is no longer eligible for the money back guarantee program?  Many buyers have been denied the right to open them when they've abused it.

My spider sense starts tingling the second they ask for a partial. 

[moo*cow*corner]

Here's how I see it...correct any misperceptions or errors in reading comprehension...need more coffee...

Current status...buyer still communicating thru ebay messages, no return request opened yet. Demanding a partial refund.

Firstly- I'd ask the buyer to go ahead and open a return request. Reason- you want him on ebay's radar, especially if he has a habit of steamrolling sellers for partial refunds.

Assuming he opens a SNAD (Significantly Not as Described) claiming shipping damage....then you have to make some tough choices---each has its plusses and minuses...

• Issue a return label for shipping back to you. You refund 100%, even if he sends a different unit or a rock. A minus for sure. Plus side is you can report the buyer for abuse of returns, pursue fraud reports, maybe even get a courtesy refund. Biggest plus is NO DEFECT for Unresolved by Seller. If he doesn't return SOMETHING within the ebay given time frame, call and get closed in your favor just as soon as that window passes. I do believe that sending the item back to you will void USPS insurance.
• File a damage claim with USPS. Refund buyer immediately, wait and hope USPS honors the claim. If you try to stall waiting on USPS to decide, you may get hit with the Unresolved by Seller defect. Those are DEADLY to your selling account. If claim is approved, you pocket the check. If not, you take the loss. The immediate refund while awaiting USPS will assure no defect.
• Give the buyer a partial and hope he goes away. No defect. Nothing stopping buyer from trying to extort a second partial either....if you give a partial for cosmetic damage, nothing is stopping him from claiming it doesn't boot up or whatever, he'd like more money back...blah, blah...Sorry, I'm pretty cynical these days.

In my opinion, trying to dance about,  keeping as many options as open as possible or switching processes midstream is a recipe for disaster. Pick an option and go.

Best advice is keep the big picture in mind. Do what you fell will benefit your business the most in the LONG TERM. It may be worth the short term loss and the GRRR created by a scamming buyer to keep your account clean and OFF ebay's seller hoops merry-go-round.

[femmefan1946]

I was wrong about having the packaging returned if you are pursuing a USPS insurance case.

Sorry.

I was trying to (subtly) out a scammer.

If a package is damaged in the postal system, notices are attached often explaining what happened.

(Fun fact-- some of those notices are collected by philatelists as "disaster mail")

No USPS notices -- the chances of damage in transit are very low.

And mentioning the postal inspectors? Most scammers are scared of those guys and will do anything to avoid coming to their notice.

[duncbe6]

Why would a buyer bother keeping the packaging for the insurance people, even if I asked him to?

He has no legal obligation to not throw the box away.

Especially if he's a scammer.

[flashbudda]

Umm, that's totally biased view. I am right now dealing with a seller that sold me a "brand new, unused" item but it was shipped to me already used and opened. I even message him before making the purchase to confirm the condition of the item, he lied and shipped out hte used item. I opened a case and he offered a partial refund, which I refused, since I have no idea how long the item has been used or what working condition it is in. The fact that ebay continue allow sellers that gets multiple negative review months after months and continue able to sell is just wrong, to say the least.

[gramophone-georg]

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@tellmemama wrote:

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@duncbe6 wrote:

The buyer has now sent me about 15 emails in the past hour, saying nonsensical stuff and saying he just wants me to email him a free shipping label so that we can deal with this without going through ebay. He says he will open a case against me tomorrow if I don't.

I've already made it clear that I will refund the item once it's returned, but I would like to file my insurance claim with USPS first, so that it doesn't get voided like several people here have said it would. He seemed to be fine with that earlier today, but all of a sudden he's changed his tune and is demanding that the return and refund be handled immediately.

He is also refusing to send me a photograph of the front and back cover of the steelbook, so that I can see if the Best Buy sticker on it matches the one I have in the photos of it that I took myself. He claims it's still sealed, but it did not appear to be in the photo he sent me.

Everything about his behavior today seems off to me.

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You're right.  Now it's starting to stink.  If you already suspect the item pictures he sent aren't of the one you shipped, he likely has an old one which he is planning to swap out.   If this thing has a serial number, you may want to include it in a message and let him know he will be refunded when the item is returned and inspected for matching numbers.

It's also odd that he wants you to send a label outside of ebay when by opening a return request will automatically generate one (that ebay will bill you for).  Maybe his threat to open a case is an empty one because he is no longer eligible for the money back guarantee program?  Many buyers have been denied the right to open them when they've abused it.

My spider sense starts tingling the second they ask for a partial. 

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If you ask me it stunk from the beginning.

The problem with a partial refund here is what if he gets his outside- of- eBay partial refund and THEN opens a case on PayPal?

Look- the mantra is this: "If it's worth keeping, it's worth paying for"... period. It's just as damaged at $80 as it will be at $70 or at $55.

Tell him to open his case.

[bubbleman2010]

Because you are suppose to asume people are good and honest and will help you out to solve a problem. I try not to brand anyone a scammer rather just uninformed. You are new to ebay and uninformed and if your buyer is cut from the same cloth they might be afraid of a scam seller...

[bubbleman2010]

Look at the bright side the longer the clock tics away without a dispute being opened the more likely it is the buyer will just fade away.....

[coolections]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

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@plumbingspecials wrote:
It's no coincidence that he has only positive reviews, since he cannot receive negs. That's why it's important to set preferences to block violators (those will not show up on feedback, they won't even know until they go to buy something and they can't because they're a scammer!)

So if he does return it, and it's not in the condition you sent it, report him. Make sure he goes through proper channels to return the item (he has to open a return case or snad, he has to upload his tracking number when he ships the item back).

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You're way off base - if the item did receive damage during shipping - the buyer should not be reported. A claim should be filed with the USPS. Do not have the buyer send back the original packaging and the box - that voids your insurance on the package.

I'm sorry but you're getting a lot of false info here. The buyer was kind enough to send photos - start an insurance claim and let the buyer know that they may want to inspect the packaging and item so he has to keep them available.  If he refuses to do so then come back here and we'll advice you on the next steps.

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Had to get all the way to reply #33 before we finally got the right answer to the OP's problem.