Questions on a sketchy return
Im sure I don't have any other options but a full refund but, just for the sake of things, I can't help but to ask for other peoples thoughts/stories/suggestions.
I've been selling on eBay for quite a while now and have extensive experience dealing with scammers, so I can spot them from a mile away. usually they have the same tactics. Ive seen the false ebay webpages that they claim does not show how much the shipping costs, and the potential buyer ( scammer ) then asks for a shipping quote ( almost always out of the country ) to get you to ship it out on your own dime never to see the package or funds. Ive also had people ask about shipping it out of the country from the legit eBay site, but ask for discounted shipping, or if I would accept PayPal to ship to an alternate location for pickup besides an address or post office, or have someone pick up the item in person that's not the actual buyer but an "associate" because the actual buyer is busy on a "business trip". and play who wants to be a million-question-aire? I could go on all day with different stories. But alas! I am settling on the story of my soon to be return.
So Ive had a used electric scooter for sale for going on a year now. It retails for about $400 new, but hey, this is used, so I've had it competitively priced at $229 + s/h and no returns accepted. I've had a lot of scammers from Mexico, to Africa, to Europe all trying to get me to send it to them in various ways that are sketchy. Since most of us are not in the business of giving expensive things away for free, I've avoided those entirely.
one evening, ( the 8th of march ) Someone actually purchased it without asking a ton of questions or trying to get me to jump through hoops to make a sale. I was elated! finally this scooter will be out of my inventory. the joy was short lived when I realized that the buyer was located in the Virgin Islands, had 0 feedback and 0 purchases. I almost cancelled the order, buy against my better judgment, I let it ride because, hey, they paid in full. My mood soured even more when I noticed I was 2" off on my product dimensions, as it added an extra $40 to the shipping label ($170 total ship). pair that with the $49 selling fees, $40-something in ad rate, and minus tax from the payout, I barely took in over $100 from a $370 overall sale. Oh-well, the darned ol' scoot is sold and out of my storage.
So this thing takes 16 days to reach its destination to the VI. it made it there yesterday to a P.O. Box but said the customer has not picked it up yet. Today they picked up the package and not even 20 mins later I was receiving messages from them about it not working, not turning on. Great! ( it would have taken me longer to get home with it, let alone remove all of the extra packaging AND assemble it! ) So I want to genuinely believe it was DOA but I tested that thing several times over the almost year its been in storage, also tested it twice on the day it was purchased by the buyer, made sure it all functioned properly, even had it connected to an app that it pairs with.
It behooves me to think that after having it that long sitting in storage, and all the testing that was done on it, both prior to listing, during listing, and on the day of shipment to the buyer, that it all of the sudden does not work anymore. It would also feel more genuine if the person didn't seem like they knew their way around eBay like a pro knowing how the return process works and making vailed threats on feedback when they have 0 buys 0 sales 0 feedback and a new member. Sketch! I was surprised when they emailed me a video of them attempting to troubleshoot the scooter when I asked them to email it to me. I know its not required, and its usually pictures only but hey, all I can think is that they needed a part or a battery or just changed their mind and decided the only way to back out is to say its DOA. I dunno. on a side note, in the video, it looked like the scooter was plugged into the charger, but if the scooter was any further from the wall outlet it was plugged into, the cord would have come out of the wall. I mean, it was hanging in mid air! who charges stuff like that? in the video you could clearly see the plug in the scooter side bent at a 90 degree angle. I don't know how that would cause it to not turn on but, I'm sure it can't help, or maybe even short it out. I'm not sure. all I know is that from my experience, eBay will take their side because its electronic, they say its defective, so it does not matter that I have "does not accept returns" on the listing.
Now, not only did I only net barely over $100, but now I have to pay to ship it back ( $170 ) plus the full refund within two days of me getting it back. So now I'm in the hole almost $500 now because they broke it being careless, or changed their mind. Or hey, who knows, maybe they are genuine and I'm blowing this out of perportion and I should believe someone who has a brand new account with 0 feedback and 0 everything that is outside of the USA.
Do I have any options? my thought is to make sure no parts were swapped, like speed controllers, batteries, or other things that eventually go out on the scooters, and look for tell tale signs of tampering, and if so, I could do the 50% refund deduction. I'm unsure about how to approach this besides just eating $500. if its a scam, then I can't believe I fell for this ____. some advice if I could give any would be to not only check a sellers profile if your buying, but also check out your buyers if your a seller. expensive things selling to a 0every thing new profile is either a drop shipper, or scammer, with the rare exception of an actual person seeing your ad pop up on google.
kalyoth
·2 years agoOnly option is to refund the buyer. There is no mediation process for they said/they said - only money is involved. ebay sees you got item returned. Resolution under their rules is a refund to buyer - either by you or forced upon you by them.
3pickypeas
OP2 years agoHi fellow community! First off, a long over due apology! Besides the long-winded wall of text, it was actually broken down into paragraphs prior to posting on the forum. Im not sure why it didn't carry over to be properly spaced? For that I am truly sorry! I will be adding extra spaces to this wall of text.
With that being said, I have an update!
From what I have researched, Ebay encourages buyer/seller disputes to be resolved amicably prior to asking Ebay to step in for assistance. That is what I have attempted to do here.
I have sent the buyer, at my expense, a return shipping label, and I have just received the item today. I have taken the extra step of recording the entire experience from the time the package was delivered, to the time I opened the return package. Besides the lack of sufficient packaging, a scuff on the rear wheel's rubber, and the disk brake slightly bent and scrubbing, the actual reason the buyer stated that the scooter was being sent back ( DOA no power ) seems to be false!
I recorded the process of opening the package, assembling the scooter, and turning it on. All without failure. The scooter operates perfect as it should without a hitch.
At first, I was worried that this was a part swap scam. I was wrong. Now it appears to me that the buyer either thought that I would take their word for the DOA scooter, refund them, and let them keep the ( perfectly working ) scooter. Or that the buyer has ( upon inspection ) rode the scooter, and changed their mind to decide they no longer want the scooter.
My questions now are, what does this change? Do I need to open a case with Ebay? My listing clearly said "Seller does not accept returns" am I still liable for a DOA return when there is nothing wrong with the item even though it has more ( documented ) damage to it than before I shipped it out?
I feel that this entire time, I have been doing a dance with a possible scammer. I have, up until now, not had Ebay involved and have tried my best to properly assist this customer with their ( false ) claims.
Touching back on what @kensgiftshop said in his earlier reply "As far as it was shipped, no telling what all happened to the package and it's possible a wire got knocked loose causing it not to work." Well either that was the case, and upon return shipping, a wire got knocked back tight again, and now it works, or this person was trying to scam us. plain and simple.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSince it's been returned, all you can do is refund the buyer.
If you don't, Ebay will refund them, keep their fee's and give you a defect.
It's hard to know what the deal was, but be glad you got it back and not some junk.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoWow, that was a long dissertation to tell us that you got (what you consider to be) a false NAD return request!
Do I have any options?
Yes, you do have 2 options:
1. Accept the return and send a prepaid return shipping label
2. Issue a refund and let the buyer keep the item
kitschy*loot
·2 years agoPeople don't like big walls of text especially when they are longwinded, so if you want more responses you should consider breaking your paragraphs up with spaces between them. I don't like big walls of text either, but have no issue with diving into the wall of long-windedness lol.
You don't have any options other than refunding without a return if you want to save yourself from paying the return shipping fee. I didn't check to see if you are a TRS, but since you don't offer 30 day free returns you won't be deducting anything from the refund.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSince the listing had no returns, it doesn't qualify for the refund deduction.
As far as it was shipped, no telling what all happened to the package and it's possible a wire got knocked loose causing it not to work.
Until you get it back, you won't really know?