What can I do if a buyer returns a different item than sold to them?
If I sell an item, I will mark it externally or internally with my initials. I did this for an electronics item and took pictures of the unit (and video) showing where the item is secretly marked.
I asked the buyer聽 for a picture of the item they wanted to return, it doesnt have the external mark i put on the corner...and wont have my initials hidden under the pads on the bottom of the unit.聽
It hasn't gotten here yet, but they are trying to send their old broken part back to me for a refund....not the part i sent to them 馃槥聽 聽Sooooo, did they get over on me or will ebay help?
thank you聽
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14 comments
christworks
路5 months ago@compositelab聽 With all due respect, refunding them without forcing them to return something to you is foolish. For starters, you encourage the very behavior you say you hate. This buyer is then allowed to live another day and be a problem for another seller. Sometimes these people work in groups. Even if you block this buyer, there are places where they can post your store to let other scammers know you are an easy mark.聽
If you do not stand up for yourself and use the tools that are available to you, nobody can do it for you and people will treat you like doormat. Why shouldn't they? I mean, it is easy to complain, but harder to actually do something. At this point it does not even sound like they have opened a return. If this buyer messaged me this garbage, here is what I would say.
"Dear Customer,
The battery shown in your photos does not match the one we shipped. Have you purchased another battery elsewhere?
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If you choose to open a return, please ensure the original item we sent is returned. We can only issue a refund for the exact item shipped.聽If a different item is returned, the refund will be denied. Your account will be reported to eBay, and we may contact the carrier's fraud division.
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Thank you,
Your Seller"
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If you are 1000% sure you are in the right, a simple message like that signals you can't have the wool pulled over your eyes. If it is a scammer, they will think twice and more often than not you won't hear a peep out of them again.聽
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Why in the world you are worried about a negative feedback from a scammer is beyond me. Negative feedback means little these days. I wouldn't want one, but I be darned if I am going to give in to scammer.聽
Be careful about marking items unless you've disclosed it in the listing. You actually open yourself up to a INAD return if a buyer finds your markings and they were not disclosed.聽
compositelab
OP5 months agoi'm unclear as to why you would think I was refunding them without having the product returned? did it "read" that way?馃槸
Are there actual tools provided to sellers in a situation like this? everything in the "help" section is geared to "buyers".聽馃檮
anyway, thanks for the great advice and thanks for the "sample letter" as well!! it was direct and to the point....love it.聽馃憤
compositelab
OP5 months ago@christworks聽 I Just wanted to say "Thank you" again! 馃槑I used your "sample letter" and edited it a bit before sending it off that day....I havent heard a word since. No reply, no case opened.... 馃檪聽
It's so sad that we have to go thru these things sometimes, but its comforting to know there are people like you out there!聽
take care!聽
christworks
路5 months agoYes, it is sad, indeed. But, once you accept there are just bad people in the world who will scam you in a heartbeat. I'm sad to say I'm related to one of them. The worse ones, like my relative, will tell themselves they are not doing any harm. They will say, "That seller can write it off on their taxes and get their money back."聽 They don't view what they do as stealing, which is exactly what it is. That is why I believe in strongly worded messages that may or may not contain the by-the-book truth. Scammers do not want to bring attention to their account. Once they see you are not a pushover, they move on. Just like my buyer I posted about Tuesday night.
compositelab
OP5 months agoIts not about the money...
dragged it out a bit and got her to send a picture of the battery she wants to return... clearly a totally different one than advertised and sold to her. ..clearly a scam.聽 its really hard to read the comments where people just accept this type of stuff from buyers/sellers or are "ok" about ebay facilitating this type of stuff and doing nothing to help its customers ...
i guess it is what it is 馃槥聽
i will just stick with my core customer base...venturing out to include other items isnt for me聽
good luck to everyone and thank you again for your knowledge and support聽 馃檪聽
shire123
路5 months ago@compositelab聽
"i guess it is what it is聽"
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"i will just stick with my core customer base...venturing out to include other items isnt for me聽
good luck to everyone and thank you again for your knowledge and support聽聽"
You said it all right there!聽 聽 聽 In this world as it is now, things like this occur because there are so many dishonest people out there.聽 聽 And with the web connecting us all we are going to come into contact with those dishonest people from time to time.聽 聽聽
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All you can do is what you mentioned or use what few tools we sellers have from ebay to help minimize these "thefts".
compositelab
OP5 months agodid a little digging and found this feedback that they left for another seller....same story聽
its a scam. I'll just refund it to avoid a bogus negative feedback. I get that ebay wants to be buyer friendly but they act like every seller is a " walmart " and can afford people scamming every once in a while...or figure it into their "cost of doing business" when its personal items being sold.聽聽
anyway, I sent them a message telling them i would refund the item payment聽
i'll just cutback my selling options here.聽 i hate dishonest people, it takes the fun out of things.......
THANK YOU to everyone that has responded with help and suggestions. 馃檪聽
*this is not my feedback. its feedback that they left for another seller with the exact same story聽
44012
路5 months agoMy personal rule of thumb is don't sell anything on this platform that I cannot afford to lose.
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This type of issue has happened to me in the past as well. And I was really upset as I am a good seller. How could this happen that someone could just steal with no recourse?
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Though it took about a week I stopped being angry and dwelling on it, took some listings down that were best to sell locally and listed more items that I could afford to cover if the sale went sideways. I chalked it up to the same scenario to someone walking into a brick and mortar and pocketing an item in their purse. That incident happened over 5 years ago and it hasn't happened again since and lots of items have sold problem free since then.
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I said before I was sorry this happened to you.聽 And I really am! It is one of the worst things about on line business and it happens on all platforms, not just this one.
44012
路5 months agoUse the loss on this year's income tax when you file next year.
Keep a copy to keep with any other receipts.
I'm sorry this happened to you.
kibble-net
路5 months agoPictures or markings won't change the outcome with ebay.聽 A video of you packing the item or leaving it at the post office won't help either.
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The only situation where this would be potentially helpful might be in small claims court. But even then, there is too much reasonable doubt for it to be guaranteed.
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The best use of your time and money is going to be to accept the return, block the buyer, and move on with your life. Selling online is a numbers game.
12345jamesstamps
路5 months agoNothing you can do except block the buyer from future purchases.
Now, if it was a 'freight forward' that would be another story.
Electronic items sometimes are bought from other countries using freight forward which item won't get returned to you...and seller usually wins in this case.
Buyer, by the way, gets 30+ days to return it. I have been there with this length of timeframe.
ryry-jj
路5 months agoNot much you can do on eBay with that.聽 If the buyer returns the item, wrong or right, and tracking shows it as delivered then they get refunded.聽 聽 If you qualify, you can deduct 50% of the return if the item is not returned in the same condition you sent it...that's the best option you have.
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All that signing/marking, pix/video would only be of value if you went to court, unfortunately
shire123
路5 months agoFrom the many answers to this type of question over the years, there is basically little you can do.聽 聽 Pictures don't prove anything to ebay as those pictures can be manipulated.聽 聽聽
Once you get the item back it is possible you can deduct 50% of the original price is you as the seller meet certain criteria聽 (top rated seller, 30 day returns???)
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If you get a different part back absolutely report the buyer.聽 聽 If the buyer pulls this stunt enough times they will be booted from ebay.聽聽
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Other than that keep good records and take the loss off of your taxes for the year.聽
kensgiftshop
路5 months agoUnless they offer free returns on that item, they wouldn't qualify to deduct anything.
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