New one for me. Bogus INAD on way back to me. Same buyer makes an offer on same item again today
I am the only seller with this particular item,Tiffany candy cane ornament (single stripe cased glass). I had 5 or so, sold others no problem. This buyer of the 1 of the 2 in stock claimed saying it was fake, wrong box, etc. But now wants my other one? I will decline, but should I include a message about this the same ornament you are sending back to me? I didn't want to block and report INAD abuse until I received ornament back.
26 comments
trip98
OP5 months agoUpdate: The INAD on my service metrics was removed. I uploaded photos with the Report Buyer tab and discussed my problem/uploaded photos on the Instagram site. So, not sure what actual made it happen. I am 1/2 way whole again.
Filed report with postal inspector...
kandf_vintage_finds
·5 months agoNo further communication.
Block now
Hopefully you get your first order back....intact.
EDIT Just read further. Sorry this happened to you.
trip98
OP5 months agohaha I entertained that thought for second!
bgt_masters_of_tiki_d
·5 months agoYou should have refunded the least amount possible. If you want a chance of getting your money back I would file an IC3.gov fraud report then once you get the report contact ebay and they should get in touch with you via email and you can forward them a copy. They should then reimburse you. I have had to do it a few times.
For anyone else reading. Online fraud is (at least was) taken seriously and you shouldn't just let it go. Depending on the state and the amount the person could be in some serious trouble. I went through it awhile back, it was over $1000 and from a thief in California. The amount was considered a felony there at the time and I was actually assigned a detective to the case through the Ic3.gov site. It took 9 months and I was pretty much made whole financially in the end but it was a pain.
Amusing part was the guy who ripped me off used his wife's checking account to send me the agreed upon restitution and then cancelled it after I got it. The detective did not like that and went after his wife for fraud as well. Things got settled really quick. The thief didn't fear the detective but he darn sure feared his wife.
This was not through ebay, but another site and it was over 10 years ago.
aeparts1
·5 months agoLet the buyer purchase your other candy cane. Then send them the fake one they returned to you.
broto_64
·5 months agoI would report and block.
I am sorry this happened to you, I had a buyer earlier last year accuse me of selling them counterfeit rope, yes ROPE, like clothes line rope... They wanted a refund but refused to open a return for it. There were a number of messages exchanged, it was a lost cause from the start, to this day I don't know what crawled up that buyer's bttu.
I also had someone pull a switcheroo, however in my case the buyer simply sent back an empty envelope.
Which begs the question, why send any product back?
Why not just return an empty envelope?
Here's my conclusion, I believe the buyer thinks you might be dumb enough not to realize it's the same person "offering" on your second order of cane(s) - Believe it or not it can happen, especially large volume sellers and dropshippers, they often have so many orders they don't keep up with who or what.
I would not send the buyer any messages.
christworks
·5 months ago@trip98 I hate that I was right. I am sorry this happened.
I have tried to write another strong message I'd send the buyer, but after three attempts, I can't come up with anything other than the middle finger emoji. It's not even my stuff and I'm angry.
2011jleach31
·5 months agoI block every customer that returns an item so they cannot purchase again.
reallynicestamps
·5 months agoYou can accept, refuse or ignore any Offer.
I would certainly Block this customer so they cannot buy the second one.
And Report the switch.
trip98
OP5 months agoAlready blocked and reported. Not refunded yet. I am not sure if I can deduct 1/2 because I think this was sold with 14 day return. I am looking into filing a police report. What a scammer!
gurlcat
·5 months ago@trip98 My gut is turning over because we were just talking about this a couple days ago, in your post asking about whether to have free returns. I hope you won't wait another day to change all your listings to at least have Buyer Pays returns for 30 days, whether the items are seasonal or not. Even if a buyer had returned a Christmas ornament on Jan. 1st or something, "free rental" isn't as bad as outright theft.
Speaking of, file a police report if you like but the best authority to report this fraud to is the US Postal Inspector (even if the item was shipped FedEx or UPS -neat huh?). https://fcsexternal.uspis.gov/fcsexternal/ExternalComplaintsEx
You'll notice the questions are written as if you are the consumer, but just pick the multiple choice answers that fit best, and use the text boxes to clarify that you were the merchant and this was a fraudulent return.
Be sure to do this before filing any kind of appeal to eBay, and include a file of the report. What this does is show eBay you're not making things up (who would draw federal attention to themselves if they were the fraudulent party?). When I included this report in an appeal to eBay, they gave me a courtesy refund.
onefootflipper
·5 months agoPolice are not going to pursue a cross state border case of a single item refund on ebay, particularly one in which there is zero actual proof. You would need to pursue them in normal court, which is not worth it given the value of the item. Particularly since it will cost you more than the value of the item to pursue the matter, they won't show up, you will get a default judgement that you will never collect on.
fullers_uk
·5 months agoWhile reporting to the police may not get you a direct result it can help police build a picture of activity of certain people and addreses, in time if they have multiple reports from many different sources 2+2 will equal 4 and somethng will happen, its like laying foundations for a home.
trip98
OP5 months ago@christworks Christworks: called it!
Update: I did not get the same candy cane back. The complaints were for the fake she had... I think that is why the buyer was trying to get the other one I had in stock. So I could not compare them. My candy cane has more red "stripes" and is signed in smaller print. Her candy cane- less red stripes and signed in large print. Geez, first switch since 1998!
stuff4divas
·5 months ago@trip98 what a loser! Karma will come back to her 10x worse. here are a few ebay links for info if u need them>
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-protection-policy?id=4345
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handle-return-request-seller?id=4115#refund_guidelines
unfortunately, in addition to other criteria, sellers need to offer 30 returns to deduct from the return
trip98
OP5 months agofern*wood
·5 months agoWhy only 20%? That won’t heal the wound much since eBay won’t refund any of the final value fees on a partial refund.
trip98
OP5 months ago20% is max allowed on the refund end, blocked from doing anymore more than that.
Umm something to consider. Total FVF $35.67 refunded or 20% deduction $48
Hopefully, my false INAD is removed. Otherwise, wow, just wrong all they way around.
fern*wood
·5 months agoDid you have 30 day returns on the listing that sold? Where did 20% max discount come from?
trip98
OP5 months agothe 20% max offered on the refund pages if not getting the item back in the same condition.
meme6253
·5 months agoReceive item back, then report & block.
lesegouts
·5 months agoJust block them.
christworks
·5 months ago@trip98 When you get it back, make sure it is the same one you sent them. You do not have to wait to report the return abuse, you can do it now. It is up to you whether you want to wait until you get it back. It may be wise to wait so you can let eBay know in your report whether the buyer swapped it.
At that price point, I would also cancel the order and I would have no problem using the buyer's address as the reason. I would then send a very firm message to the buyer:
Dear buyer, you have accused us of selling you a fake ornament. We stand by the authenticity of the item. You have committed abuse of the return system, which is a violation of eBay policy. Your account has been reported to eBay for this violation. As a result, your new order for the same ornament has been canceled due to your address being associated with return abuse. You are also being blocked from making any future purchases from us. Any attempt to circumvent this block is a violation of eBay policy and will be detected and reported. We appreciate you respecting this decision.
Then block them. You have no need to communicate to this person any further. When you get it back, if there is even a small part of you that thinks they swapped it, take 50% of the refund. Do not get eBay involved beyond reporting them for return abuse. If you ask eBay to step in, they will fully refund the buyer. I know a 50% loss is not ideal, but that is what it is. Hopefully they did not swap it.
Some seller will be along shortly to tell you to either not cancel the order or to use the out of stock option and take a ding on your account. Do not do that. You suspect return abuse and there is a valid arguement to be made that it creates an issue with the buyer's address.