What are my options with a "damaged" item return | Shipping

browneyes776 · 2023-09-12T15:35:18.031000Z

The buyer reached out and said that the item arrived damaged. From the photos they sent, the box appeared to have been slightly crushed during shipping and appears to have been retaped by the carrier. So, the box was definitely damaged. I have shipped about 90 of this item and used the same box and this is the only issue I've encountered but the photos look legitimate. Where I'm having issues is that the item is a soft hat. The photo the buyer sent shows the top of that hat pushed in. That's kind of the nature of the material of the hat. You can push them in and they'll pop right back out, they are not rigid. I suspect that the buyer is at best feeling buyer's remorse or at worst fraudulently claiming damage to get the item for free. The handful of confusing messages and lowball offers from the buyer should have probably been a red flag. Ebay is holding the funds. I have never had a return or claim of damage and have a couple of questions. If I offer a partial refund, is this in any way a mark against me or could it go badly at all? I'm more concerned about my seller feedback than the money. Should I be asking for more photos of actual damage? Can/should I just file a damage claim with USPS instead? I've never done this. If I give the option to return and the item comes back undamaged, is there some way to make a counter claim? If the item is not damaged and the buyer is required to return the item, does this ever work to call the buyer's bluff? If the item is damaged, of course I don't want the buyer to pay for it. I do have a strong suspicion that it's not actually damaged but at the end of the day I don't want to damage my feedback rating to fight it. Thanks for any and all advice.

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What are my options with a "damaged" item return | Shipping | eBay Community