Buyer claims item defective when it wasnt. Now keeps Item and Money

[scsujason]

So I sold a Canon XH-A1 video camera internationally to Canada that the buyer claimed was defective and that there was no sound.  It is a professional broadcast camera and it needed a quick setting change for him to do and I tried and tried to teach him how to make the 10 second change so he can hear the onboard microphone instead of setup for External microphones but no response.  I tried to send messages through eBay but no response.  I sent photos of click this here and you will be good to go.  Total operator error as I tested it before shipping it out and I didn't feel that I should have to accept return shipping for operator error.  As the only way I had to accept return shipping is if something was wrong with it, but there wasn't.  He just didnt know how to use it.  

eBay eventually gave me his phone number and I tried calling internationally MULTIPLE times and leaving messages and sending texts.  The guy has 1 feedback.  1!  From me when he purchased it.  

I told eBay that he hadn't been responding to ANY of my communications and they said keep trying.  Now I'm told today when I saw a refund of his money that because I never gave him a shipping label and didn't get in touch with him on a solution that I am out the $500 and the camera that he gets to keep despite the fact there was NOTHING wrong with it.  I've spent like 8 hours on the phone today with eBay but all they tell me is that it's up to the Buyer to respond to me.  Which they also told me he hasn't logged on and seen any of his messages since he first filed the return and not at all during any of my hold/appeal stuff.  

What recourse of any do I have?  I feel this is such a crock of **bleep** that I'm more or less out $1,000 ($500 for the refund and he keeps the camera which I'm sure he will resell).  I live in Minnesota so for me to fly to Toronto to file a small claims court thing against him will cost me more than I'm out.  I've tried to get ahold of this deadbeat at least 25 times now in the last 10 days.  

PLEASE HELP!

[plumbingspecials]

Unfortunately, you didn't know that you had to accept the NAD return. You have only a few days to accept the return, which generates a return shipping label to the buyer. Buyer ships item back, tracking shows when it's delivered and you refund, and the entire transaction is on record. But you did nothing but argue with the buyer, and that is not resolution to the eBay NAD case; it timed out because you didn't respond, and buyer got a refund without return. And you got a Defect.

[loveyourimagination49]

Only suggestion I have is hope you get a better csr when you call back. If you have the messages sent through eBay they can look at them. Did you escalate the case or did you just talk back and forth through messages?

[theguitarpartsguy]

This is a one of the most common things seen here.  You should NEVER list something as "no returns".  "No returns" and "no refunds" don't mean the same thing.  Listing an item as "no returns" simply tells eBay that you do not want the item back under ANY circumstance.  You need to change your listings to takes returns, 14 days, money back, BUYER pays return shipping.  On electronics I would be inclined to charge a restock fee, too.  Electronics are the #1 most scammed thing on eBay.  However, if you had had your listings set to "takes returns", and buyer pays return shipping, the buyer would HAVE to send the item back to you via a method of shipment that has tracking.  If they fail to send it back to you, they don't get a refund, it's as simple as that.  I'm sorry this happened to you, you're fairly new here judging from your feedback.  You need to learn to watch your back, especially if you are going to sell electronics here.   ALWAYS take returns, and have it set so the buyer pays return shipping.  This alone eliminatesprobably 90% of the scammers.  If you don't take returns, that's like a HUGE flag saying "here ya go, scammers, come take my stuff".  It's sad, but that's just how it is here these days.  Please, for your own sake, before you get scammed again, change your listings to where you take returns. 

[thatsallfolks]

“Listing an item as "no returns" simply tells eBay that you do not want the item back under ANY circumstance. ”

Not true, no matter how many times people post it. It simply means the seller doesn’t accept  “buyer’s remorse” returns.