Fraudulent buyer requesting refund

[phldbr]

I've been on eBay for 19 years. I recently sold an iPhone via auction where the winning bid came from a user with 2 reviews and lives in Germany. The buyer receives the phone and says it doesn't turn on while at the same time filing a return. The buyer is scamming me. What are my options? In my 19 years of selling this has never happened to me. 

[kensgiftshop]

By the time it got to Germany, it might not work.

If the buyer has filed an INAD, you'll have to accept the return and pay return shipping, if you want it returned before refunding.

[gosimus]

@phldbr 

< The buyer receives the phone and says it doesn't turn on >    

Did you ship the phone directly to the buyer, or did you go through an intermediary, such as a freight forwarder or one of the third party carriers that eBay partners with for International Shipping?  There are fairly stringent regulations about shipping lithium batteries.  Did the buyer say anything about checking to see if the iPhone battery had been removed?