Why the Buyer can open Return Request for the item that he has not yet RECEIVED?

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I am a Hong Kong Seller.  A US Buyer bought a Chain from me on 11/Jan (Sat).  I shipped out by ePacket Air on 13/Jan (Mon).  The shipping time from HK to US is around 14 Working Days.  But the buyer suddenly opened a Return Request case against me on 15/Jan.  The Return Reason is : My Chain is Missing Parts.

I have immediately contact with eBay Customer Support and the buyer.  I sent them the Order details  and USPS Tracking Result.  I explained to them that my parcel is still on the way and not yet arrive US.  The buyer has not yet received my Chain, why he can claim my Chain is missing parts and open Return Request.

The buyer, even I sent him several e-mail through eBay and his direct email, no reply at all.  But, the most surprising is the eBay CS reply as below : -

"Hello seller,  

Thank you for contacting eBay Customer Service. My name is AXXXX Li and I would be happy to assist you today.

I understand your feelings very much, thank you for your letter to ask questions about the case. Upon review, we found that buyer opened the return request on 15 Jan, 2020.

After checking your tracking LD026597373HK, we found that the item still in transit(https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=LD026597373HK). After review, we found that the buyer opened the return request for "Missing parts or accessories".

In view of the current situation, we suggest that you can wait for the goods to be delivered and ask the buyer whether to continue to return the goods. If the buyer says to continue, then you need to provide the buyer with a suitable mean of return. If the buyer hasn't respond, then we suggest that you can wait for the case to close automatically when it times out. Regarding when the return request is automatically closed, this time is calculated by the system. After the system has completed the return process, the return request will be closed.

For more information about eBay Money Back Guarantee, please refer to below link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html#conditions1

Thanks for your understanding .

Regards,

AlXXXX Li

eBay Customer Service"

If eBay fully understood that my item is in transit to US, the Buyer has NOT yet received and seen my Chain.  Why he can complain my Chain is missing parts and request return and refund.  He has no Chain on his hands at present, why he can open Return Request case and how can he return the chain to me.  I just want eBay can check this Return Request case seriously and close this unreasonable case.  I really cannot imagine eBay will give me such kind of unreasonable reply.   Why I need to wait until the Buyer duly receive my Chain and see whether he need to continue the return and refund?

I really don't know whether some other Sellers face similar problem before.  I was totally disappointed of eBay.  Maybe, as eBay Sellers, we are helpless and only be loser at all.