Buyer Scam & Refund Request

[malbrickworld]

I recently sold 8 items to the same person, and when they received them they sent photos claiming the items were damaged. We had a discussion and I came to realize that nothing was wrong with my sold items, they were as described. They requested a refund for all of them, but I'd rather not take that massive hit. They said I could compensate them or they'd return them all.....not sure what's the best thing to do in this scenario. I don't want 8 refunds on my account--but I could do a partial refund and maybe recoup some fees, but they might ask eBay to step in and that would look even worse right? Or I could pay them a certain amount for them to recoup the damages.....any thoughts guys?

[albertabrightalberta]

Tell the buyer to open a return request. 

If you give in to the partial refund extortion, it'll encourage the buyer to continue the ploy that works. 

Also, add the buyer to your BBL. 

[justoneofthosedays]

You may have already made your decision, but  I am just replying to offer my opinion of this situation.

This reeks of abuse and the buyer needs to be reported in my opinion. I am not telling you to do it, not saying it will save you from anything, not saying eBay will agree, just an opinion of a fellow seller who doesn't like the way some buyers take advantage of sellers because they know that all sales are vulnerable. 

I understand buyers reaching out to the seller to let them know that they aren't satisfied, or whatever the case may be, but saying "do this or I'll do that," and hold a seller over the fire, seems to fall under the abusive buyer policy. The page link (or copy/paste) is below so you can read it and make your own interpretation. I also posted the section that I believe make this fit this situation further down. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/abusive-buyer-policy?id=4374

Unless you said "message me when you receive your item if you would like a refund" you are being abused by this buyer in my opinion. It is your account, items and finances at risk so it is serious. You have your reasons for wanting to refund without the buyer requesting a return, and nothing is concrete when trying to figure out policy, and I don't recommend reaching out to CS because you are likely to be misinformed, but, from what I interpret a buyer shouldn't be demanding anything from you, especially when you offer returns. 

Even though eBay may or may not do anything about the abusive buyer, if you believe the policy fits it may save some sellers from this abuse, after one or two more offenses.  

"When we review a report of a member violating our policies, we look at the circumstances, including the members' history. We make decisions based on the evidence in the individual situation, as well as by evaluating patterns of behavior that create a negative value in the marketplace. If we aren't sure about something, we may not take any action. Also, because we respect our members' privacy, we can't discuss the results of any investigations."

Don't misuse eBay messaging or bidding

 Not allowed

• Sending messages to force or intimidate the other member into something outside of the original agreement

It is close to a free for all for dishonest buyers and they know that they have the eMBG in their back pocket so they demand anything they see fit. The eMBG is an invitation to steal, likely profit, abuse and repeat. Some honest buyers might think a "little white lie" won't hurt, it's easy enough, readily available and it saves money. Everyone else is doing it. Everyone wants to save that money any way they can, which can include those "little white lies" that aren't so little to others. Some may not know that it is the seller that is losing not the multi-billion dollar company and some just don't give a rat's behind either way.