Buyer abusing Ebay return policy

[annajsells]

I received a message from Ebay stating that a buyer opened up a case stating that he did not receive the shoes he ordered. The shoes are designer, and they were shipped to the authenticator first and then shipped to the buyer. Ebay knew that the buyer was not being truthful because the tracking proved that the shoes were shipped to his house. The buyer then opened up another case stating that a tag was missing from the shoes, and he wanted a full refund. EBay automatically sided with the buyer and now I have to refund him in which I am sure the buyer is going to send me an empty box. I have already been scammed before on this platform and unless I talk to someone in customer service who is going to reverse the decision to refund the buyer who is clearly trying to scam me, I will close down my store. I refuse to continue to be a truthful seller on here and Ebay is allowing these scammers to rip us off instead of protecting those of us who are conducting legitimate business on this platform. 

[lacemaker3]

@annajsells, relax, you won't receive an empty box or a different item.

With authenticity guarantee, when a buyer wants to return an item, it can be returned if the seller's return policy allows it. The return will be sent back to the authenticity guarantee hub, and inspected there. If the item does not match the item that was sent, in the same condition, then the return will be rejected and sent back to the buyer.

Only if the buyer returns the same pair of shoes, in the same condition, will the item be sent back to you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling-tools/ebay-authenticity-guarantee?id=4644#section3

[annajsells]

I was actually on the phone with someone in Authentification and he informed me that if the tag was missing off the shoes they would not have passed authentification with them so I shouldn’t worry about having to refund the buyer. He also said it’s obvious the buyer is trying to game the system because the first case he opened he stated he never received the shoes. Now he’s saying he received the shoes but the tag was missing. Thank God those shoes went through authentification or I would be toast. Thanks for your input

[annajsells]

Hello, just an update. The buyer realized he would be shipping the shoes back to the authenticators instead of me and he canceled his refund request. I have blocked him and also messaged eBay about the Buyer abusing their refund policy. Not sure if eBay will take action against him but hopefully, they will which will prevent another seller from being scammed.