Buyer scammed me and abused Ebay guarantee

[wind_electronics]

Hi,

I sold a cable modem on ebay. Buyer wasnt able to get it to work and then said they didnt want it anymore. The opened a return through the ebay guarantee and didnt ship it back for a month. My return policy is buyer pays and 30 days.

After recivng the item i verified it worked and was as described, I clicked the return and report and issue and documented all this and clicked submit. When I did so it approved the return.

Talking to ebay got me no where, they asked me to escalated to appeal and I did and they said they couldnt do anything since I voluntarily approved the return. To add insult to injury they charged me for return shipping.

Is there anything that can be done?

At the very least I want the return shipping charge to be removed and the positive feedback I left for the buyer to be removed.

[bonjourami]

Neither one of those is going to happen. It doesnt matter what your tos about returns says.Ebay buyers are protected by a thirty day MBG, and the seller pays for a return label.Sounds like your buyer filed a nad. Ebay is not going to remove your positive feedback.

[lakefor94]

Cable modems and the like are risky sales. No telling who is buying and what their expertise is.

I sold 4 direct tv units recently to a pro who was refurbishing and I have no idea what he does with them after that.  He said was able to get 3 of the 4 working. He did not do a return. Was happy with the 3.

I hold my breath every time I list items like that. 

[titipeo]

Where is the scam? You received the item. 

[wind_electronics]

The scam is the buyer, opened the item, removed all the protective film, used it for two months and then returned it claiming "Defective".

Ebay says you can deduct the loss in item value but didnt provide that option.

Ebay also automatically issued a refund despite me clicking "Report a problem" and submitting the pictures and documentation showing the modem was working and as described.

[wind_electronics]

So the best option is dont deal with users with 0 feedback or dont sell on ebay.. got it.

[bonjourami]

Has nothing to do with being a zero fb buyer..sellers get scammed by buyers with hundreds of fb's.

[lakefor94]

The buyer got a item he could not use. The buyer used the eBay MBG for buyers to return the item for a refund. 

If the buyer claims item is defective or doesn't work, the seller always pays the return shipping if the seller wants the item back before refunding. 

There was no scam, that is how online sales work on the major venues.  Even if you could have denied the refund somehow, the buyer can file with their Credit Card and win a Item Not As Described case 'bout every time. EBay does not have any say in those decisions.  

If you allowed eBay to refund, your seller account was hit with nasty defect. A few of those and sellers are shown the door. 

It don't matter that you say the item works. The item did not work for the buyer and that is all that matters.

Seller protections are for top rated sellers that allow 30 day returns or have Free Returns.  They can deduct up to 50% of the refund for certain situations. 

[bonjourami]

"Ebay says you can deduct the loss in item value but didnt provide that option."

Since you have buyer pays returns, you dont have that option.

[wind_electronics]

Verbatim from the buyer (quasi-11) 

"Either way, may internet situation has changed, and my new ISP will be providing a modem. I would like to return this one, and will of course pay the shipping if it is not defective.

This item had a 30 day money back return policy, meaning I should be receiving the full cost of my purchase if it is not defective and I ship it to you."

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Well that it for me. No longer sell on ebay, lots of other venues to not get scammed that have better protection for honest sellers: paypal, etsy, shopify, etc..

[rtliq_66]

You must be new.... Buyers do it all the time and ebay not only allows it but encourages this behavior. If youve ever bought on ebay, you receive a email that saying something along the lines of Click here to report a problem with your purchase or when someone simply tries to return an item and they go through ebay first. They give you like three options for a buyer to choose from, 1) Item arrived broken 2) item never arrived 3) not as described. Something like that. There is no option for  I JUST DIDNT LIKE IT or I bought another or i found iut cheaper elsewhere. So obviously the buyer recieved it. they could say its broken but then they have to break it. so they just say it wasnt as described and ebay says ok. 

Worse part about it is that they tell you they are sorry for the inconvenience when its more like screwing with your financial well being,  Its not like its a restroom thats out of service or they ran out of coca cola.... Then they ask you to report the buyer and they will look into it but theyre basically telling you that its ok they ripped you off but help us make our site better. 
Best of luck and dont sell anything you dont want or cant  pay for later!

Sad but true.

[lakefor94]

"Well that it for me. No longer sell on ebay, lots of other venues to not get scammed that have better protection for honest sellers: paypal, etsy, shopify, etc.."

@wind_electronics  do you think that Etsy does not allow returns for the same reasons?