How to deal with buyer who is abusing returns; multiple issues with buyer

[bangordiscount]

Hello,

I had a buyer purchase two Makita angle grinders back in April. He bought them in separate transactions and had them mailed to two different addresses in two different states.

I created a thread previously when he opened a return on the first unit he purchased: Thread is below:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/Need-help-with-quot-faulty-quot-return-Buyer-sent-bac...

In that instance he sent the item back, from an address not associated with either purchase, and while it was the same model of Angle Grinder, it was opened, used, and the serial number didn't match what I had originally sent him [effectively a different item]. 

I resolved that return by doing a 50% refund value deduction (I'm a TRS) and reported him to eBay. He immediately appealed and eBay issued a courtesy credit to cover the balance and said I wasn't at fault and I wouldn't be debited for that amount (I'm not sure how to verify that they followed through on that).

Now fast forward a few weeks and literally less than an hour before 30 days had passed (April 19th - May 19th 11:30PM PST) from his second purchase he opened a return request (which was automatically approved) and stated he no longer needed this item (default reason) and did not provide any more details.

I sent him a message stating that while I'd happily issue a full refund if he sent back the same Makita Angle Grinder in the new/unopened condition in which it was received, during his previous return he sent back a different item (by serial number) that was opened and used and that's why I issued a 50% deduction. I told him if any of the above applies to this return I would deny the return outright.

I reported him to eBay for the first faulty feedback and noticed then (it's still true now) that he has private feedback so I can't see if any sellers commented about this or left false positive feedback.

Other than "just bend over" what can I do if he also abuses the return policy for this return?

[justafemster]

All you can do is block the buyer.  

I'd report to ebay that the return was not what was sent, materially different, serial numbers do not match.  

Block, block, block!

Oh and file mail fraud.

[darkfae2015]

with the first non matching serial number I would have reported it to ebay and not refunded at all. I would contact ebay now before you accept the return of the item

[bangordiscount]

The return wass automatically approved; I though that was the norm for TRS who offer free return shipping and the benefit is TRS discount and the ability to deduct up to 50% from the return value. If I can change that to where the buyer must wait for me to approve the return I'd love to know how.

I reported him the first time but didn't call in because I though that would be useless since eBay's customer service has always been terrible but even more so during the pandemic.

[lamber9347]

@bangordiscount Look you did nothing wrong here. You actually followed procedures correctly. You just happened across one of those special buyers, as I call them. This person is using eBay as a rental unit. Eventually this will catch up with this buyer and they will lose their return privileges'. You did good by reporting them and should follow through on reporting them for the second return as well. 

Regarding your second return, there isn't anything really that you can do here. It's quite obvious from what you've written that this buyer knows all the angles and will get their money back. Try to get your grinder back, or whatever other grinder they send you. Perhaps you can recoup part of your money by reselling them. Make sure you report the buyer and block them. That's pretty much all you can do here. Best of luck to you....

[postingid7659]

"knows all the angles"

yes, he's using OP's grinder to adjust as he sees fit

---

[darkfae2015]

it really has been non existent.  IMO i think it was a bad move to roll out all the changes during this when they were ill equipped to deal with it cs wise.. I am not really sure how to anymore it used to be if they contacted you first there was a way to offer replacement which i wouldn't recommend in this instance or return and refund..not sure if that has changed or not.. if they returned thru ebay  ebay would then track the return it was only after you received it did you pay out.. But if that has all changed there is 0 protection for that sort of thing now

[darkfae2015]

yep as if the seller was a rental place exactly

[bangordiscount]

I have a few questions:

The return was delivered yesterday (05/24). I'm not home (my store is in vacation mode) and I won't be returning until late tonight (05/25).

eBay sent me a reminder to refund by 5/26 or they buyer can ask them to step in. Does that mean I have until the end of 5/26? I want to be able to inspect the item before I issue a refund based on my previous interaction with this buyer and I'm afraid they'll escalate the moment they are able to

At this point it looks like I have two options:

1) Issue the maximum 50% deduction (I'm a TRS) and refund and hope eBay doesn't have a secret demerit system where they track each time a seller does this. I've only done it once before (with this same buyer in an earlier transaction (see original post).

2) Deny refund completely and contact eBay and hope I don't get a strike as I'm sure the buyer will escalate and contact them. Who would I even talk to? I thought their customer service was non-existent at this point. My feelings are the buyer has a history of this behavior based on him doing this to me before, changing his feedback private, and eBay siding with me on the first 50% deduction after the buyer escalated (they did cover the other 50% out of their pockets as a courtesy)

[bangordiscount]

Update:

I just got back home from a short trip during which my store was in "vacation mode" / "time away".

Of course, as I assumed, the buyer returned the same model of angle grinder, but a different unit as the serial number did not match, the item has also been opened and used (it was sold as new/sealed).

They shipped it back in just the product box with a USPS return label attached.

Again, this is the second time he has done this (he bought two units a few days apart in April).

How can I proceed? The return details state I need to refund by May 26th, which is today. Last time I issued a 50% refund (I'm TRS) and he appealed and eBay issued a courtesy refund for the other 50% out of their pocket and I was told I was not at fault.

I already reported him through the return request details (for the second time).

I'm discouraged by the wording of this help topic within eBay's policy of stepping in to assist:

If we're asked to step in and help and the item is returned used or damaged, you will not be able to issue a partial refund even if you qualify to issue partial refunds under our seller protections. When you do not respond, we may refund the buyer and seek reimbursement from you without requiring the buyer to ship the item back

Whenever possible, we recommend resolving your buyer’s issue directly and not asking us to step in. If we close the case on behalf of the buyer, you could receive a defect that may affect your seller standard.

So basically if I ask eBay to step in the outcome is going to be one of two things:

1) They side with the buyer, a full refund is debited from my account, I get a policy strike

2) They side with me (yeah.... okay) and no refund is issued

Is there anyway I can contact someone at eBay to review the return details? I'm afraid if it gets kicked into an auto review all they're going to consider is that the tracking shows returned and they'll just issue him a refund despite the fact he has a history of doing this

[wastingtime101]

First, go to the return and see if there's an option that says buyer returned a different item. It's a newer thing they were testing and I'm not sure which sellers see it or when. If you see that option, use it. If you don't see that option ...

Go to eBay support on Twitter or FaceBook and ask them to review the situation. Make it clear in writing that you are not asking them to escalate this. Ask them to review what happened and cite the 2 different accounts the buyer used to pull the same switch. See what they say.

[bangordiscount]

I have the option to report the buyer (which I have already done) or report a problem.

When I go to report a problem I'm not sure what the best option is; technically they sent back a different item (the serial number is different, meaning it's not the same unit, however it's the same model) but it's also opened and used.

Regardless of which option I select it goes to a second page where I can enter some information and at that point I'm essentially asking eBay to "step in and help" which I believe means they'll just have an algorithm review the case, see it was delivered, issue a refund on my behalf and give me a strike.

If anyone has experience with this and knows that they do actually have a live human step in and help who is capable of looking at details let me know

[bangordiscount]

Also to clarify the buyer purchased the item twice, in two different transactions but on the SAME account. I have reported that account each time, but it's tough to decide to report for sending back a different item (technically true, it was the same model but a different unit as verified by the serial number) or an opened/used item (it was both opened and used despite being sent as new/sealed).

I went to contact eBay customer support through Facebook. I had success doing this back in December when a policy violation was erroneously applied to my account causing a selling restriction. I thought back then I contacted them through their "eBay for Business" page but my Facebook chat/messenger history just shows it was the regular eBay Facebook page.

Regardless I sent the a message but will need a response by today as the return states I have to issue a refund by 5/26

[varebelrose]

"with the first non matching serial number I would have reported it to ebay and not refunded at all."

It doesnt exactly work that way. As long as tracking shows *something* was delivered back to the seller, eBay will force a refund no matter what the seller says.

[bangordiscount]

Update:

I contacted eBay customer service through Facebook and received a response back within an hour. I'm going to start a thread on this in the general selling forum, but it amazes me that eBay is capable of great customer service, yet they don't make it easily accessible to the sellers that actually need it.

I'm not sure if it's fair for me to post the chat verbatim but I summarized my two transactions with this buyer and the agent that responded reviewed the information, provided insightful and sympathetic commentary and opened/closed a case in my favor. Unfortunately the buyer will be receiveing a refund from eBay, but I am not liable and this will not affect my account.

In fact I didn't know that the eBay agent had responded at first, and all I saw were two e-mails in my inbox, one stating that a case had been opened and another immediately saying it had been closed and my initial thoughts where that the buyer had escalated it and of course I lost because I hadn't responded yet.

But this was all done by the agent after reviewing my initial message.

Here is the wording of the official case details outcome:

Hi [Me],

eBay opened a case because of an issue with an item purchase from you. We reviewed the case and have decided to issue the buyer a refund of US $118.98 without any impact to you.

You can view the details of the case in the Resolution Center.

Here is a snipped of what the customer service agent said:

Hi [Me], thanks for providing all these details in advance and I really appreciate you taking the time to make us aware of this. I have just been reviewing the two cases and would be happy to report the buyer to our risk management team on your behalf. I appreciate the buyer’s behavior is concerning, as well as costly to you as business. I would ask that you please block this buyers account on your end. This will prevent you having any further dealings with him. In normal circumstances, we would insist that you use your partial refund tool and issue a less than full refund to offset the impact of this case. That being said, I feel this buyer has already been enough work and cost to you, so I have taken care of this case and you won't need to refund your buyer. The case has been closed off today, so you won't need to be worried about the impact of it on your account any further. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time away with your family [me]. Stay safe and have a great break

^ This was all within an hour of contacting them. Again, it blows my mind that eBay has a team somewhere capable of providing this level of customer service but doesn't actively use them