Scammers returning useless items and eBay siding with them- I can't be the only one!

[gear4sportsmen]

In the last few months I have had a group of scammers that have figured out how to exploit the eBay return policy.  They buy an item from me (always the same item), receive it, start a return thru eBay, print the label and send me back a worthless item in a tiny envelope.  I've received stickers, surgical masks, scrabble tiles and various other worthless items. 
When this happens, I will take a picture of the envelope it came in that shows the buyer's return address as well as the tracking # (which eBay has record of) and the item that was returned.  It's happened enough that I have even gone so far as to video myself opening the unopened package. 
To attempt to cover all my bases & do things correctly, I will send the buyer a message saying that the item I received was not the item that was supposed to be sent back and attach the pics of the envelope/worthless item in the message.  
I then report the buyer from the link in the return details, explain to eBay what happened and attach pics of the envelope/item.  Every single time, eBay will say that they refunded the buyer out of my funds.  I then have to file an appeal to that, explain what happened and attach pics AGAIN and there have been several times when eBay STILL sides with the buyer and says that they won't overturn their decision.  If an actual human with any amount of common sense would look at it, it is more than obvious what happened.   Needless to say, all of this is extremely time consuming, frustrating and anger inducing.  
Since it is always the same item that they are buying and using this scam with, I contacted another seller who sells the same item and they said they have the same thing happening to them. 
I have to assume that this is going on with other sellers across eBay selling all sorts of items.  It seems to me like eBay is doing little to nothing to stop it and when it happens they are doing little to nothing to help the seller out.  At least that's the case for me. 
I guess I'm hoping that maybe if enough sellers raise enough stink about it that they might actually do something, but realize that probably won't happen either.  
This is pretty far fetched, but we are supposed to have 'Seller Protection' and when we get an item back that is an obvious scam, provide proof of it and eBay does nothing and we are out both the item and the money that the buyer paid for it.
Rant over. 

[gear4sportsmen]

UPDATE- 
May be a bit of a long read, but interesting if you're following this......

I've figured out the MO on these scams and, for the most part, have been able to stop them before they start the last couple weeks.  
I caught one yesterday and noticed that the same buyer had bought an item from someone who sells the same type of items that I did yesterday too, so I reached out to them to alert them that it was likely a scam.  That buyer is much more high volume that I am and replied to say that he has been dealing with this constantly since mid-December and has had 300+ of these that they've had to deal with since then (and I thought I had problems!).   I was able to have a phone conversation with him and it was very enlightening. 

I've always wondering what, exactly, was going on and couldn't quite put my finger on it or wrap my mind around it, but they figured it out and it makes total sense. 
The user that is buying the products from me/us, is actually using us to drop ship products that they are selling on eBay.  They have their own eBay seller account and say that they are shipping from China.  They are listing the items that we sell, sometimes using our pictures and exact item descriptions, for way less than we have them listed for.  When customers buy an item from that seller,  that seller then creates a new account and are buying the items from us and giving us the customer's name and address that bought the item from them as the ship to address.  So that person actually bought the item and is going to recive it and are totally oblivious to the fact that they are part of the scam.  When the actual customer gets the item, the fraud user ID that bought the item from us files a return thru eBay and then sends us an envelope with something useless in it.  
For whatever reason, I didn't think to check the tracking details from all the returns I've got that had a scrabble tile or some other useless item in it, but the other seller I talked to said to check it out becuase even tho we are shipping an item to CO for instance, the tracking info for the return says the return scan originated in Houston, TX; Albany, NY or about 4 other cities and he was right.  
The seller I spoke with said he'd  actually contacted some of the people that he shipped the items to to try & figured out what was going on and that's how he figured it out.  I assume that the group that is running this scam has more than one eBay account and may very well be selling the items that they are getting for free from us on other platforms, but this is the seller that the person I spoke with said was using their pics and descriptions to sell our items on, even tho they don't have any of those listed on there right now-
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=threetree111&s...

He said he had contacted eBay about it, but was actually told by one customer service rep that 'eBay has a lot bigger issues to deal with than this'.  
So there ya have it.  What in the actual *&%?

[nh7235]

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@gear4sportsmen wrote:

The user that is buying the products from me/us,

is actually using us to drop ship products that they are selling on eBay. 

They have their own eBay seller account and say that they are shipping from China. They are listing the items that we sell, sometimes using our pictures and exact item descriptions, for way less than we have them listed for. 

When customers buy an item from that seller, that seller then creates a new account and are buying the items from us and giving us the customer's name and address that bought the item from them as the ship to address. 

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Unfortunately, that's not possible. Two sellers can't use the same tracking number.

Step 2: The new account buys from the actual seller @gear4sportsmen, it's your tracking number.

Step 1: When the actual buyer first purchases from the scammer seller, they regurgulate your tracking number.

[simba6]

Classic return fraud and it's out of control.   Even Sony once got back a hand made wooden replica of a Playstation game console.     More would have to be done on vetting new users to eBay. 

[glyph01]

Still doesn’t explain why the returns are coming from different states. If the dropshipping buyer-seller gave you their customer’s shipping address as destination of the order, then the return should also come from that customer’s state. Something else is going on.

[an-36344]

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@glyph01 wrote:

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@gear4sportsmen wrote:

In the last few months I have had a group of scammers that have figured out how to exploit the eBay return policy.  

the tracking info for the return says the return scan originated in Houston, TX; Albany, NY or about 4 other cities 

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Still doesn’t explain why the returns are coming from different states. 

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Because that's where the "a group of scammers" are located in "Houston, TX; Albany, NY or about 4 other cities" returning Scrabble tiles, etc.

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@glyph01 wrote:

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@gear4sportsmen wrote:

When customers buy an item from that seller,

1. that seller then creates a new account and are buying the items from us and giving us the customer's name and address that bought the item from them as the ship to address. 

2. So that person actually bought the item and is going to recive it and are totally oblivious to the fact that they are part of the scam. 

When the actual customer gets the item,

3. the fraud user ID that bought the item from us files a return thru eBay and then sends us an envelope with something useless in it.  

I've received stickers, surgical masks, scrabble tiles and various other worthless items. 

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If the dropshipping buyer-seller gave you their customer’s shipping address as destination of the order, then the return should also come from that customer’s state. Something else is going on. 

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Actually, the stickers, surgical masks, scrabble tiles

-- are mailed from "the dropshipping buyer-seller" @glyph01 

-- with "their customer’s shipping address" on OP's eBay return label.

The return is not the actual item, so it won't come back from the "destination of the order" where OP sent it.

[glyph01]

I know they’ll return junk but the part I can’t get is how it is mailed from a different state as per tracking. Did dropshipping buyer-seller send the return label to their cohorts in these states to mail junk back?

[vintagecraze50]

It just seems that it could be easy nowadays with all this technology to find the owners of these many accounts that habitually scam sellers this way. It’s just unacceptable.

[an-36344]

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@glyph01 wrote:

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@gear4sportsmen wrote:

the other seller I talked to said to check it out becuase

1. even tho we are shipping an item to CO for instance,

2. the tracking info for the return says the return scan originated in Houston, TX; Albany, NY or about 4 other cities

and he was right.  

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I know they’ll return junk but the part I can’t get is how it is mailed from a different state as per tracking. Did dropshipping buyer-seller send the return label to their cohorts in these states to mail junk back?

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That's because @glyph01 

1. the dropshipping buyer-sellers are "in Houston, TX; Albany, NY or about 4 other cities"

2. and mail OP's return label for "shipping an item to CO for instance" out of Houston, etc. where they are.

[readyupshoes]

This has happened to me time and time again. Every time ebay sides with them and refunds them out of my bank account and I’m left with a worthless piece of plastic or fabric. It is such crap and I cannot even count the times I have had to repeat and repeat and repeat my story and situation over and over and yet they have refused to overturn their decision. It doesn’t make a person (seller) very safe when this happens. I have lost so much money from this. Why does this thing continue to happen 

[krazzykats]

Think an eBay Returns center might help? 

They have all these validation centers, so what about a Returns center for higher-end/priced items?   

Maybe also have an option for items of lower value at a certain % if requested by the seller.

[erickos]

If you want to prevent a lawsuit, you're going to have to kill me, **bleep**. 

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.