0-feedback buyer asks to return item saying its bent

[mikegofficial]

sold a processor on ebay and the buyer had 0 feedback which always makes me nervous and sure enough - they’re claiming an item arrived damaged even though it was packed so well that there’s no way it was damaged in transit.

i keep all my PC part boxes and the contents for when i do upgrades and take great care when I remove or change out components.  Which means that I have the plastic holding that snugly fits the processor itself.

processor promptly shipping this item on April 21 to the buyer, whom it arrives to on April 29th I’d received nothing.  Now the buyer is saying that three of the pins are bent and he’s started a return request.

I have photos that show the pins are intact and it was repackaged in the original box with the moldings that hold the processor in place.

Is eBay on the side of sellers in these debates or am I going to be forced to accept back an item that the buyer broke? 

 

[slyders_finds]

Unfortunately you have to accept return. Like you said, they may have broke the item or will send you back their old one that was being replaced by yours. 

[thewatchshelf]

In my experience, you are going to have no option here other than to accept the return, as the buyer is just going to state it was broken on arrival and/or must have been damaged in transit and there's nothing you can argue to the contrary that is going to make any difference.  You could refuse and argue your case, but I think the outcome is going to be the same it's just going to take a lot more of your time and effort to arrive at it.

I think part of the problem with selling anything like this in particular is that you have absolutely no idea or any control over who is buying your item or how they are going to treat it when it arrives - I sell old watches on eBay, same problem (buyer drops it/mistreats it/doesn't know how to use it properly and breaks it, back it comes to me as broken despite it working perfectly when I sold it). 

In answer to your question - eBay pretty much always sides with the buyer in these sorts of cases, so again you are going to have to accept the return I'm afraid, and if you call them up I feel sure they'd tell you the same thing, and something about 'keeping your account in good standing'.

[ittybitnot]

@mikegofficial 

Did you perhaps ship this to a Freight Forwarder address?  These are often in Delaware, Florida, Oregon.  That would help your situation.  Since your buyer has Zero feedback, you can't easily determine their counry location.  Use this link to get to the feedback page that shows that: 

https://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback-login.html

[mikegofficial]

The buyer is in the US (Toppenish, WA)

there’s also zero chance given how it was packed that it was damaged in the mail.  This is a scam.

[chevymontecarlo88]

That is a tough one to take. Sorry to hear that.

-Good Luck

[isaiah53-57]

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@thewatchshelf wrote:

I think part of the problem with selling anything like this in particular is that you have absolutely no idea or any control over who is buying your item or how they are going to treat it when it arrives -

In answer to your question - eBay pretty much always sides with the buyer in these sorts of cases, so again you are going to have to accept the return I'm afraid, and if you call them up I feel sure they'd tell you the same thing, and something about 'keeping your account in good standing'.

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And in our opinion, the people who do have control over who a sale is facilitated with seem to do nothing about the buyer fraud problem, since it appears they need buyers, ANY BUYERS, regardless of quality to keep the numbers looking good to shareholders..

Buyer Fraud and its ease here is THE MAIN reason we quit listing on this site..

[stuff4divas]

@mikegofficial  did they send a photo of the damage?

[luckythewinner]

I have photos that show the pins are intact and it was repackaged in the original box with the moldings that hold the processor in place.

Your pictures does not prove anything about what was sent to the buyer. If eBay used photos to determine cases, then scammers would show pictures of a Rolex Submariner but ship a Timex and then win the "Not as described" dispute. 

E-commerce by its nature is a "he said/she said" environment, and the eBay Money Back Guarantee gives eBay a financial incentive to decide disputes on behalf of buyers.

[orangehound]

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@mikegofficial wrote:

The buyer is in the US (Toppenish, WA)

there’s also zero chance given how it was packed that it was damaged in the mail.  This is a scam.

---

Not necessarily a scam - scams involve stealing the product from you.  A lot of buyers just want to return products, and when you list a product as "no returns", then their only option to get a return is to invent an excuse that activates the return.

It is an important lesson to learn that there is no such thing on eBay as "All sales final, no returns".   You do not have to accept the return, but you have to refund the money.  

And, think you are mad now?  Just wait to see what happens if you refuse to comply with eBay.  Refusing to act on this will mean (a) eBay will force the refund, (b) you will get a nasty defect on your selling account, (c) eBay will NOT refund any of the selling fees they collected ... maybe $15-20 in this case, and (d) sometimes eBay will let the buyer keep the item when the listing says "no returns". 

This is business, not personal.  Business has to deal with good buyers and bad buyers.  My advice is to accept the return and refund the money AFTER the item is successfully back in your possession.  Report the buyer to eBay as a bad buyer, and then resell it.

[atherton213]

if its a scam, the serial# wont match what you get back.

[slyders_finds]

There is a freight forwarder in Los Angeles, CA as well. 

[inhawaii]

In ebay's eyes, the buyer is always right.

If the buyer says it's defective, it's defective.

If the buyer says it's bent, it's bent.

If the buyer says it smells like smoke, it smells like smoke.

If  the buyer says you sent him the wrong one, you sent him the wrong one.

Pictures mean nothing.

If the buyer files a INAD (item not as described) return, you have 2 choices.

#1) Refund the buyer and let him keep the item.

#2) Accept the return, pay for return shipping, when you get the item back, refund the buyer.

[mam98031]

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@mikegofficial wrote:

The buyer is in the US (Toppenish, WA)

there’s also zero chance given how it was packed that it was damaged in the mail.  This is a scam.

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It is only a "scam" if the either take you for money or your product.  A buyer Requesting a return and returning the item they purchased to you is not a "scam".  They may be wrong, but as long as you get your item back there isn't a "scam".

I have to agree that it seems like something that is very difficult to bend.  I'm with you on that.  But just take the return.  If when you receive the item there is something wrong, come on back and tell us about it and we can try to help you for that situation.

[kabilab]

Mike, you have encountered one of the many risks of eCommerce. As an example, in my store's current location I have 31K sales, with 7 returns. On eBay, my tally is 3K sales with 37 returns. I checked each return and all but 3 worked as I had originally stated.

In my opinion, eCommerce is for sellers who are willing and able to roll with all the punches that dishonest buyers, their  delivery service, their chosen platform and the government throw at their bodies.