Am I being scammed?

[sapphire_studio]

A buyer bought a lot of multiple travel size beauty products by the same brand for $39.99.

After the package was delivered they filed an item not received case and told me that USPS damaged the item and only one of the items was inside and they got a note about the damage.

They didn't send any photographs which was odd to me but I want to refund them even though I know I can win an INR case if the item truly was damaged and they didnt get what they paid for.

For well over a week now I've been trying to help them send pictures and they keep sending me like blank arrows and telling me that they've sent them but nothing is showing up and I called eBay and eBay said that it's up to me if I want to help them since I can win this case easily but that they aren't seeing pictures sent at all either.

Well today I got these pictures and they just seemed super Shady to me. I've seen the notes from USPS when they damage a package and this is not what they look like at all. One of the photographs you can see a tracking number off to the side and that is not the tracking number of this package. That doesn't even look like the envelope I used and it has tape on it which I did not use it all when shipping this.

I want to do right by any customer if USPS really did lose their items but I'm just getting bad vibes from this person and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions about whether I should just ignore them at this point and win the case or if I should refund them. 

 

 

 

[yuzuha]

You shipped them in that envelope? Then yeah, that damage is completely legit and in line with what tends to happen. My mother has received countless empty envelopes exactly like that one where the cosmetics inside got popped right out the end when the envelope went through the postal machinery.

In the future, ship in boxes and you'll eliminate the risk of this happening. Tubes of things like cosmetics in an envelope are a recipe for that sort of thing.

[sapphire_studio]

It is a bubble mailer not a normal envelope. I send all my beauty products in them and the only other other time any damage has happened was a couple years ago and I've sold thousands ( this is a newer account I have a different account that I've been selling on much longer). This doesn't look like the same bubble mailer that I used either. I didn't put tape all over it like this one has and it looks bigger than the one I used.

I'm not saying that it's impossible that it was damaged. But your advice to switch my shipping methods would not make sense by the volume I do and how damage is insanely rare to these bubble mailers.

I was specifically asking advice about the photographs I sent and if that is the type of letter that the post office would actually send or if this person is trying to scam me.

[inhawaii]

My advice.

Apologize to the buyer.

Give them a full refund.

Learn from your mistake.

[soh.maryl]

Did you mean to say the BUYER can win the INR case if the item was truly damaged etc?

And it would not be an INR case, but a NAD case.  

[sapphire_studio]

What mistake?

[sapphire_studio]

I don't know why they filed an INR not an INAD, but that is what they did. 

Do those photographs look like something USPS would actually send out? Because that is not the tracking number of my package or the envelope that I sent.

[inhawaii]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

What mistake?

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If you don't feel you should take any responsibility for this happening and if you think that the customer is making this up to scam you out of $40 then I don't think anything I say will matter, so I'll sit this one out.

Good luck to you.

[yuzuha]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

I was specifically asking advice about the photographs I sent and if that is the type of letter that the post office would actually send or if this person is trying to scam me.

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Yes, it is. It looks exactly like the ones my mother receives.

Also, it has the tape all over it BECAUSE it popped open and the postal service taped it back up when they realized it was damaged.

[sapphire_studio]

I'm genuinely curious what you think my mistake was. I want to do the right thing if USPS did damage it and refund them even if I can easily win this case and not refund them. The whole handwritten note just seems completely scammy to me and I don't know why you think people wouldn't try to scam over $40. And it's not like they sent this note from the very beginning they seem to have been dragging their feet for over a week trying to get a refund out of me without sending a photograph and then these sketchy photos shows up. Would USPS really write a note like that and why is there a different tracking number in the picture?

[1786davycrockett · Accepted solution]

@sapphire_studio 

"Well today I got these pictures and they just seemed super Shady to me. I've seen the notes from USPS when they damage a package and this is not what they look like at all. One of the photographs you can see a tracking number off to the side and that is not the tracking number of this package. That doesn't even look like the envelope I used and it has tape on it which I did not use it all when shipping this."

The tracking number which is in the top photo is from the re-wrap department at the USPS office, where your package was partially "rescued," so of course the tracking number is different from your own.  

And the form letter from USPS is identical to those which I have received over the years, including the plastic USPS re-wrap bag, which is visible underneath the other bag in the top photo.

The reason why the re-wrap package appears dissimilar to yours is that it is probably a re-wrap bag from USPS, with the remnants of your shipment tossed inside, and then hurriedly taped shut -- most USPS folks are in a hurry, and don't take the time to wrap packages with any artistic care:  you should see some of the re-wraps that I receive from USPS!

My advice?  Refund your buyer.

In future shippings -- tape down ALL edges and corners securely.  The USPS sorting machines are notorious for snagging open edges and even slightly exposed openings.

[sapphire_studio]

Okay awesome thank you so much for this reply. This is exactly what I was looking for just an explanation as to why the tracking number was different and to know if that was the typical note that USPS sends out because I didn't recognize it.

I'm going to go give them a full refund right now and I appreciate your professional and respectful reply to help me.

[1786davycrockett]

@sapphire_studio 

Sounds great -- good luck in the future!

[frugalmarketplace]

I ship in mailers that I buy from ebay. Have not had a problem, and would personally not change to boxes. With that question responded to, yes that looks like something the post office would do..there seems to be a real lack a consistency in damaged package. Look at the tracking, there “should be a scan” received damaged. Not they do that all the time either, but they are supposed to. That is quite a long note written by the mailman. 

Sometimes it is better to just take care of the customer. If you do, you are protected against a defect, and negative feedback. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     The buyer may have gotten your order mixed up with somebody else's. Reach out to the buyer and let them know that is not the package you sent but to please retain both the package and the notes from USPS since you will be opening a claim with USPS and that USPS may contact them to bring the package into the post office for inspection and potential turnover to the USPS.

     Ask them if they can provide you with a shot of the shipping label that is on the package. While it may be a scam generally scammers do not target $40 items and do not provide pictures. Heck they often don't even communicate. 

     As for the INR case you should have no problem winning that simply upload the tracking information into the case showing it as being delivered. The buyer may follow with a NAD case which would be appropriate if there are items missing from the order. If that happens you would be best off to fully refund the buyer, have them keep the item they received, and hope they help you with the USPS claim. 

     The buyers other alternative to opening a NAD case is to file a claim with USPS. It is much easier for them to do so since they have the damaged package/item but some buyers don't want to be bothered with the burden of filing the USPS case and working through the hassel.