eBay

bgt_masters_of_tiki_d · ‎06-02-2025

Today I had a buyer file a return for an item arriving damaged 5-6 days ago. The item is not fragile by any means and you'd actually have to really put in work to damage it. Its a steel support frame for a washer and designed to hold 500+ pounds. In the picture it looks like someone bashed its support frame with a hammer a dozen or so times. You can even see the missing paint outline with each hit. However the box is fine. The damaged part was a good 6-8 inches from the side of the box and its pretty much impossible for it to get damaged like that without the box being mangled with holes.

I did a search through my old emails/messages for the buyer and sure enough back in 2023 they did the same thing (return switch-a-roo) and admitted to sending me back their old broken part (a motor) and said they'd send back the correct one. They never did and ignored attempts to contact them. I ended up winning the ebay case. I had blocked them back then at least I thought. The ebay block buyer page often errors out for me and doesn't save on the first try and I don't always catch it.

I then took another look at the pictures and noticed its not even the one I sent them. So I wrote ebay on facebook and basically was told to kick rocks, take the return anyways and file an insurance claim with UPS. However I cannot because the box isn't damaged and its not even the same item I sold. I googled their business and its some shady warranty repair company with like a 1.3 rating online. The item was almost $70 to ship and I believe I sold it for $60 plus shipping.

So what would you guys do. I cannot in good conscience file a insurance claim because it would be fraudulent. I don't want to pay to have it shipped back because I'd be out another $60-$70 in shipping and could only recoup $30 using ebay's 50% refund using the bogus seller protection for getting back a different damaged item. The cheapest out would be to refund and let them keep the item but even then I have no item and I'm out $130.

titipeo · ‎06-02-2025

You know you are going to get the damaged item back, what good will it do to you to pay for return for it? Unless you can fix it. Best to go with the cheapest option and accept your losses. Double check on blocking the buyer again, maybe bring that up to eBay. Also post some reviews on the company website since eBay only allows positive reviews to buyers.

albertabrightalberta · ‎06-02-2025

Eat the loss, BLOCK THE BUYER, report the buyer and deduct the loss on your taxes.

This time, verify that the ID is on your BBL.

albertabrightalberta | Volunteer Community Mentor
"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you."

chapeau-noir · ‎06-03-2025

I agree that it's best to get out of this situation with the least damage to your pocketbook, which unfortunately means writing off the loss.

Sometimes the BBL errors out - generally I find that it's because some of the entries have been removed from eBay, and since it's so poorly programmed it treats these now-deleted accounts the same as the one you're trying to add. The only remedy is to re-add the account name to be sure it's there.

_______________________
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bgt_masters_of_tiki_d · ‎06-03-2025

I had always wondered why I got error messages when trying to block buyers. I don't have a ton on my list considering how long I've been on ebay. Probably around 20 years or so but some of the accounts blocked do go back two decades so that would make sense.

I'll give reaching out to a different rep on facebook today and see if I can get a different outcome with someone. It just sucks because the proof is right in the pictures the buyer themselves produced. Not only does the damage to the item not reflect the condition of the box but its clearly not even the same item I sold them. Writing it off on my taxes still doesn't make me whole. I can guarantee you if they have done this to me twice now in maybe 6 total transactions they've likely been getting away with doing it to many other sellers.

As for the person who mentioned leaving feedback off ebay. I did that once before with a similar warranty repair company that did the same thing to me I believe three times in total. (They keep creating new ids to get around being blocked) and they had the feedback removed. Not that it mattered as they're feedback was horrible regardless of the one I left.

At the end of the day I think you guys are right. Eat the $130 loss and let some steal from me. Its all I can do it looks like in this scenario. I'm out the item and $70 shipping and the buyer keeps the item and gets to keep doing it to other sellers without any of them even knowing about it.

Ebay needs to give sellers the ability to know how many cases and returns buyers have filed. Let us (sellers) act accordingly to if we'd like to put our own restrictions with our own standards on if we want particular buyers purchasing from us. Heck I'd even pay a small extra fee for it.

deltilogical · ‎09-01-2025

You seem to think that Ebay needs to be concerned about sellers. We are cookie dough, and they sell cookies. There will always be another batch of dough if one batch gets burnt.

Your 'buyer' is guilty of fraud.

You could call the local detectives in the PD and see if they are curious types. Where there is smoke there is fire.

You can contact the post office police, you are a victim of mail fraud.

You could file in small claims court.

pickapaper · ‎09-01-2025

@bgt_masters_of_tiki_d

Since you have already dealt with this fine, upstanding buyer, I wonder if it would do any good to contact him and tell him that you noticed the item in the pictures is not the same item you sent him. Then tell him that you went back through your records and found where he had bought an item from you in 2023 and there was also an issue at that time with him returning a different item than you sent. Tell him that this time, if you receive back a different item, you will be contacting his local police department, the Mail Fraud Division (which also works for UPS and FedEx) and the FBI Internet Fraud Division, etc. and pressing charges.

Don't know this will persuade him to not return it but it might be worth a try.

orangehound · ‎09-01-2025

@bgt_masters_of_tiki_d wrote:
I can guarantee you if they have done this to me twice now in maybe 6 total transactions they've likely been getting away with doing it to many other sellers.

This is exactly the reason that you report the buyer as a bad buyer. If sellers are diligent about this, then we (hopefully) reduce the number of such buyers on the site ... regardless, it is the mechanism eBay gives us as sellers to try to weed out bad buyers in the community.

As for your own store, as mentioned before, the best you can do is block the buyer.

@bgt_masters_of_tiki_d wrote:

Ebay needs to give sellers the ability to know how many cases and returns buyers have filed. Let us (sellers) act accordingly to if we'd like to put our own restrictions with our own standards on if we want particular buyers purchasing from us. Heck I'd even pay a small extra fee for it.

Totally agree. If I were king for a day, there are many mechanisms I would put into place to protect both new sellers and experienced sellers. But eBay wants sales and not blocked sales ... blocked sales cost eBay money ... fraudulent returns cost the seller money.

bgt_masters_of_tiki_d · ‎09-01-2025

Its good timing you posted on this thread. I am actually going through the same thing. Someone purchased a part from me, returned it for remorse, and shipped back their old broken one. I politely messaged them and the buyer admitted to doing so and apologized. I followed up asking if they planned on returning my item, they said just cancel the return request. I responded saying I cannot do that and they have to do so on their end and they have ghosted me. Don't even get me started how they just tossed something fragile in a box missing most of the packaging so it can just flop around the box with no padding.

Ebay refuses to help in any way, shape or form and told me I have to refund them still. Their reasoning was, well we don't know what was sent and received. Fine but why does that matter? The buyer agreed they shipped the wrong item back and even requested the return be cancelled. There is being a neutral party, then there is just being lazy and allowing theft to occur.

Seller: Did you steal my part.

Buyer: Yes I did, sorry.

Seller: Do you plan on shipping back the correct item?

Buyer: No, but you can cancel the return request.

Seller: I cannot do that on my end you have to do so on your end.

Buyer: ...................................................................................................................................................................................

Ebay: Nothing we can do sorry. Report and block the buyer so we can do nothing about it but if you're gullible enough you will feel good inside for doing so.

I would also ad. Blocking buyers does little to nothing. I have been a victim of fraud from a buyer who has been blocked by me 8 times now over the last 3-4 years. They keep creating new ids and I don't catch them all. They have abused returns multiple times, even sending back damaged items, item missing parts and different items altogether. I have filed an incident report locally, and a IC3.gov case. All of the guys accounts are still active and even though I report them each time nothing is ever done.

kabilab · ‎09-01-2025

Bgt, ALL of the goods I list online are liquidation of stock I have been unable to sell out of my B&M store. This plan has worked for me and kept aggravation to a minimum. Of the approx. 4000 sales I have personally logged, only 2 have been in triple digits and 1 has exceeded a pound.

I understand some folks need to work e-Bay with product they have purchased for that purpose. As for me, I am 82 and averse to any situation I deem has the potential to unduly cause me problems.