BAIT AND SWITCH SCAM!....FURIOUS

[chicboutique31]

I Just recently sold a new with tags Ralph Lauren red velvet vest with paisly print on the back for 40$ at a 95$ retail value. She left positive and happy feedback. 2 days later, buyer filed a return claiming it was not authentic .Her husband bought one similar at macys and the texture felt diffferent.  i accepted the return and paid for the shipping. 2 days after that, she messaged me and said i also sent her the wrong item. This item was a red velvet vest with solid tan on the back, not paisly. i said impossible! mind you, i have never had this in my inventory . i asked her to please send me photos of the item she recieved and a picture of the tags .come to find out, the photos are not what i sent her but when i looked real closely, i realized all of the UPC codes and numbers were different to the one i sold her as i have a very close up photo of the tag in my listing. i immediately contacted customer service so they can keep record of our correspondenses. The only thing i can do is file an appeal when she returns the item and becuse i have the photos, it will most  likely turn out in my favor, so the representative said, but it is a lengthy process. Seems to me she purchased a Vest a Macys and wanted to switch the one out with mine to save herself 55$. Just when i thought ive heard every scam in the book, this one is new to me. Sellers, make sure you take photos of your tags because im sure this happends alot to other sellers and dont know how to handle it. WISH ME LUCK!!...SHES GOING DOWN!

[siayan]

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@chicboutique31 wrote:

I Just recently sold a new with tags Ralph Lauren red velvet vest with paisly print on the back for 40$ at a 95$ retail value. She left positive and happy feedback. 2 days later, buyer filed a return claiming it was not authentic .Her husband bought one similar at macys and the texture felt diffferent.  i accepted the return and paid for the shipping. 2 days after that, she messaged me and said i also sent her the wrong item. This item was a red velvet vest with solid tan on the back, not paisly. i said impossible! mind you, i have never had this in my inventory . i asked her to please send me photos of the item she recieved and a picture of the tags .come to find out, the photos are not what i sent her but when i looked real closely, i realized all of the UPC codes and numbers were different to the one i sold her as i have a very close up photo of the tag in my listing. i immediately contacted customer service so they can keep record of our correspondenses. The only thing i can do is file an appeal when she returns the item and becuse i have the photos, it will most  likely turn out in my favor, so the representative said, but it is a lengthy process. Seems to me she purchased a Vest a Macys and wanted to switch the one out with mine to save herself 55$. Just when i thought ive heard every scam in the book, this one is new to me. Sellers, make sure you take photos of your tags because im sure this happends alot to other sellers and dont know how to handle it. WISH ME LUCK!!...SHES GOING DOWN!

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I wish you luck, you will need it. In a he said she said the buyer wins 95% of the time.

[ebbyisme]

Sellers, make sure you take photos of your tags .....

NOPE, that will do absolutely nothing in a case like this, but it is a good idea for other reasons.

it will most  likely turn out in my favor, so the representative said

You will not win, but the buyer can lose. Nothing you do will change your odds of "winning", best case - the buyer still get the item and the refund. The CSR lied to you. Outsourced CS job is to catch calls and get rid of you as quickly as possible. They are rated on calls competed not accuracy.

Your only chance is to jump through all the hoops and the buyer has a history of this and you speak directly with a good SCR so they rule in your favor OR eBay gives you a courtesy refund or you get extremely lucky for some reason we may never know. Ebay's take on this situation is: it is YOUR cost of business, all businesses have loss.

[chipper01work]

Actually it's a cost of doing business on EBAY and not many other places. Go to 10 stores today and buy something then try to return a different item with your receipt. Let us know how you fare. It's acost here but nowhere else. And no it is not comparable to those stores having shoplifting. 

[chicboutique31]

I believe I spoke with a wonderful rep and he did mention something about a courtesy refund. This call was a lot different than other calls I have made and I call them at least 3 times a week for something

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

You call Ebay three times a week or more? You have far more patience than I will ever have.

[fern*wood]

My guess is the best case scenario for you will be to get a courtesy refund.  I highly doubt they will side with you over the buyer since photos of labels won't prove that is the item you actually shipped.  

[misslittlebuttercup]

But wouldn't this be mail fraud? File a report with the postal inspector or police report, this is also a crime! Let the buyer know ebay may not do anything but....you will!

[*eponymous*]

What an abysmal waste of time. You make money on the aggregate of your sales. With many thousands of sales under your belt and few, if any, other problems, you're making money.

Accept all returns or issue refunds outright when you get the rare return.  Going down. lol

[d-k_treasures]

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@*eponymous* wrote:

What an abysmal waste of time. You make money on the aggregate of your sales. With many thousands of sales under your belt and few, if any, other problems, you're making money.

Accept all returns or issue refunds outright when you get the rare return.  Going down. lol

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And if you get back something different than you sent, report the buyer for misuse of MBG, and file the mail fraid cases against the buyer. Get them on the radar.

[ed8108]

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@chicboutique31 wrote:

I Just recently sold a new with tags Ralph Lauren red velvet vest with paisly print on the back for 40$ at a 95$ retail value. She left positive and happy feedback. 2 days later, buyer filed a return claiming it was not authentic .Her husband bought one similar at macys and the texture felt diffferent.  i accepted the return and paid for the shipping. 2 days after that, she messaged me and said i also sent her the wrong item. This item was a red velvet vest with solid tan on the back, not paisly. i said impossible! mind you, i have never had this in my inventory . i asked her to please send me photos of the item she recieved and a picture of the tags .come to find out, the photos are not what i sent her but when i looked real closely, i realized all of the UPC codes and numbers were different to the one i sold her as i have a very close up photo of the tag in my listing. 

When she left Happy Feedback she effectively would appear to acknowledge that she received the correct item.

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[missjen831]

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@ed8108 wrote:

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@chicboutique31 wrote:

I Just recently sold a new with tags Ralph Lauren red velvet vest with paisly print on the back for 40$ at a 95$ retail value. She left positive and happy feedback. 2 days later, buyer filed a return claiming it was not authentic .Her husband bought one similar at macys and the texture felt diffferent.  i accepted the return and paid for the shipping. 2 days after that, she messaged me and said i also sent her the wrong item. This item was a red velvet vest with solid tan on the back, not paisly. i said impossible! mind you, i have never had this in my inventory . i asked her to please send me photos of the item she recieved and a picture of the tags .come to find out, the photos are not what i sent her but when i looked real closely, i realized all of the UPC codes and numbers were different to the one i sold her as i have a very close up photo of the tag in my listing. 

When she left Happy Feedback she effectively would appear to acknowledge that she received the correct item.

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Of course. To those who have common sense. But this is eBay where anything the buyer says or does cannot be held against them in ebays court of law! 

[tunicaslot]

I believe that you can win this case - as Ebay is cracking down on these types of returns - I won my case without a problem - but....... if your buyer paid with a credit card - they can do a chargeback which is what my buyer did and Paypal decided in her favor. I complained and received a courtesy refund and did not have to pay the $20 chargeback fee - but from now on - I'll accept the return and then file all the appropriate forms - mail fraud - IC3 - and police report to make sure these buyers are on everyone's radar and submit all documentation to both Ebay and Paypal. Fraudulent buyers will not keep their accts at either place too long as it's bad for business.

[chrysylys]

Look at the website for the other store.  See if you can find the item and if they have a picture of the back of it.

Might not help in the case, but might be ammunition to show the buyer, which might get them to change their mind ... a might (or is it a mite?).

[hioctane62]

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*eponymous* wrote:

What an abysmal waste of time. You make money on the aggregate of your sales. With many thousands of sales under your belt and few, if any, other problems, you're making money.

Accept all returns or issue refunds outright when you get the rare return.  Going down. lol

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This is good advice for normal returns, but if you do this for fraud returns, you are hurting yourself and every seller here. Without proper reporting, these buyers are encouraged to do this to other sellers. Thanks.