Broken Replica Scam - I have Unique Photos That are Definitely Different

[duneduncanidaho]

I recently sold an item for about $200.  As soon as the buyer received it they filed for a full refund with only the message "Broken Item".   I have detailed pictures of the item and the item being packaged before I sent it.  I asked for and received pictures from the buyer.  There are many unique identifiers on the item that clearly show the two are different.  

What is the best way to handle this? 

My primary goal is either getting my original item back (or keeping the purchase price).  I have a secondary (possibly primary) goal of stopping this person from doing this to someone else.  

I am willing to file a claim with ebay, IC3, and the post office.  I am not sure where to start (as the seller) with ebay as I can't seem to find a fraud / claim report on their site.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

[stuff4divas · Accepted solution]

How to handle Scum

The first thing to do is to report the buyer>

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/report-issue-buyer?id=4084&st=12&pos=1&quer...

Then block them.

Then, read this link re Seller Protection>

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-protection?id=4345&st=12&pos=2&query=Sell...

Then, see if this will help:

An item that is returned after it was used or damaged by the buyer

Sellers who offer free returns and who are not Below Standard are eligible for this protection

• You can deduct up to 50% from the refund to recover the lost value of the item
• We will take care of any issues directly with the buyer for you, including removing any negative and neutral feedback, defects, and open cases in service metrics

How to issue a partial refund when the item is returned in a different condition

To issue a partial refund:

• Go to your Returns dashboard.
• Select View return details beside the item.
• Decide What to Refund.
• Select the percent you want to deduct from the refund amount.
• Add a message to the buyer explaining why the refund wasn't full.
• Select Send.

In addition, make a police report, internet fraud report, USPS fraud report to send with your appeal.

Also note the weight and size of original package vs returned package, ie photos, label info

Reports for USPS here>

 United States Postal Inspection Service

Mail Fraud Complaint>

https://ehome.uspis.gov/fcsexternal/default.aspx

Then

Contact eBay via social media with a private message:

https://Facebook.com/ebay

AND-OR

https://Twitter.com/askebay

very good customer service on these social media sites

[iart]

Unfortunately, your photos prove nothing. They do not prove that you shipped that item.

It is best to ask the buyer to return the item for a refund. If you get eBay involved, they will side with the buyer.

[duneduncanidaho]

If I have them return the item for a refund (and I get their crappy item) can I still file an insurance claim of $50 (since I used the standard USPS shipping provided by ebay)?

[duneduncanidaho]

Thanks for the detailed response, it sounds like you have had to use this before (sorry).  When you have gone down this route do you normally get some money back?

Also I didn't see in your steps if I should be submitting for the buyer to send the item back.  Do I just start out by doing the report buyer?  I assume this immediately tips the buyer off that I am accusing them of fraud.

[bearswatching]

EBay has made it very clear they will not even look at photos. They can be faked. And are no proof of what was actually put in the mail. They have also stated that in a he said / she said situation the buyer will always win. Not fair, but their sandbox, their rules.

[bearswatching]

Oops should have read read post by iart. Exactly what he/she said.

[iart]

I would play it straight for now and wait for the reply or the return.

After that, and if you get the wrong item back, pursue every avenue you can (and you feel is worth your time and effort).

[stuff4divas]

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@duneduncanidaho wrote:

Thanks for the detailed response, it sounds like you have had to use this before (sorry).  When you have gone down this route do you normally get some money back?

Also I didn't see in your steps if I should be submitting for the buyer to send the item back.  Do I just start out by doing the report buyer?  I assume this immediately tips the buyer off that I am accusing them of fraud.

---

Yes, bc I qualify to deduct up to 50% off the selling price.

If you qualify to issue partial refunds, as outlined on my post, then you can deduct up to 50% off the selling price if the item received back is not as sent to buyer.

If you don't accept the return, ebay will allow the buyer to keep the item and refund them then back charge you for the refund, so accept the return. If the item rec'd back is not what you sent or in a different condition than sent, report the buyer and follow the steps I outlined.

Buyers are not informed of reports against them, unless it gets to the point where ebay suspends their account, etc, but they still are not informed of report details.

Good Luck!

[duneduncanidaho]

Thank you.

[gjs_16]

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@duneduncanidaho wrote:

If I have them return the item for a refund (and I get their crappy item) can I still file an insurance claim of $50 (since I used the standard USPS shipping provided by ebay)?

---

No, the insurance is only good for the outgoing leg of the shipping, USPS will not cover for return labels.

[duneduncanidaho]

Just as an FYI I finally found the phone number (a call back) for ebay.  This is the advice they recommended to me.  I will keep this thread informed as to what happened.

Steps thus far

1.  Been very friendly with buyer, the mail man must have swapped it out.  

2.  Issued a return shipping label

3.  Waiting to see that the item is different than what was sent so I can file all the above fraud claims (eBay, IC3, Postal Inspectors, Police).

We will see how badly it all goes (not in my favor).

[duneduncanidaho]

I thought I would continue my steps taken as they come.  Hopefully someone will get something useful out of this.  Not going well thus far.  

4.  The bat came back and sure enough the buyer screwed me and sent the damaged item back.  

5.  I immediately made a second call to eBay to tell them that the bat sent back was a broken replica and that I would like to dispute the return.  They told me to click on the item then report a problem >> Item returned was empty, damaged, or not the same.  

6.  Did the above reporting the item was different than what I sent.  I also blocked the user and reported the buyer as stuff4divas recommended.  I also opened up a case with the USPS investigators.  

7.  The status of the item was still saying that I needed to refund the buyer and that I had two days to do this (now that it was showing as arrived).  So I called eBay again stating the status didn't change and I wanted to make sure the money didn't go back after the two days.  I was assured it would not and I was told I needed to fill out an affidavit form.  

8.  I filled out the affidavit form per eBay.  I also created four high detailed photos of every angle of the item with a side by side comparison and arrows showing the unique differences between the two items (baseball bats and their unique knicks).  

9.  12 hours later the money was automatically refunded to the buyer and my case was closed with the text "We received tracking information from the buyer that shows successful delivery" !  Wow you have to be kidding me.  After four phone calls to ebay to make sure they knew I wanted to challenge the return they refunded their money anyway.  

10.  Contacted eBay again to ask why they just gave the money back when they assured me the dispute is in, they are going to call me back in 24 hours.  

So with that said it looks iart like was right about them simply siding with the buyer.  Will keep you informed

[my_cola1]

YEP, THEY always side with the buyer....and that's why this goes on. The buyer knows they can scam and get away with it. They get away with it once so they feel it's a sure thing they'll get it for free. and when I asked for them to return the item they said usps said it was too dangerous to return and ebay believed them. 

[duneduncanidaho]

Okay my final update.  After all that about my 4 phone calls to ebay, disputing the refund etc (see previous posts) ebay finally came through.  They refunded me (the seller) the full amount.  I am certainly glad to get my money back but I hope something was done on the buyer side to  keep them from doing this again.  I got the suspicion that the money came from ebay leaving the scammer (buyer) with both my product and their money back (not the solution I wanted).  

Either way it looks like eBay is trying to do what they can do help the sellers (and buyers) from scammers.  

THank you everyone for all your help.  The final solution seemed to be disputing the refund after I got it back and to report the buyer.