Buyer Attempts to Pull a Scam

[dannysgirl21]

 

 

Hi all, I’ve been a moderate ebayer for over 20 years.  I’ve bought and sold hundreds of items.  I recently sold an 80s action figure (foot soldier).  At the auctions end I received payment promptly and carefully packaged the item and sent through priority mail.

the day it was delivered I received a message from the buyer that the item was damaged in shipping.  He attached two photos of the damage and immediately I could tell the pics were not of the item I sent him.  

I responded with a comparison of the photos he sent me and the listing photos highlighting the differences in the items and explained how the photos he sent me are clearly not of the item I sold him.  He has yet to respond. 

What should I do from here? Should I wait for his response or report this to eBay? This is the first time anything like this has happened to me.  He’s obviously a danger to the eBay community and he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this. I’ve attached my comparison photos and his message . 

[emerald_door · Accepted solution]

I find it interesting that the message from the buyer refers to the "item," as if it's a form letter that he/she has sent to other sellers.  

I might have suggested to the buyer that he has contacted the wrong seller, that he has your item mixed up with one that he bought from another seller because clearly the pictures don't match.  

[gracieallen01]

Ask the buyer if there looks to be any indication of tampering with the package, because when you file a report with USPS Postal Inspectors, they will want to see the package and contents.  Rifling and mail fraud are felonies, of which they take a dim view.  So, ask them to save the packaging.

[slippinjimmy]

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@emerald_door wrote:

I find it interesting that the message from the buyer refers to the "item," as if it's a form letter that he/she has sent to other sellers.  

I might have suggested to the buyer that he has contacted the wrong seller, that he has your item mixed up with one that he bought from another seller because clearly the pictures don't match.  

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Even the OP described it as "the item" FOUR times in their post.

[writertypes]

dannysgirl21 -- Not enough info or insight or intuition here. This is between you AND YOU. It's your spin... so to speak.

[dannysgirl21]

I think I’m going to go this route. It lets the buyer know I’m aware of what he did without having to go through a tedious eBay process. I’m sure he’ll think twice before trying this on someone else.

[corvettestainless]

Just wait and see what happens; if he wants a refund, he will open one- and you will refund when it's shipped back. 

For some reason, many of these 'collectors' seem to 'have issues' with their packages and although they want to

"keep the item, a partial refund would be acceptable", which appears that is where he is coming from. 

Is the buyer also a seller of these type items? (could still be buy on a different user name)

[sodelight]

The main things I see is the items are different colors.

[turquoisetulips]

IMO ,It's possible your buyer has already put his foot in his mouth . That may be the reason he's gone silent .  Tulips

[fa_8305]

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@turquoisetulips wrote:

IMO ,It's possible your buyer has already put his foot in his mouth . That may be the reason he's gone silent .  Tulips

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The buyer usually goes silent while they wait for the return label that they bought to be delivered to the seller's zip code, just in case it bounces and isn't delivered. Then after a successful delivery, they'll start the return request.

[dannysgirl21]

He never asked for a refund. He was attempting to get a partial refund for the damage he claims occurred during shipping. I put him in an awkward position by pointing out the blatant differences between my list pics and his pics. He brazenly tries to commit fraud and get a partial refund on a bogus claim

[equid0x]

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@emerald_door wrote:

I find it interesting that the message from the buyer refers to the "item," as if it's a form letter that he/she has sent to other sellers.  

I might have suggested to the buyer that he has contacted the wrong seller, that he has your item mixed up with one that he bought from another seller because clearly the pictures don't match.  

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I've heard this before and I'm not so sure what the hang-up is with "item?" I list many items on my own sites every day and I often describe this as "item" because I'm not going to customize basic condition descriptions for everything I sell. 

It may or may not be a template, but even if it is, for all you know the buyer could be buying 5000 items a month on eBay. 

Its definitely a factor to consider among many but I wouldn't consider it a huge red flag. 

[equid0x]

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@corvettestainless wrote:

Just wait and see what happens; if he wants a refund, he will open one- and you will refund when it's shipped back. 

For some reason, many of these 'collectors' seem to 'have issues' with their packages and although they want to

"keep the item, a partial refund would be acceptable", which appears that is where he is coming from. 

Is the buyer also a seller of these type items? (could still be buy on a different user name)

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I've noticed the same trend and even in their pattern of complaints on the boards. Always seem to have problems with packaging and allegedly damage due to said packaging yet I've shipped thousands of items and never once had anyone complain about my packaging. Well, if you count this, I did have one complaint from a lady who was upset that I did not place her camera in a plastic bag before I packaged it. 

[imakesugar]

It isn’t good idea to put cameras and ALL electronics in a plastic zip lock. I bought a $160. Camera from Hawaii once, it fell in the ocean, the Seller didn’t buy insurance, I got a refund, the PO didn’t pay a claim and the Seller lost $160.

[canadian_horse]

The buyer is most likely trying to scam you. We have a problem on Ebay because we cant rate Buyers negatively, so they suffer no real consequences for repeatedly being bad buyers. I hope Ebay changes that policy some day.

The best thing to do is wait for the buyer to respond. And then continue to have a dialogue with the buyer, asking him/her questions and getting him/her to respond. The more someone has to answer questions, the more they reveal their untruths, half truths etc. That's the way police detectives operate - they get you talking and the more you talk, the more you slip up.

So, in general, wait and keep the dialogue going. Then, when you are certain of what is happening, contact Ebay and ask them for help, explaining your situation.