Buyer accusing me of selling a "used and abused" item, asking for a refund.

[things-n-oddities]

I sold a brand new rifle scope that was purchased from a reputable wholesaler that I have dealt with many times. He does not sell used/refurbished items. I have never had a problem with his items. I sold the scope new in box. The box appeared to be in good condition. The buyer received the scope today and approx an hour later requested a refund. I asked for photos thinking maybe the scope had a scratch or a blemish (happens from time to time even on brand new items). The pictures I got from the buyer was of a scope that has been through hell and back. It has scope rings attached to it and has scratches all along the tube that are consistent with the rings that are currently attached. The scope I sold does not come with scope rings, so what gives?. Also the scope in pictures has some sort of yellow crud/mildew on the glass and chipped paint in spots. It literally looks like it's been through war. This is not a used scope, this is a scope that has been through torture test. No way that this is the same scope I shipped.

What are my options in this case? It seems like the buyer is trying to switch a broken abused scope for a new one and get his money back.

[kensgiftshop]

Unless you actually looked at the scope, you don't what condition it was in.

Maybe the wholesaler got it in a return and didn't check it or they figured they could get rid of it.

If they file an INAD, you can either refund and let them keep the scope or accept the return and provide return shipping.

Buyer could be scamming ya or telling the truth, hard to say.

[city*satins]

Given the small number of things you sell, I'm surprised that you use stock photos.

Are you dropshipping?

[inhawaii]

I used to work at a car dealership service department. The technicians put used spark plugs back in the box and are required to retun those used parts to the customer for inspection.  

Sometimes those used spark plugs in a new spark plug box would make their way  to the parts department where they were sold to customers as new.

It took us a while to figured out what was happening.  

[this*old*attic]

I had to wait an extra 2-3 weeks recently to complete a refrigerator repair. Several parts had to be ordered, and the repair folks got in one box that had a random wrong part inside the appropriately tagged box. They had to send it back and reorder.