Buyer claiming that I put books in an Ipad Box and I don't know what to do HELP

[jaekyle0]

So I listed a Macbook pro as an auction the past week and someone bid a little higher than market price at the last moment, which I thought was a little suspicious. I sent it yesterday but today I woke up to a return claim where the person said, "This guy sent me an iPAD BOX WITH BOOKS inside of it !! THIS IS NOT THE ITEM I ORDERED, I WANT MY FULL REFUND NOW". 

Ebay said to accept the return for now and file a false buyer claim after. I am scared because everywhere I am reading that seller do not have a good chance of appealing the refund. What should I do from here? How can I prove to Ebay that I sent a Macbook pro? All I have is photos of the sealed laptop. 

[tex-421]

I assume you have the photos from the listing, right?

[donsdetour]

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@jaekyle0 wrote:

So I listed a Macbook pro as an auction the past week and someone bid a little higher than market price at the last moment, which I thought was a little suspicious. I sent it yesterday but today I woke up to a return claim where the person said, "This guy sent me an iPAD BOX WITH BOOKS inside of it !! THIS IS NOT THE ITEM I ORDERED, I WANT MY FULL REFUND NOW". 

Ebay said to accept the return for now and file a false buyer claim after. I am scared because everywhere I am reading that seller do not have a good chance of appealing the refund. What should I do from here? How can I prove to Ebay that I sent a Macbook pro? All I have is photos of the sealed laptop. 

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You can not prove what you sent; You can not prove what you received. Welcome to mail order.

Is the item delivered?? If not then file an intercept if you can on the package. Do such now.

You can if you have the serial numbers and stuff from the item file a fraud and theft on such.

[kensgiftshop]

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@jaekyle0 wrote:

How can I prove to Ebay that I sent a Macbook pro? 

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You can't.

Accept the return and if they return a different item, you can report the buyer, but it won't help any.

[iart]

You cannot prove it.

Is this the seller ID you sold from? 0 Feedback. No other listings?

If so, you were probably targeted for a scam and, honestly, you shouldn't have begun with a higher priced item.

I hope there's a better answer than the one I give, but I think you're out of luck. Accept the return. Report the buyer to eBay but they can do little or nothing in a case like this. Your word against theirs. After the return you can file police reports but they probably won't act on it.

[house*of*paws]

Hi @jaekyle0 

Just wanted to say that even if you could prove you SENT a MacBook Pro … you can’t prove that a MacBook Pro was in the box that the buyer RECEIVED.  🙁

That’s what makes it so hard for a seller to win the original claim.  There seems to be more of a chance to win an appeal, but it isn’t great.  I’m so sorry.

[inhawaii]

Everyone else is correct.

There is nothing you can do ... except learn from this.

Don't sell anything here that you cant afford to lose.

So sorry this happened to you. 

[luckythewinner]

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@jaekyle0 wrote:

Ebay said to accept the return for now and file a false buyer claim after. I am scared because everywhere I am reading that seller do not have a good chance of appealing the refund. What should I do from here? How can I prove to Ebay that I sent a Macbook pro? All I have is photos of the sealed laptop. 

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Well, if you accept it you will have to refund. If you do not accept it, you will have to refund AND you will get a damaging "case closed without seller resolution" strike.

That aside ..

Let's pretend there was another transaction on eBay just like yours, except in that case the buyer is honest and the seller really did send books instead of a laptop.

How would eBay distinguish between the two?

[duffy4444 · Accepted solution]

    Sorry, but you will most likely lose the item AND your payment for it. What you have detailed is the activity of a typical buyer scam. With 0 feedback and selling a high-value electronic item, you are a magnet for such scammers. We see this all the time on these forums.

   Bottom line: NEVER, EVER  sell, and especially ship, a higher value item such as this online, unless your business model is prepared to run the risk of losing both the item and your payment on a forced refund by eBay. It is much better to use a local venue like Craigslist, where you can require cash, and the buyer shows up in person to inspect and accept the item as is... done!... NO shipping scams, no credit card chargebacks, no hassling with eBay Customer-No-Service, and no police, USPS or FBI fraud filings. Most of all, NO loss of your cash payment and the positive feeling of a definite closure of a sale.

Cheers, Duffy   

[ckimodog]

Did you accept returns in the listing? If not you're going to be SOL.  Do what they told you to do. Just accept the return.  Wow.  I thought ebay limited new sellers to how much they can sell? This is terrible. So sorry.  

[bonjourami]

This is for the $1900 Mac Pro? I feel sorry for you, this is a scam in the making, and most likely you will not get it back.

[tools*]

Do you have the money? If so, walk away. Let them fight for it.

[kabilab]

Jaekyle,

If you decide to remain a seller on e-Bay, bookmark Duffy 4444's reply and read everyday until it is memorized, not merely understood or paraphrased, but literally to where you can recite it by rote and, without thinking, act upon that advice.

[iart]

I doubt that eBay released the money. And exactly for this reason.

If this could work, imagine all the selling scams it would cause.

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@tools* wrote:

Do you have the money? If so, walk away. Let them fight for it.

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[dentalsales4u]

I'm a little confused. If you just shipped it yesterday and you got the message this morning, how did they receive it so fast??

If not delivered, do a package intercept IMMEDIATELY!

You are being targeted and will end up losing your item and the money.

It will cost you a few bucks to get the package returned to you, but well worth it in the long run.

Good luck to you