Buyer claims he got a empty box and opened a return case

[smartechs]

Hey guy ,

so this the first time I get my self into something like that.

the buyer wanted to buy a phone a present for his father or thats what he said.

I Felt good about that and I gave him the best service and info for everything before a sale.

just about yesterday he sends a message saying the parcel is empty and with only weight attachment and he is sad and no phone and no gift for his father.

I answered a few minutes after that I will 100% solve this and refund or return if it's needed whatever needed to be done to solve.

toke 3 hours to answer meanwhile, of course, I rocked the internet, shipping carrier, cases, tracking, sent him like 3 messages attached to the case :

1.photo shows that items arrived at 18.6 and he says he got it at 19.6

2.I asked for a photo of proof(I know he can take the phone off and take a photo) but he didn't send any photo or proof at all

3.I also asked to take a photo oh the weight details in the parcel so it can shows him the weight of the product in the package.

so after like half a day, i get a message from him saying he was so sad he tore the package apart and threw it away ... and told him no one throws a package at the same day of delivery especially not if they are saying its empty.

no answer it the case was just opened at 17.6 and I got till 20.06

please, any suggestions? 

[sunnysouth1]

I don't' know why the buyer threw the package away. That sounds suspicious to me.

Did the buyer open a case for Item Not As Described or Item Not Received?

[wastingtime101]

First call eBay to report the buyer and ask them to read the message that says the buyer threw it out - depending on the rep you speak with that may cover you, but don't count on it.

Then send a message to the buyer:

Dear buyer,

I shipped you the phone that was ordered, not an empty package. This is surely a case of theft. USPS takes theft very seriously so I will contact them today to file a theft report for their investigation.

It's uncommon for USPS to deliver a package that was opened and rifled through without a notice of damage on the outer packaging. USPS can view photos on their internal system of the package before it was delivered so I will make sure they do this. A postal inspector may come to your address to inspect the package, or they may ask you to bring the package to the post office for inspection.

If the USPS doesn't see any problems with the package being tampered with before it was delivered then they will flag your address and work with the police if the source of theft is a "porch pirate" - someone who steals the item after it's been delivered. If this happens then the police may be in contact with you for more details.

Sincerely,

Seller

[iaintdoingit]

You are in Israel and drop ship from Hong Kong, China and a few items from your home country.  Maybe, just maybe, they did receive an empty package since you didn't pack the phone yourself.

Hope all this works out for you!

[tunicaslot]

The buyer opened an SNAD and before even reading the post and looking at the your items and seeing your low feedback - I could predict that the item in question was a phone or higher priced electronic. Those with low feedback should never list these types of items unless they can afford to take a hit.

You can very well send a message that you will open a mail fraud report and contact his local police dept which might deter him but as far as Ebay is concerned - you have to refund the buyer - if you do not before the time specified - they will take the money from your Paypal acct and give you an unresolved seller strike which can really damage your account.

Now sellers here have been told by management - that there will be greater seller protection for sellers - but only if a buyer has a "history" of abuse - so you may call Ebay and talk to someone in Trust and Safety and see if the buyer has such a history of abusing sellers. If they do decide this in your favor because the buyer has previously abused buyers - I'd be forever grateful if you could come back here and let us know that Ebay is standing behind their promise to help sellers with abusers. It would at least give people some hope.

Buyers do not have to prove they never received something or that the item they received was different - and that is why so many sellers have lost faith here. The buyer is under no obligation to prove his side of the story and unfortunately - the seller has pretty much had the option of proving his side of the story taken away. 

[luckythewinner]

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@smartechs wrote:

please, any suggestions? 

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On eBay, Any buyer can steal any item from any seller at any time by filing a fraudulent SNAD. 

If you haven't 100% solved this, you need to refund or return.

Not only because you told him you would, but also because eBay will force you to and give you a defect if you do not. 

[sunnysouth1]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@smartechs wrote:

please, any suggestions? 

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On eBay, Any buyer can steal any item from any seller at any time by filing a fraudulent SNAD. 

If you haven't 100% solved this, you need to refund or return.

Not only because you told him you would, but also because eBay will force you to and give you a defect if you do not. 

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@luckythewinner ,

There is nothing to return. The buyer said they threw the package away. I think the idea of telling the buyer a report will be made to the carrier so they can investigate is best. 

I think the OP should call eBay and report what has happened.

What buyer would throw away the package if received empty? Makes no sense.

[orangehound]

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@smartechs wrote:

no answer it the case was just opened at 17.6 and I got till 20.06

please, any suggestions? 

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I am assuming that this is the $640 phone you drop-shipped from China (you live in Israel).  You didn't spell out the return reason, but I'm assuming that it is a "Not as Described" reason, and thus a Money Back Guarantee claim.   I'm also assuming that you sold it through eBay.com ... if true, you have two typical choices:

1. You can provide your buyer with either (a) a trackable shipping label or (b) funds to his Pay Pal account to buy a trackable shipping label, along with the return address so that the buyer can return the "nothing" that he received.   If the package is delivered, then you would have a couple of days to refund the full cost.
2. You can refund the buyer's money plus any shipping costs.

There is a third option - you can protest/appeal the return, and escalate it to eBay claiming that the buyer is mistaken or lying or that they threw away the packagin.  But, as a drop-shipper, you have no way to know that the buyer was even shipped a phone in the first place ... that's why drop-shipping is a bad business model.   What would happen if you escalate the case?   I would say that there's a 99.9% chance you will lose, and when you lose you will also not be refunded the $83 in eBay and PayPal fees.

If this were me, I would invest $20-30 in option #1 above and hope that the tracked package never gets delivered ... then I would get out of drop-shipping and pursue a more viable business model.

[luckythewinner]

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@sunnysouth1 wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:
On eBay, Any buyer can steal any item from any seller at any time by filing a fraudulent SNAD. 

If you haven't 100% solved this, you need to refund or return.

Not only because you told him you would, but also because eBay will force you to and give you a defect if you do not. 

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@luckythewinner ,

There is nothing to return.

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@sunnysouth1

In case you missed it, I was intentionally using the exact same terminology the OP used in his original post: 

"I answered a few minutes after that I will 100% solve this and refund or return if it's needed whatever needed to be done to solve."

[toybrats]

Is there any way that you can call the company that you bought the phone from and report it stolen so that they can lock it and whoever has it , can not use it? Sorry that this happened to you. Selling phones here is very risky.