Buyer claims to have received a destroyed box with no contents

[hackygolucky]

My winning bidder of a very expensive item ($450) - who I might add has a new account with no reviews or even a profile picture - sent me pictures of the empty box, absolutely destroyed, that he picked up from the post office. They told him "there is nothing we can do about it" and to take it up with the sender. Funnily enough, there is no label on the box such as "received without contents", which I have received on empty packages before. What should I do about this **bleep**?

[vintagecraze50]

You have run into a very precarious situation on here when these empty box claims are made.  You can try to see if the PO will pay out for an insurance claim if you added the insurance coverage. Use the pictures of the destroyed box that the user has sent you to file the claim. No point is arguing with this customer.  Some do this to scam an expensive item. Ebay requires that you as the seller take responsibility for filing an insurance claim. They do not require the buyer to do this. If they open a not received case, you can just respond to that case with a tracking umber showing delivered, and you will win that case. If they open a not as described case with parts missing etc you will not win that case. All depends on which case this buyer opens. Wait for them to do their part FIRST. Do not respond with apologies whatever yet. Leave it in their court to start a case. No verbiage with them until THEY TAKE ACTION.

[hackygolucky]

@vintagecraze50 I messaged them passive-aggressively acknowledging that there was no sticker on the package and they stopped responding...maybe I lucked out with a confrontation-shy scammer?

[vintagecraze50 · Accepted solution]

Ok, good, now let them make the next move. Then proceed from there.  As, I mentioned if they open a item not received claim and you have proof of delivery, just add the tracking number into that claim, and you should win that case. Good luck. If they open the not as described claim, that is tricky to win. 

[m60driver]

You are an inexperienced seller who sold a relatively expensive piece of gaming equipment.  Scammers prey upon folks like you and you are indeed being scammed and the buyer knows you have little chance to recover either your money or the product.  Again, why Ebay allows inexperienced sellers to list expensive pieces of gaming hardware is unfathomable.

[trbl13]

You should have the Original USPS Receipt with the Weight of the Package on it...

as Proof that you Did Ship the item in the Box...The Empty box would Weigh Less...

This Scammer should Not win the case....

[duffy4444]

   You are selling and shipping expensive items while having low feedback, and you joined eBay less than a month ago. That makes you a magnet for scammers, who love to pounce on new sellers with low feedback selling popular highly-scammed electronic items.

   Wise rule-of-thumb: NEVER, EVER  sell online, and especially ship, any item that you and your business model are not prepared to lose, along with our payment for it on a forced refund.  Sell it locally or with Craigslist instead, where the buyer has to show up in person, accept the item as-is, pays with CASH, then leaves with the item after shaking hands. DONE! ... NO shipping scams, NO return scams, NO credit card chargeback scams even months down the road, NO getting the incompetent USPS involved, NO police reports, and NO having to get eBay Customer-No-Service involved, which very often turns into an automatic loss of the item and your payment for it.

Cheers, Duffy

[janet9988]

What does tracking information show?

Look directly on the USPS site.

With no sticker I would say that the the item was stolen after delivery and the box left there.

[wastingtime101]

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@janet9988 wrote:

With no sticker I would say that the the item was stolen after delivery and the box left there.

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My post office does not put damaged stickers on packages. They never have. This package was delivered a few weeks ago and one of the items inside was broken. There was no damage sticker or notation in tracking and this is how it was delivered.

Generally speaking, just because there's no damage sticker that does not automatically mean a buyer is lying.

Having said that, I have no idea what the OP's situation is and their buyer could be a scammer. If the buyer is claiming it was delivered empty then I'd be on the phone with the buyer's PO and asking for their carrier's account of things while it's still fresh in their mind.

[kabilab]

Hacky,

1-Read, then print, the reply of Duffy4444. Place the paper in a protective cover and re-read it every day.

2-Bookmark the reply of Duffy4444. This would serve as a back-up to the printed page.

3-Never deviate from Duffy4444's reply. If/when you decide to pick and choose your actions contradictory to Duffy's reply, you open yourself to bitter disappointment.