So, it started that I listed a Samsung Galaxy S7 box some time ago (over a year) for $50 or best offer (honestly I figured someone would offer $15 at most and that would have been good for me). I'd done this after seeing other listings, and thought maybe people bought them as collector's items. I don't know. It was listed in the "cell phone accessories" section, the title included the word "READ", and the body stated "Just the box."
Also, in January, I updated all my listings to state that I only accept cancellations on a case-by-case basis and it depends on the reason. (In other words, if they didn't read it, tough cookies.) The listing in question also boasted a "no return policy" and a 10% donation to a charity.
All in all (and I confirmed this with eBay), pretty clear. I thought.
So, a buyer purchases the item. I call eBay just to be sure it was clear before I pay for shipping, because I'd had issue with a previous buyer and I had actually forgotten about the listing at that point (lots going on). EBay confirmed that I should be alright, so I paid for shipping and took the package to one of those blue USPS pickup boxes.
When I returned, I saw that the buyer had asked for pictures of the phone (what phone? There was no phone; only a box.) This message included a phone number (why?). A second message stated they wanted to confirm the cancellation. Well, I hadn't even seen that there was a request for cancellation, and eBay apparently auto-declined that when I purchased the postage.
I reply to the first message that the listing was for the box only, and cited quotes from the listing. I reply to the second message with, essentially, an apology but that it was too late and the item had been sent out.
The next morning, I receive another message, stating that they didn't want to box and to just not ship it and since the money was going for charity anyway (only 10% - not ALL of it!) and to send them a receipt. I was dumbfounded. I called eBay again, just to keep them in the loop. This was the most bizarre thing I'd ever heard of.
A few days go by, and the package is delivered. What do you know? I get a return request. They claim the item was "Ordered by mistake". I respond, repeating myself, and stating that any return would be marked "RTS" and refused. I follow-up by making a report with eBay.
Then this evening, I open my email to find claim has been opened with PayPal. I look to see that the reason selected was that the item never arrived. (How can you open a return on eBay for something you never received? Fishy.) I was watching a movie with my husband at the time, so I waited about 20 minutes for that to finish, and called them. Meanwhile, I attempted to upload the tracking number (which refused to work). After a bunch of hold time (I busied myself with other stuff) and maybe 10-15 minutes on the phone (part of which was spent with them investigating), they closed the case in my favor. Then I contact eBay to report the suspicious activity of the changing story. No big, right?
Except...I know they still have one potential last course of action -- at least if they used a card. *sigh* What do you do if the buyer changes their story every time they try to get their money back? Can that help my case if they go to their CC for a chargeback? To be honest, I'm hoping they won't think of it and they'll take the closed case as the end of it. But...as I've seen that's not always the case.
