This is what has happened so far:
-Four days after receiving the product (iPhone 11 Pro), the buyer sent me a message saying that the box is empty and they want the money back.
-I called eBay right away, and they told me not to worry about it, saying that I don't need to do anything. They told me to wait a few days and call them back so eBay can step in and help out. They kept saying, "Don't worry, sir. Don't worry sir. This case will close in your favor."
-I called eBay a couple more times during the following few days to follow up, and eBay’s customer service rep kept on assuring me that the case is siding in my favor. One agent also told me that the buyer may be eligible for one time buyer’s credit for which eBay will take the hit (i.e. eBay will refund the buyer and not take the money out of my account). Therefore, I don’t need to worry at all.
-After a few days, however, I received a message from eBay saying that they've issued a return label and have charged my account for the refund. Here is a copy of the message:
“Thanks for trying to work with the buyer. Unfortunately, it looks like the issue wasn't resolved. We reviewed this case and decided to ask the buyer to return the item to you.
Once tracking information confirms that the item has been delivered to you, the buyer will be issued a refund. The refund includes the purchase price plus original shipping. The refund amount will be recovered from you by eBay.
This case will not affect your seller performance.”
-I called eBay right away and the rep said, "Don't worry, sir, the buyer needs to submit a police report and eBay will review it. If approved they will give the buyer the return label and the buyer will be required to send the item back." The rep followed it up by saying, "In these kinds of cases, the buyer never submits a police report and the case will expire after 10 business days so it will close in your favor. So you don’t need to do anything. Just wait and the case will close.”
-The next message I received from eBay was this:
“The buyer provided documentation from law enforcement showing they received an empty box. A refund of US XXX was issued on May 30, 2021 to the buyer. The refund includes the purchase price plus original shipping. The refund amount will be recovered from you by eBay.”
-I called eBay again and spoke with the rep about the situation. The rep replied, "Oh looks like someone made a mistake and approved the refund without looking at the police report carefully. There seems to be questions in the police report. It doesn’t seem like a valid report. We will need to submit this to the back office for review, which will take a minimum of 10 working days."
-The next message I get from eBay is that they have taken the money out from my account to refund the buyer. There is NO notice in my account regarding the case being under review at all.
From the beginning, I had doubts about the buyer because the buyer had the account open for only a month and had only 5 reviews. I usually don’t sell to these buyers because the risk is higher. I called eBay and they assured me that the buyer is legitimate, and it is safe to ship the product. Although I had my doubts, I listened to eBay and shipped the product. After 4 days of the buyer receiving and signing for the product, they filed a false claim that the box is empty. They submitted a false police report (confirmed by the eBay agent that the police report seems very questionable) and now the buyer will have my product and a large sum of money (over $900) as well. Has anyone had similar experiences? Can someone please help me? I am out of options. I don’t have the product and now I am out short of $900.
I have done everything, exactly as eBay told me to do and nothing has worked out as they said from any of the phone calls. The messages and the progress of the case are entirely different from the phone conversations. It’s almost like they are two completely different companies.
I did file a claim with fedEx but they also require proof, basically the police report of the empty box which eBay told they will not release to me. So, although I insured the product, it is absolutely useless.
