Buyer is requesting a return. I've messaged him, but he's not responding.Will ebay rule in his favor

[stufftosell2002]

Buyer claimed item was damaged thought it was brand new in box. 

Cost was $165, so not a small amount. 

I messaged him back with a couple of suggestions.... a partial refund, or I would mail him another item in addition to the one he has to not take the return. 

I'm trying to avoid a full return if I can because I feel he damaged the item removing it from the packing and is trying to shift the blame. I can no longer sell this item as brand new or in excellent condition, so I was hoping to avoid the loss. 

He hasn't responded. My deadline is today. 

I have responded via message, but have not offically chosen the option for return, a refund, or an "official" partial refund. 

If I don't choose one of the refund/return options, will ebay side with him and issue a full refund and he gets to keep the item? I keep reading message boards that I'm basically going to have to eat it. 

If he's going to push I will allow the return, but if he's not answering, I'm worried he's running out the clock to then ask for a full return and be allowed to keep the item. 

Has anyone dealt with this? I hope I explained it well enough. 

[mam98031]

@stufftosell2002 

Approve the return.

This is an item with a decent price.  IDK why you would offer them a partial refund and I really don't know why you would offer them another item.  Do you just have money to give away?  I'm not trying to be harsh, some of what you suggest is how sellers train buyers on how to rip us off.

[justoneofthosedays]

Ebays approach to "item not as described" cases is certainly a deterrent to swindlers as well (sarcasm). The sellers photos won’t help the seller but the deceitful buyer can use the sellers photo in their “item not as described” case because ebay won’t even look at it but will accept it as evidence for the buyers fraudulent case. The crooked buyer will then be able to return an empty box with the tracking showing “delivered” (possibly not to the sellers address) to receive a full refund and the seller is out while the buyer and ebay profit.    

[robbie31415]

Okay, and the same can be reversed for dishonest scam sellers.

Both can pull a fast one. Seller can just as easily report they recieved an empty box when they didn't.

But the difference is...

Buyers are protected by federal consumer protection laws.

If you don't like it then you should work on getting the laws changed.

If fraud has occurred the seller is within their rights to prove it in a court or law and reclaim their money.

[johnrj1226]

Your  photos DO NOT mean the item was not damaged while in your possession after you took your picture.   YOUR selected carrier may have damaged it in route to your buyer.  Sellers are responsible to DELIVER the item sold is as described in their listing(s)  If you had insurance on your shipment you MIGHT have claim with your carrier providing your packaging was up to par.   You might  have to do some show and tell withe the carrier to do that.

Have a better day tomorrow.

You need to read up & understand on what eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers means.   Here the link to get you started

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

[fbusoni]

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@stufftosell2002 wrote:

Sold a new model train for $165. Buyer asks for a return stating a railing was broken off and pieces were loose.

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This is all you needed to know to authorize a return, which you should have done immediately.   

And -- most importantly -- that is the beginning and the end of the story as far as eBay is concerned.

I am sorry this happened to you, but if the past is any guide, eBay will momentarily step in and take care of the buyer.

The silver lining is that it's only $165, and not $1,165.00.

[sakic92710]

Buyers don't even have to prove the item was returned by showing a tracking number.  Someone bought a graded sports card from me.  Even though it was professionally graded, the buyer put in a INAD & won their case.  He said he mailed it back.   Never asked for return shipping funds.  No tracking.   Full refund was given. Try doing that as a seller!

[sextons-sweet-deals]

You have been here since 1999 and 100% feedback Great job!

I have to guess you're being played by a scammer. 

I'm guessing this buyer did not provide any photos of any kind. Package as received, as they open, and the suppose flaw. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

looks like you created two posts on this issue????

[stufftosell2002]

I just don't want to take the return because if he returns a broken item to me, I can't sell it as new and I don't know how he has handled it... so I wouldn't feel good about reselling it honestly. 

I was just hoping for an alternate resolution, but I get what you're saying. 

[stufftosell2002]

Holy cow! Have you had this happen? That sounds terrible!

[stufftosell2002]

Thanks for the advice and the well wishes. I accepted the return and will just take it as a lesson high on the learning curve!

Onward and upward! 🙂

[stufftosell2002]

Thanks for the reply. 🙂 

[stufftosell2002]

Whattttt? That's crazy that they aren't expected to provide a tracking number! Did you reach out to ebay and ask for help? That sounds really bad!

I've got about 40,000 baseball cards to sell next after I finish selling the trains... I'm not looking forward to it, but will keep your advice in mind! Maybe it's best to insure everything.  (It's my Dad's lifetime collection of cards that have been sitting in boxes from the 50s - present... I don't even know what I'm looking at so I've got a lot of learning to do!)

[stufftosell2002]

Thank you! I really try hard to be as honest as possible. I did take a few years off. I've actually been selling since 1996, but lost access to that account, sadly. 

I learned a very hard lesson early on when I shipped a golf club without tracking (like in 2002)... just expecting good faith and the guy said he never received it and he got refunded. 

I never shipped a package without tracking after that. It was an expensive lesson to learn!

[stufftosell2002]

Yes, I had two different questions about this. 🙂