Buyer returned materally different item. Ebay refunded. Case appealed

[powersteeringseals]

First time posting-

I've been selling on ebay for 7 years now.   The appeals and buyer refunds have gotten progressively worse.   I had a buyer buy one of my more expensive (over $100) items.   Buyer was recently registered and 0 feedback.  Well, guess what, they started a return and returned a little business card that said thank you!   I reported the buyer to ebay and didn't do a refund.  Ebay granted the refund to the buyer and closed the case saying they had no proof this was the buyer's fault.   Come on ebay.   I took pictures of everything and upload all of them.   I appealed.   The appeal is pending.   Ebay said they'd get back with me in 48 hours.   That was a week ago.  What can I do here?    This is the 3rd one of these this year.   All the same.   Same card returned.   I really think I'm being attacked by another seller.   But where is the seller protection??

Can anyone provide some advice here please?

Is ebay here listening?

TIA-

[dealerdave]

I've been selling 25 years... i know more about Ebay than any of their customer service. I was having problems, but I deal in Harley parts and have a niche market... Most Harley guys do not want to be known as dis honest and 99% and great people. When I do get into a problem, I call the person, find out what's going on. If its my fault, I back my stuff up... it its their fault, I tell them to Man up... I have 100% good feedback, I also send a note with invoice saying again, my fault 100% return, your fault you pay shipping back. Also, nothing returned that has been opened or used, as long as it's not defect. MY RETURN RATE IS BELOW 4%. Ive had my share of ripoff's but ebay overall is 100 times better than selling on Amazon !

[powersteeringseals]

No, all different addresses.   But the same-

-All recently registered buyers, within 3 days

-All 0 feedback

-All the same item returned.

[vintagecraze50]

Probably nothing in the world you can do about this **bleep**. That is why you should always limit the dollar amount of things you sell unless you are a larger seller who can recoup the losses through other sales. Smaller sellers take huge hits every year from criminals online. Report the criminal to their local police and file internet fraud charges on IC3 WEBSITE.

[vintagecraze50]

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@powersteeringseals wrote:

First time posting-

I've been selling on ebay for 7 years now.   The appeals and buyer refunds have gotten progressively worse.   I had a buyer buy one of my more expensive (over $100) items.   Buyer was recently registered and 0 feedback.  Well, guess what, they started a return and returned a little business card that said thank you!   I reported the buyer to ebay and didn't do a refund.  Ebay granted the refund to the buyer and closed the case saying they had no proof this was the buyer's fault.   Come on ebay.   I took pictures of everything and upload all of them.   I appealed.   The appeal is pending.   Ebay said they'd get back with me in 48 hours.   That was a week ago.  What can I do here?    This is the 3rd one of these this year.   All the same.   Same card returned.   I really think I'm being attacked by another seller.   But where is the seller protection??

Can anyone provide some advice here please?

Is ebay here listening?

TIA-

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If I would get someone like this on here I would explicitly tell them that I am filing theft charges with their  local PD, AND starting a small claims court case to recoup my funds from them. Might not always shake them up to send back your item.

[vintagecraze50]

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@powersteeringseals wrote:

First time posting-

I've been selling on ebay for 7 years now.   The appeals and buyer refunds have gotten progressively worse.   I had a buyer buy one of my more expensive (over $100) items.   Buyer was recently registered and 0 feedback.  Well, guess what, they started a return and returned a little business card that said thank you!   I reported the buyer to ebay and didn't do a refund.  Ebay granted the refund to the buyer and closed the case saying they had no proof this was the buyer's fault.   Come on ebay.   I took pictures of everything and upload all of them.   I appealed.   The appeal is pending.   Ebay said they'd get back with me in 48 hours.   That was a week ago.  What can I do here?    This is the 3rd one of these this year.   All the same.   Same card returned.   I really think I'm being attacked by another seller.   But where is the seller protection??

Can anyone provide some advice here please?

Is ebay here listening?

TIA-

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The only recourse you have on Ebay is if you offer free returns and send them shipping labels. You can deduct up to 50 percent off the refund if you do this. It helps a lot.

[vintagecraze50]

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@powersteeringseals wrote:

But, it's not right.  I know it's not ebay's fault.   It's the thieving buyers!

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YEP. Not eBay’s fault. Some of the buyer base on here and other websites are criminals.

[vintagecraze50]

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

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@powersteeringseals wrote:

But, it's not right.  I know it's not ebay's fault.   It's the thieving buyers!

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YEP. Not eBay’s fault. Some of the buyer base on here and other websites are criminals.

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SO, treat them as criminals which they absolutely are and do whatever you can do to get them reported on here, law enforcement, MAIL FRAUD, WHICH THIS absolutely qualifies for with the postal service.

[vintagecraze50]

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@powersteeringseals wrote:

I guess lesson learned.  50% is better than ...arrgh....nothing.

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Yep. That’s a how you fix their patootie.

[brightlightbookseller]

This is your best option, OP, not going through eBay, but making it a legal issue.  Contact your local police and file a report, even though it's not a huge loss, but to have a record (you might have to argue with them a bit to file a formal report, but make sure to note that it's mail fraud, not just theft).  Then, very importantly, contact the postal inspector and report it to them.  They will take it more seriously than the police usually.  We haven't done this personally because we haven't had this happen yet, but I've seen reports from other sellers who have tried it.  We never hear back from those cases, I feel like, so I can't promise results, but it's probably your best avenue to try and get restitution or justice.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

When I get a buyer who just signed on and buys, I will Goggle the address to see what it looks like. 

I understand eBay allows guest buyers with no verification. That is not cool! I don't think they allow guest sellers. I miss the PayPal days!

In this situation ($100+ item), I would have paid for signature required. I probably get back about 6 packages a year on average and the buyer never says a word which raises other questions. 

[vintagecraze50]

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@brightlightbookseller wrote:

This is your best option, OP, not going through eBay, but making it a legal issue.  Contact your local police and file a report, even though it's not a huge loss, but to have a record (you might have to argue with them a bit to file a formal report, but make sure to note that it's mail fraud, not just theft).  Then, very importantly, contact the postal inspector and report it to them.  They will take it more seriously than the police usually.  We haven't done this personally because we haven't had this happen yet, but I've seen reports from other sellers who have tried it.  We never hear back from those cases, I feel like, so I can't promise results, but it's probably your best avenue to try and get restitution or justice.

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What gets me is that these stupid people if they do this even a few times can get hit with SERIOUS legal charges. A seller who is adamant about getting these people prosecuted will report these incidents and if you are caught with mail fraud you will go to FEDERAL prison, AND PAY huge fines. YOU cannot use the USPS to defraud. 

[photofoolery]

That's a good idea. Although it wasn't on eBay, I purchased two batteries for a battery-powered trimmer last year. I only received one, and when I called the company about it they checked the weight of the package and realized from the weight that only one was sent.

[from*-the-*runway]

I have the same problem. The buyer claimed that I sent him the wrong size but I am 100% sure that it is the right size. The buyer sent me photos when he received the item but the size is not showing so I asked for more photos showing the size and the tag. He provided more photos but the jacket is not the same what I sent and the tag is obviously re-attached to an older jacket. To make the long story short I called Ebay and they told me to accept the return because I am protected as a Top Rated so it won't affect my status so I followed the agents advised. They also told me to call them back when I received the returned (I received a different jacket) item which I did. Told me again not to do anything until it close but on the 3rd day the buyer asked Ebay to step in so I called again and the same advise not to do anything. After that Ebay refunded the buyer without investigating and now I'm out $800 with a used jacket. I called again and started the appeal process. What I've noticed with the foreign customer service representatives, they are very helpful and friendly in the beginning to convince you that it's your best interest to comply with the process because you are protected. In the end, I got a record of defect rate because the buyer asked Ebay to step in (when the agent advice me in the beginning not to do anything). I'm experiencing a lot of dishonest buyers these days and would appreciate any feedback or advice what to do from fellow sellers. Ebay seems like very lenient (even it's so obvious that the buyer is at fault) with buyers but so hard on sellers.  God bless!

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.