Buyer wants to return a ring almost 2 months later

[silverowl-23]

I just got a return request for a ring that sold for $4000. He is stating that he took to a jeweler and they said that it was not a real diamond then shows me a pic of the ring on top of his car in front of a jewelry store. This diamond I had for years and have had at least 4 jewelers look at over the years and even got a quick appraisal and test out diamond on a diamond tester.

[wastingtime101]

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@gail5176 wrote:

I thought buyers only had 45 days to open cases. If he opened a case through eBay, accept the return, have the Diamond checked to see if it was replaced, if it was, tell eBay item was not returned in the same state it was sent and decline refund. It’s still no guarantee that eBay won’t refund him, or I guess you could just close your account.

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Buyers have 30 days from delivery date, or estimated delivery if there's no delivery scan, to get Money Back Guarantee coverage through eBay @gail5176.

But buyers can still open return requests long past the 30 days. Then it's up to the seller whether they want to accept, deny, or do nothing in response. eBay cannot step in and escalate if there's no MBG coverage.

OP did not say what date the package was delivered. "Almost 2 months later" from what - the purchase date or the delivery date? It's assumed there's no MBG coverage here, but we don't know for sure what the delivery date was and on what date the return was filed. Were they within 30 days of each other?

Then there are payment disputes which can be filed through the buyer's credit card/bank/PayPal in whatever timeframe the financial institution provides.

[silverowl-23]

Hi, the ring was delivered on 3-17 and the return request was started on 5-12. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

An attorney is a waste of money.  The buyer has 180 days of buyer protectionthrough their credit card.  NOthing that can be done to stop it unfortunately.

[pls-consignments]

I would be very careful with this one. This could be a scam. For example, buyer looks for high-end jewelry without appraisals. Buyer finds something of value and makes the purchase. Then takes it to a local jeweler and asks to replace the diamond with a CZ for "security purposes". Then keeps the diamond to sell, either to the jeweler or another party. Tries to either return the piece as "not-authentic" or file a chargeback with a fraudulent claim. Either way, he wins because you did not have it authenticated.

I hope this isn't the case, but we are living in a different world where honesty can no longer be the "benefit of the doubt". 

[miyasamaco]

Beware: stone swapping is a thing. A nice stone is stolen and replaced with a junk one. I'm not saying that's the case here, but do your best to decline the return. 

[rugerskick]

Decline it.  Could have returned it for 30 days after purchase.

[femmefan1946]

About replacing diamonds with zircons / glass/ rhinestones etc.

Given the low wholesale value of diamonds, wouldn't the labour cost for replacement eat up any profit from selling the loose stones?

Much of the value of a diamond ring seems to be in the cost of the setting- not the metal, but the workmanship.

Is there a gemologist here who can clear that up?

[pls-consignments]

"Given the low wholesale value of diamonds, wouldn't the labour cost for replacement eat up any profit from selling the loose stones?"

Not if the jeweler is the recipient of the stone. The buyer could simply offer the jeweler the stone in an exchange for a CZ. There are many jewelers that would take that deal in a heartbeat. Even if the buyer is offered only $300, it's still a win for the buyer, especially if he's banking on the seller to deny his return because of waiting 60-days, which I find "suspect" to begin with. 

[ladyindecadence]

Being the buyer waited two months to open a return I would suspect the buyer has had some kind of unforeseen expense come up and just needs the money. They probably took it to the Jeweler to try and sell it and was only offered about half what they paid. The buyer likely isn't willing to take that kind of loss so is trying the return for a full refund instead. And has made up the story about it not being a diamond to try and get that return approved.  Being that something like 65% of the population can't afford a $400 emergency expense this is more likely the case. Had it been a scam they would have opened a return within days of delivery to get their money back ASAP.