Different item returned than sold - has a seller ever won?

[fairmargo]

So,  i  am anticipating getting a different item back than what i sold.  
From the few previous posts I can see, it looks like it is useless to protest.

Do you all agree?  Has anyone protested and won with Ebay?  
Thank you.  

[ckimodog]

Was it returned yet? If it's a different item, I believe you can contest it.  Can't predict the outcome.  Try this and perhaps it may be helpful.  Most posters here advise with this link:

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/

Credible US agents that may be able to help you.  Good luck. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@fairmargo wrote:

So,  i  am anticipating getting a different item back than what i sold.  
From the few previous posts I can see, it looks like it is useless to protest.

Do you all agree?  Has anyone protested and won with Ebay?  
Thank you.  

---

@fairmargo 

Don't you think you're putting the cart before the horse? 

Just wait to see what you get then worry about the steps to take.

[fairmargo]

Thanks.

[katzrul15]

@fairmargo 

No, not likely.  We just went thru this and the e-Bay CS on Facebook essentially stated it was impossible to know "who" was telling the truth and who was not.  We knew what was coming back as the Buyer was forced to load pix of what "they claimed" arrived in a new/factory sealed vintage lego box. 

We immediately reported the Buyer, indicated it was fraud and that the Buyer filed the SNAD exactly 7 min after the PO stated they delivered the item and the Buyer had to sign for it.  7 minutes.  No contact to us - we knew it was fraud as soon as we saw it.  Buyer even stated it was factory sealed and the seals were intact and yet, some how, inside this expensive vintage set was just garbage, random items and of course, the lego manual.

We lost.  We appealed.  We lost again.

It is disheartening, but Buyers know exactly "how" to steal with this scenario and these threads on this "public" board do not help the cause, unfortunately.

I was pretty disappointed, but it is what it is.  Buyer wins in a SNAD.  At least that is our frame of reference.

[lamber9347]

The reason it is impossible to win in a situation such as this is because it's simply a he said/she said. Buyer will always claim to have shipped the same item. Seller will always claim to have received a different item. Who would know which is telling the truth? 

[coolections]

You should have waited until the package arrived to start guessing about a scenario that may never happen.

[fashunu4eeuh]

If you offer free returns, or you are a Top Rated Seller who offers 30-day (or longer) returns, you can withhold up to 50% of the cost for a faulty return if there was damage, usage, or a switcheroo.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2019-fall/seller-protections.html

“Top Rated Sellers can deduct up to 50% of the refund to recover the decreased value of the item.”

[d-k_treasures]

Sorry, but EVERY seller should have the same protections, unless you are kicked out of it by getting caught in a lie - considering all sellers pay the same fees depending on product, store, etc.. That's what would be called 'fair'.

What it boils down to is the same thing as when ebay gives courtesy refunds - how many posts mention that all sellers pay for these types of refunds? Well, now all sellers pay for the 50% refund that ebay will give the buyer if they cry about only getting half the cost back - but only certain sellers have that available to them.