How best to protect from scammers buying a 'good' item from us, then returning a 'bad' item

[coolections]

Has it ever happened to you ?  If so how many times. There is always that chance so the mantra is don't sell things you cannot afford to lose. Luckily it is a very rare thing that would happen.

[rebell45]

Most buyers here are honest, but you always run that risk. Best thing to do is expect it to happen occasionally and set aside some $ to cover them.  On eBay the seller really doesn't have much protection in those cases.

You can read up on how to appeal a return/refund, but very seldom do seller's win.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/appeal-ebays-decision-return-missing-item...

[mtgraves7984]

There is one seller protection for issuing full refunds in such a situation, following a Return. If you were a TRS, you could offer 30-Day (buyer paid) Returns... but you're not. Your option is to offer Free Returns. Good luck.

[luckythewinner]

How best to protect from scammers buying a 'good' item from us, then returning a 'bad' item

Any buyer can steal any item from any seller at any time by filing a fraudulent dispute or making a fraudulent return.

There is no way to prevent this from happening. 

[grade]

Thankfully I have not had to deal with this much.  However recently I had one , I do not want to bore you with details but this was a Homerun and obvious case in my favour. This according to a Ebay CSA  from Ireland. 

The guy pulled the same thing on 2 other people , using the exact same words leveled against me. Again this told to me by a  Ebay CSA in Ireland. Bottom line it is passed to decision makers that do not care about the evidence or previous conversations you have had. 

After appealing 4 times , Yes  4 times , Ebay sided with this crook. Trust me, after this incident that went on for well over a week , you will NEVER win a case and this one was clear cut with evidence.

This person had a low rating , and now Ebay has a record of this guy so if you report them , they can't keep returning stuff. It might help others. ALWAYS REPORT ! 

[iart]

The only answer I got is to sell enough items so that when something goes wrong, it's buried. Dealing with difficult buyers is a cost of doing business.

Also, you have to be careful nowadays selling high priced items. Know what you're doing, what to look out for.  How to pack. Be prepared.

"You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table" (KR).

[inhawaii]

Technically and mathematically, the less you sell, the less fraud should happen to you. 

So, the answer is .... sell less. 

[papa486516]

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@grade wrote:
After appealing 4 times , Yes 4 times , Ebay sided with this crook. Trust me, after this incident that went on for well over a week , you will NEVER win a case and this one was clear cut with evidence.

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You should know @grade that eBay pays the courtesy refund for an appeal. And they don't want to do that. You weren't righting a wrong -- you were just trying to convince eBay to pay you.