How to handle this scam?

[mokie11559]

Sold new full bottle perfume 8/17. Buyer received 8/21.  On 8/30, 9 days later get a message "I received this item but the bottle is empty. Can you advise if I get my money back from you or is this a carrier claim? I asked for photos of the shipping box, the perfume gift box & the bottle. Why would anyone wait 9 days if they paid $150 & received an empty bottle? Radar up......never received a reply.

Now 17 days later, I get a photo of shipping box, the gift box & an empty bottle of perfume. I see no water marks showing leakage & bottle is intact. The message this time is "Here are pics. I don't see apparent damage but don't know condition when sent. Don't see where a leak would have occurred"

I don't keep empty bottles in my house, I know 100% the bottle was new & full. How would you reply? And no, she hasn't opened a case. And I shipped 1st class & didn't buy insurance.

Thanks for any advice

[corvettestainless]

Wait till they open a 'return' case. If they do and it's for 'not as described' or 'damaged' or 'missing parts' , you have to pay return shipping and you have to refund. If you are TRS, you can refund 50%. If you don't refund, ebay will do it for you. Note these and most any other 'pictures' are not evidence that ebay will look at. 

[autopartspuller]

Even if it was insured, without some kind of leakage proof, a damage claim is not likely to be approved.  Although I must say, if Someone paid $150 for a bottle of perfume, I would have insured it... even if it were just for package getting lost (which is happening more often than normal right now).

At this point I would wait.  She is almost past her 30 mark for MBG.  If she opens a case before the 30 days are up, you will have to refund.  

[mokie11559]

Yes, I know all that, its not my 1st return. But this is truly a scam. My question is do I reply to message or ignore & see if she opens a case. Her return window will be closing in a few days, its almost 30 days from delivery 8/21.

What about saying someone must have tampered with the box & she needs to file a report with the USPS as they take it seriously & its a federal crime to tamper with mail? I want to scare her off, I don't want to get screwed out of $150 bucks & let her get away with it

[inhawaii]

Your word against the buyer.

Ebay will always side with the buyer.

If the buyer opens a case, accept the return

Otherwise ebay will do it for you and let the buyer keep the item.

You must issue a refund when you receive the item. 

If you are a TRS (top rated seller) you can withhold up to 50% of the refund for returning a empty bottle.

Good luck and stay safe!

[mokie11559]

I use shipsaver insurance & I just plain forgot to add the insurance on this package! And who gets something empty & waits 9 days to send a message or open a case? Which is why I know she sent a photo of an empty bottle she no doubt had.

I can't accuse her but I thought of replying with the post office tampering claim blah blah. Am hoping this goes past the return window

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

I believe you, just my guess only: either she showed a pic of her empty bottle in place of yours or she went to a perfume store and had the perfume siphoned out into smaller containers ( I have done this before) if that perfume bottle would have leaked all over to the point of being emptied, every post office, carrier and buyer would have known it! That's too bad, for it's her word that will rule in the end and she knows it.

[mokie11559]

If it had leaked, or arrived missing, or broken, then the post office would have put it in a bag with a sticker. She claims none of that & yet waited 9 days the 1st time to send a message & now waited another 17 days to send a message with pics? C'mon! Its a scam. My question is do I reply with something or ignore her message & hope she goes past the return window? And I am not going to issue a return label for an empty bottle, then I will just have to issue refund without return, but this is really burning me up!

[shhboom]

If the buyer is intent on scamming you, then there's not much you can do. But here's one wild shot: the last couple months, I've been waiting in line at the PO to get my packages scanned because of PO delays due to the DeJoy sabotage. If you've done the same, then the receipt you get will show the actual weight of your packages, down to 1/100th of an ounce. There should be a significant weight difference between a package with a full bottle and one with an empty bottle (you would have to test to find out the exact difference). So if you have a PO receipt suggesting that the package had a full bottle, then that's something you could show to the buyer and eBay.

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

You have the original photos that were in the listing don't you, you must have took pics of the full bottle? It's worth a shot to approach EBay about it...don't contact the buyer let her hopefully mess up and fly out the window.

[mokie11559]

I have the photos on my pc that were in the listing. I had sold the exact same scent on 8/1 with no issues (multiple bottles in inventory)

[shevey55]

It's possible she has pulled this before and lost her return privileges. Maybe that's why she's dragging this out, hoping you will just refund. I'd try to delay her until her 30 days are up. I would try telling her to contact the PO.

[mokie11559]

I print my own labels & use carrier pick up

[golfingaddict]

Are you even suppose to ship perfume by US first class mail (by air)  It is considered hazardous and must go by ground mail only.  If it has alcohol in it.

it may or may not be a scam but you must know that there is no protections from false snads unless you are a trs and meet certain criteria.

Let he open a case and deal with it then.

[mokie11559]

I was thinking the same as she hasn't opened a case & is taking her sweet time. Am hoping return window arrives before she does anything