I am being scammed and eBay wants me to refund this jerk. Seriously need advice.

[art_young_collection]

I am completely at a loss, I know this buyer is scamming me but eBay is siding with him. I have been loyal to eBay with Top rated seller status for years without not ONE return, defect or bad feedback.

Here is the issue:

Buyer bought a ring from us for 4500$ and claims it arrived broken. (I believe he broke it when he received it in order to create a reason for initiating a refund). These are photos taken of the ring right before we sent it on Oct. 11th. Continue reading after these photos:

See here https://imgur.com/a/TchshYf 

As you can see, these are photos taken right before shipping with the ring with FedEx (in 2 boxes covered in bubble wrap) on October 11th. The ring was in perfect condition with zero issues.

...............

And now these are the photos sent to me by the buyer today. As you can see here, the ring is broken (as if done purposefully and intentionally if you look carefully at the crack marks) and the glue was visibly put on seemingly minutes before taking these photos:

See here https://imgur.com/a/5ElJo3h 

We know buyer is responsible for the breakage, because he even called us to say that the ring didn't fit on his wifes finger! BTW, you can even see the glue he slathered on the sides of the crack the second photo.

ALSO, buyer just opened his account on October 3rd!! Ebay wants me to refund this prick! This ring has lost all value.

I am not sure what I am supposed to do. Please advise, guys. And thanks in advance.

D.

[donsdetour]

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@mbenson0622 wrote:

This is my biggest fear of selling on eBay. I would never dream of stealing someones money or merchandise, but these jerks are everywhere. I hate the fact that a buyer knows all of your ratings and what went right and what went wrong. Yet, the seller has none of that information about the buyer. I wish they had a rating on buyers who didn't pay, have complained x number of times, how many times they have canceled a payment, how many accounts they have, and how many times they have been issued a refund. If I knew that information I could set up my listings to not let someone with too many of these bid on my  items. I realize it could still happen, but it would make the chances less frequent. 

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well the non paying bidders you can block them....

[fab_finds4u]

eBay used to decide case by case but that was well over a decade ago. Nowadays if the buyer wants a return or refund  claiming not as described, wrong item, or damaged the seller has two choices. Provide a return label and have them return it for a refund or refund and let them keep it. If eBay steps in they get a refund and they don't  have to return it and the seller gets a defect for a case that was unresolved by the seller. 

It seems so unfair the seller is unable to fight it on eBay. For what it's  worth you could file a mail fraud report with USPS complaining the buyer used the mail to defraud you. Maybe there's a history of similar reports on the buyer. 

[soh.maryl]

I'm with the OP: What ARE you implying?  The OP did sell a ring under this ID. And we are allowed to have multiple IDs here.  

[inhawaii]

As numerous others have pointed out, you have to treat this return as if the buyer IS telling the truth even if you don't think he is.  Sorry, that's just the way it is.

[donsdetour]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

I'm with the OP: What ARE you implying?  The OP did sell a ring under this ID. And we are allowed to have multiple IDs here.  

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I am thinking they dont buy the story;Of course conflicting info is always a problem...

I can easily see the way this thing is made:  it easily could have been broke or cracked during packing, and or during shipping by just an impact.

Worse is I can see a flaw at the middle of the material in the original photos: that may have been the start of a crack.

Just saying.

[m60driver]

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@art_young_collection wrote:I am not sure what I am supposed to do. Please advise, guys. And thanks in advance.

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There is nothing that you can do other than to ask to have the ring returned and then refund.  That Ebay even allowed you to list a $4k ring is the real crime here.  Also, best to take down those other high priced listings before you lose them as well.

[mtgraves7984]

I'd recommend that you approve the Return. For what it's worth, since you offer Free Returns, you can reduce the amount of the (impending) refund by as much as 50% upon your de-valued item's return. Bummer, but that's all I got. Hang in there...

[art_young_collection]

How do I report a buyer for misuse of buyer protection?

[duffy4444]

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@art_young_collection wrote:

I am completely at a loss, I know this buyer is scamming me but eBay is siding with him. ..

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   Yes, it appears you are staring at potentially a complete loss. Many seasoned sellers here have told you about all you can do. But it still is true that even if you get the ring back, it may be so damaged as to be worthless.

   The big elephant in the middle of the room is this lesson: NEVER, EVER  sell online, and especially ship, any high-value item that you are not prepared to lose, along with your payment for it, on a forced buyer refund that is totally out of your control. This is especially true with cc chargeback scams, which are growing very quickly in popularity.

   The only successful recourse to this that I have seen a few times is appearing before Judge Judy, where sellers have been made whole by her quick judgments based on common sense and a clear preponderance of the evidence, which you appear to have.

Cheers, Duffy

[vintagecraze50]

I do not know if you can use this service in Portugal but have you considered using the ebay authenticate for jewelry. It wont be foolproof as the authenticate programs here have a times had problems as well with chargebacks etc, but some of your jewelry  is so very high priced and it is a risk selling that online without the programs ebay now offers here in the states. I know if you offer free returns you can deduct up to 50 percent off the price you sold it for and refund only 50 percent of what buyer paid if item comes back damaged. 

[dbfolks166mt]

@art_young_collection 

You offer free returns...tell them to file a claim SNAD and return the item to you.  Send them a return label and once you receive the return, then refund them.  Don't refund until you receive the returned item. 

     A $4.5K ring is something I would never list on eBay to begin with simply because of the risk. Always remember the #1 rule as a seller never list anything you cannot afford to take the financial loss on. If the OP does approve the return and issue the label the only concern they have now is that the buyer returns the same item the seller sent. 

[vintagecraze50]

I am wondering if a lapidary specialist could repair the ring for you after you get it back. Then maybe you could sell it again.

[femmefan1946]

What is the point of the refund.
The buyer gets a broken ring- doesn't matter how it was broken, but it is now worth only the cost of the metal and any jewels.
If you get the ring back you can repair it and resell it.

Your cost is then the cost of shipping two ways plus the cost of repair.

Is that less than $4500?

Did you pay less than $4500 for the ring ?

This is your first return for refund in over 800 sales. 

[sin-n-dex]

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@donsdetour wrote:

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@soh.maryl wrote:

I'm with the OP: What ARE you implying?  The OP did sell a ring under this ID. And we are allowed to have multiple IDs here.  

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I am thinking they dont buy the story;Of course conflicting info is always a problem...

I can easily see the way this thing is made:  it easily could have been broke or cracked during packing, and or during shipping by just an impact.

Worse is I can see a flaw at the middle of the material in the original photos: that may have been the start of a crack.

Just saying.

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The person in question who posted that accusation has accused me several times of posting stuff here as a form of advertisement for my coins and stamps (like it's plausible I will find all my customers in a forum).

C.

[femmefan1946]

The O.P. is in Portugal. Has only been a member for a little over 2 years with 172 feedbacks.

He has LEFT over 800 feedbacks as a seller.