I decided to risk a defect.

[robbie31415]

It's pretty much never a good idea to escalate an INAD return to a case as a seller.

However I wanted to see what would happen by being totally honest.

When the buyer sends an item back you are given 2 days to inspect.

So I did that just that inspected. On the return there is a 'Report a problem'. The seller is given 2 options 1 for when they send the same item back but it's false INAD or they damaged/used item. Second one 'sent wrong item back'.

So im dealing with a scammer who sent me a card size poly envelope back instead of the raised queen size air mattress that I sent them.

So I report correctly 'sent wrong item back'.

This brings you to a screen that eBay advises a case should be created for this specific situation with no other options to give a deducted refund.

Unlike the first option that would bring you to the deduction screen.

I think this is a bad recommendation and is actually suggesting the seller do something against their interest as INAD have high chance to be sided in buyer favor.

Luckily it did pay off for me, but it was super risky.

I think this system design gets more inexperienced sellers in a position to get an unresolved case defect.

 

 

[baydealz]

Yes, you did get lucky.  But, after hearing of people winning the lottery, I still don't play.  I suspect it's merely randomness, like a casino.  They know more and more sellers are finding nearly 100% at fault, unjustifiably, so they mix it up to get people like you to inform the rest of us.  I mitigate the **bleep** I gotta put up with and ebay should have a health warning label. 

The fact that the buyer sent back a poly envelope is funny, absurd and hard to believe.  The risk is that the buyer more likely did or was ready to do a cc chargeback, and ebay mitigated that by refunding - this is what is causing all these issues.  Amazon revealed that a decade ago so I stopped listing there.  Once ebay took payments direct (happened with Paypal before, but not ebay), this scam propagated.  Ebay needs to lobby congress to put in controls on this, or change payment to Bitcoin or something tamper proof. 

[chevymontecarlo88]

If eBay were to investigate this transaction, they would simply need to verify the tracking number for the shipment and its return. The package's weight would be significantly off from the two. It would seem that this would be a no-brainer and an easy way to spot scams like this.

[robbie31415]

Honestly, eBay doesn't really tell you their decision process.

Possible, the buyer was a 0 feedback buyer. Ebay has measures to link accounts. Perhaps their internal info had a link to another account that was actioned already for abusive behavior.

It's all speculation.

However eBay also NARU'd them so im guessing they had account  link history.

Typically this will be decided against seller 'not enough evidence' or something.

[robbie31415]

I'm not trying to mislead sellers that this is safe.

I went in it expecting a defect.

In my OP I said this is bad for inexperienced sellers.

The problem is if you select the correct reason that they returned something different the only option they give you part of the report is to open a case.

You don't get the deduction options, the only way to deduct off a report is to report a different reason. Ie don't agree with reason / opened/ used etc .

[chapeau-noir]

---

@redlinear wrote:

Y'all sure worry a lot about Defects.  I'm not sure I even saw that performance page until I saw Defects being discussed in this forum.
Always handled eBay business about the same as in house business and never gave it a 2nd thought.
If I thought I should refund, I did.
If I thought I should cancel, I did.
If something didn't leave here within 24hrs...no big deal, it'll ship tomorrow.

Are defects "really" that big of a deal to pay attention to?   I mean, does it make some sort of difference every time you get one?
Top Rated and as far as I know, always have been
Sorry, just never really paid any attention to it

---

For small sellers a defect can cause real problems - we get very few a year before we can get smacked for a variety of reasons.

I suspect this was a courtesy refund - eBay does them periodically for seemingly random reasons, though I suppose there may be some method in the randomness.

[genv]

Shame on that "Buyer".

[fbusoni]

Thanks for your reply, all very interesting to me.  

[dnasilver]

complaining that it did not come with air in it.

[theteamsetguy]

@robbie31415 ,

Whatever happened to giving the buyer the benefit of the doubt? Maybe the buyer sent your air mattress to someone else by accident. 

I know I have accidentally flipped flopped orders by accident a couple or times over the years?

[johnjefprks]

If eBay refunded the buyer out of ebay's pocket , I doubt it.

[robbie31415]

---

@theteamsetguy wrote:

@robbie31415 ,

Whatever happened to giving the buyer the benefit of the doubt? Maybe the buyer sent your air mattress to someone else by accident. 

I know I have accidentally flipped flopped orders by accident a couple or times over the years?

---

Sorry I'm not going to go by assumption.

I go by fact. And fact is a completely different item was returned.

There are other facts that I didn't provide such as a return was opened very shortly after being delivered and the return ship from being highly different than the ship to location.

Or the fact the image provided didn't show any issue with the item.

I'm going to judge it by the FACTS.

Even if your assumption was correct it's still the buyers responsibility to return the correct item in the same condition it was provided.

Not doing so is abusive buyer behavior according to eBays Abusive Buyer Policy.

[ltldpr]

---

@robbie31415 wrote:

---

@theteamsetguy wrote:

@robbie31415 ,

Whatever happened to giving the buyer the benefit of the doubt? Maybe the buyer sent your air mattress to someone else by accident. 

I know I have accidentally flipped flopped orders by accident a couple or times over the years?

---

Sorry I'm not going to go by assumption.

I go by fact. And fact is a completely different item was returned.

There are other facts that I didn't provide such as a return was opened very shortly after being delivered and the return ship from being highly different than the ship to location.

Or the fact the image provided didn't show any issue with the item.

I'm going to judge it by the FACTS.

Even if your assumption was correct it's still the buyers responsibility to return the correct item in the same condition it was provided.

Not doing so is abusive buyer behavior according to eBays Abusive Buyer Policy.

---

What did they return instead? 

[lakefor94]

Check the OP's original post at the top of the page.

[ltldpr]

I read it again. 

". . . card size poly envelope back instead of the raised queen size air mattress that I sent them."

I guess all they sent back was an envelope. I thought there might have been something inside the envelope. Guess not. Just an empty envelope. 

[lakefor94]

Another tidbit I got out of the original post is that a seller can indeed create a case. Many times I have seen posters state that a seller cannot create a case. 

I guess it would be "created a case within a return case".

Does a seller have to be TRS and accept returns or be Above Standard with Free Returns in order to see the options that @robbie31415  was able to access?