eBay may have denied the request but the problem here is that he has the credit card company on his side.
I’m really surprised that eBay authenticate didn’t check the returned watch. I agree with what @dhbookds said. I wouldn’t give a penny back without eBay’s guidance.
I also agree with much of what @caseyplhas said here. Liberal return polices have created this toxic return culture where buyers walk all over us, buy-n-try, damage and return, bait-n-switch, rent for the weekend, etc.
He agreed to the terms of the sale before buying, including the part about “no returns”. eBay also denied the return, yet this person decided to go around eBay and make their own rules. Unfortunately, credit card companies want to keep their customers happy, so UNLESS there’s provable fraud this will likely not end well for you. And since eBay authenticate forwarded the watch back to you unchecked, it’s probably too late for that now.
You relied an eBay’s authentication service to do a job, but when they received the watch back, didn’t check to see if the buyer returned a $5k watch with a Timex movement inside? Because things like that DO happen.
Be prepared for a negative feedback.
I had a return from a buyer who damaged an expensive blouse to force a return. She refused to open the return request through eBay and sent it back on her own. When I messaged her about the big Sharpie ink stain on the front, she left me negative FB calling me a dishonest scammer.
I called eBay and they advised me to NOT refund and removed the negative.
Well it turns out she’s was no longer covered by eBay’s MBG because *checks notes* she had a history of this type of behavior and *checks FBLFO* the feedback she left told a story of a serial return abuser. And eBay continues to let these buyers shop here which tells you where eBay’s priorities are at.
If this buyer has opened too many returns, they may have lost their MBG protection, hence the return behind eBay’s back.
You have the watch and you have their $5000. That’s not exactly pocket change. Maybe the buyer didn’t know any better. I can’t tell you what’s right to do, but if I was in your shoes I wouldn’t feel ok keeping both the watch and $5000 unless the buyer pulled some type of scam…then they can kick rocks.
I would reach out to eBay for guidance on this, and document everything. I would also advise you to not send the watch back—you may end up without a watch and $5000.
