Return Scam - PLEASE ADVISE

[almfern70]

Hi,

I am writing this quite distressed, as I work full time and only sell items on eBay as a "hobby." I don't earn much from my job (I live in Portugal), and if I take this loss it is worth more than a month of hard work for me, so I hope someone here can advise me.

I recently sold a Lorcana Sealed Case (first chapter, first print) on eBay to a US buyer, and they reported the item as having "arrived damaged". This is a collectible item, and the pictures shared by the buyer show the box already ripped open and the contents of the box (the sealed case) also opened and empty. I packed this with extreme care, and even recorded a video of me packing the item because it was such a high value item. I am 100% certain that the case was sealed when I packed it, as I confirmed this physically and its recorded on video. I have also owned this case since the moment it was purchased from a game store so I know it was never opened.

The only options offered to me on eBay are to refund the buyer in full, offer a partial refund or accept the return. The other option is to send the buyer a message. None of these options help me, and I don't know what to do. I filed a document with UPS when it was shipped declaring that it was an item worth 1600 EUR, but I don't know if that is of any help to me.

What is the best course of action for me to take?

And if there are any good ways to make this case go public please let me know, I want to try everything.

Please and thank you for your input, whatever it may be.

[almfern70]

I want to add that their signature was required when receiving the item. I paid UPS for that service. Can this be of any help to me?

[almfern70]

Hi,

I have an update. I may not have been scammed. There is "CUSTOMS INSPECTED" tape on the box. The buyer says customs opened it and also unsealed the case to find out what is inside. Unfortunately it was a collectible item and the seal alone was proof of its authenticity, so they damaged the item.

What can I do if customs damaged a collectible item???

[soh.maryl]

Not really-- They are not saying they did not receive it, but that it was damaged upon arrival.

[soh.maryl]

So it seems you were not scammed?

You probably should pursue this with Customs in your country in that case.  

[kensgiftshop]

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@almfern70 wrote:

Hi,

I have an update. I may not have been scammed. There is "CUSTOMS INSPECTED" tape on the box. The buyer says customs opened it and also unsealed the case to find out what is inside. Unfortunately it was a collectible item and the seal alone was proof of its authenticity, so they damaged the item.

What can I do if customs damaged a collectible item???

---

That has nothing to do with authenticity, just what was in the package was what you said it was.

Either accept the return and pay return shipping or refund the buyer and let them keep it, then file an insurance claim with the carrier.

[dhbookds]

I suggest you ask on one of the European Boards.........UK/Germany.......  to find out how the Customs inspection is treated there......  I'm not sure from your posts if buyer is still claiming nothing was in the package or that they are just filing a case based on the broken seal. 

[almfern70]

Hi,

First of all let me clarify that the contents are not empty - I read the return email while I was working and I was too distressed so my mind went automatically to the worst case scenario. On closer inspection, I do not think that the contents are emptied, the collectible box is simply unsealed and the boxes inside are slightly damaged. Furthermore, there is "inspected by customs" tape on the package so I believe customs are at fault, not the buyer.

Thank you for all your replies. In regards to this, I did file an insurance claim with the carrier (UPS). Now they want to schedule an inspection of the item with the buyer. Does anyone have any experience with this process?

The problem is that until UPS has inspected the item I don't know if I will receive the insurance payment and eBay wants me to make a decision by tomorrow (February 2nd). UPS said they usually take 5 to 8 days to investigate a claim so my hands are tied here. If I do make a decision by tomorrow, what should I select? Do you think I should refund the buyer and let them keep the item, then depend on the buyer's and UPS's good faith to get my insurance money? Depending on 1 party is already a risk, but depending on 2 parties seems like a tremendous risk to me.

I also wrote to eBay and they told me to accept the return by Feb 2nd and then write to them so they will put a hold on the return for 5 more days. Why doesn't eBay simply put the return on hold after seeing that I am taking every step to try to resolve this problem and that this is all dependent on a 3rd party (UPS)? This is all recorded in my exchanges with the buyer.

At this point I still do not see what is the optimal way to protect my interests in this situation.

I understand that this is unfortunate for the buyer as well and want to get him a refund as quickly as possible but I am not responsible for what customs did to my package...

[almfern70]

I am documenting the story on X:

https://x.com/Talaria/status/1753877200183365727?s=20

[toomuchstuffagain35]

I guess the moral of the story is not to sell anything that's a sealed collectible to where it will go through customs inspection.

[sin-n-dex · Accepted solution]

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@almfern70 wrote:

Hi,

I have an update. I may not have been scammed. There is "CUSTOMS INSPECTED" tape on the box. The buyer says customs opened it and also unsealed the case to find out what is inside. Unfortunately it was a collectible item and the seal alone was proof of its authenticity, so they damaged the item.

What can I do if customs damaged a collectible item???

---

When sending to another country, the customs office in that country has the right and responsibility to inspect all incoming parcels. Most of the time they would never be opened, but items have been "resealed" to conceal contraband. No one is responsible for this damage because Customs did the damage while exercising their duties.

The best case scenario is to see if the buyer will accept a partial refund for the altered contents and keep the item. If they do not want to keep the item, I'm afraid you are on the hook for postage to return it, and you will be dealing with reselling a collectible that is no longer collectible.

C.

[kensgiftshop]

Since you filed an insurance case, you need to refund the buyer and have them hang on to everything so it can be inspected.

They don't have to wait until you find out how the insurance case goes.

[powell-memorabilia]

There is no scam, and there is no injustice. Simple course of doing business when sending something to another country – customs might open the package for inspection. That’s just a given. Marking something as sealed, won’t prevent customs from opening it – I’d think it is more of an invitation to do so. Otherwise, why wouldn’t I just sell illicit, illegal things, mark them as sealed, and expected customs doesn’t do an inspection. 

understood, the situation is bad for you. Bad luck. But, no one is targeting you, no one is scamming you, no one is on the hook for your losses other than you. It is unfortunate, but that is the way that it is.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi @almfern70 so sorry this happened to you. By any chance, did you use eBay’s new EIS program to ship your item internationally? If so, eBay is supposed to take over managing such an issue.

You wrote in your OP:

” This is a collectible item, and the pictures shared by the buyer show the box already ripped open and the contents of the box (the sealed case) also opened and empty.”

If the contents were indeed empty, there may be no need to ship back what’s left, fyi.

In your post #8, you shared:

”At this point I still do not see what is the optimal way to protect my interests in this situation.”

This may not help much this go-round, but the optimal time to consider one’s protection and risk tolerance is prior to listing the item. There are inherent liabilities when selling on eBay. These risks cannot be avoided, but only mitigated.

On eBay, it is the seller’s obligation to see that the item reaches the buyer in as-described condition. If that doesn’t happen, then it is the seller’s responsibility  to make the buyer whole and refund. As a rule of thumb, an eBay buyer’s interests come first, and then it is up to the seller to address his own concerns, such as pursuing a shipping insurance claim.

Good luck and hope this gets resolved to your benefit.

[sin-n-dex]

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

Hi @almfern70 so sorry this happened to you. By any chance, did you use eBay’s new EIS program to ship your item internationally? If so, eBay is supposed to take over managing such an issue.

You wrote in your OP:

” This is a collectible item, and the pictures shared by the buyer show the box already ripped open and the contents of the box (the sealed case) also opened and empty.”

If the contents were indeed empty, there may be no need to ship back what’s left, fyi.

In your post #8, you shared:

”At this point I still do not see what is the optimal way to protect my interests in this situation.”

This may not help much this go-round, but the optimal time to consider one’s protection and risk tolerance is prior to listing the item. There are inherent liabilities when selling on eBay. These risks cannot be avoided, but only mitigated.

On eBay, it is the seller’s obligation to see that the item reaches the buyer in as-described condition. If that doesn’t happen, then it is the seller’s responsibility  to make the buyer whole and refund. As a rule of thumb, an eBay buyer’s interests come first, and then it is up to the seller to address his own concerns, such as pursuing a shipping insurance claim.

Good luck and hope this gets resolved to your benefit.

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OP is in Portugal, so no EIS.

C.