”Does a buyer have any responsibility to prove that an item is “not as advertised”?”
This is an astute question. The answer is No, indeed. The buyer is not required (at least at this time) to prove any claim. They do not have to provide photos or other evidence. They need not support their reliability or veracity with proof. Buyers are given the benefit of the doubt by eBay, where the buyer’s interests are primary and nearly always protected.
This is the peak risk all eBay sellers are subject to. The buyer may be committing fraud, but eBay backs buyers first, which can be at the sellers’ expense. So it is important to have a plan on how to deal with possible retail shrinkage.
The way i have dealt with it is to a) add a few cents on to every sale which is set aside for potential loss (have never had need of it, knock on wood). b) I offer free returns to prevent bogus Money Back Guarantee claims. (I get very few returns as it is and have not seen an increase of them.) c) I keep abreast of eBay policy to be forearmed, so i am as well-versed in potential scam avenues as the fraudsters are. Generally, I also d) give the buyer the benefit of the doubt. If afterwards my faith is proven to be misplaced, then i contact my list of authorities and report criminal behavior. Fortunately, in 15 years of selling, have never needed to report buyer fraud. (Had a couple of sellers cheat me long ago, but never a buyer.)
e) Set my Buyer Requirements to their strictest settings. f) If someone proves dishonest, i put their IDs on my block list. I do not block buyers who are new, have no or low feedback, who ask questions, or may be “suspicious” (that is because i am here to sell, not collect possible scammer names. They must be actual scammers, in other words before going on the block list).
Last but not least, g) unless i have something compelling to list, i avoid high fraud categories such as electronics, gaming, computers, smartphones, high-end luxury goods, etc.
