SCAMMER BUYER ALERT!!! Asked for return and Got refund

[unclebi-cabin]

Hi everyone, I’m so angry now and this is my situation! 
This buyer bought a Tiffany & Co. 18k yellow gold letter C disc on 15th July. She made offer and I accepted but she didn’t pay immediately so I had to send a reminder. After that I got paid and shipped the item out. I even pay out of pocket to upgrade the shipping from 1st class to priority! My bad that I forgot to record the video before shipping 😠 After the necklace was delivered, she asked for return as “not as description” and you know for this reason, Ebay’s always on buyer’s side. I tried to contact the buyer and asked her why she said the item’s not as described?? NO ANSWER! Then I think ok it’s fine, I accepted  the return and had to pay for return label as well.. 

The package was delivered yesterday but I just checked it out today. I was shocked because when I opened the package, there’s a old wallflower plugin instead of my necklace!?!! WTH??????? Fortunately, I recorded the video right the moment I started opening the mail box! 
I refused to return and asked Ebay to step in. I got their email with declaration form and said they’ll investigate!!! But I also just got email from them said that the case was resolved and they’ll refund to buyer as the package was delivered?????? 
My question is even when I proved that the buyer is a scammer, Ebay doesn’t do anything about her??? And she still got the refund with my necklace??? 
I think this is not her first time doing this!!! She knows she will get the refund with the item no matter what! So scared!!! Be careful everyone!

I’ll attached her profile here with photos of my case!!! 

 

 

 

[luckythewinner]

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@skeletonstore wrote:

I love how people give excuses for the scammers by saying things like you agreed to ebay's policy or don't sell something you can't afford to give away for free.    

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Fraud is a real risk when you sell on eBay, and sellers need to take prudent steps to reduce the chance of being a victim of fraud. 

One prudent step a seller can take is to be aware of the risk. Another prudent step is to assess the risk of fraud for each listing. A third prudent step might be to not list an item if you determine that the risk is too great.  

Telling people the truth about the risks and consequences of fraud on eBay is not "giving excuses for the scammers".

It is a way of providing sellers with the tools they need in order to help protect themselves. 

[vintagecraze50]

Correct. Risk assessment is extremely important here.

[vintagecraze50]

It is really too bad this has to be so. I can imagine that many who would sell expensive stuff here will actually downgrade the actual price these things would actually sell for on here due to these risk factors causing less revenue for the seller AND EBAY.

[m60driver]

This may be the first time you are scammed but judging from your listings and sold listings you are a relatively new seller and you can expect to be scammed out of some your other high priced listings.  Resistance is futile.  Ebay is not the platform for new sellers to list expensive items and some of your higher priced listings should be removed immediately.  And don't waste your time on videos as nobody will pay any attention and they care not considered proof of anything.

[stacy_pme]

Yes, I agree, until you have built a solid, positive reputation with eBay, it is unlikely they will side with you on an escalated case.  However; after you have built your reputation, and gained top-rated status, the tables do turn to be fairer to the seller.  When starting out, sell inexpensive things, lots of them.... and take the minor risk on the inexpensive stuff, once your reputation is built, you can feel safer selling the more expensive items.  It took me at least a year to accomplish that.    

[chanyuc]

eBay has to change, not the sellers. Idk why they just favor the buyers all the time? Buyers always have bank/pp to go to. Sellers have nothing..

My parents ran a small business for 10 years and they only got scammed once from receiving counterfeit 20 bills.

but people here have to risk hundreds of dollars everyday for what? 

[skeletonstore]

Scamming me and giving me your address has it's risks too.  

[skeletonstore]

One problem with so called precious metals is it all can easily be liquidated(melted).  As far as designer stuff well I think they like the 5 finger fees. If I lower my prices it's not like ebay tells me my prices are too low.  They will tell me when they think they're too high.  I've even had a rep message me and tell me to lower it.  They only care about fee$ no matter how they get it.  Ebay and amazon continue to make money off of looted merchandise and no one is holding them accountable.  If you own a liquor store and sell to a minor you store might get hit with a fine and be shut down for a few days.  Just imagine if the same sort of justice was handed to ebay and amazon.  Then there's the whole counterfeit industry(mostly because designer handbags etc are overpriced junk).  I've got flagged for saying brand name copy which is a common term for guitars.  I didn't get flagged the last time.  The insurance company might force changes but when manufacturers/right's holders get involved it's very limited.  I remember getting banned from etsy for pointing out all the counterfeit disney merchandise.  These companie$...don't even have to complete the sentence.  

[caldreamer]

Unfortunately, there are many different scams on EBAY and if you sell "high value" items you will be scammed.  Customers can also "reverse credit card charges" after receiving item.   EBAY will NOT help you if you get scammed.

As you learned customers can also abuse EBAY Money Back Guarantee by claiming "not as described" and returning "box of junk".    EBAY does NOT require customer to prove their claims.  EBAY only looks at tracking#.   EBAY always sides with customer.

When you "dispute return" only thing that will happen....you will be charged $20 dispute fee and get defect on your account.

[north40sales]

the time to file an insurance claim was when the pilferage was discovered by the buyer (if it happened in transit to them).   Postal inspectors would need to be involved if they chose to investigate.  

If the pilferage occurred on the return leg, then you would be filing it when you opened it and discovered the worthless piece in the box.   (This assumes that you purchased shipping insurance on the return label).  Even more confusing would be if your purchased the label through eBay....then eBay would have to initiate the insurance claim as they purchased the insurance, not you.  

Did the weights on the outbound necklace and the returned junk match?   

Lots of stuff that needs to be looked at with filing a claim....but the advise of do not sell on eBay anything that you are not willing to give away is good advice. 

[ed8108]

The buyer is being truthful does not appear  to be a rebuttable presumption !

Although the polygraph is the best & most scientific method for assessing credibility, I suspect ebay would consider an exam conducted by an experienced examiner carries no weight & be inadmissible.

[femmefan1946]

EBay will not look at any videos of packing or opening packages.

EBay will consider an appeal.

I would suggest rather than the overworked and underpaid contractors on the phones, that you contact eBay through Facebook or Twitter.

Those reps appear to have better training and more authority than the phone reps and are less likely to say anything to get you off the phone so they can meet their quota.

https://twitter.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/

Be sure to have the transaction and case numbers handy to help the rep get your money back.

[katzrul15]

@unclebi-cabin 

@femmefan1946 

OP - do as femmefan suggests.  Hopefully someone on social media can assist you.  If you go to Facebook, hit the "message" button and detail the information as you have for us.

Good luck to you.  These situations are becoming commonplace and re very stressful and unfair.  

ETA: late to the thread party - if some kind person would PM me the offender, I wouldn't mind updating my BBL.  Thx

[drckyeung2013]

Oh...unclebi-cabin, I feel for you! I have just had a really bad experience with a rude and obnoxious buyer. It seems as long as you are a buyer, you can do anything. As a seller? Good luck!

I guess once eBay/PayPal/Payoneer get their hands on your money, why should they care? Whatever happens and you have to refund these unscrupulous buyers, eBay/PayPal/Payoneer will just take YOUR money and give it to the scammers. They lose nothing! But sellers? Well, we lose (1) the original item, (2) the postage for sending the original item, (3) the return shipping postage (in your case), (4) some of the fees already charged (they never return the same amount as the handling fee is not refundable to you, (5) the time in handling the scammer, and (6) your sanity!!!

But worst of all is that eBay really couldn't care less about protecting the seller. I have another item that allegedly had not been delivered. Well, I had the receipt, which has a scanned image of the buyer's address, showing it has been shipped and there is a partial tracking number and I have a letter from the post office saying that it has been delivered, too. But what did eBay do? Refund the buyer, of course!

In a way, eBay perhaps is the biggest scammer of all! It is although they are implicit in all of this or at least in collusion with them.

[drckyeung2013]

Always good advice, lamber9347! 😀