Scammed or Not, not much choice...

[dkproducts]

Im a fairly new seller ... 60 days in, 90 items shipped.  Buyer purchased two ceramic beer steins two days apart so had two different shipments from me.  Packed as well as I usually do.  This weekend I received a return request from Ebay for the first one with pictures.  The return request was confusing because it listed the title of the second one that hadnt been delivered yet but included pictures of the first one.   The description of what was wrong stated that the box was undamaged and neither was the internal packaging but the stein lid had broken off at the hinge and the lid also had large chips broken off it.  The buyer stated that I must have sent her a broken stein since the packaging was undamaged and that I was a complete scam.  An hour after the first return request came in, I received a second one for the second stein, which was scheduled to be delivered to her later in the day.  It had the correct title but same description and pictures as the first one.   I refunded her for the first one and sent her a private message asking if the second one was a mistake since she hadnt received it yet.  I offered that if she received the second one in good shape, she would have to cancel the return request and keep it.  The next day I received a message back showing the second one broken with similar damage, lid broken at the hinge and unacceptable.  I refunded her money to try and prevent bad feedback and counted it up as a loss.  Will pursue a USPS claim.   The more I thought about it and looking at the pictures, the more I am thinking I may have been scammed so that the buyer could get replacement pieces for broken items they already had.   The first picture was of the 'unopened' package in thier attempt to show that the box was undamaged.... uh, why take a picture of an completely sealed unopened package before you know the condition of the contents inside unless you have a 'plan'.  Its water under the bridge now as I refunded both right away.  What are your thoughts, should I have waited, disputed, and risked the buyer damaging my 100% feedback?  

[pburn]

Perhaps a private message to that member might have been more appropriate than posting about his/her message style in the public forum?

[sailinship]

I uh, have been doing this a while. Not as well, nor as big as some of you, but here's my thoughts. 

I NEVER have and NEVER will, advertise free returns. I accept the returns when they happen, naturally, and I pay for the return shipping. I also NEVER let anyone get a refund without a return, unless the item is big and heavy and it wouldn't be worth it. But even then, most of the time, I'd rather lose some money than allow a scammer to use ebay that way. I've been on this platform too long to allow unscrupulous types to harm my community. I know that people complain about how many scammers are on here now, but I'm sorry, I just don't see it. Go back to around 2005 and compare, it was the wild west back then. 

I will, rarely, offer a partial refund if they can prove that I missed something, like a stain, or a broken part etc. But again, this is very rare for me.

 One thing that I do to prevent scammers is take A LOT of photos, sometimes more than I even use for the listing. That way, if they send back a different item, I can prove it with photos. Doesn't mean ebay will side in my favor, but at least I know, and you can bet I'm gonna report that buyer to ebay. More than once.

However, that being said, you must know what you're selling and what the likelihood/percentage of returns is, and market/price that way. If I am selling "HIGH GRADE" raw comics, that aren't Slabbed, I expect some returns, SOOOOooooo, I grade down some to ensure that the customer is happy. And if they are not, as happened once this year, I graciously accept the return. I use to offer them a discount on anything in my store to make up for my mistake, but I don't anymore. I kinda think that makes them mad.

I don't like to sell clothes, but I do sometimes, and I know that they have a higher return rate. I don't argue, I don't fight, I accept the return and factor that slight loss into my overall profit within that market. 

People have to remember, theft is a part of any business, but on ebay, at least for me, it's very small. 

P.S. I read what happened, and yeah, scammer, fo shizo.