Hello @lauralemur,
I have had two cases where the buyer said the item was not as described, and I have won both cases. In my business policies, I do accept returns but the buyer has to pay return shipping. The first case was the buyer claiming that the item wasn't sealed and that there was very little product in the jar. I simply asked for photo proof from the buyer because I had sent photos to eBay showing the sealed product beside the package I mailed it in that showed the buyers name, address, etc. eBay asked them for photo proof, and they never answered them, so they closed the case in my favor. The second time it was a fairly valuable item $170, and the buyer sent photos of a very beat up item and claimed they had received it that way. It looked like they had either had buyers remorse and beat the thing up thinking that would be the only thing they needed to do to get their money back for the item or they had one that quit working, beat it up, replaced it with mine, and ask for their money back. I messaged them back through eBay messages and politely explained that the item didn't leave here in that condition and apologized if the post office had damaged the package during delivery, but that my business policies stated the buyer was responsible for return shipping. I explained that if they would like to return the item, I would be happy to issue a refund to them and would file an insurance claim with the post office. After I had not heard from the buyer for a few days in response, I contacted eBay and explained that I had sent a message (eBay looked at the message) and had not heard back from the buyer. This is after they had requested a refund through eBay because they didn't even try to contact me first. I explained to eBay that my description did say that there was a light surface scratch on the lid and would not come in the original packaging, but that was exactly why I listed it as New(other) not Brand New. I also explained that the photos from the listing were mine, not stock photos that showed exactly what condition it was in when it left here. eBay agreed and opened a case on my behalf and told the buyer they would have to send the item back to me at their cost. Can you guess what happened? They never responded to eBay and never sent the item back, so after 10 days eBay closed that case in my favor because the buyer didn't upload tracking information within 10 days. I didn't even have to call them back. Literally two hours after I filed the case they automatically closed it due to the buyer being non-respondent. I did notice that both times the buyer had little to no feedback because they were new to eBay or hadn't bought much from eBay. Since I tried to work with the buyer, even before the case was decided in my favor, eBay sent me a message that the outcome of the case wouldn't affect my seller performance.
My point to telling you all this is don't just roll over and play dead. Since you don't accept returns and put all the necessary information in the listing including that you had never had it graded, I would call eBay and ask for proof that the card was in fact graded and that it was the opinion of the professional grader that the item had been altered to enhance condition since he stated that in his reason for wanting to return the item in the first place. I would tell them that if he does have that proof and wants to return the item to you at his cost (again state that you normally wouldn't offer to accept a return), you would be happy to refund his money. However, I would be clear that the card needs to be in the same condition in which it was sent. If you used your own pics, there is your proof of condition or enough so that eBay may very well decide in your favor. Hope this helps!
Lezlie
pittie_love
