Think I'm about to get scammed - what should I know/what can I do?

[m.fine]

tl;dr - sold my iPad Pro via auction to a US buyer. Shipped right afterwards and did the insurance/signature required. Buyer just contacted me saying that he didn't receive the iPad, only a keyboard, asking "if I made a mistake". Nothing has been claimed yet, but I'm assuming this is the first leg of a scam.

I have the funds in my PayPal account from the sale but they are on hold pending delivery. 

Do I have any recourse on this?

[rixstuff]

Ask for photos and insist they return the item before you refund.

[m.fine]

Even if I did that, they're pretty clearly planning to keep the iPad though... 

[corvettestainless]

There is nothing you can do. Buyer can refund/return (not as described) and you are out. You can try the following:

1.) Ask buyer if package was opened.

2.) Ask buyer if package was left unattended

3.) Tell buyer to file Police Report if box was opened (maybe scares them if this is not the truth)

3.) You file with Postal Service (opened, stolen item if delivered that way)

4.) File with Police Dept that you believe buyer stole something (hard to prove, their word against yours). 

All in all, most none of these do anything and you will be refunding the customer. But, worth a try. 

[m.fine]

So eBay's de facto policy is that you can get anything you want on the site for free?

[doubledz-a2z]

Problem is as with any Ebay transaction there is no way to prove what a seller actually sent.   I would get them involved in the mystery.  I would ask them to find on the label the weight of the package.   I would ask them if they could to weigh the item they received.  I would ask them for pictures of the package and for the item they received.   I would indicate that you are going to ask your postal inspector for guidance.  This may be somewhat of a delay tactic but my point is NOT to simply take their word and send them back money.   Make them go through some hoops and the situation may resolve itself.

[corvettestainless]

@m.fine So eBay's de facto policy is that you can get anything you want on the site for free?

If you're a thief, sure. Problem is, there are seller scammers and buyer scammers- on all walks of life, all internet formats. How can anyone prove that what they shipped was what they said, and visa versa. But, a selling format has to back up the buyers. Same everywhere. 

[uniwarehousewares]

There is nothing can be done, only you can do is to report the buyer to fraud and safety department of ebay and also to paypal, never ever sell item combination, scammers always say they receive one , and my second suggestion is not to sell expensive or electronics on ebay. because there is no real protection for sellers here . peopl are loosing faith day by day, but karma is there always who hit them back who do bad stuff to others.
just report this buyer this is maximum you can do, if you ask him for pictures he can manipulate it easily.
you should file a claim with carrier so atleast you can have 100 bucks back.

[gwzcomps]

On a side note have you googled their address? I would double check and make sure it wasn't shipped to a shipping forwarder. You are probably screwed to be honest though.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, so the keyboard was part of the original item, which means this is rifled mail. The post office takes missing contents very seriously. You inform the buyer that you will get to the bottom of this and will be contacting the authorities. Contact the Postmaster in both yours and their post office and make a formal complaint about the missing iPad.

I would also contact the buyer’s local police, if you want to take it that far. Do not accuse the buyer, however, who could be innocent and the victim of mail theft. 

You want your buyer’s cooperation. Ask them to preserve all packaging for the postal inspectors. If they are a scammer, the last thing they want is their presence and scheme to be in the spotlight. They might miraculously find the item or just slither away. If they are innocent of any wrongdoing, they will be grateful for your help.

You sent this insured. Make a claim online and see if you are covered for loss of partial contents. The shipping insurance should make you whole. You refund the buyer’s funds and now they are whole. Since you sold these items as “for parts/not working” it is up to you if you want your partial contents back. (Do not let them send them back until they are not needed by the inspectors or insurance.)

The reason you refund is to avoid a Not As Described case being opened against you. If that happens you pay return shipping and buyer receives a full refund and eBay makes note of this in your seller metrics. These cases can downgrade your account.

Sorry this happened to you, but happen it does.

[amricons]

Get your paperwork together.  Check the rules for eBay seller protection, Paypal protection and USPS insurance claim.  Once your ducks are in a row, file a USPS insurance claim.  Make sure to ask your buyer for as much evidence as you can.   USPS rules are black and white, get it started asap.

[trustedbasset]

This is for OP,

 Tell your buyer everything you are doing, keep them posted everyday. 
Assume they are innocent and somewhere along the way it got lost or stolen. Follow all the advice above. 

[judith525]

I completely agree with doubledz-a2z.  When I get an obvious attempt to scam me, I kind of turn it into a game, like, "Oh I'm sorry that happened, I wonder what happened?  Let's both report this to the police and USPS and eBay".  I like the idea of asking them to compare the weight to what's on the shipping label.

That way the scammer gets the impression that they will become named/involved in something that m might get them into trouble, and with luck, they eventually give up.    Other sellers have commented on the laziness of buyers to repackage and ship an item back, so they too just give up.

Yes, you bet I would "get them involved in the mystery"!

[gardensgrey]

In addition to reporting and documenting as others have suggested, I would report the iPad as stolen, and use the “ Find my iPad” function to track the iPad. Use Google for what to do if iPad is stolen.

[m.fine]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I will pursue some of these suggestions, but it sounds like I'm most likely out of luck. It's really frustrating that theft in eBay sales is so easy.