"New" buyer claims she received an empty package

[madchenmarketplace]

A buyer purchased 2 items from me at a big discount via Best Offer (she originally lowballed both items...I should have known better).  I packed them up very well in a box and shipped it out the next day. Today she emails me to say she received the box but it's been opened and the items aren't in there and it's taped back up. I told her to file a report with the post office & the police - she said she talked to the post office already and they said it had been through so many people there was no way to tell where it happened and to toake it up with eBay. But she is "new" so she doesn't know how to file a report so she needs my help. I told her to go to the Help menu so she did...

Aaaaand she filed a return for both items and put in the notes that I had told her to file the request because she received an empty package from me. Now my funds are on hold. What should I do? This feels sketchy to me.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@madchenmarketplace wrote:

It gets better...she's going to purchase a bunch of my items in a bundle and wants to see if we can make a deal. I've blocked her and she hasn't figured that out yet but that'll be fun.

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Work a bundle purchase for what?? So she can claim it got stolen again?? Didn’t she already say her packages get stolen all the time?

It doesn’t make any sense to me. I’ve gotten numerous buyers who claimed this too when they file an INR with me (but lucky for me the tracking shows delivered). “Someone must have taken it from my porch because I get packages stolen off there plenty of times. So give me my refund.” Hahahaha, don’t you see the flaw in your statement? Many people need to take a problem solving 101 class.

[postingid7659]

"dear buyer, I am sorry but since you live in such a theft-prone area and I am the one who loses money when the items are stolen, I must decline further sales to your address, at least pending completion of USPS and police investigation of this theft." 

Here's something to consider, she's a home health aide, that means what, she goes to people's homes to help those too sick or infirm to care for themselves?   If she'll go this far to steal this from you, what are the odds she robs those people blind?   

The potential is there, depending on what effort you want to put into this, to maybe get her in some real trouble, but I am not sure if some of the actions I would consider at this point are able to be stated on this forum.  Nothing illegal, just the mods may not like them.   

[jonathankirkland]

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@madchenmarketplace wrote:

Kind of a funny update...I found the webpage for her town and found my way to the police department that has a form you can fill out criminal complaints on (God bless the internet). I plugged in all the info, described what happened (someone stole the contents of a package). She had ignored my previous two messages asking her for the name of the officer she spoke to so I sent her an update about filling out the police report.

IMMEDIATELY I got 4 back to back messages - first one saying that there's no way they could find out who did it all the way from here to there (WV to VA, btw) and that her dad is a cop and said it's a lost cause and who did I file the complaint against she hopes it's not her, second one saying there's no way to even know if anything was in the box in the first place (!!!) or if it got stolen along the way and her little girl is out of a gift, third message she said she can't give me her phone number for the report because she's changing carriers soon (huh?) and the fourth message in less than 10 minutes was her asking again who I filed the criminal complaint against.

I wish I could copy and paste my response but it goes something like this: they do weigh packages so they can tell if it was empty when shipped, they also have a way to note if packages are damaged during shipping, it's also stamped by USPS if it is damaged during shipping but since it wasn't that doesn't seem to be the case and whoever did it seems to have used surgical tape so that rules out the post office too, we need to find who this criminal is so they can be punished.

NOTE: in writing this I received three more messages from her...one a long rambling paragraph about how packages get stolen from her all the time and she gets refunds, the second asking me about other items I have in stock so she can order more and do I do bundles (?!), the third message she said she wanted to clear the air and said she didn't believe I shipped the box like that.

I'm just kinda interested to see where this goes at this point. I know there's little chance of her getting arrested but maybe I can scare her off of doing this to someone else.

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............WOW........ there just.... aren't any words.......... good grief!!!

One can only hope that this was her last bite at ebay's Money Back Guarantee as it would seem she's been at this for awhile. But I am sure she'll find ways to beg for partial refunds from future buyers even if she can no longer open up cases after this one. *sigh*

The fact that she seriously thinks in her tiny little brain that you would allow her to buy steal more from you is beyond laughable.

[moondogblues]

I feel for you OP...I really hope SHE ( not the probably fictitious Baby Girl) gets burned by the bath...... not the product (which I'm sure are fine) but the BATH....as in HOT water.  Karma type hot.

[moondogblues]

".funny how people keep blaming the new General Postmaster without at first inform themselves for the correct information..."

Soooooooooooo the new info was wrong?  DeJoy didn't order tons of mail sorting machines to be not only taken off line but dismantled?  Right before the election?  Please site your sources for that info...if Fox, Newsmax, Breitbart, etc, don't bother.

[wahlstreetmkt]

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@postingid7659 wrote:

Here's something to consider, she's a home health aide, that means what, she goes to people's homes to help those too sick or infirm to care for themselves?   If she'll go this far to steal this from you, what are the odds she robs those people blind?  

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I'd be willing to bet money she uses the addresses she works out to steal packages from.

I'm sure eBay tracks the users IP when they order. But lot of good that does if they order from the address she is working at. Whine about packages going missing until eBay blocks their account from ordering there. Then just repeats the process at a different address she works at with a new user ID.

[moondogblues]

The 'buyer' needs professional help...though they are probably beyond it.  I was raised in a totally disfunctional family, liars, cheaters, sociopaths, so I know.  They did everything  they could to avoid being held responsible for ANYTHING they did.  This buyer needs to be turned over to the police.  They are beyond the 'pale'.

[craft-stash]

You are just caught up with a compulsive LIAR! No way around it.  And the my dad is a cop...so effen what🤣 I have a cousin who is a garbage man.

[madchenmarketplace]

Thank you everyone for your support with this issue - obviously I'm upset that I lost money & the items and now I have a defect on my account - but it also upsets me that she's likely done this before (and will again) and eBay won't stop her. I haven't heard from her again but I'm sure she'll message me when she tries to send me another lowball offer and finds out I blocked her lol. Or she'll want to know more about the police complaint I filed.

I've never had a buyer take it this far so I'm not sure what happens with the stolen mail report I filed with the post office or the insurance claim I really hope I get as I'm out the items and my money. I'm not giving up on this though, I think this is a practiced scam for her. I mean, she filled out a return request rather than opening a case because she knew that would be the quickest and easiest way to get her money back - if you're new to eBay you'd probably click on INR, right?

I don't intend to let this go, I don't like being fleeced and I don't like the idea of anyone else being fleeced by her. And I'm really tired of hearing her sob story about her daughter's birthday and how she doesn't have any presents now lol.

Thank you again to everyone for  being here with me through this. It's been a wild ride.

[vintagecraze50]

Oh no doubt about that. As it stands there is no protection whatsoever for these types of claims.

[vintagecraze50]

Jonathan, when I see stuff like this I really worry for the folks who sell really high end merchandise 0n here. If this continues to be a big trend it could really effect the ability of people to have faith in putting their higher end merch on here. Ebay has responded by doing these authenticate programs which are great but how could they do that will ALL high end  Items. And it does not matter if you are a big time seller or a small fry a huge loss is bad for both.

[vintagecraze50]

Also, I read that the CEO here has plans to raise revenue with more high end stuff. He better figure out how to protect those people from stuff like this by making all of it Ebay Authenticate.

[vintagecraze50]

Yes, criminals get caught all the time becuase  they are so narcissistic and they eventually make really stupid mistakes mainly also due to their impulsivity.

[skeletonstore]

Is this for the facial sponges?   It's the only items in your completed listings with best offer accepted.  If that's the case you should feel lucky it wasn't something expensive.  I would have been much worse with her.  After she mentioned her little girl I would have asked if she was really THAT dirty she needed a charcoal face scrub?   Then I might of offered to send two bars of soap.  One to clean her kid and the other for the customer's mouth after so many lies.  Well not really but it's a thought.  You have free returns so I think you'd have to pay.  I would just ask that when she returns the box that she includes the empty packaging from the product she stole.  😄

[madchenmarketplace]

No, it wasn't the sponges - it was for some bath products and the total I accept on best offer was around $40. She wanted to pay $25 though so I imagine that's why the items were "stolen." I would have gladly accepted a return and when she returned the empty box I would have reported it but since she is wise to that and knew exactly how to play the game, she demanded a refund from eBay immediately and got it.