Buyer Opens a return case for item not as described

[livluv_34]

Hi everyone, I used another platform to sell my purses before but the fee is high so I tried eBay. I'm disappointed now and I'm going to take down all my listings. The other platform I used, they authenticate all items over $500 and they only give buyers 3 days to accept the item instead of 30 days like here on eBay.

I sold my first item for $700, I offered free shipping with insurance.  After a week, the buyer claimed it has a lot of scratches, the bag is dirty, and she brought it to the Gucci store but the said it's fake.  I know the Gucci store won't authenticate any bag because I tried before.

I replied to the return request and offered to pay for her to authenticate with a service to ease the concern, I also uploaded a copy of the receipt when I purchased 3 months ago. No response from her whatsoever so I called eBay customer service.  They didn't offer much help, the lady on the phone said if they are asked to step in, they will usually offer the buyer refund.  I also read this on a lot of the discussion online.  Is there anything I can do to help this case? I'm nervous after reading all the discussions where shady buyers send back damaged items or even nothing. It is a pretty expensive item and I was very sure it's in great condition when I sent it to her.  I should've recorded myself packing it 😞  I really want to at least fight this dispute so the shady buyers don't think they can get away so easy. But I'm done with selling on eBay after this.

[livluv_34]

Thanks, I will try to send my stuff into eBay authenticate to sell and see how it's.

[no_zero369 · Accepted solution]

Hey, thanks for the nice reply!  Have had a few recently that wanted to vent and came back with some less than polite replies that makes one wonder why they are volunteering their time & knowledge?  So appreciate your thoughtfulness.

But hey, I get the need to vent!  I had a doozie of a time when I started selling and  banged my head against the wall a bit.   Learning to sell is an interesting process.  Had a poster recently not get that selling on eBay means that in fact, they are "in business!"   Many can understand that kids selling lemonade are learning about business, but not make the connection that eBay selling is a business.  I guess many think that if they aren't a Big Brick & Mortar store or don't have hundreds or employees they are not "in business?"

So devote a little bit of time each week to learning a bit about eBay selling.  I posted a lot of questions early on and argued points here until the helpful posters here beat me into understanding!

So you have found the right spot to ask & learn!  You'd be surprised how many don't or who won't take good advice.  So that puts you head & shoulder above many others!

best wishes with your journey and I wish you much success!

[livluv_34]

I'm not happy about the solution I have to take but I couldn't imagine being impolite to you or anyone else spending their time replying to the posts on here would change anything. It's how eBay is set up and you guys are just stating the facts. It was a bit shocking and it was hard to accept it at first. But all I can say now is I learned something new. Anyway, thank you guys.

[no_zero369]

@livluv_34 

You are welcome and thank you for the kind  thread.

I've been where you are and that first return that comes is a huge emotional event and an equally large learning event too. You handled this much better than I did in a similar situation!

I like you attitude, so keep it up & be patient with the learning curve!  You'll do well!

[livluv_34]

Thank you. Have a good evening 🙂

[coastal.sales]

You have every right to be upset, and no matter what  all they have to do is keep filing not as described return cases and you will lose every time. We cant even leave buyers feedback on Ebay anymore to warn other sellers. I just had a buyer admit that it was all his fault in an Ebay email to me and even apologize for the trouble that he had caused me but Ebay still sided with him even though the item he purchased was brand new, that he opened, and Ebay gave him a full refund including his shipping. If I were you there is no way I would sell any high end items on Ebay, because you will get got again!

[d.c.enterprises]

First, it starts with the listing.  ALWAYS have more pictures than you've posted in the listing.   It also seems that you don't understand returns - there is no requirement that a buyer contact you before intiating a return, none.  However, when the return request is initiated you're informed that you have a period of time to resolve the situation among yourselves and if after that you have not come to an agreement, eBay will then step in.  Understand that eBay will always side with the buyer on the first go round, however, you then have 30 days from that time to appeal.  In the first case it's an automated process, don't even bother making a case to eBay at this point.  Once you are in your subsequent 30 day appeal period however the matter is then turned over to an actual team of humans (or something like humans) to look at the facts objectively and render a final decision.   Remember, though, that in no case will eBay force a buyer to buy an item.  In one case I had my return shipping refunded to me, I assume it was charged back to the buyer as it appeared to me (and eBay) both that the claimed damages could not have happened as the buyer described, the story had changed a couple of times and they hinted that this seemed to be a recurring problem with this buyer.

There's other precautions you can take depending on what you're selling.  Selling electronics of any type that can be opened and tampered with?  Purchase and use tamper proof seals that would show evidence that the item was tampered with before the return.  Problem with buyers claiming packing was shoddy?  On high ticket items I use the same camera on the tripod I use for taking the pictures to video tape the packing of the item, including the shipping label.  Ebay may not want to look at video but you can capture stills from same.  Anotehr thing to do is always make sure your messaging back and forth in the attempt to resolve problems is cery clear and force the buyer to clearly state the full nature of the problem and reason for return.  Do not accept, messages such as "item defective" or "not working", get the nitty gritty details becasue eBay will look at the thread of messages back and forth in helping resolve.  A mistake I made once that could have cost me was not keeping the back and forth in the original thread, the buyer tried to confuse the matter by starting a new message in Contact Seller to which I then responded, so there were holes in the thread without piecing all these messages together; on top of that about every third message from this buyer was sent to me in another language, I ended up having to use Google translate, pasted the English version into the thread over the other language message and then responded.

Seem like a bit much?  Maybe, but there's a lot of scammers out there that always find a way to scam the system, just like in every other facet of life.  Oh, and one more thing - once the matter is closed BLOCK THE BIDDER from bidding or purchasing your items in the future.

[goldguy22k]

@d.c.enterprises  eBay forces a refund on a seller in a SNAD case where the seller refuses to issue a label and claims their 'no return' policy stands. Perhaps that is what OP was talking about?

[livluv_34]

Hi everyone, sorry I was busy and didn't get a chance to read other replies.

But here is an update on my case. The buyer was asked to send me back my item to get his/her refund. I received the package and my worst nightmare came true, there was nothing in the package. The box that he/she used is way too small to fit my item. I know this isn't how eBay operate but eBay if they compare the dimensions and weight of the package I sent to the package the buyer sent, they will see there's something really off.

After reading other similar posts and replies from others on the forum, I already know what to expect but it's still so difficult dealing with it as a 1st time seller so I just want to share and vent off. My hands were shaking when I called Ebay. I tried to hold it back but then I cried a little while telling them what happened. Please do not judge me, I know it's embarrassing and childish of me but I really cannot believe eBay isn't doing much to prevent this problem.

So the customer service person put me on hold for about 10 minutes, came back asking me to file a police report. I asked how would I be able to do that, do I just go to a close by station and bring the evidences or do I call the local station from the buyer's address.  Then she said she will send me an email with some paperwork I have to fill out then send it back to them.  It was a declaration/report page stating I didn't receive my item back. I signed and dated then sent it back. 

Anyone experienced this before?They already closed the case and charged my card the $, gave that amount to the buyer already.  Will eBay actually do something about it like look at the evidences or they just have me file that report and that's the end of it.

 Should I file a report with the USPS or the police department (I'm not sure how to do this, just go online or go out to the station?)

Thanks

[livluv_34]

Like everyone here already advised. eBay never asked to see any evidence at all. So that probably means they are not investigating the case.

[bonjourami]

Im so sorry to hear this, you can file a complaint online with USPS, and you would need to go to the police station to file the report..get a copy of that and send it to Ebay.

[bonjourami]

If you believe you're a victim of internet fraud or cyber crime, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Or, you can use the FBI's online tips form. Your complaint will be forwarded to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement.

[livluv_34]

The buyer didn't put much effort into the scam.  This is the box I received. it's some type of sake/alcohol box.  The front has a clear plastic cover and it's see through so he/she just taped the paper shipping label over it.  Inside is stuffed with brown paper, used bubble wrap and some kind of ball covered in tissue paper.  I don't think anyone would ship a $700 item like this. Now I lost the item, the shipping fee I paid included priority mail and I paid extra to buy insurance on the package too. My card is charged by eBay for the original amount the buyer paid ($710) but when I received the payment, I didn't get the full $710, PayPal deducted the fee from there. This still doesn't make sense to me.

I felt like I was targeted by the buyer since the beginning because he/she know I'm new with only a few feedbacks as a buyer.  Then Ebay and PayPal did absolutely no investigation at all before taking money from me. I never had a chance to approve the return package, they just immediately took out the money when the tracking ID showed delivered.

Do I wait a few more days before checking for update on the status with eBay? how long should I wait? Or should I call my credit card company and tell them about the situation? 

[livluv_34]

Thank you for the info. I will do all those things tomorrow.

[reda3615]

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@livluv_34 wrote:

Then she said she will send me an email with some paperwork I have to fill out then send it back to them. It was a declaration/report page stating I didn't receive my item back. I signed and dated then sent it back. 

Should I file a report with the USPS or the police department (I'm not sure how to do this, just go online or go out to the station?)

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No, you're done, @livluv_34. eBay will process that affidavit, and issue a courtesy refund.