Buyer returned an item, but shows heavy signs of use and damage

[vintx05]

Long story short, I recently accepted a return from a buyer whom opened a return request for a perfect like-new conditioned high end camera lens. He claimed it's defective and wants a refund.  I reluctantly accepted the return. 

I just received the lens back today and to my shock and horror, the lens received is in pretty bad "used" condition, with dents and scratches scattered over the lens. The lens had a minor hint of wetness in my hands upon twisting the barrels and I see drops of water-like element stuck inside the lens, which I truly swear was perfect clean when shipped. I documented the unboxing with video and took pictures of every scratch and dent!  I definitely cannot sell this as perfect like-new condition any more. Worst of all, it's missing the original retail box, missing all packing materials and papers, missing carrying strap, and missing original Best Buy sales receipt to proof it's a US product.  Plus, the carrying case has water/liquid damage as well.  I contacted the manufacturer about repair and it's priced at $400 + shipping to evaluate the "damage", whatever that might be.  I'm posting all the photos I took on the open return case.  What should I do now / next?  Should I wait 2 days for the refund to happen, then file an appeal case, or is that too late?  I desperately need advice! Thank you.

[gwzcomps]

It you make eBay step in they will more than likely just give your buyer their refund and put a defect on your account. Since you don't accept returns you are more than likely screwed. You should probably call customer support for help though. You might be able to do a shipping insurance claim. If it were me being that it was a $1400 lens I would file a police report since this sounds like fraud.

[no_zero369]

I'd start with an email to the buyer, non-accusatory, inquiring what they sent vs what received suggesting theft within USPS and stating actions to be taken....see attached post.

Then if they do not back off, see the 'list' of things you should do when fraud happens! see other attachment

[vintx05]

It could be a fraud case and I suspect it's accidental damage during use, and now he wants to return it. I feel helpless knowing eBay is most likely favoring the buyer anyway. Just makes me feel frustrated, considering how much money I'll be out of pocket with after all said and done. I find it frustrating that eBay return policy talks a lot about what happens when the item is first received from unboxing, but don't mention anything about items after being used and damaged, and buyer wants to return it. Please let me know if I overlooked. I also just realized I don't have a partial refund option on the return page. I think I just have to wait 48 hours and then file an appeal. And yes, I'm going to report the buyer too.

[themayqueen]

are you sure it's the exact same item? what if it was the buyer's old damaged one, and he just kept your new one and returned his old one to you? fraudulently.

[vintx05]

I was worried about that too. The first thing I did was matching up the serial number with my original photos from the posting. It does match and I was looking for signs of tampering on the serial too. Looks fine to me. Some of my original posted photos clearly showed its pristine condition. I just contacted CS. They told me to wait for the appeal in 2 days. I just hope they would fairly inspect all the before and after photo evidence. The rep gave me 3 possible outcomes. 1. favors the buyer and I only get my final value fees back, and just accept the losses and repair bill (I hope this is unlikely, because of all the missing items, lens condition, and photo evidence). 2. eBay decides on the amount of partial refund and I keep the damaged lens (I will appeal if the refunded amount doesn't cover my repair bill). 3. favors me the seller, all costs covered, and eBay decides whether I keep the damaged lens or return it back to buyer. So we'll see.