Buyer returned item that wasn't ours.

[its4ufrumee]

We are still so confused about this whole ordeal.  We sold an item, paid for a return, then buyer sent wrong item back.  We contacted buyer and sent photos next to the actual one he won on our auction to show him we didn't receive ours back.  He started calling us names and even stated he "knows where we live".  We sent several reports to eBay about this situation but they said we had to refund him.  So we clicked the "refund" button to end our nightmare , which was the amount eBay recommended which happened to be the purchase price only. (no other amount was given)  So he then filed a claim against us demanding the shipping charges and eBay didn't even give us a chance to respond because they then took the shipping out of our PayPal immediately and closed the case.  We have 100% feedback with wonderful customers and a broken clock.  He has our clock, our money, and he has good feedback because we can't leave negative feedback to help warn you and you can't see comments left by other buyers that had problems from him anymore.  (some did comment when they left positive but that has now been removed.)  NOT going to file an appeal, we realize our side is not being considered.  Like we said, We are so confused.   What did we do wrong.  We guess this is eBays fair treatment!  

[myboardid]

You didn't do anything wrong, do not blame yourself.  You just got scammed by a thief/buyer.  It happens too much, frankly. 

Yes, eBay always takes the buyer's side of the issue.  They really have no choice, as there is no way to prove exactly what you sent to the buyer.  Even if you had a video of you packing and mailing the package, it would not be absolute proof.  So eBay must choose, and they always choose the buyer to believe.  If the buyer had returned an empty box or food garbage, or something else nasty, you would still have been forced to refund. 

This is a risk you take when you sell on the internet, pretty much from any site. 

You can report him to the FBI and to the Post Office for mail fraud, and to his local police, but only people who are reported many, many times are ever pursued.  Most cases take years to be resolved, and the seller never gets their money back.   

[emerald_door]

I'm sorry this buyer found you.  In addition to the suggestions above, I would report him to eBay.  If other sellers report him, eBay will at least warn him, and he might lose buyer protection.  If you're aware of other sellers that he has scammed, you could contact them to suggest that they report him.  

[its4ufrumee]

Thank you.   I reported it to eBay 3 times under "report this buyer" and 4 times thru direct calls.  I really don't believe they even read my complaints. 

I just wish we could have better feedback options as sellers, then I could let everyone know to be careful.

In a fair setting, after the buyer gets several negatives from different sellers, surely eBay would do something...but maybe not. 

[its4ufrumee]

Thank you!   I appreciate your comments.  I guess we are not alone.  I just wish we could have the same feedback options for both seller and buyer.  At least it would help warn others, especially after they receive multiple negatives.  Well at least I would hope that it would work?

[cream_couture]

I would file a police report and mail fraud report. Then, I would file the appeal with ebay. I have never lost an appeal. I would file the appeal on the phone so the ebay rep can decide right then. eBay has allowed me to use police reports as evidence on appeals before. 

[orangehound]

Since you say you paid for the return, I would assume this is a Money Back Guarantee claim.  As such, the buyer is also due a refund of their original shipping costs.  So, that explains why eBay took that out.

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@its4ufrumee wrote:

We are so confused.   What did we do wrong.  We guess this is eBays fair treatment!  

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I don't think you did anything wrong ... you've just encountered an abusive buyer.

By the way, if you would change your return policy from 14-days to 30-days, then you would be eligible for limited seller protection against abusive buyers since you are a Top Rated Seller.

[nkmipgolf]

Happens a lot now on freeBay.  Order an item, replace it junk and ship it back, not one thing one can do about it. eBay's atittude, Oh well...

[mvls1]

You need to put that scammer on your blocked buyer list so that they don't have a chance to do that to you again. Also, orangehound is correct. If you change your returns to 30 days then as a top rated seller you would have been able to withhold 50% of your refund to the scammer for returning you a different item than you sent them. It is part of the new seller protections effective 10/1/2019. That way you would have 50% of the original sale price and maybe not have lost anything of at least not lost as much.

[collector723]

This has now happened to me as a seller several times...all the buyer has to say is 'item is defective or not as described", and you are given no option, but to accept the return, and you even have to pay for his postage to send it back to you...and what you get back, it is a "damaged or broken item", or a "different piece of junk"...and you have no option..how they are allowed to get away with this, is beyond me...it would never hold water, if someone tried that at a "brick and mortor " store...if you are a "small markup seller", it takes a long time to recover from that...I may eventually just stop selling on ebay, if they keep this up..

[its4ufrumee]

Thank you, I really appreciate all the information I received.....

[its4ufrumee]

Thank you for your time and information.  I have since changed my auctions to 14-30 day returns but from what I am reading, if the buyer click "item not as described"...then I am back to trying to prove to eBay that it isn't mine in the first place. or it is exactly as I stated.  And if I am reading this right, once they click the "item not as described....you still end up eventually paying for shipping both ways.  Am I understanding this correctly?

[its4ufrumee]

Thank you...I have since changed to 14-30 days returns.  But do you have to prove to eBay that it isn't the same??(how do you do that if they didn't read your messages in the first place) in order to use that discount.  I am a top rated seller now even before I changed to "accept returns"....but can't see that it has helped at all. I appreciate your info.

[its4ufrumee]

Wow do I understand your frustration.  The playing field is definitely NOT level.  I understand it just as you say.  The first issue is when they want to return something, there is not a fair amount of choices to pick so most people say "not as described" and they don't have to prove it but it is a double whammy when they send back something that isn't mine or IS as I stated in the auction.   I just wish they would at least bring back the option of negative feedback  for the seller.  If eBay would have just looked at HIS feedback given as a buyer, you would see all the trash he left for others.  He even called people  vulgar names. Recently I called eBay and asked why they didn't allow us to leave neg. feedback for a buyer when it was necessary and I was told "they wanted a safe place for buyers"???  But not sellers???  We definately have considered selling elseware but haven't found a place yet.  Maybe if we as honest sellers keep contacting eBay with this issue, someday something will change. 

[oldwestgold]

So sorry to hear you got scammed. On any large $$$ item returned, I pick up the returned item at the Post Office counter and open it right there in front of the clerk or on the lobby table all why filming on my cell phone. I realize this most likely doesn't do any good as far as eBay is concerned but it will assist if I have to take legal action against the buyer in court. Sure this is extreme but what other options as sellers do we have to "try" to protect ourselves against these scammers.

One thing that I would suggest that has worked for me is to send the buyer an email that you will be forwarding this to a USPS Inspection service and filing a police report both locally and in the city where they live. Allow them a few days to respond and return the item.  Give a date that you will file for mail fraud and file police reports then follow through. I have only had to do this a couple of times over a 20 year period on eBay but it has worked every time. Keep your emails short and precise. No feelings or wishy-washy text. Use no threats just actions and dates The normal reaction by most scammers has been they didn't believe I would follow through. Mention Mail Fraud several times which it is.  Good luck!