@expresswaysales wrote:
If I contacted ebay about this, would it make a difference that he opened a return for a damaged item and I have a message from him where he admits that the item itself isn't damaged?
I'm relatively new to selling on ebay, so any guidance would br very much appreciated.
The posture that I've been seeing from eBay lately, is that they are no longer getting involved in trying to figure out a buyer's real reason for the return. So, if their return reason is "arrived damaged", then that's the reason ... if they said something in messages that doesn't support that return reason, eBay considers this conflicting information and the return reason of "arrived damaged" is still the return reason.
That said, as a Top Rated Seller, you have been given some power to contradict the buyer if they try to use the Money Back Guarantee falsely to avoid paying for return shipping. Namely, when you get the item back, make a judgement as to whether or not the complaint is valid. If the buyer is using the MBG to avoid shipping, then report the buyer as abusing the Money Back Guarantee, and you will get back a shipping credit of up to (I think) $7 to $8.
(The buyer still gets free return shipping, but now the buyer has a mark against them for abusing the MBG and eBay is apparently clamping down on this type of buyer abuse ... so too many of these, and the buyer loses MBG protection).
Also, if the item arrives back in a condition that is deteriorated due to the buyer's use or abuse, then you can withhold up to 50% of the refund to compensate for the damage. For details on deductions, expand the "Refund Deductions Guidelines Table" on this eBay policy page.
