Item was returned with missing parts ... what now?

[vintageindiana]

Hoping to get some advice from the Ebay community on a seller who returned a vintage set of Barbie idolls, clothes, accessories, and case that belonged to my Aunt when she was a child with missing items.

About half the clothes and accessories are missing and one of the 1966 Barbies.

Sent note to buyer about sending back the other items but all they say is that they want their money back and why am I keeping their money.

Called eBay and they advised to wait until next week and see if the buyer admits it.

I am a top rated seller with 100% feedback and have been on eBay for a while but this is the first time this has happened. 

Thank you for any kind advice you can offer on what to do in this situation!

[postingid2017]

Was it sold on Jan 4 and when was it received? 

[vintageindiana]

Thank you for your reply!  

I was told by eBay that sellers are not protected by EBay when buyers return an item with missing parts.

I find this policy to be unfair to good sellers as what is to prevent buyers from ripping sellers off?  Reporting them in my experience has been ineffective.

I understand that Ebay can’t confirm either side but to automatically side with the buyer seems to be an unfair policy.  Maybe ebay can look at the sellers track record before automatically assuming the buyer is not lying.

This is not the first time this has happened.  If ebay wishes to keep good sellers then there has to be a better solution than rewarding bad buyers which just perpetuates this problem.  I don’t sell high value items on eBay just for this reason.

I work hard to be a top rated seller with 100% feedback.  The buyer had a feedback of 2. 

Thank you for taking time to read this post.  

[littleguineapiggy]

 @postingid2017  was asking about the date it was received because if they've had the items a month or so, you could use that as leverage claiming they are using the items and may be able to get this closed in your favor if you keep calling back.  There is no good reason a buyer opens a case past about 3 days after delivery.  They usually inspect the item right when it's delivered.  I would message the buyer back with a picture of what you sent, a picture of what you receive, and ask where the rest went.  Maybe this will be the prod they need to either send the rest, only ask for a partial, etc.

[postingid2017]

If the buyer did not return all of the items that were in the listing, the buyer committed Mail Fraud.  Here is the link: 

https://ehome.uspis.gov/fcsexternal/default.aspx

Reporting the buyer to eBay may or may not help, however, a Postal Inspector will investigate, I know from experience.  Fill out the form with factual information and I would add that eBay does not support Sellers when items are returned with missing parts/pieces.  If enough Sellers did this, perhaps it would stop.  

And for those that say "eBay does not know what was sent/received back" well someone needs to keep track and not turn a blind eye.  Try returning to a B&M with missing parts and see how fast you are shown the door.  

I'm sorry @vintageindiana - it was not always like this, but I am sick and tired of Sellers losing out due to dishonest thieves buyers 😞

[lintbrush*]

I would tell the buyer that if they are sure they sent everything back, you will be filing a claim with USPS for mail tampering.  Ask them for their daytime contact number for the postal inspector to get in touch with them as they may have questions for the investigation.

[vintageindiana]

Great suggestion!  I hadn’t thought of doing that.

I did ask them very politely if they maybe forgot to send all of the items back trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The buyer just responded with a nasty email.

Thank you so much for your kind response to my post!

[vintageindiana]

Great idea!  I had not thought of that.  The package did not appear to be tampered with but who knows.

I totally agree with you.  There has to be a better policy to protect good sellers.  I don’t put expensive items, especially jewelry, on Ebay for just this reason.

My experience has been that reporting bad buyers is ineffective.  They just get another Ebay id.

Thank you for your kind response to my post!

[vintageindiana]

Thank you for your kind response to my post!

I had sent an email asking if they would please send back the missing items and provided a list of what was missing.  Got an email back from the buyer calling me nasty names and demanding their money.

Good idea about sending a picture of what I received back!  Will definately try that next time.

Have a good evening!

[postingid2017]

Keep all emails from the thief buyer - it will help you nail her coffin shut.  People who do wrong always snap back w/a bit of anger.  Good luck in either getting all your items back or having a Postal Inspector pay a visit 😉

[vintageindiana]

Thank you so much for your supportive post!  I appreciate your feedback.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

[precision62]

Unfortunately this can be a common occurence on Ebay. We experienced a return that was missing a portion of item and asked Ebay to step in. 

Within one hour the case was found in buyers favor and we were charged with a case. When we inquired with Ebay as to how they came to such a quick conclusion, the response was that there was no way to prove that the buyer did not ship item complete. We asked the Ebay case worker if an email was sent to buyer inquiring about the transaction, we were told that an email is never sent in cases such as these. 

The Ebay representative noted that as a Ebay merchant these costs are considered a "cost of doing business". I thanked the rep and promtly raised prices on all listings with a history of returns on Ebay. 

Interestingly our Amazon listings do not have the same return history and are selling at very favorable levels and now at lower price points. 

[duggmills]

To the buyer you're holding the money because she's holding the merchandise. If she want the money back, she must return the items she "overlooked" because now it appears to be theft.

The customer service rep must be employed full time at the DMV or puts the salt on McDonald's french fries if he thinks the seller is going to admit something.

This looks like it shaping up to be a good example for sellers to have the right to leave negative feed back. eBay must level the playing field for sellers if they want to get a handle on the scams and scammers.

[littleguineapiggy]

At this point, seeing as she's sent 2 emails with the clear intention of ripping you off and being hostile, I think it's time for a little call.  You haven't said she claims she didn't have them, so that must mean she's not bothering denying that fact.  I hate having to call, but some people just don't understand it's not play time.

[vintageindiana]

Thank you for your post!

Sorry to hear that you have experienced the same problem.  That is interesting about Amazon.  

The risk of this cost of doing business is why I don’t sell expensive items on eBay.  Would a small brick and mortar business accept a return when half of an item is missing?

I find it is grossly unfair to assume good sellers are immediately lying and the buyer isn’t.  Just think there has to be a better way for eBay to handle this.

Have a good evening!