ebay promoting theives return abuse, cant even deduct this loss on taxes

[oneoldbeatnik]

Buyer wanted a full 100% return, I accepted. However buyer returned his old unusable part . even had different part numbers.  (motorcycle stator)

I open a case, with pictures, And ebay gave a full $82.00 refund. I even had to pay return shipping.

Seller Protection, LOL... what a joke, I mean what seller protection?

 Here is where it cost me even more. I cant even take this loss on my taxes, WHY YOU ASK. It shows I recived my part back and issued a full refund, And I cant re sell it because the buyer stole it from me. It is not in my possession  it is in the thefts  possession.

SO E bay, I am out both way shipping,  Out My Good Item, and no way to deduct it off my taxes.

WOW what a good job ebay seller protection is doing.

 Who ever decided this case must need glasses because they could not tell one stator from another.

Anyway I blocked this one, and no way to warn other seller's... I am sure he will tell his friends how easy it is to get free parts on ebay... Just send old part back to get new part for free.

BTW the guy only had 16 feedbacks including mine.

[phcd1 · Accepted solution]

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oneoldbeatnik wrote:

.... Who ever decided this case must need glasses because they could not tell one stator from another....

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Cases are decided by bot's, there are no humans involved for the most past. I'm sorry this happened to you but if this is your first false SNAD claim on eBay, count yourself lucky. I have had a number of them and I find that 95% of my returns in the last 3 years are false SNAD returns. Now I've won a few of them, I even wrote (on this id) how to fight and win them back in Nov 2016. All you can do is:

1. Raise your price to cover such losses (that's what retail stores do) 

or

2. Sell somewhere where eBay/PayPal does not make the rules.

You do realize that if you take PayPal, you can get a eBay item returned for at least 180 days don't you? On eBay, you only have to worry for 30 days. 😉

[orangehound]

Welcome to the brave new world of eBay.  Sorry that you are finding out that there is little seller protection here.

If you are operating as a business, that is an inventory loss ... so, in that case, it is tax deductible.

If you are doing your sales like a garage sale (selling off personal property), then you are correct that there is no tax write-off for that loss.

As for substituting an old part for a new part, this is a common thief practice with all retail ... not just on eBay, but also Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc.

There are a couple of things you can do:

1. In the eBay returns interface, there is a place where you can report the buyer for doing this to you.  It will not give you a refund or any sort of benefit, but merely flags the user just in case he is doing it multiple times.
2. You can file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Site at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx ... again, probably nothing will happen because this is not a high-dollar item, but it flags the guy criminally (his name, address and other contact info) in case he is doing it multiple times.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Actually, you CAN deduct merchandise losses on your federal tax return. I think it may come under the heading of "bad debts." There's a similar provision for damaged merchandise that is necessarily removed from inventory.

~~C~~

[oneoldbeatnik]

180 days, My God.
This is a thief paradise
I just wrote the man told him I know he is a thief, he knows too, and ebay don't care.
I also left some advice, told him to take sunscreen to afterlife.
also I changed automatic feedback to be left only after I receive positive.
I hope this way I can leave what happen in feedback if something like this happens again.
I changed because this buyer never leaves any feedback, AND If I leave a automatic positive after payment received, and he does not, then no way for me to warn other sellers
I know buyers can only be left a positive, However I am thinking I could tell the truth in comment.
Sad for good honest buyers who now wont automatically receive a positive.

[phcd1]

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@oneoldbeatnik wrote:
180 days, My God.
This is a thief paradise
I just wrote the man told him I know he is a thief, he knows too, and ebay don't care.
I also left some advice, told him to take sunscreen to afterlife.
also I changed automatic feedback to be left only after I receive positive.
I hope this way I can leave what happen in feedback if something like this happens again.
I changed because this buyer never leaves any feedback, AND If I leave a automatic positive after payment received, and he does not, then no way for me to warn other sellers
I know buyers can only be left a positive, However I am thinking I could tell the truth in comment.
Sad for good honest buyers who now wont automatically receive a positive.

---

Although I don't personally think it's a good idea to poke a bee hive, I know how you feel, believe me. I would chalk it up to bad people do bad things and move on. As far as feedback goes, I would leave no feedback (feedback is an option). Don't forget to block and report the buyer.

Leaving a "soft positive" for a buyer or a positive with negative remarks is against eBay policy and most likely would be removed. Worst then that is the buyer could then respond to your feedback that you left and that typically does not turn out well.

Like I said, you can fight SNAD claims and possibly win them, however it takes a lot of time and effort on your part to win one and it takes a buyer willing to converse with you via eBay messages (so they can dig their own grave). If they go radio silent, the seller will lose every time.

Just to add one more bit of good news, I told you that buyers have 30 days protection on eBay, 180 days through PayPal, but what I didn't say is if the buyer used a credit card (which I recommend all buyers do, and not a fake visa/MC), they typically have a year or more AND you (the seller) get hit with an additional $20 fee from PayPal because of it!

BTW, you best protection against SNAD claims is a "No Return" policy. If you have any return policy eBay will always force a return, even its its obvious fraud.

[buyselljack2016]

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@phcd1 wrote:

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BTW, you best protection against SNAD claims is a "No Return" policy. If you have any return policy eBay will always force a return, even its its obvious fraud.

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eBays MBG overides any seller return policy when a SNAD claim is filed.

[kitschy*loot]

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@oneoldbeatnik wrote:

Buyer wanted a full 100% return, I accepted. However buyer returned his old unusable part . even had different part numbers.  (motorcycle stator)

I open a case, with pictures, And ebay gave a full $82.00 refund. I even had to pay return shipping.

Seller Protection, LOL... what a joke, I mean what seller protection?

 Here is where it cost me even more. I cant even take this loss on my taxes, WHY YOU ASK. It shows I recived my part back and issued a full refund, And I cant re sell it because the buyer stole it from me. It is not in my possession  it is in the thefts  possession.

SO E bay, I am out both way shipping,  Out My Good Item, and no way to deduct it off my taxes.

WOW what a good job ebay seller protection is doing.

 Who ever decided this case must need glasses because they could not tell one stator from another.

Anyway I blocked this one, and no way to warn other seller's... I am sure he will tell his friends how easy it is to get free parts on ebay... Just send old part back to get new part for free.

BTW the guy only had 16 feedbacks including mine.

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You want the decision makers to instantly trust your word over the buyer's, you think that is fair, but of course the other way around isn't fair.

The reality is that nobody knows for sure what was sent back but you and the buyer. You know the buyer is a cheater, but a photo can't prove that. A seller could send a photo of any old piece of junk to eBay and claim that is what the buyer sent them. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Is this the first time you have run across a dishonest person? They exist everywhere but fortunately in small numbers. Do not violate policy, use your resources and move on. 

If if you end up with a lot of scammers, then is the time to change your business practices. Don't get all in a tizzy over one bad experience.

[kensgiftshop]

If the returned item was shipped by USPS, you could file a Mail Fraud claim through USPS.

If people would start filing fraud claims through USPS, it might cut down on some of this.

[oneoldbeatnik]

You said no one know what was sent back.

that is a lie, I KNOW WHAT WAS SENT BACK !

Sounds to me that you like to protect scammers.

[soh.maryl]

Without commenting on the issue at hand, I just want to remind you that sellers can never leave negatives or neutrals for buyers.  Ditto for positives including negative remarks, if that's what you mean by "thinking I could tell the truth in comment".

[dvrmasik]

Sorry for dealing with a dishonest buyer.
Lol to the comment about him needing lots of sunscreen in afterlife. It just amazes me how some people think trying to scam a good seller. Karma is going to get him at a point in life.
Back to the deduction question - as people have said you do have an "obsolete piece of inventory", which goes into inventory shrinkage and adjustment account, then it will go into your Cost of goods sold account. So, Gross sales (from 1099k or other stament you get) - minus larger GOGS amount (separate line that shows your obsolete piece of inventory) = less Gross Profit (on sch C).
You might also try to put under bad debts, but i would keep then copies of your emails with the buyer showing that you sustained a loss (refund of money - as IF the buyer did not pay you in the first place, in conjunction with a shipping of good item). But this is a stretch, of course, since the 1099k will include the initial sale amount... and the refund afterwards.

[privatename2012]

It goes both ways, thre's no buyer protection either.  All seller has to do, like was done to me, is take my payment, not ship item, not cancel order, ebay already told me they cant refund me, i have to talk directly with the guy.  So as it stands im out the money, so what do u think im gonna do..im going to defraud someone else to get the money back.  It goes in circles, no other way to get even..ebay is very sketchy!!!..im only using amazon from now!  At least they protect the buyer, ebay encourages theft..what am i to do?  i have no choice either to get it from someone else, blame ebay.

[dvrmasik]

@privatename2012: very bad idea! It does not go in circles. You do have the power to stop it, since it can end with you. Don't do the wrong thing to another innocent Ebayer.
And in your case, you do have options. You can always file a claim with PayPal/ credit card company. Don't use this excuse.
As you see above, I 've been in much worse situations with EBay sellers, and I ''ve learned my lessons, but never-ever thought to let one Ebayer "pay for the wrong-doings of another".
As I once (oops, several times) told Ebay that its business model is ultimately built on trust between buyers and sellers. And if this trust becomes "distrust" on a larger scale, it might push a lot of sellers & buyers away for good.