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Is the buyer always right?
 

I've always sold things locally, but when it started getting slow I decided to try out eBay. I'm used to daily scams on craigslist. I've heard everything. The short time I've been on eBay it has been extremely smooth and absolutely wonderful.

The item I sold, I personally use, and it is great and worked for years with no problems. Everyone I know who uses them loves them and say the same. I sold my NEVER USED new one, I needed to money and it was taking up space. I listed it as "Never Used item with Damaged Box As Is No Refunds" The box had a torn corner and didn't look great. I took pictures of everything inside and out. The item sold for $300. ($475 retail)

A few short days after she received the item she e-mails me saying she turned it on and it worked, but wont turn on now. The item has dings and dents all over it and black smudges on it. There is obvious use and debris in everything. She says she has owned one before and is familiar with the item.

My concern - I know the condition of the item I sold. I have pictures of the item, no dents smudges or anything just a worn box. I've had too many issues before of not receiving my item back or my original item back. How do I know she didn't drop it? Her only feed back are from other buyers - never from sellers. I do not want to issue the refund, she is threatening negative feedback and to open a case with paypal and eBay.

What are my options? Give back her money and cross my fingers I'm not out?

I'd ask her for photos, so you'd know if it's your or not, since you know the condition of the item well.

But if she opened a PP dispute... yes, you'll lose for sure. But she'll still have to return the item.

Sadly, saijin is right. Ask for photos of proof - maybe work out a partial refund but before you do that, get photos - did you send item with tracking number and insurance?

Just because you write that in listing doesn't mean anything, sorry

If buyer wants a refund, they will get one. Work as nicely as you can with buyer and try work something out. But if they just want to return it, you more or less have to let them. Can they screw you over? You bet. But that's the way the system is setup. It sucks, but thats eBay and PayPal.

If she is threatening negative feedback and a chargeback, at least have her send the item back first

She already sent it to eBay and paypal. She had her say I had mine eBay said they will make a decision within 48 hours on what to do. Im really upset about this. She admitted to useing it, once I get it back i'll have a ruined contaminated porduct unable to use or resale.

You may be out of luck on this one. Yes when it comes to ebay/paypal, the customer is always right. She may be looking for a deal. Try and negotiate with this witch, take the loss, and hopefully you will regain a positive feedback.

Did you take any postal insurance out on the item. Perhaps it may have been damaged in transit? File a claim??????

Try and keep a good account, because the loss is gonna be double if you have to set up a new stealth account, not to mention the huge hassle.

Good luck

I will contact ebay and pay pal first before Refunding her money or asking her sending the item back. Tell them what iusse you have with your buyer and mentioned that you took pictures on the item and item has no problem, never used either.......etc. Ask ebay and pay pal what is the seller protection and maybe they can give you some suggestions about how to dealing with this issue, maybe refunding her money will not be needed.

Another thing if I remember right is if you have the trucking number and you showed the pictures on your listing proved that the item was never used, maybe you don't need to refund her, but ask pay pal for this. If you can provide your prove to pay pal, pay pal can check if there is any other way besides a refund.

Buyer can not double dip. Act quickly to deal with the matter.

Get onto both of them and advise you are doing your best to assist the buyer to get resolution. YOU must let them know the buyer is trying x2 to get a result..... not that you say that but make sure you get it noted there are two claims......
Get the name of each staff member you speak with, tell them , you have photos etc etc.
And buyers are often right in the eyes of ebay/paypal.

I can tell you what will happen if you contact ebay and paypal or not.

The buyer makes a claim, an ebay or paypal employee will open it up when escalated, depending on your settings and click the side with the buyer button without even reading it.

The buyer can't do any wrong no matter what you can prove, as ebay and paypal are not listening.

You will get a none performance strike against your account due to the return.
They will likely leave you a negative for your failure to bend over and take it.
And your DSRs will get dinged for what ever they feel like.

Sorry it is this way but ebay/paypal have created the perfect site to replace old or used items without any comeback.

Your best bet is to ask them to go through the postage damage report for the insurance, if you had it, as there is always a chance it could have been damaged in the post.

The only other option you have if you do not mind risking the loss of the account, is to clear all your funds, while you stall them by using the methods above. But that is drastic and only if the loss of funds hurts more than the loss of the account.

No matter how wrong the buyer is , they are right.
Even if you ask for the item back, they can send you a lump of coal , as long as it is sent tracked back to you, the buyer wins.

the buyer can , and will leave you any sort of feedback they choose, no matter if you bend over and turn yourself into a pretzel or not

your only hope of any kind of recompense is shipping insurance if taken. I doubt your buyer will ship your item back. If they are are the *** they have shown themselves to be so far, do you think they will want to pay for return shipping?? Not.

You can try , and maybe should take the matter up with ebay/pp , but do not expect ANYTHING from them. They are on the side of every single last **** buyer.

make a postal claim.

This may be a stretch, but if this person fails to return your item, you may be able to file a police report for theft. Some cities allow you to file online, or over the phone. You can then file a claim with your homeowners, or renters insurence. If your ins company is really good, or flexible, they may allow you to do this.

when I was hit hard , and it happened at least once per year, I wrote it off my taxes as a business loss, like theft in a brick and mortar store.

got hit for nearly 3k by one buyer , don't even want to go there, what a nightmare. It was early on in my business venture and nearly did me in at the time. Accountant advised to make a tax write off of it.

I did file theft with police , but that got me no where. Police came to me , we had a coffee, he wrote it all up, but NADA happened from that route.

ebay sent me an e-mail saying I can offer her a refund or work with her to resolve this issue. They did not say I had to refund her the money. I opened a claim with paypal to see where that gets me. As of now she still has possession of the product and my money is on hold.

I am wondering what you are expecting paypal to do for you?

Ebay and Paypal will say Return item for refund.

You have your photos as proof - date stamped? If not...well not much you can do. I can't really tell much - figure you seem to be honest enough but I have been wrong before. Wish I could have a solid plan but there is not much to be done.

You can offer partial refund but besides that and civil lawsuit, you are prob sol with this deal.