Buyer Making False Return Claim

[hold.your.own.media]

Hi guys,

I have a return request right now where action needs to be taken by Aug. 30th. I sold a brand new Blu-ray box set, originally released in 2013. The buyer is claiming: Digital copy is expired (9 year old set, so this shouldn't be a surprise to them) so claims the item is used, item inside shifted in shipment so they say it's not the same item that was pictured, also claiming discs are scratched, but provided photos of the clear exterior cases that house the discs where it appears the cases have scratches, not discs. I refuted all of his claims in a reply, but have not offered any form of return since they opened the item. What are my chances here if eBay has to step in on the 30th/31st?

[mcrlmn]

"What are my chances here if eBay has to step in on the 30th/31st?"

Nil... Send a return label if you want the item returned.

[hold.your.own.media]

That's a shame, since the buyer physically opened this sealed item, dropping it's value from the $290 they paid to about $150.

Now, I'm a Canadian seller selling on ebay.com. No idea how to send them a shipping label as I send with Canada Post from here to the US.

[flipistics]

I have a disclaimer in the description on any sealed media with a digital copy that specifically states that I don't guarantee the codes can be redeemed, only that they are unused. For unsealed movies with it, I try to check if they're still valid before listing. Many are still valid years after the expiry date (some supposedly even if they've previously been redeemed a long time ago), and you can check most of them without redeeming.

That wouldn't help you much here though if they truly are trying to scam, which is likely, but it does reduce one potential avenue of argument.  If it was expensive, I'd probably send a return label and take advantage of the top rated status. It's a tougher decision if it was lower priced. I would definitely NOT wait for eBay to step in. I think we all know how that will go.

[byto253]

Chances of this going your way are not great unfortunately.   You cannot buy a label from Canada Post or USPS but others have posted that they have done it through Shippo.  Another alternative, sactioned and approved by eBay and in their online info, is to let the buyer/returner know that you cannot send a label but you will provid up front funds for shipping.   Of course document all this by communicating only through eBay messaging.  A label is neater of course.  

I went through this a while back and the person insisted on a label, and after some twists and turns eBay found in my favour when he would not return the item and actually got them to pay a claim.  The key was that I had made the offer to pay for return shipping up front.   I have a post about that experience here: 

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Ebay-reversed-a-decision-error-and-refunded-me-Will-they...

Good luck, it is horrid that the seal has been broken now.  This one feels like buyer regret and they found an excuse.  

[marnotom!]

Why not offer the buyer a partial refund to get them to go away?  Sure, if the buyer is attempting a fast one, a partial could encourage similar behaviour with future sellers, but the seller's job is to try to salvage the sale as best as possible, not be an eBay cop.  Probably involve less money than a return label, too.

[pjcdn2005]

You can also sign up for pirateship.com and get a usps label there. I think that you can send it as a jpg through the return but I'm not certain.

[reallynicestamps]

https://apps.goshippo.com/settings/carriers

[femmefan1946]

BTW- The last time I sent a USPS Return Shipping Label to a complaining customer (via Shippo) he did not use the label and I won the dispute.

 Mwah hah hah hah haaaaaah.

[hold.your.own.media]

In an amazing turn of events, after I put in my comments refuting all 4 claims they made, the buyer simply closed the return!

[maximus7001]

You got really lucky on this one. For the future you will need to send a label or loose the item and all the $. We use shippo to send return labels to USA. Just switch the sender/receiver around and voila you get a USPS label charged to you in US$. Make sure you put in yourself the words MERCHANDISE RETURN in capitals in as many blank address lines as you can squeeze in there before creating the pdf of the label or you will get hit with brokerge and gst and pst when it gets back to you. Then upload the pdf file in the return case. He cannot ever win if you do this. If he never sends it back you can get a refund for the label from shippo.

This is the way the scam goes:

The scammer knows about the apparent difficulty for a Canadian seller to send a label to USA so he buys big ticket items with the intent of stealing and reselling. He opens a claim, you cannot figure out the return label thing so he quickly wins and keeps the item and $ and resells it. He keeps doing this and ebay is too stupid to ever catch on or listen. Sending the label is quite easy.

[byto253]

I am adding a disclaimer to my DVD and Bluray listings that "Any digital codes will be expired and will not work, the listing is for the discs only."    I am not even going to indicate that they may work.  

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

You have to 100 percent send a return label.

If you do not send a label, the buyer will receive a refund from eBay. They will not have to return the item.

If it is a Canadian buyer, you can create a label using Canada Post's website. If they do not use the label to return the item, you can request a refund from Canada Post. For the USA, you can do the same thing with Shippo. The only caveat is that Shippo will refund you with credit. Still, you will eventually have another return, even if it is a year down the line, so that credit can be used for your next return label. 

Your best case scenario is that they decide not to return it. If they do not return it, after a set amount of time, you can ask eBay to step in and they will close the return due to inactivity.

If they do decide to return it, you have to issue a refund when it arrives. eBay now has mechanisms to withhold a portion of the refund for the lost value of an item misused or damaged by the buyer, but I am not familar with how that works or what your rights are. In general, you should probably expect to take a loss here.

If the buyer acted in bad faith, you should report the buyer. This won't get your money back, but it is part of the process. If enough sellers report a buyer, they will get removed from eBay's buyer protection.

There isn't much you can do about these situations. It's part of the risk of selling on eBay. You have to work potential losses like INRs or damaged items into your overall business plan. eBay doesn't really arbitrate on a case by case basis. They provide the buyers with protection, which theoretically increases value for buyers, and allows you as a seller to make more sales since buyers are more comfortable on the platform. This comes at the expense of having to take a loss when something goes wrong, whether that is the buyer acting in good or bad faith. Your best bet is just to provide the return label, and try to recoup some of the cash by reselling the returned item (assuming it is in sellable condition).

If it is a cheap item, it might be worth it just to refund it to avoid the defect. But if you are sure the buyer is acting in bad faith, you may still prefer to provide the label in order to not reward them with a free item. 

edit: I see the buyer closed it. So you obviously don't need to do any of the above, but it is good to know for future returns.