So I thought since the case is now over and in my favor I would share some details.
I had a buyer purchase a large lot from me, it was pallet shipped in fact about a year ago. The value was thousands of dollars, they paid via "e-check" which as it happens was the buyer applying for and using the bill me later feature which is basically paypal credit, or so I believed. Anyways, it cleared and the pallet was shipped. I heard nothing for about 27 days then I saw the money missing from my paypal and found out the buyer filed for a chargeback because paypal actually has a credit card...which it never occurred to me he would use this method or even could. Ultimately the money got tied up in the chargeback, the buyer carefully planned this by shipping to a new jersey depot. He even signed for it, produced ID, etc. And that, is how I ultimately got my money back some 11 months later. So what saved me? I refused to ship to the depot on another person's name, that's what. Over and over he told me he needed someone else to pick it up and please ship it to xxxxx. All my paperwork was for the actual buyer, name, address and even phone number. Court received the original bill of lading, someone called and confirmed on the depot computer that he did pick it up (almost 25 days after it arrived but yes he did) and ultimately he lost the chargeback with paypal and I was able to recover all money because I had to sue to get it back (not from paypal but from their **** credit card subsidiary). So...moral of the story with this? Send only to the person who bought it, the name of the person and all.
2. Partial Refund fraud. This has been a common thing for me, lately I would sell expensive CPUs or rare parts and the buyer would send a picture of a "slice" across the heat spreader as if from a box opener. One buyer sent a picture that showed a HAIR that he claimed was a slice. I didnt say anything about the hair but did clarify our company policy. We accept only full refunds upon return of merchandise. We do not accept liability for return shipping on international shipments that originally had domestic destinations, and ebay does not require you to pay for it either, just from the address it was sent to...so for us we approve the return, then send a label as expected, when buyer cannot fulfill we explain that we need the items back to approve any refund of any kind. I will work with legit item issues, such as breakage and items that show up unservicable...but we do check the buyer feedback just to see what kind of shenanigans we are in for. The second type is buyers who are scalping purchases. They buy working merch then flip it themselves, usually quickly. This type of buyer usually doesn't surface until 10-15 days after delivery (key here is it's almost never a request on day of arrival). They will almost always say discrepency in listing, the screen arrived broken, bad keyboards, the processor was scratched...memory sticks arent working, you name it I have heard it all. I simply apologize and say that due to recent internal policy changes we can only give you a full reimbursement with a return of all merchandise. In 50% of situations they stop talking on ebay and switch to an paypal claim. Repeat same procedure, often at this point if you escalate the claim here within paypal your going to get negative feedback but they will never give you the merch back...why? Because they already sold it, easy enough to check I usually go back and look at their feedback, sometimes I find a positive feedback for them as the seller for the item we are disputing. If you think your feedback rating is that important, it isnt.
3. Always respond to your negative feedback. I usually reply with basics, something like "Due to situation we opted to request a full refund return, see feedback" Most astute buyers will see these statements, know that I am digging and go elsewhere with the partial feedback and chargeback scams.
4. Not accepting a return. I have done this successfully. I actually got a ebay concierge to get on video chat with me so I could open a package in front of them. The buyer had put a concrete paver in a large flat rate long box instead of an alienware laptop. Ebay released my pending refund and paypal closed the open case based on that information. It was pulling teeth but ultimately to do this I had to call Washington County Sheriff and give them the buyer's information I had from the purchase (it was over 500) and the deputy contacted the buyer via phone right in front of me, explained that if he accepted money back that he just committed fraud and he would be notifying the appropriate local authorities (again I cannot believe this actually happened). It turned out it was a 20 year old college student who ultimately was using his parents card without permission and was trying to put the money back in before he got caught.
5. Replacements. Here is where you don't have to wait for a return and the only way you are protected. If you opt to replace an item you can tell the buyer "I am sending you a replacement please return the original" with "If you agree to this, I will send you tracking on your replacement" At this point you are now protected via paypal. Why? Because the buyer is accepting a EXCHANGE, if they do not return the original they have to pay for it...again. You have to file a claim via paypal, give the buyer time to return the item and after a certain amount of time passes, you either get money or product, as painlessly as possible.
6. Negative Feedback. I am learning that since my account has never had 100% feedback I am actually subject to less fraud than years ago when I was selling movie clips and horror film memorabilia (an account that still has 100% feedback 9 years later). Firstly my feedback is 99.4% second nobody has ever rescinded their negative feedback. I respond to every negative and neutral feedback as well as about 20% of positive feedback (new customers only). I almost always refer to the buyer feedback for more information on what happened. I want people to know. I also ban everyone from purchase who creates issues. That person who nitpicked a laptop, just to get it for 65 dollars with free shipping and then ask for a partial refund because they resold it, even if he or she doesnt leave feedback at all, you can bet they will not be buying from me in the future. I have had a slow and steady decline on returns fraud as a result. The astute bad guys I believe check my feedback before they click the buy it now button just to get an idea of how I handle certain situations.
Lastly, and like always, reduce your exposure. Sell local, setup an amazon seller account. The point is...the only way ebay will ever side with a seller is if they lose too many of us. I find pretty solid success selling via facebook, craigslist, various forums and word of mouth does pretty well too. Ebay sales used to be 80% or more of my business and I think now it is down to 60% possibly less.
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