I've received a refund request from ebay relating to the sale of some flourite semi-precious gemstone beads. The buyer purchased seven lots of 25-all I had left in stock. I described the colour as ranging from darker purple through to lighter purple, with some green in some beads, and that no two beads shared the exact same colour pattern, and also that the shape of the beads might differ slightly as they are a natural material. The buyer included quite an aggressive message in the refund request, claiming that they received beads in all colours of the rainbow and different sizes, nothing like the photo, and demanded their money back.
I was a little taken aback by the tone of the message, but following the prompts, I selected the 'full refund on receipt of returned items' option, then followed up with a message apologizing for their unhappiness. I also stated that the beads they received were the same as the beads in the listing photo, and politely repeated my description of the colour, as I thought to myself they had not read the listing description. I said I would be quite happy to refund them when I received the items back.
Next, the buyer sent another aggressive message (actually 10 identical messages, sent over two hours while I was at work) demanding a refund for the 'seven packets of 26', and claiming that they were missing three packets, even though they had purchased the only seven lots I had in stock. They claimed there were no purple beads at all, please refund, and if you want the beads back, send a prepaid envelope.
My follow up message repeated that I was happy to refund, but couldn't send a prepaid envelope as the buyer is located in the US. I gently reminded them they had purchased seven lots, and repeated the colour description. For my own piece of mind, before I package and post items I take photos of them with the addressed envelope, so I was able to send this buyer the photo of their seven lots of beads on the envelope with their name and address.
I've now received another message saying the buyer refuses to post back to Australia, and that they have thrown the beads away-suspicious given they wanted a prepaid envelope yesterday. I'm not sure whether the buyer has confused their purchase from me with another purchase (my beads seem to have reached the US very quickly), or if they are scamming me. Any advice?
